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THE MILE SLAKE, OR HOUSE SNAKE. 
The Chicken- Snake ( Coluber quadrivittatus ) derives its name from its habit of 
entering farms and houses and stealing chickens from the roost. As, however, it feeds 
largely on rats and mice, its services in this respect may in all probability counter- 
balance the loss caused by its thefts. Like the corn- Snake, it is soon tamed, and will 
become very familiar. In color it is a very delicate looking reptile, being of a soft bright 
golden-brown, and having four narrow stripes upon a rich dark brown running the whole 
length of the body. In length it is usually about four feet six inches, though a few 
specimens attain the length of six and even seven feet. This is also a Northern American 
reptile. 
CHICKEN SNAKE. — Coluber quadrivittatus. 
Sat’s Shake is a most attractive creature, having a bluish -black body, with round milk- 
white spots, thickly bespattered over the entire upper surface. It measures from three to 
four feet in length. 
Its habitat is throughout the Gulf States. 
The Milk Snake, or House Snake (Ophibolus triangulus ), is common in many parts 
of North America, and has derived its popular names from its habit of entering houses and 
its fondness for milk, which some persons fancy it obtains from the cows. Its general 
food consists of mice and insects, and, like the preceding species, it is probably of some 
use to the farm where it takes up its residence, and worthy of the encouragement which 
it sometimes receives. 
In the general arrangement of the markings, it is not unlike the corn-Snake, with 
which it has often been confounded, especially after the fresh beauty of its colors has 
been dimmed by death, or extracted and changed by spirits. There are similar rows of 
patches along the sides, but in this species the spots are much broader, often coalescing 
over the back and forming bands, and the general hue of the body is a beautiful blue 
tinge. The under parts are silver-white, boldly tesselated with oblong and sharply defined 
marks of black. 
The length of the Milk Snake is generally about four feet. It inhabits as far north 
as Maine. In Massachusetts it is called Checkered Adder ; in New York it is Sachem Snake 
and Sand King, and Spotted Adder. In Arkansas and Georgia two species are found, 
respectively. 
