REPTILES 
five, viz., the Riband, Garter, Water, Milk, and 
Hog-nosed, are larger ones, averaging about three feet 
in length. They are all quite harmless, if left alone, 
and several of them are really useful. The Grass 
Snake is very fond of cut-worm caterpillars that do 
so much injury to lawns and gardens, and the Milk 
Snake feeds very largely on field mice and voles— 
two of the farmer’s great enemies. 
Order Opus. 
Red-bellied Snake, Storeria occipitomaculata, 
Baird & Gir. Not very common; are said to feed 
on soft-bodied insects. 
DeKay’s Brown Snake, Storeria dekayi, Baird & 
Gir. The commonest of the small snakes; feeds on 
earthworms and insects; viviparous and produces 
from twelve to twenty-four young at a time; often 
found on the waste land at the sides of railroads. 
Riband Snake, Hutainia saurita, Baird & Gir. A 
very graceful and beautiful species; not very com- 
mon ; it used to be found at the Woodbine and Balmy 
Beach; feeds on small frogs and earthworms. 
Garter Snake, Futainia sirtalis, Baird & Gir. The 
commonest of the large snakes; frequents woods and 
grassy fields; feeds on frogs, toads and earthworms; 
viviparous, having as many as twenty young at a 
time. 
Water Snake, Tropidonotus sipedon, Holbr. 
Fairly common about streams and ponds; feeds on 
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