264 THE SNAKES OF SOUTH AFRICA. 



arm into the nest-hole of a Spreeuw (Starling) in a bank. Instead 

 of my fingers touching the eggs as I expected, they closed 

 around a snake's body. He was evidently too cramped up to 

 bite quickly, but I never put my arm into a Spreeuw's nest- 

 hole again ! Snakes have a great fondness for concealing them- 

 selves in holes owing to the warmth and security from danger a 

 hole in the ground or a bank affords. 



Snakes strongly object to the smell of disinfectants. When 

 snakes are kept in captivity, great care has to be taken when 

 disinfecting their cages to allow the smell to evaporate before 

 putting the snakes back into the cages, for the fumes given out 

 will in all hkelihood kill them. Those who have occasion to 

 camp out in tents should dip a piece of rope or plaited cloth in 

 sheep dip, creosote, or carbolic acid, and lay it round the outside 

 of the tent. This will often prevent venomous snakes, spiders, 

 scorpions and centipedes from crawling inside. 



Horsehair Ropes. 



When a boy I revelled in the stories of the adventures of the 

 cowboys and frontiersmen of the backwoods of America ; and 

 used to read that these men often carried a horsehair rope with 

 them, and regarded it as a valuable possession. When camping 

 out at night, they would lay it in a ring upon the ground and lie 

 down and sleep within that magic circle, quite confident that no 

 venomous serpent would molest them. They had not the slightest 

 idea why the hair rope should prevent serpents from creeping in 

 under their blankets and snuggling up for warmth about their 

 persons, but they, nevertheless, had firm faith in the serpent- 

 repelling properties of their hair ropes. 



Naturalists ridicule the idea of the hair rope being efficacious. 

 Now, just let us review the evidence. A plaited horsehair rope is 

 bristling with hundreds of httle hair-points sticking out in all 

 directions. A snake progresses by means of his ribs, which are 

 worked by sets of muscles. Each pair of ribs is attached to one 

 of the abdominal shields. These shields or scales are moved 

 forwards, and elevated for the purpose of gripping the ground or 

 whatever surface the snake may be crawling over. Now, each 



