33. PITUOPHIS 



snake an efficient destroyer of those pests of the farm, 

 gophers and squirrels, and accordingly seldom oflFer injury 

 willfully. 



"But with city people who now and then drive into the 

 country it is diflFerent. The gopher snake has an unfortunate 

 habit of crawling out into open roads, especially on warm 

 spring days, evidently with the purpose of basking in the 

 grateful sunshine. Along comes the city man with his instinc- 

 tive but unreasonable fear and hatred for snakes in general, 

 and he attacks the harmless and slow-moving gopher snake 

 to the usual destruction of the latter. So often one sees the 

 mangled remains along roadsides that it seems a wonder that 

 there are any gopher snakes whatever left. 



"It is very evident that snakes are far less common than 

 they used to be 20 years ago; at the same time gophers and 

 ground squirrels are in many districts more of a pest than 

 ever before; and the reason is obvious. In commendable 

 contradistinction to the deplorable thoughtlessness of the 

 average person is the good sense of the occasional farmer 

 who actually invites the gopher snakes to make their homes 

 on his land. We know of a few such who bring to their 

 ranches every snake they can readily capture. And we have 

 been repeatedly assured that many an old gopher who had 

 proved too wise for traps and apparently immune to poison, 

 had finally met his Waterloo in the long gullet of a gopher 

 snake. 



"The snake is introduced into the burrow of the rodent 

 and disappears. In a few hours he reappears, languidly 

 crawling into the sunshine, while a huge bulge about two- 

 thirds the way along his mottled body gives proof of what 

 has happened down in the dark underground galleries. 



"The school teachers and pupils of the county can do 

 a good turn by advertising the good services of snakes in 

 general, recommending their protection on grounds of eco- 



