30 
The Shakes havornany reproaontativo spcciea in Queciisliiiul, and 
the individuals of some of them are very numerous. All our snakes 
are not venomous, indeed, taking a given number casually seen during 
the couree of several years residence in Queensland, about one half 
will have been of innocuous species. This fact is mentioned in oi'der 
to calm the mind of any one who may be bitten, and so prevent undue 
fear, which may cause a foolish action to be taken, such as chopping 
off the finger or hand. 
One of the commonest snakes of the colony is the Carpet Snake 
(morelia variegata). It is also the largest snake found in Australia, 
for in Northern Queensland it has been obtained up to twenty 
feet in length. It has a villainous-looking mouth and set of teeth 
with which it can hito severely, yet it is non-venomous. It belongs 
to the Boa-constrictor h'ibe, inasraueb as it kills its prey by envelop¬ 
ing it in the folds of its long body, andaftei’wards swallowing it whole. 
Sooner or later the settler, on the farm or in the conntiy, will bo 
certain to make its acquaintance, for it will find out the fowl-house 
and commit liavoc there. It can be at once recognised by its mottled 
olive-brown and yellow skin, and its sluggish habits. It will bite 
severely when wounded. In habit it is nocturnal, but it also some¬ 
times is found travelling during daylight. 
The Green Tree Snake is another very common species in Queens¬ 
land. It haunts the climbing plants that cover the verandahs of the 
houses, its object being to prey upon the frogs that live in the spouting 
and water tanks. It can he recognised by its long thin whip-like appear¬ 
ance, and by the upper parts being a dark olive-brown or gi*een, and 
sometimes even black, and the under parts more or less yellow. 
Also, the belly scales are placed flat on the ground, and are not 
rounded as in tcrrestial snakes. In length it reaches six feet. It is 
amazingly active, and disappears Hke a flash of light. It is entirely 
non-venomous, and will bite no one unless injured. There are several 
species of them, all non-venomous. 
The Brown Tree Snake is also non-venomous, but it is of altogether 
different build and looks ugly enough to bo thought dangerous. Its 
colour is that of a copper-hrowm above, the belly being salmon-coloured; 
its length is about six feet, but its thickness through the body is 
fully twice that of the green snakes, for it will sometimes measure 
two inches whereas the others seldom exceed one inch. This snake 
can be recognised by the colour and the shortened tail. Its habits 
are nocturnal, while those of the green tree-snakes are diurnal. There 
ai'e sevei*al other non-venomous snakes, chiefly of small size; also 
Ihere are the small blind-snakes, wh ich vdll l^e found sometimes when 
digging the garden, they again are perfectly harmless. 
There are two very common and very frequently seen snakes in 
Queensland, which arc deadly venomous, insomuch, that a bite will 
prove fatal to man or beast unless instant precautions are taken. 
These two are the Black Snake and the Brown Snake (pseudecMs and 
diemenia.) There are several species of each of them recognised by 
the natur^ist, but to the ordinaiy observer the}- may all be classed 
