904 General Notes. [ November, 
SNAKES CLIMBING TREES.—It seems to be in order, just now, 
for any person who has ever seen a snake “ up a tree,” to narrate 
the happening in some of the natural history papers. In 1863, 
while our regiment was stationed at Columbus, Ky., several of us 
made an excursion to the battle-field of Belmont, just over the 
river. While riding along through the woods, I heard a slight 
rustling just over my head. I was under a pawpaw tree, and 
looking up I was not a little surprised to see a small grass-green 
snake resting confidently upon the twigs and leaves not a foot 
from my face! The reptile was up seven or eight feet above tae 
ground; but how it got there I had no means of knowing. Of 
course it climbed” by some means. This tree was about Six 
inches in diameter, and the bark was quite smooth. The timber, 
however, was very thick at this place, and the snake may have 
ascended some other tree better adapted to the purpose of a road- 
way. These little snakes were quite plenty in that portion of 
Dixie, and are often found in this vicinity. They are eighteen to 
twenty or twenty-four inches in length, grass-green on the back, 
and greenish-white on the under side. I do not know any name 
for them, either popular or scientific, but I suppose any herpetol- 
ogist would readily identify them from the above description.— 
Charles Aldrich, Webster City, Iowa, May, 1881. 
were Only receiving the care they would seem still to need. — 
would seem hardly possible that the old bird had been taking 
care of this one all winter, else we should have seen re 
of the kind before. It is an unusual thing, I think, for old bires 
to be seen feeding young ones at this season, when most specie? 
are building their nests—Charles Aldrich, Webster City, fowa, 
May 12, 1881. 
Does tne Crow Bracksirp EAT CrayrisH ?—One of my St" 
_ dents, who has during the past summer been making so ee 
servations upon the nature of the food of the “crow * blackbi 
( Quiscalus purpureus), brought me to-day the contents of one 
their stomachs, and wished to know what kind of seeds they — 
_ that were mixed with the remains of insects, &c. Upon examina” 
tion I found that the so-called “seeds” were gastroliths, or were sae 
_ ach stones of the crayfish. There were twenty-six of these Stone” 
