OF ARTS AND SCIKITCES. 119 



when captured, and occasionally facing an enemy much larger 

 than itself and striking and biting with commendable braver3^ 

 Its bite, of course, is harmless. 



3. Natrix I^aurenti. 



6. N. sipedon L/inneeus. Water Snake. Water Adder. 



The general color is brown or black, divided into large blotch- 

 es by intersecting spaces of lighter color. The belly is spotted 

 with red and brown, often shading off into a beautiful scale of 

 color. This species attains a length of four feet or more. The 

 scales are in 23 rows ; the ventral plates number from 130 to 150. 

 This snake, as its name indicates, frequents water, where it 

 feeds upon fish and frogs. It is a fierce fighter, biting at any- 

 thing when first captured, but young specimens soon become 

 tame and gentle in confinement and with their various colors 

 make interesting pets. 



4. Calloiieltis- Bonaparte. 



6. C. obsoletus Say. Pilot Snake. Black Snake. This, 

 perhaps the largest of our snakes, is dull black with a slate-col- 

 ored belly. The rows of scales number twenty-seven ; the ven- 

 tral plates 235. The dorsal scales are obscurely keeled. It at- 

 tains a length of six feet or more. 



5. Liopeltis Fitzinger. 



7. L. vernalis De Kay. Grass Snake. Green Snake. This 

 beautiful little serpent is of a uniform green above and yellowish 

 below. The scales are in fifteen rows ; the plates number from 

 125 to 140. It rarely, if ever, attains a length of more than two 

 feet. 



6. Bascaiiioil Baird and Girard. 



B. constrictor I^innaeus. Black Snake. Racer. This is a 

 lustrous black, greenish or bluish below. The chin and throat 

 are white. This is probably the black snake that sometimes 

 chases timid people and is reputed to have a white ring about 

 its neck. It is inclined to be savage when cornered or cap- 

 tured. The young are olive or brownish gray with black 



