306 



RAMBLES ABOUT HOME. 



tliis neighborhood, known by a score of unmeaning names, 

 not one of which is characteristic. De Kay, in the " Nat- 

 ural History of New York," calls it the " red-snake," and 

 Jordan, in his " Manual of Vertebrates," " ground-snake." 



It is not, strictly speaking, a red snake, neither is it 

 even always of a reddish color, nor does it cling more 

 closely to the ground than most of those other serpents 

 that have been mentioned. By many it is called the 

 " blind snake," because of the small size of its head, and, 

 in fact, the head and tail are so similar in size and shape 

 that this name is fully as descriptive as either of the 

 others. 



The few specimens that I have seen have varied in 

 color from a blue-gray to a reddish brown ; but whatever 

 may be the color, it is uniform, and this, together with its 

 small size and the absence of everything like stripes or 

 spots, at once decides the identity of the species. 



I have been accustomed, in my field-notes, to call this 

 little serpent the "cricket-snake," from the fact that I 

 have twice found specimens with crickets in their mouths. 

 One of these specimens was of a decided blue color, and 

 the other a very pale brown, or clay color. I associated 

 the color with the surroundings, and have since won- 

 dered whether or not, like the tree-toad, it might not vary 

 in this respect with the character of the locality it chanced 

 to occupy. It is scarcely necessary to add that it is quite 

 harmless, and offers no resistance when handled. In its 

 general habits it presents no striking peculiarities. 



So much for the eleven species of snakes that I have 

 mentioned. Twenty years of familiarity should have 

 yielded better results, but it has not. 



