NINTH ANNUAL REPORT. 193 



food may be regularly introduced, or left with them, )et in the 

 midst of plenty, after fasts lasting- from six to ten months, they 

 slowly but deliberately starve. Although utterly disregarding 

 the presence of food, they evince an interesting desire for water, 

 for which they regularly search their cage, and when it is found, 

 they drink long and copiously. 



When placed upon the ground, they do not exhibit the aggres- 

 siveness of the Cobra, nor do they engage in a constant search 

 for a crevice or burrow in which shelter may be sought. Instead, 

 the Coral Snake trails blindly forward, head flat to the ground, 

 seeking to escape from a danger which to its dull senses is being 

 distanced by simply moving, no matter in what direction. Crev- 

 ices and other hiding places may be passed unnoticed when but 

 a few inches distant. There is no disposition to intimidate the 

 enemy by a show of fight ; the dominant idea is to steadily progress 

 until the hoped-for security is attained. Upon reaching grass, 

 or the like, the snake's appreciation of its power to employ such 

 ground to advantage is immediately noted. With the rapidity 

 of a knitting-needle being deftly inserted in various strands, the 

 snake literally weaves its way among the blades, at their base, 

 and even though the grass be comparatively short, the reptile is 

 soon entirely hidden. It moves forward with a nicety that only 

 slightly stirs the growth, and the snake's whereabouts is difficult 

 to ascertain. And now, if disturbed in its progress, it quickly 

 draws its body into close lateral undulations, and remains motion- 

 less, evincing that in this situation the reptile is sufficiently in 

 its element to deliberate upon its actions with some display of 

 mental power. If, after gliding wildly and aimlessly over a 

 smooth area, a Coral Snake comes upon soft, uneven ground, like 

 the surface of a ploughed field, its demeanor changes, it intently 

 follows every depression to which it comes, roots with its nose 

 for soft spots in which to burrow, and usually manages to quickly 

 secrete itself. 



Such actions indicate an underground existence, as is indeed 

 the fact, and when the writer refers to the Coral Snake as a rep- 

 tile of dull mentality as compared with the Cobra, the assertion 

 should not be misconstrued as an assertion of entire helplessness 

 in defense on the part of the former. We have two animals of 

 different environment, one — the Cobra — mentally ready for the 

 dangers that must l)e met by a reptile j^reying above ground, and 

 consequently employing the proper measures to intimidate an 

 enemv. but also with sufficient resourcefulness in seeking ade- 

 quate shelter. On the other hand, the Coral Snake is a creature 



