90 BULLETIN 61, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



It is in disposition a ratlier sluggish snake, seldom attempts to 

 defend itself, and when surprised is usually easily captured. The 

 ease with which they are captured is in part due to their inability to 

 escape, owing to the extreme awkwardness of their movements on 

 land. Wlien moving slowly this is scarcely noticeable, but when 

 they attempt to move rapidly to escape capture their efforts are 

 peculiarly odd and ineffective. The movements consist in throwing 

 the body in long curves in a manner closely analogous to the wig- 

 gling motion by wliich garter-snakes swim in deep Avater, and wliich 

 results in much movement and muscular effort, but very little prog- 

 ress. Tliis movement may be greatly augmented by putting the 

 snake on a smooth surface, but it is not entirely due to the nature 

 of the surface, as it can scarcely make any headway on a surface 

 where sirtalis will glide away with comparative ease. This is one 

 of the most striking characteristics of hutleri and was first noticed by 

 Reddick (1895, 261), who comments upon it in the following words: 

 "It is short and chubby, and its movement is very characteristic of 

 it. It does not have the gliding movement of E. saurita nor the 

 swift and active movement of the Natrix sipedon, but seems rather 

 tt) exert a large amount of force to do little crawling. The move- 

 ment is so characteristic that I believe anyone having once seen the 

 peculiar way in wliich it tries to hurry itself away would ever after 

 be able to recognize it at a distance." 



Fortunately no doubt attaches to the species which Mr. Reddick 

 had, for the specimen upon which this observation was based has 

 been examined, and it is unquestionably a hutleri. The movement 

 seems to he very similar to the method of locomotion described for 

 the so-called atrata specimens of ordinoides by Ditmars (1907, 227). 



Observations upon the food habits of hutleri are but fragmentary. 

 As announced in 1904, it is fond of earthworms and small frogs, but 

 I have since found that in captivity it apparently prefers small 

 fish. As a rule it is impossible to get them to take either worms or 

 frogs if dead, but it is apparently a matter of unconcern to them 

 whether the fish be alive or dead, as they will greedily eat specimens 

 of the latter which have begun to decompose. Young individuals 

 four or five days old will eat as many as three or four small minnows 

 successively. 



Females taken in July are usually pregnant, and the number of 

 young is apparently small. In the specimens examined the number 

 of embryos is about twelve to fifteen. One specimen wliich was 

 tak^n in late July, 1905, and kept in captivity gave birth during 

 the firpt part of August to ten young. The members of this brood 

 were not all bo' a on the same date, but appeared at different times 



