SNAKES. 57 



A third snake, which reaches a length of four feet 



or more, and which in the country usually goes also 



by the name of "black snake," is the king snake, 



Ophibolus getulus sayi (Holbrook). It is less common 



than either of the last two mentioned. 



King Snake ^ rom them it may be known by the 

 scales being smooth and in 21 rows. 

 Many of the scales have a small yellowish spot in the 

 center, and in young specimens these spots often unite 

 to form cross lines on the back. These lines some- 

 times fork on the sides and divide the black of the 

 back into large blotches. It will thus be noted that 

 the young of many black or dark colored snakes are 

 always spotted, and that as they grow older and shed 

 their skins a number of times they gradually grow 

 darker, until finally they become almost wholly black. 

 This has, in the past, been the cause of much confu- 

 sion in the naming of the reptiles, many of the young 

 having been thought to be distinct species. 



The king snake frequents open woodlands and the 

 borders of moist thickets, feeding upon mice, moles, 

 toads, salamanders, and, as noted near' the beginning 

 of this paper, upon such other snakes as it can con- 

 veniently swallow. It is a very active reptile, but in 

 general mild and inoffensive in its habits. When 

 cornered, it will strike rapidly and viciously, causing 

 the timid person who has suddenly come upon it to 

 beat a hasty retreat. 



In some of the southern States, where it is more 

 common than in Indiana, it is reputed to wage a 

 successful warfare upon the rattle-snake, and hence 

 received its common name. A prominent writer and 



