66 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE. 



the nature-loving rambler whenever he is so fortu- 

 nate as to meet with it. The favorite haunts of the 

 summer snake are rocky hillsides, 



Summer Snake. 



especially those in the vicinity of 



running water. Oftentimes, too, the 

 seeker after wild berries is needlessly frightened by 

 seeing one reposing on the bushes within a few inches 

 of his out-stretched hands. One of these snakes, 

 kept in captivity by the writer, often rested on the 

 posterior half of its body, and, raising the front half 

 almost vertically, it would remain rigid and motion- 

 less for half an hour at a time. In its wild state such 

 a habit, if practiced, would render it, for the time 

 being, very secure against such enemies as were 

 guided only by the sense of sight, and would allow 

 the near approach of such small animals as the snake 

 subsisted upon. 



The habits of this species were excellently por- 

 trayed by Dr. Holbrook, who wrote of it as follows : 

 "The summer snake is perfectly harmless and gentle, 

 easily domesticated, and takes readily its food from 

 the hand. I have seen it carried in the pocket or 

 twisted around the arm or neck as a plaything, with- 

 out ever evincing any disposition to mischief. In its 

 wild state it lives among the branches of trees and 

 shrubs, shooting with great velocity from bough to 

 bough, in pursuit of the insects which serve as its 

 nourishment. Its green color, similar to the leaves 

 among which it lives, affords it protection against 

 those birds which prey upon it." 



Another green snake, as handsome as the one last 

 mentioned, and distinguished from it only by its scales 



