ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN. 



949 



V 



THK MASSASAUGA, OR DWARF RATTLESNAKE 



THE MASSASAUGA IN NEW YORK STATE 



By Edward T. Whiffen. 



THE Massasauga, a species of Dwarf Rat- 

 tlesnake, is still to be found in New York 

 State, in and around Cicero Swamp, 

 which, with some interruptions, stretches across 

 the northern parts of Onondaga and Madison 

 Counties, between Oneida and Onondaga Lakes. 

 The main swamp is said to be fourteen miles 

 long, and seven miles wide in its greatest ex- 

 tent. It consists of the swamp proper, in which 

 are numerous "islands," or higher areas of land. 

 Next to the dry land is the "shore," a wet, 

 marshy strip, from seventy-five to one hundred 

 yards wide. Beyond the "shore" is the swampy 

 land proper, fairly dry in summer and covered 

 by a dense growth of trees, bushes, ferns and 

 moss. In some places this moss is knee-deep. 

 Many of the bushes are of the huckleberry va- 

 riety, and it is among these that the Massa- 

 sagua is frequently seen in August and Sep- 

 tember, when berry-pickers go out into the 

 swamp. 



The Massasauga seems to like the neighbor- 



hood of swamps, though it shuns the actually 

 wet places. In the harvest season it is usually 

 found either in the hay-fields, or oat-lots, or it 

 may be seen out on the moss among the bushes, 

 or under the evergreen trees. However, it may 

 occur almost anywhere. A gentleman told me 

 that two years ago he found a large Massasauga 

 in his wood-pile, about six feet from the house. 

 Others reported having found the snakes in 

 their cellars, or under the steps. There is an 

 abundance of frogs and mice in the meadows, 

 and frogs and birds in the swamp ; and such 

 conditions account for the presence of the rep- 

 tiles in those places. In the hay-field the Mas- 

 sasaugas seem to select the damper spots, where 

 the growth of vegetation is heaviest. There 

 they are frequently cut in two by the knives 

 of the mowing-machines. Newly-cleared fields, 

 where there are plenty of stumps and berry- 

 bushes, are also favorite lurking-places of this 

 reptile, which is sometimes seen sunning itself 

 on a stump, or lying coiled among the bushes. 



