MIDSUMMER FLOWER-HUNTS 



495 



cultivation, it is said, the Indians before that had already 

 improved on the native species. 



In the various localities where we collect the flowers 

 and plants described in this article, we very frequently 

 meet with different species of our most beautiful and 

 thoroughly harmless little snakes. Of all these there is 

 no group more 

 entitled to our 

 admiration and 

 protection than 

 the Green 

 Snakes of the 

 genera Liopel- 

 tis and Syclo- 

 phis, each cre- 

 ated to contain 

 a single spe- 

 cies, that is, in 

 so far as the 

 herpetology of 

 the eastern 

 United States 

 goes. In Lio- 

 peltis we have 

 L.vernalis, gen- 

 erally known 

 as the Green 

 Snake or 

 Grass Snake ; 

 while in Cyclo- 

 phis we have 

 C. aestivus, 

 which, in dif- 

 ferent locali- 

 ties, is known 

 by the vernacu- 

 lar names of 

 Green Whip 

 Snake, the 

 Magno 1 i a 

 Snake, and the 

 Keeled - scaled 

 Green Snake 

 the latter name 

 probably hav- 

 ing been coined 

 for it by some 

 writer on 

 snakes. That 

 the dorsal 

 scales of the 

 middle third of 

 its long, slen- 

 der body and 

 tail are scaled, 

 there is no 

 doubt, while those of the Grass Snake are perfectly 

 smooth over the entire body. Its form is well shown in 

 Figure 10 of the present article, and it is a truly beautiful 

 reproduction of a photograph from life. The head and 



A REMARKABLE PHOTOGRAPH OF 

 Fig. 10-The little Green Summer Snake (Uopeltis vemalis) is one of the prettiest and gentlest creatures 

 we have in our entire fauna; it destroys many noxious insects, and should be thorougly protected on 

 that account. 



about four inches of the body are standing out in the 

 clear without any support whatever. The entire creature 

 is of a brilliant grass green, with the under parts of a 

 lively yellow. Specimens may be met with nearly a yard 

 long, and they occur from the southern part of New Jer- 

 sey, southward, throughout the Atlantic States, and west- 

 ward to the 

 Mississippi in 

 the northern 

 section of its 

 range, and to 

 the Pacific in 

 the southern. 

 Occasionally it 

 is met with in 

 northern Mex- 

 ico. It has sev- 

 eral specific 

 relatives of the 

 same genus in 

 some parts of 

 Asia. Our 

 form feeds on 

 common black 

 crickets, small 

 grasshoppers, 

 and on other 

 insects. In cap- 

 tivity it has 

 been known to 

 eat mealworms, 

 and it is a very 

 gentle little pet. 

 Generally it is 

 found in low 

 bushes and 

 shrubs in fact, 

 it is distinctly 

 an arboreal 

 species. Its 

 color is a great 

 p r o t ection to 

 it ; several in- 

 dividuals may 

 be in a leafy 

 bush and es- 

 cape the obser- 

 vation of one 

 looking for a 

 specimen. 

 When gliding 

 along on the 

 ground, it will 

 keep its motion- 

 less tongue rig- 

 idly protruding 

 from its mouth, with its distal bifurcations drawn to- 

 gether in a single point. This character is easily detected, 

 for the organ is of deep cream color, causing it to be more 

 or less conspicuous as contrasted with the green body. 



ONE OF OUR MOST FAMILIAR AND USEFUL SNAKES 



