36 BULLETIN 114, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



Mr. Mackelden of St. Louis writes that a large specimen of this 

 snake from St. Louis County, Missouri, which he kept in captivity 

 for five months, ate 21 Bascanion constrictors, some of which were 

 from a foot to 18 inches longer than the king snake and required 

 sometimes three days to swallow. It was often tempted with garter 

 and water snakes, but seemed to have an aversion to them as food. 



Hurter (1911, 185) says that its food consists of mice, small birds, 

 lizards, and snakes. It seems to be much less amenable to life in 

 captivity than getulus. Most specimens kept by the writer refused 

 to eat, and long continued to vibrate the tail in nervousness or fear 

 whenever handled. Some individuals would always assume the 

 striking position whenever anyone approached the cage. Such as 

 could be induced to feed were observed to eat TJiamnopTiis hutleri 

 T. sirtalis, and dead mice. They constricted their prey exactly as 

 does getulus. 



There are no records of breeding observations. 



Range. — This form ranges from Mobile, Alabama, west to about 

 the ninety-seventh meridian in Texas. It extends north in the 

 Mississippi Valley probably to southern Wisconsin, west to south- 

 eastern Wyoming, southwest to the panhandle of Texas, and east to 

 eastern Illinois. It appears to be a common snake in eastern Kansas, 

 Missouri, southern Illinois, eastern Oklahoma, Arkansas, eastern 

 Texas, and Louisiana. Kecords are very few for Nebraska, Iowa, 

 and Mississippi. 



Specimens have been examined from the following localities, in 

 addition to those represented by specimens in the United States 

 National Museum: Near Columbus Junction, Iowa; Duntanville 

 (Tuscaloosa County), University, Alabama Point (Mobile County) , 

 and Mobile, Alabama; Cat Island and University, Mississippi; Man- 

 hattan, Twin Mounds, Mount Oread, Coal Creek in Coffey County, 

 Long Creek in Osage County, and Jefferson, Trego, Labette, and 

 Anderson Counties, Kansas; Dallas, Clifton, and Tule Canyon, Staked 

 Plain, Texas; Wister, Sugar Loaf Mountain, and Fort Supply, Okla- 

 homa; Arkadelphia, Greenway, Donaldson, Fayetteville, and Garland 

 and Jefferson Counties, Arkansas; Horseshoe Lake, Olive Branch, 

 Illinois; Reelfoot Lake, Samburg, Tennessee; Chastine, Louisiana; 

 Galena, Missouri. 



Published records for other localities are as follows: Deming's 

 Bridge, Matagorda County, Texas (Garman, S., 1892, 10); Burnet, 

 Texas (Strecker, 1909, 7); Peoria, Illinois (Garman, H., 1892, 298); 

 Wisconsin (same) ; Montgomery County, Missouri (Hurter, 1911, 185) ; 

 and the following comities in Kansas (Branson, 1904, 398): Mitchell, 

 Kepublic, Montgomery, Miami, Greenwood, Potawatomie, Franklin, 

 Lyon, Sumner, Scott, Logan, and Gove. 



