32 
interest and of study lead me miles from the 
hermitage, when several days would elapse be- 
fore fortune favored my search and I returned 
to Petro. During these prolonged wanderings 
in Nature’s wildwoods, o’er rugged hills and 
along beautiful water-courses, Pluto was my 
sole companion, and many were the occasions 
when we slept on the mountain side, in a grassy 
meadow, or on a mossy bank beneath a sturdy 
oak along some musical brook. 
Thus I secured my specimens, and I kept 
them in my ophidarium to closely observe their 
true natural life habits. So when summer was 
well advanced I had a fine collection of indi- 
viduals of several different species of our com- 
mon snakes, and from daily, careful observa- 
tions of my pets, I learned almost the perfect 
life habits of these ignored yet highly interest- 
ing creatures. 
Now, my Fritz; before discussing my valu- 
able scientific notes on snake-life, allow me to 
present a few introductory facts relative to the 
classification, distribution, etc., of snakes in 
general. You know that reptiles are members 
of that great division of the animal kingdom, 
scientifically termed Vertebrates; that is, ani- 
mals having a back-bone or spinal column. 
Certain characteristics peculiar to snakes con- 
fine these creatures to a limited division of the 
reptile class termed Ophidians, Again, to more 
simplify the proper study of animal life, snakes 
are divided into two distinct classes, as, veno- 
