328 FLORIDA REPTILES AND BATBACHIANS—LCENNBERG. vol. xvn. 



the neigliborliood of Orlando, Orange County. It bad 7 superior labials 

 on tbe right side and 8 on the left, showing plainly that this character 

 is not constant. 



The red on tbe throat is more or less developed in different speci- 

 mens. The gopher snake is one of the lairgest snakes in Florida, and 

 one often bears of specimens of extraordinary size. I bave seen some 

 stuffed specimens in St. Augustine whicb were about 10 feet in length. 



I do not know much about its habits, but it seems to prefer bigh and 

 dry land. It is said to be rather slow moving. 



PITUOPHIS MELANOLEUCUS (Dandiu). 



The common form of this snake in South Florida has large, reddish 

 saddleblotcbes on tbe back, becoming anteriorly more and more obsolete 

 and tinally showing only a slight mottling on the yellowish gray ground 

 color. I have a smaller specimen on which the dorsal spots are 

 blackish or dark brown, corresponding with Holbrook's figure.* The 

 number of spots on the body is about 28, but tbe anterior ones are dis- 

 solved into smaller ones and difficult to distinguish. Two faint bands 

 can be seen from the eye to the seventh supra-labial and from eye to 

 eye in a curved line across the posterior part of the prefrontals. 

 Supralabials, 8; ocular, 1-4 on the left side, 1-3 on the right. 



From its loud hissing it is called " bull snake," and " pine snake" from 

 its living in the pine woods. All the specimens observed by me are 

 from dry, sandy pine woods in Orange County. 



The skin of a very large specimen measured, without head and tail, 

 170 c. m. and must bave been at least 2 m. This skin was given to me 

 as the skin of a "chicken snake." 



A very large specimen when caught hissed loudly and opened its 

 mouth, but did not bite. It rattled its tail at tbe same time. 



HETERODON PLATYRHINOS, L a t r e 1 1 1 e . 



The spreading adder is very common in South Florida. I have seen 

 it most frequently in dry places in the pine woods, "highland ham- 

 mocks," orange groves, etc. In the last named it is often plowed up. 



Although the spreading adder is not a poisonous snake, it is very 

 much dreaded as such. If it should bite it would probably inliict a 

 considerable wound with tbe large posterior teeth. I have heard of 

 two or three cases in which spreading adders are said to have bitten. 

 These may, nevertheless, be regarded as rare exceptions. In one of 

 these cases it was said that the hand of the bitten man swelled up con- 

 siderably. He believed that the snake was poisonous, and so did the 

 doctor, therefore the patient was ordered to drink so much whisky that 

 he was nearly killed, and the doctor applied digitalis and other strong 

 poisons. The man was a strong fellow and survived the treatment. 



*H0LBROOK, J. E., Nortli Americau Herpetology, 2ed., iv, pi. i. 



