144 
FOREST AN© 
{Feb. 23, icjoi. 
— 
King Snake- and Geral Snake* 
Dayton A, Fla., Jan. 2g.— Editor Forest and Stream: 
We have here wha. we call the king snake. I do not know 
if that is the proper name for it or not. The Golonng is 
yellow, black and red m bands around it, and ni some 
cases the colors are in blocks. It is a small snake— I 
have never seen one over three feet long; has a small 
head and pointed tail. Will you kindly tell me whether 
the thmg is venomous or nut? 1 here seems to be a 
ditference of op nion on the subject here. H, P. 
[From the above descrip.ion it is. of course, impossible, 
absolutely to identify the snake, but it seems probable 
that it is what is commonly known as the kmg snake, or 
milk snake, an entirely motfen.Mve species, or rather group 
of species, found throughout the South, and, as to- ceria.n 
species, as far north evtn as New, Jersey. The genus ts 
Ophibolus, and a closely rela ed species, also black, red 
and yellow, is Osceola. One or more of the species be- 
longing to the genus Uphiboius are sa.d to be enemies and 
devourers of other snakes, and especially to 
prey upon the venomous snakes belonging 
to the attlesnake group {.Crotaliac^ ) — 
whence the name kiny,' snake. The name 
milk snake comes from the r supposed fond- 
ness for milk, and the late Prof. Cope 
speaks of the fact Jiat his daughter, when a 
girl of six or eight years, ha<l several in- 
dividuals as pets, which drank milk readily 
from a cup whicli she hehl in her hand. 
In an interesting paper on the "13atrachi- 
ans and Reptiles of liid ana," Prof. O. P. 
Hayes says of O. getulits: 
*Tt is extremely active and strong. Hoi- 
brook says of it that it is found abundantly 
in moist and shady places, alihough i. never X>-i 
takes to water or to trees. It feeds on 
moles, small birds or such reptiles as 
lizards, salamanders, toads and the like, 
that fall in its way. He further says that 
it is commonly believcil ihai it is the great 
enemy of rattlesnakes, bin iliere is no great 
evidence of this. He. Iiowever. tells of one 
that had as a fellow i)risoner a Cro- 
ialopliorus inilianu. or Souihern ground 
rattlesnake, and swallowed hiin. I found 
that in Mississippi this snake had the repu- 
tation of destroying rattlesnakes, and it re- 
ceived pruleciion on this account. Dr. 
Elliott Coues says that the black snake 
{Zamenis coustnllor) and Opliibolus gclu- 
lus sayi wage a constant warfare against 
ra.tlesnakes and moccasins. They are said 
to be uniformly vicioriuus and to eat their 
victims. It is on account of their prowess 
in thus destroying |»oi.sonons serpents that 
they have received the n.nne of king snake. 
Mr. J. T. Huntphreys, Bnrke county. North 
Carolina, gives an inieresting account of 
a conflicc in a c;ige between a king snake, 
Sayi, and a water moccasin. The former 
was 42 inches long, the latter 34. hut with a 
considerably larjjir body. The moccasin 
was killed, its bones cru«!>e<l. and, begin- 
ning at the head, the king snake swallowed 
16 inches of ihe UKiccasm's body. Chloro- 
form was jhen admir.istcred and both 
snakes preservcdi. The king snake had pre- 
viously, while in capiiviiy. eaten seven 
snakes. Dr. Yarrow describes a specimen 
of gctulus in the National .Museum that 
has two perfect hi-ad.t. One liead is a 
little larger than the oli.er. The two gul- 
lets unite to pass into the one stom.nch." 
As sta ed, we presume thai all that is 
said above applies to tlie snake in<|uircd 
about by our correppon«lent. but on the 
other hand it mn>t be ren)embered that in 
Florida there is anoihcr snake, also colored 
red, black and yellow in rings, which is by 
no means innocuous. This is the coral 
snake (Elaps fulvitts). a small snake which 
measures from 18 inches to somewhat over 
2 feet, and which is not very often seen. 
It is found from Georgi.i. sou h and west, 
down into Mexico as far as the State of 
Vera Cruz. Owing to its not being a 
species very commonly seen, and above all ' 
to its good nature, people are seldom b.tten 
by iti The late Prof. Cope in writ ng of 
the family says that the bite of some of the larger species _ 
as E. siirivamensis and E. inarcgravii is sa d to be danger- 
ous, but tlvat of the smaller ones is innocuous to -man and 
the larger animals. This was writ en a nuirber of years \ 
ago, and since then there has been offered good evidence 
that the bite of the coral snake is very dangerous. This 
is furnished in part by a paper contributed by Dr. E.inar 
Loennberg to the Proceedings of the U. S. National Mu- 
seum for 1S94. who says: 
"This is the only i-pccies of Flaps T have found in 
south Florida, where it is rather common. It is known 
under several names, as "coral snake," "American cobra." 
"gar er snake" and "candy stick." It is perha" ~ the 
most dangerous snake in Florida, because it is t t so 
much dreaded as the big rattlesnake or moccasin,' fl. mgh 
being quite as poisonous. As the last mentioned names 
show, it is regarded as a "pretty little snake." Few., 
people know or believe that it is poisonous, it looks so 
harmless, and as a consequence I hey ca ch it and handle 
it rather roughly; the snake gets angry, bites and a 
human life is endangered. I know personally of such a 
case. A Swede at Oakland Orange county, found an 
Flaps, and becau<^e of its beautiful color he caught it and 
tried to put it into a bottle of alcohol. The snake bit 
him. but the wound was not large, and as it did not swell 
he did not care much about it at first. After a while 
he was taken very sick, wont to bed, asked for a physician 
and drank whisky; but it was too late. He died the next 
morning, about twelve hours after the snake had bitten 
him. During the last hours he was unconscious, but be- 
fore that he suffered most excruciating pains. I have 
heard of several other cases of boys dying from an Flaps' 
bite. 
"In other cases people have beeii bi.ten by an Elaps ful- 
vius without suffering f rorri it in any vt^ay, but I suppose 
that in such cases the Elaps had not been able to inject 
any poison into the wound, as it has rather a srriall rnouth. 
However that may be, I cannot agree with Cope tha. the 
bite 'of the smaller ones (meaning smaller species of 
Elaps is innocuous to man atid the larger animals). It 
is to be observed that the Elaps bites differently from the 
Crotalids and Viperids. The latter snake throws i.s 
head forward in striking and draws it back again imme- 
d ately. The Elaps fulvius 1 have seen and heard about 
have acted in an entirely different manner. The poor 
Swede above mentioned had to pull the snake from the 
wound, and another specimen that I had induced to bite 
into s.icks kept the sticks in the mouth for a good while. 
This habit probably signifies an intention to press as 
much pqison as possible into the wound, which makes 
the snake -the more dangerous. Elaps fulv'tis is, however, 
a good-natured snake, and it does not bite ttnless it is 
very much, provoked. If not handled too roughly, an 
Elaps may be allowed to crawl on one's hands from one 
to the other, I have allowed it myself once, but I hardly 
THE OJRAL SNAKE. 
Erom th« Report: of- t6e Smithsonian Institution. 
think I would do it over again, and would not advise any- 
body else to try it.' 
"I have found Elaps fulvius under logs,"and digging in 
the ground, as well as crawliiig: about on the surface, btit 
1 think, it prefers dry land. 
"The largest specimen I have seen was from Oakland, 
Orange county, and measured exactly i m. from the 
tip of ihe nose to the anus, and the tail was 90 mm. This 
big specimen had fourteen black rings on the body and 
three on the tail. Other specimens have- but twelve b'ack 
rings on the body and three on the tail, but one of these 
has four on -the tail. The yellow rings cover from one to 
two rows of: scales." . Tl{e , total length of this largest 
specimen of theicoral snake would then be about 43 inches 
— nearly twice the ordinary jength-. J -. . 
Dangferptjs. Wild .Animals. 
Oakmont, Pa.. Fehv 7.'-— Bditor -For'est- and Stream: 
The most dangerous animal ^ J ktiow of, and one that is 
alwavs dangerous, penned or at large, is the whelo with 
an old rifle in the outskirts of a small country town, and 
there is no excuse for his existence, he being utterly use- 
less and thorough .vermin. After having a rifle ball pass 
near .enough over my head to beiar the "whiz," and an- 
other, go throu^Ti;:' the windows -of rfiy daughter's resi- 
dence, I wish that either all game; were utterly destroyed, 
that lliere mighf be 'no stich whelps, or that a breed of 
"dangerous wild animals" ^might- be found who would 
live exclusively on them. ■■ ■ - W. Wade. 
Zoological Society *s Guide Book. 
The third edition of the popular Official Guide to the 
New York Zoological Park, bearing date Dec. i, 1900, has 
just been issued by the New York Zoolog cal Socie y. It 
is rather an imposing volume of over 100 pagss, with 
many beautiful illustrations. It is a description of the 
Park, its buildings and its collections, and is copiously 
illustrated with photographs, maps and plans. The photo- 
graphs are all of great beauty, and add very much to the 
attractiveness of the volume. 
It is well known that tlie iNew York Zoological So- 
ciety's park is by far the largest park of the kind in the 
world. The Society assumed charge of its grounds and 
work was begun about two and a half years ago. Its col- 
lec.ions are free to the public eye for five days in each 
week, Monday and Thursday being the only pay days 
The park is located in the iBorough of the Bronx, and 
may be reached from down town by trolley lines to West 
Farms, by any of ihe elevated roads in connection wath 
surface lines, or by the Harlem R. R,, leaving the rail- 
way at Fordham station. 
The park is diversified with hills and valleys, lakes and 
streams, woodland and open park-like glades. It has one 
- interes.ing natural curiosity known as the 
rocking stone, a huge erratic, standing on a 
i*- smooth face of granite, and so nicely bal- 
anced that the pressure of a child s hand, 
causes it to move north and south about tv<^, 
inches. 
When the park was first started its, ii^anT 
agers announced their intention of striving- 
first to exhibit characteristic Nof.th, AiTi*-r- 
ican species of birds, mammals, asnd reptilesv,, 
and this purpose has been v^eM' carried o\xh. 
- Here may be seen in the ranges for hoofed; 
animals a herd of f:purteen buffalo, of 
which six are cows and two male calves. 
They have a largq range and are doing well] 
Here also are 'elk. antelope, mule- deer;-, 
whi.etail aad blacktail deer, moose and icari-: 
bou, together with such foreign species a.^^ 
thq fallow deer, axis, forms of- the red' deer 
and others. An exceedingly interesting coli 
lection and one with, special attractions for- 
the big-game hunter. 
The park is especially strong on bea:ns,- 
It has two large and beautiful: polar bears, 
admirably housed:; a pair of cubs now twen- 
ty mon hs old, which are thought to be 
specimens of the huge Kadiak bear, bttt 
which may be one of the other great brown 
bears of .A.laska (U. dalli or U. sitkensis), 
a large and growing grizzly from the Rocky 
Mountains, several black bears and a cinna- 
mon and a Japanese black bear. 
Wolves and coyotes and foxes are W^fy^- 
here, and it will be remembered ^-^^ la§t-| 
summer a litter of coyote pups Mj^a?. borni,i 
which, however, did not reach, \>i^t^ixity. 
Of sea lions and seal, bo.h tlii^' eared, and i 
earless seals are represente_t\ tte.onp by the. 
California sea lion fropi- Santa Bj^rbara;: 
Cal., the other by the Qorljfijjon- harb©« seal! 
of our coast. 
To tell at length of the birds, of th6- 
ducks' aviary, the aquatic bird house, the 
b-'rds of p'vey. which are housed oijt of; 
doors, ajaa the wild turkey's inctosure, 
woulcj take more space than can be given ; 
but a word must be said about- the flying,: 
cage, an inclosure of wire netting 152 feet : 
long, 55 feet in height and 72 feet wide. Iti 
contains a stream, a pond and, , two or tbraev 
large forest trpes, be.sidgs shj:ubbery audi'. 
other vegetation./ It is the summer.- homac 
of many, birds. espeiciaHy ibises,' sfcorfe. 
hetrons and flam'ngpes. There is notli/iiiigf, 
quit? like, it in all the w^orld 
' While as yet Httle has been done toward 
getting; together foreign collections, or even 
prepairiiag quarters for them, there are some 
EOifeign mammals from the tropics housed 
in a temporary structure, called the small 
mammal house. Among these is a fine 
orang. 
In certain ways and to certain people the . 
^collections found In the reptile hou=e are 
the most interesting and beautiful m the : 
park. Here are the alligators and croco--- 
diles, 'lizards, turtles, serpents and ajnphib-;- 
ians. Except the alligators, all these in?-- 
teresting crea ures, whether they dwell iiii 
the air or beneath the surface of the waten,. 
are seen through glass, and the case which contains eaqfe 
is fitted up with the accessories among which the animal 
would be found to live in a state of nature. As many of 
the species are tropical, luxuriant tropical vegetation is 
found throughout the reptile house, and the warm damp 
atmosphere, the fragrant odors of the vegetation and the 
green that everywhere meets the eye might lead one 10 
imagine that he was really in the forest. Each ca-^e and 
the whole building has been fitted up not only with the 
greatest fidelity to nature, but with the nicest taste. It 
is a beautiful exhibit. 
Membership in the Zoological Society is open to all 
who are interested in the objects of the organ'zation, and 
who are endorsed by two members of the Society. The 
cost of annual membership is $10 a year, en itling the 
member to certain special advantages. Applications for 
membership should be forwarded to Madison Grant. 
Secretary, Ti Wall street, New York. The price of the 
guide book is 25 cents. 
Game Intfodwction m Vanccwver Island*. 
CuMBERLAND, B. C. Jan. 23. — Editor Forest and ' 
Stream: The Cumberland Game Bird Importing and; 
Protecting Association met and organized last Thursday 
evening, Mr. E. Barrett in the chair. The business of 
the evening was merely preliminary to another meetmg, to 
be held later. A resolution was adopted that a sub'?cr'p- 
tion of $2 from each member be applied at once to pur- 
chasing and importing Virginia— Bob White— quail, to be- 
