656 



ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN. 



TYPE OF REPTILE CAGE. 

 Economic Rodent-Reptile Series. 



farmer. It never steals milk from the cows, 

 and the reason why it so persistently haunts 

 the neighborhood of the barns is to prey upon 

 the small injurious mammals that collect in such 

 places, and which constantly elude the traps of 

 the farmer, who chafes under the constant an- 

 noyance of finding his grain sacks being gnawed 

 full of holes, and his fodder riddled by mice, 

 voles and rats. 



The pilot blacksnake, (Coluber ohsoletiis), 

 and the j^ine snake, (Pituophis melanoleucus). 

 are other economically valu- 

 able reptiles of the eastern 

 states, and in the southern 

 part of that region. Rang- 

 i n g from central North 

 Carolina southward, we find 

 the corn snake, {Coluber 

 guttatus), and other species 

 of the genus Coluber, the 

 coachwhip snake, {Zamenis 

 flagelliformis) , besides a 

 number of species of ground 

 snakes that prowl into the 

 burrows of mice and voles, 

 and destroy the young. All 

 of the serpents mentioned 

 will be represented in our 

 series of the snakes rated as 



o f economic importance i n 

 this country, and moreover, 

 all are absolutely innocuous. 

 While the poisonous snakes 

 are also constant destroyers 

 of rodents, and assigned to 

 the scheme of Nature for 

 some specific purpose, it is 

 of course imperative, owing 

 to the advance of civilization 

 and the danger man is ex- 

 posed to in coming in con- 

 tact with them, that they 

 must go. The senseless 

 slaughter of the harmless 

 snakes, however, should be 

 as effectively stopped as the 

 wanton killing of birds. And 

 to counteract, if possible, a very silly prejudice 

 that has prevailed in Nature since the tale of 

 "Eve" and the "apple," was one of the sug- 

 gestions in preparing the series under discussion. 

 To fully demonstrate that Nature has her 

 own ideas in establishing a balance in animate 

 creation, we will exhibit several species of 

 snake-killing mammals. In the United States 

 the cliief enemies of the larger snakes in the 

 wilds, are eagles, hawks and owls. In certain 

 areas adjacent to cultivated regions, domestic 



TYPE OF RODENT CAGE. 

 Economic Rodent-Reptile Seri< 



