396 
FOREST ANl!) I^THEaM, 
IMay 14, 1904. 
— # — 
Feeding the Saafces ia the New- 
York Zoological Gardens. 
(Continued from page 874.) 
; After the snake has learned to eat, his appetite is almost 
unsatiable. He seems to be hungry all the time, and when 
he gets food devours it in any quantity that is given him. 
''It is not every snake, however," said Curator Ditmars, 
"that has to be forcibly fed. Very often snakes take easily 
to food. We first offer them a plucked chicken, and they 
usually do not refuse the tempting morsel. After that 
we begin feeding them on rabbits, rats, guinea pigs and 
the like. The popular idea that all snakes must have 
living prey is erroneous. Captive snakes take readily to 
dead food. 
"Some persons imagine that our reptile house is a 
chamber of horrors, and that live birds and other living 
things are made food for snakes. We don't give live 
creatures to snakes, for the reason that it would cause 
great commotion in the cage. As soon as something liv- 
ing—say a chicken or a mouse — is put in a cage full of 
snakes they all strike at it, and there starts a fight. I 
hcve seen at some zoological gardens some very disastrous 
combats just from this course. 
"It is perfectly marvelous how some of those big snakes 
are capable of swallowing. A good-sized boa can easily 
accommodate an antelope, deer or kangaroo. The jaws 
of the snakes are disarticulated after a fashion, and this 
allows great stretching of the muscular tissue. Snakes, 
of course, do not chew their food. Everything is eaten 
whole. 
"In swallowing an antelope, the head goes first. The 
forelegs are folded neatly down to the side. When, with 
a sort of gentle, rhythmic motion, the animal begins to 
disappear. I belive the jaws and throat of one of the 
largest snakes could easily get around a young hippo- 
potamus. 
"The snake is provided with a very remarkable arrange- 
ment of teeth. The lower jaw is divided in two parts, 
and these work independently, the teeth pulling the food 
in like a machine. You have seen how the head of 
bearded wheat will work itself up one's sleeves? Well, 
the progress of food down a snake's throat is on the same 
order, 
"The smaller snakes at the reptile house are fed on mice, 
sparrows, bugs and worms. We have little difficulty in 
getting these snakes to eat. It is generally with the big 
fellows that trouble arises." 
Foremost among the snakes at the Zoo requiring food 
of its own kind is the monster king cobra. Once a week 
3 five or six-foot blacksnake is procured, and, after being 
subjected to a peculiar process, is fed to the cobra. The 
cobra will eat only large snakes, and the larger they are 
the better she likes them. No blacksnakes large enough 
tc suit the appetite of her imperial highness has ever been 
found. If she had her own way about things every snake 
in the house, including several of the boa constrictors, 
would long ago have wandered down the throat of this 
ti-'emendous snake. Already her appetite has made black- 
snakes scarce in the park, and when it is impossible to 
catch one of these "racers" it is necessary to buy one in 
the open market, unless, as is often the case, soriie admirer 
of the cobra, who knows her tastes, presents her with a 
teeal in the shape of a blacksnake. 
So fastidious is the appetite of the cobra that if the 
blacksnake is not to her liking as far as size is concerned, 
she will not touch it. It is here that the peculiar process 
referred to takes place. This consists in making the snake 
think that she is getting more than she really is. After 
the blacksnake intended for her meal is killed, a dozen or 
riiore frogs are killed and stuffed into the dead_ snake's 
•throat so as to make the body bulg« out in all directions 
and appear large. In this state the blacksnalce looks as if 
it were a huge stuffed stocking, and is of a - girth which 
seerns as if it were several times the diameter of the throat 
of the reptile for which it is intended. The stuffing of the 
blacksnake is done for two reasons. In the first place, 
even the largest sized blacksnake is not large enough in its 
natural state to tempt the cobra to eat, and secondly, jay 
making a frog-pie out of the blacksnake, the frogs, which 
c therwise the cobra would disdain, are gotten into the rep- 
tile to furnish nourisment, whether the cobra likes it or 
not. 
"The snakes, at all times," said Mr. Ditmars, "evince 
eccentric wants which must be met by equally eccentric 
attention. Without ingenious and sympathetic keepers, a 
collection of reptiles would quickly starve, even thqugh 
the cages were plentifully provided with the necessary 
fcods. 
"Unlike the animals which are fed daily, fhe reptiles 
receive their food at intervals ranging from a day or two 
to a month, according to the species or the disposition of 
the specimen. If a reptile is very active it must be fed 
frequently. 
Turtles and lizards, which are continually moving about, 
require feeding every other day. The big constricting 
snakes, which are coiled in the same position for a week 
at a time, seldom take food more frequently than twice a 
month. As a rule the smaller snakes are fed every ten 
days. 
"Nearly all the big snakes have the habit of fasting for 
indefinite periods. After feeding regularly for two or 
three months a python will steadily decline food for about 
the same periodj after, which, as a rule, he again feeds 
voraciously. 
"During shese long fasting spells the keepers follows ■ 
their charges' actions with close attention, for it Is at ' 
these times that the dreaded canker may form in the ser- 
pent's mouth, and unless immediately treated with anti- 
septic washes it becomes dangerous and often fatal. A 
three months' fast with a healthy snake never worries the 
keeper, for the reptile usually begins feeding again with- 
out the slightest signs of emaciation. 
"The reptile house, bill of fare is_ elaborate in its compo- 
sition. Rabbits, pigeons and_ chickens furnish nourish- 
ir.ent for the constrictors, while rats, mice and sparrows 
are provided for the smaller snakes.^ The lizards demand 
^rge quantities of meal virorms, which are Taried hy flies 
caiught m the warm months in a series of fly traps. Large 
quantities of fish go to the alligators and water snakes, 
while vegetables of many kinds form the food of the tor- 
toises and herbivorous lizards. With the larger snakes 
the chickens and rabbits are killed and presented to the 
reptiles individually. This brings about an even distribu- 
tion of the food and prevents trouble. 
"If a live rabbit or chicken were cast into the= cage con- 
taining SIX or eight big snakes trouble would be inevitable. 
Several of the reptiles would seize the creature at the same 
time, and in the constriction that followed all would 
become entangled in such knots that the smaller snakes 
would fare badly. If, after the prey has been introduced 
and a large snake begins to swallow it, a smaller snake 
IS persistent in its hold on the prey, the small snake may 
arru ''^/^'"S P'^c*^ the elastic interior of its cage mate. 
The feeding of a cage of pythons is an operation which 
requires skill and time. The first thing done is to sep- 
arate the big fellows, which lie socially coiled in a great 
mass. 
"The keeper then hands them their chickens and rabbits, 
one by one, keeping many of the snakes covered with 
biankets to prevent fighting. 
"The most difficult snakes to maintain successfully are 
the poisonous snakes. So ner\'ous that the slightest mov&r 
ment causes, them to spring into a coil of defense, these 
reptiles in many instances deliberately starve themselves 
to death. 
"In consequence of their nervousness, the poisonous 
snakes are fed at night, when the reptile house is abso- 
lutely quiet. It is the viperine snakes that possess this 
tnnid disposition. The cobras and their allies, although 
on^the alert for trouble, feed regularly and freely. 
"Obstinate snakes are very often coaxed into eating by 
specially prepared food. A brace of tender young squabs, 
fattened for the occasion, may be provided. 
"At times large and valuable specimens arrive from 
foreign climes with digestive dispositions much out of 
gear. With the characteristic eccentricity of a reptile, 
such snakes are usually voracious feeders. 
"The condition of their internal organs is soon apparent 
and the utmost care is at once needed. The diet is imme- 
diately cut down to far below the normal and the feeding 
resolves itself into a system which continues for months 
after. 
"Hurnorous incidents are many and varied in the work 
of coaxing newly arrived turtles and lizards to take their 
food. A huge alligator terrapin fasted for many weeks in 
the reptile house to the worry of the keepers. Being a 
pugnacious brute, it was induced to eat by strategy. It 
was tapped vigorously on the nose with a stick and its 
jaws flew open. Thereupon a fish was inserted in its 
mouth. Each round of teasing resulted in the creature's 
t.^king a substantial bite, which was involuntarily swal- 
lowed. The treatment lasted for weeks, when the turtle 
was finally induced to feed of its own accord. Much the 
same maneuvering is employed in the case of stubborn 
crocodiles and alligators. 
"When the five alligators which now occupy the saurian 
tank in the reptile house arrived at the zoological park, 
it was determined to introduce a novelty in the way of 
feeding these creatures. In many institutions the food 
for the 'gators is simply thrown into the tank, and the 
more vigorous individuals help themselves without regard 
to their smaller associates. This was prohibited from 
the start. No 'gator was to receive a morsel of food 
unless it was taken from the keeper's hand. 
"For weeks the reptiles swam about warily and watched 
with hungry eyes all sorts of tempting food held at the 
side of the tank. Big Mose was the first to gain courage. 
Swimming up to keeper Snyder it opened its huge jaws 
appealingly and a chicken settled between them. There 
was a crunching of bones, the raising of the broad snout 
a yard or more above the water, the blinking of a yellow 
eye and the fowl was gone. 
"Mose repeated the operation several times and swam 
away satisfied. Gradually its timid mates followed the 
example, and now the 'gators line up at feeding time with 
gaping jaws, and await the distribution of fowls or fish, 
as the diet may be." 
[to BE CONTINUED.] 
Short Talks on Taxidermy. 
III.— Skinning the Bird, — (Concluded.) 
Throw the skin on the table with the head away from 
you and the cut down. You will see the wings and the 
iegs protruding. These must be cleaned. Pull out first 
one wing and push the skin as far down toward the wing 
joint as you conveniently can. Scrape and cut away all 
the flesh that you. can see, and cut off the humerus, or 
upper arm bone, at the joint where it meets the radium 
and ulna, the two parallel bones of the middle wing. 
Some authorities declare that the secondary feathers, 
which are .somewhat firmly attached to one of these bones, 
should never be disturbed. A more common practice — 
with small birds at least— is to run the thumb nail along 
the bone toward the bend of the wing— or wrist — and to 
free all these feathers, and then to cut away the small 
strings of muscle which lie between the two bones. This 
is to be done on either side. The legs are then pulled 
cut, and the skin pressed down to the tibio-tarsal joint, 
and all the flesh cut away on both. 
Now take a bit of cotton and form a pellet large enough 
tc fill the orbit, and place such a pellet in each eye socket. 
If the bird is larger than a robin, wrap a shred of cotton 
about each one of the leg bones. Take your skin by the 
tail and the tips of the wings, hold it over the poison 
box, and dust the dry arsenic on it with a liberal hand, 
seeing that the poison touches every part of the flesh side 
of the skin, including especially the head, wings, legs and 
tail. Then shake off the loose arsenic into the box. 
Throw your skin on the table, as before, and taking the 
skull in your forceps, push it back through the neck, just 
reversing what you did when you were skinning the bird. 
Do it slowly, and see that the head is properly directed, 
so that the bill will not catch anywhere in the skin. In a 
moment you will see the skin begin to turn itself right 
side out. As soon as the bill shows, take hold of this 
with your left hand, and gently work the skin back over 
the head. In all cases be careful not to drag or pull the 
skin. It IS easy to stretch it, but very hard to get it 
back again after it has been stretched. When the skin is 
rjght side out take -each wing, give it a gentle pull and 
shake, and each leg the same, and you will see lying 
before you the bird's skin, which now requires only to be 
nJled with cotton and made up. 
Take each wing by the first joint, that is, the bend, 
v.'hich corresponds to the human wrist, lift it up a little, 
and pass your finger along under it, so as to straighten 
out the secondaries and wing coverts, that they may- He 
smoothly and Substantially in their natural relation to the 
bones of the wing. • 
Some taxidermists, before the skin is turned back again, 
catch up with a needle and thread the skin of the back, 
just oppcsite the wing on each side, and draw these 
sides together. In the reversed skin, on either side of the 
back, IS seen a line running from the neck to the tail, 
where the feathers grow, and if these two lines are drawn 
together, say within half an inch of each Other, for a bird 
the size of a bluebird, it gives a little roundness and full- 
ness to the back, and perhaps renders the skin a little 
cjisier to make up; that is to say, the wings at the wrists 
and Shoulders more easily fall into a natural position than 
Jt the back is left flat. This, however, is not a very im- 
portant matter. ■ 
Your skin now is ready for filling. Take a thin wad of 
cotton, a little longer than would reach from the bird's 
head to the end of the body, and roll it between the hands 
so as to make it a cylinder. It should not be thicker than 
the bird s neck. Take this between the forceps, and in- 
troduce It by a gentle motion into the hollow of the neck, 
passing It up through the neck until the points of the 
iorceps are within the skull cavity. Lift the skin by 
the feathers, on one side and the other, pulling it down 
but only enough to have it rest evenly over the cotton 
and then carefully and gently withdraw the forceps! 
leaving the cotton in its place. You must, of course, be 
careful not, to catch the skin anywhere on the forceps, 
and not to Avad up the cotton in a bunch anywhere in th^^ 
neck. The operation is one readily performed, but per- 
haps not easily described. As good an illustration of it 
as any . IS the introducing of a glove stretcher into the 
nnger of a glove. 
. If you have performed this operation properly the neck 
IS no\v practically filled, but it will be well f^r you to 
take another very small roll of cotton, not more than an 
inch long, for a bird the size of a robin, and' to introduce 
this above the cotton which stands for the neck, passing 
your forceps^;..forward until this small bit of cotton rests 
m the bird s throat close to the bill. Withdraw the for- 
ceps, leaving it there. Some people introduce this throat 
filling through the bird's mouth, but if this is done the 
tendency is to make the feathers of the throat stand up, 
which they should not do. This bit of filling gives the 
bird s throat a natural fullness which adds much to the 
appearance of the skin. 
Now, take a wad of cotton and form it into an oblong 
mass, somewhat smaller than the bird's body, and place 
it within the skin, lifting up the skin on either side, and 
pulling It over, so that the two edges practically meet 
iou must be careful not to make the body i too laro-e for 
the object is to have the skin which you have prepared 
just about the size of the dead bird. It may be a little 
arger, because the feathers are likely to stand up more or 
less, but the danger is that you will at first make your 
skin too large rather than too small. Now take your 
needle and thread, and by three or four long stitches 
draw together the opening in the skin through which you 
removed the body. The bird is now ready to make up 
provided you hive pulled the legs out and turned them 
so that they lie in the right position. The skin of the 
legs should not be twisted, but the legs should cross each 
other naturally over the under surface of the tail, on 
Monch they rest. 
There is danger that as the skin dries the bill may 
open This is to be provided against, either by sticking a 
pin diagonally backward through the chin, just in front 
of the fork of the lower mandible, and into the roof of 
the mouth; or, better still, by thrusting your needle 
through the chin up through the bird's nostril, and then 
tying the two mandibles closely toglther. Before making 
up the skin, look at the eyes, and open the eyelids, and 
if the eyes seem to be sunken— showing that the pellets of 
cotton that you placed in the orbits are not large enough— 
either take the cotton between the forceps and pull it out 
a little, or with a pin push the cotton up all around the 
Gyehd, so as to give the side of the head a natural— but 
not too great— fullness. Try to remember how the bird's 
head looked before you began to skin it, and model the 
skm on that line. . • 
My attention has just been called by the editors of 
Forest and Stream to an inadvertence of which I have 
been guilty in adopting for these articles the signature 
Amateur. This signature, I am told, was many years 
ago adopted by a Pennsylvania correspondent, who has 
written under it ever since. If I had known of this I 
should not have used this pseudonym, and I offer him 
my sincere apologies for having used his "pen name" 
The remaining chapters of these talks will therefore be 
signed, instead of Amateur, Taxidermist, 
[to be continued.] 
The Boy and the G«n, 
Fort Wrangel, Alaska, via Seattle, Wash., April 16.— 
Editor Forest and Stream: The best way to settle the 
"Boy and the Gun" question is to arrange matters so 
that our boys now growing Up— we might justly include 
the girls— be given an opportunity to thoroughly familiar- 
ize themselves with guns, explosives, ordnance, etc., while 
they are getting their education in our public schools, 
say at ages from ten to sixteen or eighteen years of age.' 
If two hours per week were given and devoted' to such 
work, what a grand amount of useful, beneficial, and 
scientific knowledge would be given the growing genera- 
tion that are soon to represent our nation. We are at 
that stage of advancement and evolution when this knowl- 
edge should be given at the proper time. 
I am anxious to see this most important question thor- 
oughly discussed in the columns of your valuable journal 
in the near future. ■ • ' C, H; B. " 
