126 HERPETOLOGY OF MICHIGAN. 



Very few observations have been made on the food habits of this 

 snake. Taylor (1892, 357) writes on the snbject as follow^s: "The 

 contents of the stomachs of this species shows that its food is al- 

 most wholly made up of mice and animals of that class. Aside from 

 well known venomous qualities this snake has no bad habits and is 

 decidedlv useful. It is said that rats and mice will very soon dis- 

 appear w^hen the presence of this reptile is known. In at least one 

 instance we have known this statement to be true. It was noticed 

 that rats which a few days previous had been extremely numerous 

 in a certain cellar had wholly disappeared. AVithin a few days 

 more the mvsterv was solved by findino- a huffe rattler in the door- 

 way. These facts fully account for the frequent finding of rattlers 

 around old cellars, buildings, etc., where thej' go to hunt for their 

 choice food." Ditmars (1907, 438) states that his captive specimens 

 "would take young birds, mice and frogs, and, like the copperhead 

 snake, different kinds of food according to the seasons, a trait prob- 

 ably developed by necessity while in the Avild state." 



Our observations on the food habits of the species differ from 

 those of Taylor in that frogs form the bulk of the stomach contents 

 in the specimens we have examined. We have also found in two 

 instances snakes (one a rattlesnake) in stomachs examined, and in 

 one case it was evident that the snake eaten had been dead for a 

 considerable time before it was eaten (Ruthven, 1911a, 270). 



The young are brought into the world alive, i. e., the eggs are not 

 laid. There are, according to Hay, usually about six young in a 

 brood, and they are about six inches long. 



Many erroneous opinions are current concerning this snake. 

 Among these are that the number of rattles indicates the age of an 

 individual, one rattle being added each year. The researches on 

 the growth of the rattle all agree that each ring represents the 

 epidermis shed from the enlarged portion of the tail, in a manner 

 analogous to the general shedding of the skin, the new ring being 

 added at the base each time, thus pushing the string outward. 

 There is some disagreement among observers as to whether or not 

 the two processes always take place at the same time, but the fact 

 is well established that the shedding of the epidermis from the 

 terminal enlargement of the tail and the consequent formation of 

 rattles, like the general shedding of the epidermis, takes place every 

 few (two-five) months, so that several rattles are usually added 

 each year. The reason that so few rings are generally present at 

 one time is that the terminal ones are easily and frequently lost. 

 The number of buttons even on the largest individuals is rarely 



