Traditions handed dov^Ti by Indians and superstitions traceabl.:- to ne- 

 gro slaves during the early settlement of 'this country have credited cer- 

 tain ornaaental plants with rerriarkable attributes as snake repellents. 

 Some have believed that the odor or eraanations fron the mountain ash ( Sor- 

 bus arnericana ) and from its dead leaves on. the ground are obnoxious to 

 snakes. In the Southern States, colored people for generations have plant- 

 ed the snake calabash ( Lagenaria vulgaris ) and the snaice gourd ( Trichosan- 

 thes anguina ) apd trained the vines to grow over their houses and along 

 their garden fences in th-v' belief that the odor of these ground vines would 

 repel snakes. The pungent fishy odor given off by full-grovfii leaves of the 

 horseshoe geranium ( Pelargonium zonale ) is also thought by some to drive 

 away snakes. Various oth-^r plants arc supposed to possess similar pov;ers, 

 but careful investigation has failed thus far to corroborate any potency 

 of this sort on the part of any plants. So far as kno^m, no North Ameri- 

 can plants will drive av«ay snakes or cause snakes to avoid areas on which 

 they are growing. None of the various repellents, as cayenne pepper, 

 fresh slacked lime, or powdered sulphur, which have been suggested frcm 

 time to time has been found to possess any particular merit. 



In many parts of the Tv'est the old-time horse or cov\f-hair ropes, about 

 30 feet long, v/ere and still are used by covrboys, ranchers, and prospec- 

 tors to surround their beds when they are sleeping on the ground, in the 

 belief that such ropes exclude snakes. Experiments with live rattlesnakes 

 as well as with harmless snalxs have sho"vm that no protection is afforded 

 by a hair rope. Repeated trials have proved that a rat1;,lesnake \d.li crawl 

 over a, hair rope without hesitation. 



^ . rWAI'^P ITTHS 



Since -earliest times reptiles, narticularly snakes, have been en- 

 dowed by man with all sorts of m:/thical attributes and. peculiarities j and 

 a surprisingly large number of persons still cling to these ancient beliefs. 

 The fairy tales of childhood become more vague v;ith the oassing of years, 

 but it is no easy task to convince pec^le that tales told about snakes are 

 merely delusions. The .superstitious fear of snakes in general has become 

 so firrrdy fi>:ed in our minds that it is almost impossible to eradicate it. 

 Those viho attempt to dispel stories about snakes sucking coi:'/s or about sting- 

 ing snakes armed with an extraordinary spik^-like tail, or stori-s d^^ali'ng 

 vd.th hoop snakes that take their tails in their mouths and- roll vdtlv incre- 

 dible velocity in pursuit of a viptlLi," are looked upon as contemptuous scof- 

 fer^D or. else as lacking practical exi^erience or even as mentally unbalanced. 



Two of the most persistent and widespread snake myths in the -United 

 States' deal ivith reptiles locally known as the "stinging snake" and the 

 "hoope snake." Tales have long been told by negroes in the South of snakes 

 that have tails furnished with horns. and that form themselves into hoops and 

 roll with race-horse speed in pursuit of their victims. If the victim dodg- 

 ed and a tree was struck, it was sure to die. That any snake can place its 

 tail in its mouth and roll along like a hoop is manifestly absurd, and tak- 

 ing into consideration the anatomical peculiarities of the vertebral column. 



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