4 o6 DAN BEARD'S ANIMAL BOOK 



be pulled loose without endangering the parting 

 of the snake's body. 



In Pike County, Pennsylvania, in the neighbor- 

 hood of Wild Lands, there are two kinds of green 

 snakes. One species of the snake is the keeled, 

 and the other is the smooth or the grass snake. 

 Any boy can distinguish 



THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THESE TWO SNAKES 



as soon as he takes them in his hand. They are 

 perfectly harmless, and seldom attempt to bite one. 

 The only time I ever had one attempt to bite me 

 happened while I was trying to sketch one 

 shown in the accompanying illustration. Some 

 ladies from the Forest Lake Club, stopping to 

 make a call at my camp, interrupted my work, and 

 while I was talking to them one of them gave a 

 scream and exclaimed: "Mr. Beard, that snake 

 is biting your thumb !" 



The snake was trying to escape from my hand, 

 and I unconsciously squeezed it too hard for its 

 comfort, and the poor little thing tried to free it- 

 self by biting my thumb, but, as may be imagined, 

 the bite that I could not feel was not a very serious 

 bite. Let us, however, return to the difference be- 

 tween these two snakes. 



THE KEELED GREEN SNAKE 



has a little ridge on each scale, like the keel of a 

 boat, and the smooth green snake or grass snake 

 has none. 



