CHANGES IN FAUNA AND FLORA. 95 



by resident friends. First — Comparative frequency of snake 

 bites to cattle in one locality and to dogs in the other. 

 Second — The appearance of very young rattlesnakes, so 

 called "one-buttons" before dark. I do not know the 

 habits of the Crotalides of other regions, but our Crotalus 

 lucifer, is, in the first year of his existence, even more noc- 

 turnal in his habits than full grown specimens, and the ap- 

 pearance of one before sunset is always exceptional. 



The first locality to which I refer is in the Contra Costa 

 mountains, whose eastern chain is there broken by a deep 

 ravine, a transverse valley carrying the waters of the table 

 lands into the alluvial plains about Alvarado. 



My authority is a landed proprietor, blessed with a taste 

 for zoology, as far at least as that branch of science is con- 

 nected with sportsmanship. 



The greater part of the land surrounding his place is very 

 hilly, and the declivities partly naked and rocky, partly 

 wooded, only accessible by a few trails, most of them im- 

 practicable for saddle-horses. The upland, used only for 

 grazing, is open grass-land, dotted occasionally with live- 

 oaks, but having no chapparal whatever. 



There is but little agriculture in the immediate neighbor- 

 hood, but a considerable number of " chicken ranches," 

 the owners of which carry guns and possess dogs of some- 

 what roaming dispositions. There is but little game left 

 excepting quail. Hawks, eagles, owls and herons, were 

 formerly abundant, but have perceptibly diminished. The 

 grazing country seems to contain few reptiles excepting rat- 

 tlesnakes. Ophibolus, Pityophis (magnificient specimens), 

 and several species of Eutainia are found in the gulch and 

 along the sides of the creek, but no Crotalus, as far as the 

 observations of my friend extend. 



The pasture grounds of the upland are well stocked with 

 cattle and horses. There are but few goats, and at present 

 no sheep, and none of the farmers keep hogs to any extent. 



