DIVISION EIGHT — SCIENCE. 6oi 



In the mountain canyons is found the coral snake, which is marked 

 with black and white, perhaps half an inch wide, around its body in regular 

 alternation from head to tail. The first specimen I ever saw of this snake 

 was in San Dimas canyon [twenty-five miles east of Pasadena] four or five 

 miles up from its mouth, in 1888 ; then in 1893 I saw two specimens of it in 

 Echo canyon, one of them being marked with red and black instead of 

 white and black bands. 



There are several varieties of smaller ophidian reptiles, such as striped 

 or garter snakes, grass snakes, bush snakes, spotted snakes, etc. None of 

 our snakes are venomous except the rattlers. 



We have a large, warty garden toad, with some peculiarities that mark 

 him as a California variety of the bufonidae. There is also a species of tree 

 toad. 



Of Frogs there are several varieties. The common pond frog abounds 

 in the tule bogs, reservoir dams, springs and water ways of our Glacial Ter- 

 race canyons, where it can be found any time of the year. The mud frog 

 lies dormant in the clayey beds of dried-up ponds during the dry season ; 

 but when the winter rains form ponds or puddles he emerges into life, and 

 makes the evening air melodious with its song of tirr-r-r-r-r-r. The winter 

 pond existing for many successive years at northwest corner of Colorado and 

 De Ivacy streets, furnished music of this sort for the whole city. But the 

 place is now filled up. In the mountain canyons there are delicate rock 

 frogs, of colors varying to suit the colors of the rocks in their particular 

 stream, pot-hole, or pool. 



The biological department of the Throop Polytechnic Institute has 

 planned to make a special study of Pasadena reptiles during 1895-96, 

 which will doubtless result in their complete scientific classification, and 

 special description of such as are new species. Nothing of the kind has 

 been done heretofore. 



insects. 



The scorpion is doubtless our most characteristic native insect. There 

 seems to be two varieties of it. They are now rarely found in or about Pas- 

 adena ; their capture and mounting as curios seems to have almost extermin- 

 ated them from this region. Wakeley's novelty works put up 100 dozen of 

 them in 1893. The dread of their sting is largely imaginary. I have not 

 heard of but one person here. Col. J. Banbury, ever being stung by one. 

 This was in the colony days. He was loading wood and chips into a wagon ; 

 the scorpion stung his hand ; he brushed it away, went on with his work, 

 did nothing for the wound, forgot all about it, and it passed off as readily as 

 the sting of a bee or a wasp would. And Judge Baton says he never heard 

 of any harm from them. 



Of centipedes there seems to be two, or perhaps three varieties — one 

 very large, of dull white or light straw color ; and a smaller kind, sometimes 



