SNAKE-POISON LITERATURE. 15 



with a rattlesnake. They commonly exhibited 

 no terror after their recovery from alarm at 

 being handled and dropped into a box. The 

 smaller birds were usually some time in be- 

 coming composed, and fluttered about in the 

 large cage, until they were fatigued, when they 

 soon become amusingly familiar with the snakes, 

 and were seldom molested, even when caged 

 with six or eight large Crotali. The mice which 

 were similarly situtated lived on terms of easy 

 intimacy with the snakes, sitting on their heads, 

 moving round on their gliding coils, undisturbed 

 and unconscious of danger." Recently I put 

 two rats into a cage containing forty cobras, all 

 possessing more or less venom. On their first 

 introduction to the snakes, their appetites ap- 

 peared to be considerably affected, as they re- 

 fused all food and were evidently much perplexed 

 by the novelty of their position. " Fascination" 

 failed to overcome the contempt which fami- 

 liarity is said to breed, for in a short time the 

 rats recovered their usual spirits, and caused 

 considerable commotion amongst the cobras by 

 running all over their heads and bodies. The 

 snakes resented this familiarity in their own pe- 

 culiar and stupid fashion by darting at each other 



