313 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Apk. 15. 



:uy and Scipiititif Cirele. of which h(^ is a very 

 faitiiful and conscii'iitioiis mcnibor. He belongs 

 to the class of 18'.i2. and has for .<onie years been 

 the president of the Ottawa Laurels (C. L. S. 

 C). INIi'. Green is an enthusiastic amateur 

 photogi-aphei'. ddijiiitingin liash- light pictures, 

 in whicii branch of photographic art he has 

 made some good hits, and is marching onward to 

 perfection. 



Best of all, he is a quiet. eai'ue,«t. working, 

 every-day Christian: a member of the Congre- 

 gational church in Ottawa, and president of 

 the Young People's Society of Chi'istian En- 

 deavor, he is h'tting his "light shine before 

 men." 



Take him all in all. and viewed thi-ough tlie 

 medium of other eyes more imi)artial than 

 those of a consin. James A. (Jreen. besides being 

 a live, progressive bee-keeper, is undoubtedly a 

 very nice young man. Lydia Strawx. 



Ottawa,' III.. March 18. 



[My good friend, we feel greatly obliged to 

 yon for all these things you tell us about our 

 valued contributor James A. Green. While 

 much of it is new, we long ago decided here in 

 the office that friend (Jreen was a young man of 

 no ordinary merit and acquirements. In fact, 

 he now stands among the chosen few whose 

 copy goes straight to the printers without read- 

 ing. But, my good friend, will you pai'don us 

 if, while reading the above excellent encomium, 

 our thoughts would keep wandering from the 

 subject of the discourse to the discourser her- 

 self, especially when you speak with such touch- 

 ing pathos of the part the mother plays in this 

 great machinery of human affairs and human 

 events? It was my mother who first took me by 

 the hand and led me to the garden on the hill- 

 side, and taught me to look for the beets and 

 radishes that were just ])eeping out of the 

 ground. Then she led my thoughts to Him who 

 holds all these things in the hollow of his hand. 

 She also led me to the bee-hives, little dream- 

 ing, perhaps (like many another mother), of 

 what the outcome would be. If it were anybody 

 «lse than friend Green, such kind words might 

 be apt to make him proud: but then, you know, 

 he is a working Christian. Who can tell all 

 that is compassed and comprehended in these 

 two simple words, " working Christian *' ? May 

 God bless the words of this short sketch: and 

 may they prove an Inspiration, not only to the 

 boys and youjicj iiiot. but to the mothers of our 

 land, young and old.) 



POISONOUS SNAKES. ETC. 



SOME "SNAia<: STOKIKS ■■ UY TKOF. COOK. 



I am reminded by subscrib(>rs for Gleanings 

 that I iiave not yet written the i)romised article 

 on ])oisonous snakes, and so I will defer it no 

 longer, especially as it is a subject of unusual 

 interest to all. 



As is well known, we had. thanks to Glean- 

 ings and its I'eaders. several rattlesnakes last 

 summer in confinement and under observation. 

 and with them we had two or three copper- 

 heads and one highland moccasin, or cotton- 

 mouth. These snakes are veiy interesting, as 

 being justly the most dreaded enemies of man. 

 Their concealment, readiness to bite, and the 

 terrible nature of a wound from their fangs, 

 make them peculiarly interesting. 



All of our i>oisonoiis snakes have broad. Hat. 

 triangular heads, and two curved movable 

 fangs in the uppei' jaw. These are either hol- 

 low or grooved, and connect with a poisonous 

 sac in which is stored the venomous liquid 

 which is so much dreaded — justly dreaded — as 



il is a deadly i)oison. This is said to be safe if 

 taken into the stomach: but once introduced in- 

 to the blood it bi'ings severe ])ain. paialysis, and 

 death. When a venomous snake strikes, it 

 straightens its fangs at the same time: and the 

 same muscles that raise the head and e.xtend 

 the fangs also compi'ess the i)oison-sac, and ex- 

 ti'ude the |)oison. It is said by some authors 

 that the snake may strike without extruding 

 the venom. I do not know that this is not so; 

 but I do know that they often thiow drops of 

 l)oison when they strike, even though they may 

 not bite at all. Last summer our moccasin 

 would strike at a stick, and we often saw the 

 venom fly, and also saw drops of poison on the 

 stick. 



In the form of the head and structure of the 

 biting apparatus oui' poisonous snakes are like 

 th(> same of the Orient. But all otn- poisonous 

 snakes have a deep pit on the outside of the 

 head, between the eyes and the nasal ojiening 

 or openings of the nose. This pit is absent in 

 the venomous snakes of the Old World. Our 

 poisonous snakes, then, are easily known by 

 their broad, flat, triangular heads, movable poi- 

 son-fangs, and the pits between the eyes and 

 opening of the nose. These ai'e the only ready 

 means to distinguish the copperheads and 

 moccasins, wliile the several si)ecies of rattle- 

 snakes are further marked by the conspicuous 

 rattles that adorn their tails. These I'attles are 

 simply ovei'lapping ring-like scales, which are 

 connected some like the swivel link of a log- 

 chain. The rapid vibration of the snake's tail 

 causes these scales to move on each other, and 

 produce the jjeculiar whirr which gives the 

 common name to these venomous reptiles. It is 

 a veiy curious and interesting fact, that the 

 copperhead will vibrate its tail against a board, 

 stick, or box, so that one could scarcely dis- 

 tinguish it from a real rattlesnake. We noted 

 that specially last summer. 



The only poisonous snake we have in Michi- 

 gan is the massasauga, or i)raiiie rattlesnake. 

 This is short, heavy, dark in color, and beauti- 

 ful neither in color, form, noi' habit. Usually 

 this snake, like the other venomous species, coils 

 when it strikes, but not always. It will strike 

 if circumstances pi'event its coiling. The 

 young of our massasauga are born alive — that 

 is, the eggs hatch within the mother. Such 

 snakes are called ovovivipai'ous or viviparous. 

 I think all of the venomous snakes are like 

 these in their reproduction. The young mass- 

 asaugas. when very small, will run, as I have 

 witnessed, when dangei- threatens, into the 

 mouth of their juother. It hardly need be said 

 that they seek a very safe place. 



Rattlesnakes are grouped in genera from the 

 l)eculiar arrangements of the plates on the back 

 of the head. Thus our massasauga belongs to 

 the genus Candisona. It is C. tenieinliKt. 

 There are two other species of this genus in the 

 southwest of our country. 



The rattlesnak'es of the East and South are 

 longer, slimmer, and handsomer than the mas- 

 sasauga. The lai'ge eastern one is Crotalus 

 horrldjis. and is aptly named. They vary from 

 yellow to black, and are marked with spots, so 

 that often they are quite handsome. They may 

 grow to be four feet long. There are several 

 species of this genus in the South. Southwest, 

 and West. One, C. (uhniKoiteus, or diamond 

 rattlesnake, is very handsome. We had several 

 from the Gulf States last season, and they were 

 beautiful. The color is yellowish brown, and 

 they are ornamented with thirty or more dark- 

 brown diamond-shaped spots. They are slim 

 and graceful, and are objects of great beauty 

 and interest as they strike — that is. if removed 

 at a safe distance from the observer. One of 

 these bit a cat in my laboi'atory last summei'. 



