1867.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
211 
The Black Snake. — (Bascanion constrictor.) 
The Black Snake is the largest of our com- 
mon snakes, though there are stories of other 
species occasionally equalling its largest size, 
and from its active 
habits and fondness 
for cultivated land, 
it is well known to 
farmers and far- 
mers' boys. It. is 
perfectly harmless, 
3 r et has such a 
threatening way of 
resenting an attack, 
and so often turns. 
and gives chase to 
a fleeing enemy, 
that it is regarded 
not only as an ene- 
my, but often witli 
a sort of terror. It 
will never stand to 
fight, but gets away 
marvelously quick 
after the first blow 
is dealt, unless it be 
effectually detained. 
This snake is 4 to 
6 feet long, the tail 
being about one- 
fifth. The head is 
small, the teeth nu- 
merous, and all 
about of p. size. It 
has no fangs and 
out the northern and middle States, extending 
into Ohio and probably further westward. The 
back is thick ; head and tail short, and eyes 
small. It is of a greyish ash color, "with a 
dorsal series of upwards of fifty transverse, 
black snake— (Bascanion constrictor.)' 
MILK OK CHICKEN SNAKE.— (Opfa'Mttl Ctimius.) 
no venom. The scales 
of the back are diamond shaped. Its color is 
bluish black above, light slate color beneath; 
chin and throat white. The young are speckled, 
black and white above. The snake lives upon 
toads, frogs, lizards, small birds, and eggs of 
birds, — for which it climbs trees of considerable 
bight,— mice and their young, as also the young 
of larger quadrupeds when it can get them. It 
does little harm in 
the hay and grain 
ficlds,forifcutopen, 
its belly will be 
often found to con-, 
tain several mice. 
Still it probably 
does not discrimi- 
nate well between 
shrews and mice, 
and the former are 
voracious insect eat- 
ers. It destroys also 
many toads which 
are among our best 
fiiends,and it would 
be hard to tell how 
many birds, includ- 
ing young and eggs, 
a single black snake 
annually destroys. 
Oa the whole, then, 
it is an enemy, and 
though innocent of 
ability to harm man, 
it is hardly worth 
while to attempt to 
conquer our re- 
pugnance to " the 
form of the ser- 
pent," and save the lives of these animals when 
we can, on account of any good they may do us. 
Ting Milk Snake on Chicken Snake. — 
This beautiful serpent (Ophibolus cximius) is 
the familiar representative of its genus through- 
elliptical, chocolate blotches, and with two other 
alternating series on each side." The length is 
from two feet to three and a half. It is very fam- 
iliar in its habits, being frequently found about 
the foundations of barns and cow stables, spring 
houses, etc. Its food is such small birds and 
animals as it can overpower, and it is said 
to be very fond of milk. The idea that it will 
milk a cow is as absurd as the one, so universal 
■ . 
GREEN THEE FROG. 
BQUiREL TREE-TOAD. 
in Europe, that a bird much resembling our 
Whip-poor-will sucks goats. The Milk-Snake 
is entirely harmless, but shares with its kindred 
the aversion with which these graceful ami beau- 
tiful creatures are almost universally regarded. 
The Garden Toad— and Tree Frogs. 
The Batrachians are cold-blooded reptiles, 
destitute of scales; their 3'oung are usually 
im e 
in the water, and 
undergo several 
changes before be- 
coming perfected 
animals. To this 
class belong Toads, 
Frogs, Tree-toads, 
etc., which fall un- 
der the subdivision 
of tailless batrachi- 
ans. We present a 
representation of 
the comrnonGarden 
Toad, (Bvfo Amcri- 
canus), of the Green 
Tree-frog of the 
South, (Ryla tiri- 
dis,) and of the 
Squirrel Tree-toad, 
{Hyla sqtdrrella,) 
also of the South, 
but found occa- 
sionally in the Mid- 
dle States. There 
is something about 
toads, even tree- 
toads, which excites 
disgust, and they 
have been almost 
universally despised 
and persecuted. The fact is, they are among 
the most faithful friends of the gardener and 
orchardist. Living upon insects, they do much 
towards reducing the number of those that at- 
tack cultivated plants, and should be carefully 
preserved in gardens, and shielded from harm. 
The common toad is covered with warts from 
which, and especially from two large glands be- 
hind the head on each side, an acrid fluid exudes, 
which, while it 
causes smarting to 
tender skin, and 
makes a dog drop 
the toad and often 
froth at the mouth, 
and appear in great 
distress, is really 
harmless, neither 
producing warts 
nor other evil. If 
the toad has a jewel 
in its head, as it 
was once believed 
to have, that jewel 
is its tongue, for by 
it, darting it out to 
a considerable dis- 
tance, it draws the 
unsuspecting Hies 
and beetles into its 
mouth. This mo- 
tion of the tongue 
is so rapid that it 
can scarcely be fol- 
lowed by the eye. 
Toads lay their egga 
in the spring, in 
shallow pools, and 
while thus engaged, 
a prolonged trill— may be heard both 
hi. The eggs are enclosed in jolly, 
which holds them in clusters, and protects 
them from fish, and the young, when hatched, 
arc the little dark-colored tadpoles or polli- 
GARDEN TOAD. 
their note- 
day and ni 
