NATURE STUDY IN SCHOOLS. 145 



isfactory reason could be given for his death. Years passed, and a son of 

 the deceased grew up, and finding his father's discarded boots, tried them on, 

 and upon removing them, he too received a wound, from which he died in a 

 similar manner as his father. 



Then it occurred to some members of the family to examine the boots, 

 when the embedded fang was discovered." 



"How wonderful!" exclaimed Paul, who had been carefully examining 

 the snake, "but, Professor Hall, how does this snake differ from the rattle 

 snake which is found in the north, I know it must be larger." 



"Yes," said Harry, who had just completed measuring it with a pocket 

 rule, which he had borrowed from Paul, "it is six feet and three inches long 

 with the rattles, and one, a rattle snake that I saw in the window of a 

 drug store in Hubtown that were killed in Milton on the Blue Hills, that 

 was said to be a very large one, was only four feet long and had only ten 

 rattles." 



" Yes," said the Professor " the size is one difference in specimens of 

 the same age. Of the two species, for this is distinct and is called Crotalus 

 adamanteus, or the diamond rattle snake, while that from the north is Crota- 

 lus durissus, or the banded rattle snake, and these terms pretty well ex- 

 plain the difference, thus you will notice that the general color of this snake 

 is like that of the more northern species, yellowish brown, but in this the 

 light markings form diamonds, vhereas in the other they form transverse 

 bands." 



"How old do you think this snake is ? "asked George. 



" Why," said Harry, " it has fifteen rattles and a button, so, according 

 to the hunter's theory, it is eighteen years old, the button counting three years 

 and each rattle one." 



" I should think he is much older, and judging from the known great 

 age to which reptiles live, he might have been a well grown snake when 

 Ponce de Loon discovered Florida," said the Professor. " If you will exam- 

 ine the rattles, you will see that the button is really only a terminus that 

 can be obtained by removing only one ring, and a number of rings may be 

 actually lost at one extremity of the rattle, while others grow at the base* 

 Now boys," he continued, "let me cut off the head, which, I see is my 

 good fortune, to be uninjured, and I will show you something of the ar- 

 rangement of the fangs and poison glands to-night." 



" That will be fine," said Paul, "and won't you kindly show us how 

 to take off the skin, as I should like apiece of it as atrophy." 



"So should I," exclaimed both the other boys. The Professor took a 

 skinning knife from his collecting wallet, and with two skillful strokes, 



