SHORT STUDIES OF SNAKES. 287 



question, Do snakes swallow their young ? I have never 

 seen them do so, and here ends my knowledge of the 

 matter. I have, therefore, only to add that as many 

 snakes feed upon small snakes, and occasionally have two 

 or three at once in their stomachs ; and further, that as 

 some species are ovoviviparous, or hatch their young 

 within their bodies, thus offering, occasionally, the specta- 

 cle of a large female snake with twenty to thirty small 

 snakes within it, it is possible that some such occurrence 

 may have given rise to the stories we so often hear of 

 snakes apparently swallowing their young in order to pro- 

 tect them from harm. It is thought not to be impossible, 

 though improbable, that such a habit should be common 

 to any species. 



In the course of my rambles I have found a great 

 many snakes, of all sizes, colors, and, I may add, disposi- 

 tions. They are all well known to herpetologists, for a 

 long and not always handsome name has been given to 

 each variety. They are also well known in an anatomi- 

 cal point of view, though their habits, haunts, and merits 

 have not been very closely studied. It would seem that, 

 in most cases, to drop the squirming creature into alcohol, 

 and tack a label on the bottle, was all that the naturalist 

 desired to do. To know where a snake came from, and 

 its scientific name, is, so far as it goes, very useful knowl- 

 edge ; but I would like to know what the snakes did be- 

 fore their capture. 



Of the ten well-marked species that may be found 

 within half a mile of my front door, probably the most 

 abundant is the hog-nose snake, known to my neighbors 

 by a variety of names, though none is so good as the one 

 mentioned. " Adder," " flat-head," " viper," and a dozen 

 other misnomers are freely used ; " flat-head " being, 



