50 DR. D. H. STORER’S REPORT. April, ’ 
by this last species, thousands of rats are destroyed, which otherwise 
would have seriously injured the crops of rice. 
The Crotalus durissus,— Banded rattlesnake,—is occasionally met 
with—but very seldom are accidents produced by its bite; proving 
its unwillingness to be the aggressor, and that the fangs are used only 
as weapons of defence, after sufficient warning has been given of its 
presence by the rattles. A few years since, a surgeon in a neigh- 
boring town became quite celebrated for a liniment he often pre- 
scribed, the basis of which, if not the entire substance, was the oil 
procured from this species. 
Great errors also exist with regard to the order Batrachia. ‘The 
acrid secretion found upon the skin of the Hyla versicolor, the toad, 
and several species of efts or newts, has caused them to be consid- 
ered venomous,—which is incorrect. Every species of this. order 
is inoffensive, and, when better known, will undoubtedly be found 
beneficial to man. 
In some countries, the flesh of the'different Ranae, Frogs, is an ar- 
ticle of food. With us, the habits of the Bufo Americanus, Com- 
mon Toad, are becoming better understood, and the Horticulturalist, 
instead of destroying, carefully preserves it on his grounds, for the 
benefit it affords him, by feeding upon noxious insects. In the same 
way are our springs and wells rendered the mee by the presence of 
the carnivorous salamander. 
No little confusion exists in the catalogue of our Reptiles. Each 
of the orders require, corrections, more or less important. It shall 
be my effort, to make the list as accurate as my means will allow. 
All which is most respectfully submitted, by 
Your Excellency’s ob’t. servant, 
D. HUMPHREYS STORER. 
Tree 
