October 13, 1893.J 



SCIENCE. 



2og 



studied zoology a little and had learned that the spread- " 

 head was said to be non-venomous. Consequently when 

 I next met one, and began to cultivate a closer acquaint- 

 ance with him, and he seemed after a time to kill himself, 

 I was much surprised, and began to investigate his 

 mouth, to see if he did not have poison fangs after all. 

 He, as they all do, had turned himself on his back and was 

 lying rigid in that position. In the course of my investi- 

 gation I turned him over, "right side up," again. He was 

 playing dead so earnestly that he could not lie in so life- 

 like a position, but immediately turned himself on his 

 back again. Then, of course, I knew that a snake which 

 was too dead to stay in the position in which I placed him, 

 was too alive to be very badly hurt. I determined to 

 watch him. Accordingly I removed him to a smooth, 

 clear place and then withdrew to a little distance to quiet- 

 ly watch developments. In about fifteen minutes the 

 snake cautiously raised his head and two or three inches 

 of his body and looked around. If he saw me he failed 

 to recognize me, and in a few seconds had turned himself 

 over and was making off. When I advanced quickly 

 towards him he redoubled his efforts to escape, but was 

 easily captured. He did not, at that time, again "play 

 'possum." 



Often since then I have watched them go through this 

 pretended suicide. Usually when becoming active again, 

 they behave like the one just described; but occasionally 

 when they find themselves overtaken as they are making 

 off, they will again at once feign death. Sometimes 

 while "playing dead," if one is sharply pricked with a 

 needle or otherwise acutely stimulated, he will promptly 

 resume his interest in surrounding things and either show 

 fight or try to escape. 



Occasionally when I have spoken to friends about this 

 matter and they have shown a disposition to regard my 

 statements as "snake stories," in the popular sense of that 

 expression, I have been fortunate enough to get hold of 



a spread-head and show them what I had before described 

 to them. 



It is usually easy to provoke a Heterodon, niger, H. 

 platyrhinus, or H. simus into feigning death by striking 

 him with small twigs or a good bunch of broom straw, 

 or by a little brisk handling. I wish some one else would 

 examine these snakes with reference to this habit and re- 

 port his conclusions. I think "fainting from fear" is 

 shown to be wrong by the snake's refusing to stay in any 

 other position than "flat on his back. " 



Recently while conversing with a friend about this mat- 

 ter, he suggested that perhaps the rattlesnakes wnich are 

 so often provoked into biting themselves and then seem- 

 ing to die, were also acting a deceptive part in order to 

 escape. This seems more probable as one noted experi- 

 menter, Dr. S. Weir Mitchell, says that the injection of 

 rattlesnake's venom into the snake's own circulation does 

 not appear to cause any special inconvenience to the 



I would be glad to get some further information on 

 this subject. J. W. Kilpateick. 



Fayette, Mo., Sept. 23, 1893. 



Electrical Cookinq. 



The elaborate argument of E. A. F., in a recent number 

 of Science, in favor of the economy of cooking by electri- 

 city will hardly convince the practical man. While wit- 

 nessing the interesting exhibit of electrical heating ap- 

 paratus at the World's Fair I asked the attendant in 

 charge "What current is required for your flatirons '?" 

 "Four amperes and one hundred volts," he replied. 

 "Eight cents an hour," I said to myself, "at ordinary 

 lighting prices. That is far more than the household 

 coal costs for all purposes.'' Even at half the lighting 

 rates such heating costs too much for ordinary use. 



W. C. S. 



Horsford's Acid Phosphate 



■ Is the most effective and agreeable 

 remedy in existence for preventing 

 indigestion, and relieving those dis- 

 eases arising from a disordered 

 stomach. 



Dr. W^. W. Gardner, Spring- 

 field, Mass., says, "I value it as an excel- 

 lent preventative of indigestion, and a 

 pleasant acidulated drink when proper- 

 ly diluted with water, and sweetened." 



Descriptive pamphlet free on application to 



RuMFORD Chemical Works, Providence, R. I. 



Beware of Substitutes and Imitations. 



For sale by all Druggists. 



J 



[Free of charge to all, if of satisfactory character. 

 Address N. D. C. Hodges, 874 Broadway, New 

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For Sale.— A collection of fossil.Rhinoceros bones 

 (Aphelops fossiger Cope.) from the Loup Fork Ter- 

 tiary, including all the bones of one fore and one 

 hind leg, the pelvis, representative vertebrae and 

 ribs, and a nearly complete skull, with complete 

 lower jaws. All the bones of the limbs are perfect. 

 Price $250. Address Dept. of Paleontology, Uni- 

 versity of Kansas, Lawrence. 



For Exchange.— Books and pamphlets on geology, 

 ornithology, conchology, and entomology. State 

 what line and I will send list. I want Odonota from 

 any locality, and literature on this group. M. J. 

 Elrod, 111. Wes. Univ., Bloomington, 111. 



For Sale.— The remains of three individuals, one 

 young- and two adult, of Elephas Americanus 

 found in Jasper Co., Mo. The remains comprise 

 most of the skeletons, and comparatively little res- 

 toration would have to be done. The bones are in 

 a good state of preservation and have not been 

 worked out. For terms and further information 

 address E. O. Hovey, 239 Center St., New Haven, 

 Conn. 



Bird skins scientifically prepared, with full data, 

 in exchange for species from the tj. S. not in my 

 collection. Horace G. Smith, 2918 Lafayette St., 

 Denver, Colo. 



For Sale.— Holmes' System of Surgery by Packard. 

 3 vols., calf, i88i, new, for $15.00. (regular price, 

 $21.00). Hares's System [of Practical Therapeutics. 

 3 vols., calf, 1891, new, for $12.90. (regular price, 

 $18.00.) Dr. Ashmead, 45 Macdougal.St., New York. 



For Sale.— "Die Hodernen Theorien der Chemie," 

 by Lothar Meyer and Bernthsen's "Organic Chem- 

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Wants. 



^X/ ANTED.— A copy of Mascart & Joubert's Les- 

 '' sons in Electricity and Magnetism, Vol. I. Ad- 

 dress R. W. Clawsou, Vanderbilt University, Nash- 

 ville, Tennessee. 



("■HEMIST.— Graduate of a polytechnical school, 

 ^^ and studied photographic chemistry in Ger- 

 many and Austria. Situation teaching or in ana- 

 lytical or experimental laboratory. M. B. Punnett, 

 Rochester, N. Y. 



\A^ANTED.— A recent college graduate to assist in 

 *• editorial work on Science. Those seeking 

 large emoluments need not apply. N. D. C. 

 Hodges, 874 Broadway, New York. 



A GRADUATE in medicine, experienced, will 

 ^^ prepare or revise scientific and medical manu- 

 script for publication, read proof, compile bibliog- 

 raphies, »S:c. "Will also consult New York libraries 

 for persons out of town wishing references to rare 

 works. Address M. D., 104 Cambridge Place, 

 Brooklyn, N. Y. 



COR SALE.— Volumes V. and VI. of the "Explor- 

 ^ ations for a Railroad Route from the Missis- 

 sippi River to the Pacific," 1857, ^^^^ calf, in good 

 condition; a large number of colored and uncolored 

 plates of Mammals, Birds, Fish, etc., etc. On 

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 Columbia. 



A YOUNG woman who has been an assistant for 

 a literary and scientific man desires a similar 

 position. Is an experienced and accurate stenog- 

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 sufficiently familiar with literary work to write, in- 

 dependent of dictation. Has some knowledge 

 of the Spanish language. Will go to any part of the 

 United States. Address, Box 147, Ravenna, Ohio 



