snake refers to the shite lining of the mouth, which it is said, the snake 
displays briefly before biting. The cottonmonth has a trivanzalar form lor 
nead distinctly wider then the neck, which is characteristic of most of 
our poisonovs snakes. This is a useful mark for separating it from large 
sity individuels of the commen vater snake, which may lool surprisingly 
like a dully colored cottonmouth moccasin... Cottonmouths may attain a 
Ss i 
lienzth of 4 feet and are of stocky build. They are notvas2ressive, and 
mest cases of snakebite in which they are involved are due to stepping on 
unseen indivicuals. Emergency treatment involves the placing of a tourni- 
guet between the wound and the heart, loosening it for a minute or two 
i@ 
eycey 10 or 15 mimates, cutting open the wound to secure a. good drainage, 
i removing as much of the venom as possible by suction. This should be 
witn a stout rubber bulb, not by the mouth, unless there is no other 
as tac venom may be abepe pce throu 1g abrasions in the lining of the 
Eg LU 
A 
mouth. Full information about treatment of snakebite is contained in a 
earlet mensioned (23 tive) end. jom seni hoacileits 
It is not in the province of this leaflet to treat of the fishes 
of salt marshes, but it snould be mentioned that the aes of these 
marshes harbor large numbers of certain small fishes that are known to 
devour many mosquito larvac, or "wigglers"., They include the moderately 
stout killfishes of several kinds, mostly greenish, marked with dusky and 
pale cross bands. They vary from 2 to 6 inches in length, when adult, and 
occur in one form or another along the whole coast line The pursy minnow, 
also with faint cross bars, is higher bodied, more the stapes of a suntish. 
The male is bluish above, coppery below, and the female olivaceous. These 
minnows are 2 to 4 inches in length anc are found from Cape Cod southward. 
Another mosquito-devouring groun is the silversides--slender, translucent 
ereenisn fishes, with » silvery streak along each side. Their maximum 
length is about 5 inches, and they occur alone the whole coast line. 
Drainage of salt marshes is sure to interfere greatly with the distribu- 
tion and good work of these little fiskes, but any arrangements that can 
be made in their favor, such as leaving pools that will receive water at 
every tide, but clean-edzed so that the fishes can find every "wiggler", 
will not Dein. vein, 
Mammals 
No mammal or fur bearer inhabits salt marshes exclusively. Musk- 
ats and meadow mice may live in the marshes at all seasons but in 
colonies that are only outliers of a very extensive inland range. Meadow 
mice, or field mice, inhabit the marsh-hay zone, and sometimes may be 
quite numerous. They ere smoothly rounded little rodents, not even the 
ears Sticking out of the fur to any extent, and with short taiis. Their 
average length is about 54 inches for the body, 14 inches for the tail. 
Their runveys are narrow, irregular, and intersecting, some beneath, some 
on the surface of the ground. They are easily observable on burned-over 
areas, or in spring after snow has melted away from the flattened vegeta- 
tion. Meadow mice feed largely on vegetable materials and in salt marsh- 
es con do no harm. They are the most frequently captured prey of a num- 
er of kinds of hawks and owls, 
BOW. 
