SNAKES. 37 



On account of their liking for field mice, insects 

 and other vermin, each black snake on a farm is worth 

 at least five dollars, and each garter snake one dollar, 

 every year of its existence. In other words the dam- 

 age which the mice, insects, etc., eaten hy the snakes, 

 would do, would amount to more than the sums men- 

 tioned. Both black and garter snakes are perfectly 

 harmless, and yet as soon as one is seen eight farm 

 boys out of ten, and almost as large a proportion of 

 the farmers themselves, will procure a long club or a 

 stone and mash the poor, defenseless snake's head to 

 a jelly. Then if the snake be a large one, the exploit 

 is bragged of all over the neighborhood. In the 

 writer's opinion such an act is a cold blooded murder 

 and the deed of a coward. As well might a giant 

 brag of killing a dwarf as a man of killing a harmless 

 and defenseless snake. 



But few of the harmless snakes use their teeth as 

 their chief means of defense. It is only when irritated 

 or suddenly attacked that they will strike at a person, 

 and the pain caused by their bite is no more severe 

 than that produced by the bite of a mouse or the prick 

 of a pin; the most serious result of the bite being 

 usually the fright which timid persons sustain. Once 

 in a great while, however, the bite of a harmless snake 

 may cause a swelling of the organ bitten, and, one 

 time in a thousand, may even cause death. This is 

 due, however, not to any venom injected into the 

 wound, but to a kind of blood poisoning brought 

 about by some substance adhering to the teeth of the 

 reptile, the victim being in a weakened physical con- 

 dition and therefore very susceptible to such a result. 



