6i 
of giving notice to their enemies that they are not to be 
trifled with without danger. The number of buttons, as the 
sections into which the rattle is divided are termed, has been 
commonly supposed to be a means of determining the age of 
the snake, but as they are frequently lost by accident, and are 
as frequently produced three or four at a time, it is evident 
that this belief, with a number of others equally well founded, 
which invest the popular mind regarding the serpent, may as 
well be abandoned. 
The Banded Rattlesnake (^Crotalus horridus) and the 
Diamond Rattlesnake (^Crotalus adamanteus) are the most 
well-marked species of this genus. The former being most 
common in the Eastern and Middle States, while the latter 
ranges from North Carolina to Florida. 
The Ground Rattlesnake (^Crotalophoriis miliarius) is a 
small species from the Southern States. 
The Water Moccasin {^Ancistrodon piscivorus) is confined 
to the wet and swampy lands throughout the South. A well- 
marked variety (^pugnax) is confined to Texas. 
The Copperhead {Ancistrodon contortrix) is found almost 
all over the United States, east of the Mississippi. 
The Harlequin Snake (Elaps fulvius), of the Southern 
States, is also venomous, but in a lesser degree. It is of a 
very mild disposition, and has hardly ever been known to 
bite. It is one of the most beautiful of the order, being 
ringed with red, black, and yellow. The family, Elapid(z, to 
which it belongs, has the centre of its distribution in the 
Tropical Zone, throughout the whole circle of the earth, and 
includes some of the most deadly forms known. 
The Rainbow Snake (^Abastor erythrogranimus), Southern 
States. 
The King Snake {^Ophibolus getulus), Atlantic coast. 
The Green Snake (^Cyclophis vernalis), Eastern and South- 
ern States. 
The Pine Snake {Pituophis melanoleucus) , south of New 
Jersey and Ohio. 
The Chicken Snake {^Coluber quadrivittatus), Southern 
States. 
