64 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE. 



78 from three to seven inches in length from the body 

 of a single female 35 inches long. Other observers 

 have noted from 35 to 80. 



This snake has many enemies, among which may 

 be mentioned owls, hawks, hogs, skunks, ducks, tur- 

 keys, other snakes, and last but not least, the small 

 boy with a big club. Feeding as it does mainly upon 

 insects and the smaller injurious mammals, the good 

 that it does far outweighs the bad. In the future, 

 therefore, let its presence in the dooryard be looked 

 upon with favor, and let the hand be stayed that in 

 the past has ever been raised against it. 



The Racine garter snake, Eutainia radix (B. & G.), 

 has been taken in a few localities in western Indiana. 

 Prof. E. D. Cope says that it is the prevailing garter 

 snake of the western plains, ranging from the base of 

 the Rocky Mountains on the west to the eastern 

 limit of the prairies in Indiana on 



The the east. Its scales are usually in 21 



Racine 



Garter Snake. rows anc * are prominently keeled so 

 that the reptile is very rough in 

 appearance. In color it is dark olive brown with the 

 lateral stripe on the third and fourth rows of scales 

 instead of on the second and third, as in the common 

 garter snake. The stripe on the back is bordered 

 with black and there are two rows of dark spots on 

 each side between the stripes. Below the lateral stripe 

 there is also an additional row of small spots. The 

 average length is about two feet. 



The habits of the Racine garter snake are essen- 

 tially the same as those of the more common species. 

 Living as it does mainly in prairie regions it is largely 



