NORTON] 



THE COPPERHEAD SNAKE 



265 



his presence and venom watched for and guarded against.. This 

 may all be done, practically, at the cost of but a few minutes' time, 

 and it should be done. Vacationists prowl in the woods, very 

 often in couples, and for them it is a ' safety first' precaution of no 

 mean importance. The old adage that, 'an ounce of prevention 

 is worth a pound of cure,' or, to make it fit the case, to know and 

 avoid a copperhead is easier than to overcome the effects of its 

 bite, is very true." 



Photo by E. R. Sanborn, N. Y. Zoological Society 



The Copperhead Snake 



Mr. Ditmars warmed to his subject rapidly and of the vacation- 

 ists he spoke with feeling, continuing, he said: "To know this ser- 

 pent correctly it is necessary to climb his family tree, and in our 

 climb we learn much of the other poisonous snakes for they have 

 many characteristics in common. 



"The family Viperidae is of moderate size. It is composed of 

 about one hundred and twenty-five species, representing thirteen 

 genera. The species are scattered over the temperate and trop- 

 ical portions of both the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. The 



