1898 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
887 
ing from four to eight persons, and set 
with dishes, hut no food. Menu cards 
are supplied freely, so that each guest, 
upon being seated at table, has the sole 
use of one; but none is allowed to be 
taken away from the table. 
The admission fee should be fixed at 25 
cents, and each guest can order from the 
card, viands to this amount without 
further charge. Any order beyond this 
amount, however, must be paid for. The 
names of the various viands for sale are 
disguised on the cards, by being given 
as conundrums, and the fun consists in 
guessing the article so disguised. The 
dishes must be ordered by the names 
given them on the list, however, and 
much sport is furnished by the ludicrous 
mistakes made by the guests. No mis¬ 
takes should be rectified by the waiters. 
A dish, once ordered, should be paid for, 
even though it be not eaten. 
Among the many laughable mistakes 
which occurred at such a supper last 
Winter, was the following: A guest, 
having studied the menu card for 
some time, at length decided to order 
“What a woman needs most”, remark¬ 
ing, as he did so, that of course that 
article was brains. Shouts of laughter 
greeted the tongue which was set before 
him with the withering words that he 
evidently needed brains. Certainly he 
was not suffering for tongue. 
A menu is subjoined as a sample, but 
doubtless, each party will desire to in¬ 
vent its own, and will add materially to 
the pleasure of the occasion by so doing. 
The answers to the conundrums are 
given simply for the convenience of 
those using this menu. In the menus 
used, these should be omitted, and the 
price of the article substituted. 
Nature’s contribution.Water. 
The beginning of time.T. 
What some patients have and what their 
physicians want.Coffee (cough-fee). 
Dirt and goblins.Sandwiches (sand witches). 
The staff of life and a ram.Bread and butter. 
Circular motion.Rolls. 
Eve’s fruit and impertinence.Apple sauce. 
Father of all dark(y)ness.Deviled ham 
.(Devil-ham). 
What a woman needs most.Tongue. 
Fountain of youth.Milk. 
Colored layers.Jelly cake. 
Fried holes.Doughnuts. 
A gambler’s tools.Chips. 
Pressed fluids.Ices. 
X. Unknown quantity.Angels’ food. 
Green tarts.Pickles. 
Chips of the old block.Chipped beef. 
SARAH E. GANNETT. 
On the Wing. 
THE NEW YORK REPTILE SHOW. 
SNAKES AND THEIR ALLIES ON PUBLIC VIEW. 
[editorial correspondence.] 
A Novel Exhibition. —Horses, dogs 
and cats, poultry and farm animals have 
been exhibited at many shows in New 
York, but a snake show is a decided 
novelty, and arouses interest among 
many jaded pleasure-seekers, in addition 
to the naturalists who have a scientific 
interest in these reptiles. Most people 
feel an instinctive dislike to all reptiles; 
we look upon the snake as the incarna¬ 
tion of evil, though many of the humbly- 
crawling denizens of the fields and 
swamps do good service to' agriculture. 
A majority of our native snakes are in¬ 
noxious, the worst crimes we can bring 
against them being the destruction of 
wild birds’ eggs and young nestlings, or 
of the friendly toads, who are almost as 
much despised and disliked, by many, as 
are the snakes themselves. 
Photographing a Boa Constrictor.— 
When I entered the show, a number of 
the reptiles were being requested to sit 
up for their pictures. One man was 
holding up a wildly-gesticulating alli¬ 
gator by the scruff of its neck, genially 
requesting it to look pleasant, and the 
scaly saurian, which was about two feet 
long, assumed an expression which sug¬ 
gested that it had just swallowed a baby. 
A very sociable Boa constrictor was one 
of the most distinguished guests. It 
was, perhaps, five feet long, weighing 
between 20 and 30 pounds. Its colors 
are creamy white, tawny brown and 
bronze, forming a regular pattern like 
some conventional design. It was con. 
sidered by experts a very fine Boa, and 
its coloring was admired even by visitors 
who felt a trickling, chilly sensation in 
the region of the vertebras whenever the 
affable serpent made a move in their 
direction. The Boa proved an admirable 
subject for the photographer, draping 
its flexuous folds about the shoulders of 
the person who displayed it, as if its 
sole aim was to pose as a necktie, and 
was as reluctant to leave any one who 
carried it as a much-petted child. This 
serpent cannot inflict a venomous bite, 
like the rattlesnake and Cobra, but de¬ 
stroys its prey by constriction. In its 
South American home, it grows 20 to 30 
feet long, and there are some large speci¬ 
mens in captivity. The Green boa of 
South America, however, is capable of 
inflicting a fatal bite, which produces 
lockjaw. 
Boas and Pythons. —I asked a student 
of these reptiles whether the Boa con¬ 
strictor was not found in several quart¬ 
ers of the tropical world, and was in¬ 
formed that, while many large serpents 
of Asia and Africa are popularly (or un- 
popularly) described under this name, 
the true Boa constrictor is an American 
product, native to Brazil and Guiana An 
orchid-hunter of my acquaintance once 
gave me a thrilling description of the 
pleasures of Boa hunting in British 
Guiana, the natives flinging a species 
of lance or javelin at the reptiles with 
unerring aim. The orchid man described 
the marvellous beauty of the Guiana 
forest, its magnificent trees, twined with 
parasitic vines, and crowned, 100 feet 
overhead, with beautiful orchids, butthe 
prospect of flushing a 30-foot serpent 
would not add to the pleasure of a sylvan 
walk in that locality. The skin of these 
large serpents is used in making expen¬ 
sive leather goods. 
Some small Pythons were displayed at 
the exhibition ; these are found in the 
Indian Archipelago, and attain a large 
size. Strange tales of their ferocity come 
from Celebes and the Sulu Archipelago, 
Pythons and pirates being ainonsr the 
products about to be added to Uncle 
Sam's colonial menagerie. 
Two Unpleasant Citizens. — The 
United States furnished two exhibits to 
the reptile show which possessed an un¬ 
canny fascination—the most dangerous 
creatures shown—the rattlesnake and 
Gila monster. The glass cage full of 
rattlers included one very handsome 
“ diamond-back”, a richly-marked, evil¬ 
eyed creature that lay coiled on a pro¬ 
jecting branch. During the show, these 
rattlesnakes were freely handled by a 
woodsman from the Adirondack region, 
who seemed absolutely fearless. He did 
not claim any special power over them, 
but understood their habits, and knew 
how to handle them. 
The Gila monster has the evil distinc¬ 
tion of being the only lizard known to 
have venomous teeth. The specimens 
shown at this exhibition were securely 
potted in alcohol, but I have seen living 
specimens at Lincoln Park, Chicago, and 
most repulsive creatures they are. They 
are stoutly-built, blunt-tailed lizards, 12 
inches or more in length, in color rusty 
black marked with dingy brownish-yel¬ 
low. They are found in Arizona and 
Mexico, where they are as greatly feared 
as the rattlesnake and tarantula. 
The Snake and Its Fangs. —When we 
were children, we deemed it a public 
duty to kill every snake we came across 
and, when a little Green snake reared its 
graceful head and extended a swiftly- 
darting forked tongue, we felt very 
heroic in destroying it. We know now 
that the common snakes of the eastern 
States couldn’t hurt any one if they 
wished, and when they stick out their 
tongues, they are merely making a face 
at us Many people have an idea that a 
poisonous snake stings with his tongue. 
This is entirely incorrect; they bite 
with the poison fangs. There are two 
of these fangs, which lie flat when in re¬ 
pose, but are erected in action. The 
fangs are pierced by tiny canals, which 
lead to glands under and behind the eyes, 
containing the poison. The poison is 
injected when the fangs enter the flesh 
and, entering the circulation, appears to 
decompose the blood. Snake charmers 
render poisonous snakes harmless by 
drawing these fangs. The Hooded cobra 
of India is held responsible for, at least 
10,000 deaths annually, but owing to the 
fact that the venom may be scattered or 
absorbed by clothing before it reaches 
the flesh, especially if the snake strike 
very hurriedly, Europeans have a better 
chance of immunity than the barefooted 
and scantily-clothed Asiatics. 
A Few American Snakes.—O ur native 
Black snake was one of the handsomest 
MOTHERS.—Be sure to use“Mrs. Wins¬ 
low’s Soothing Syrup ” for your children 
while Teething. It is the Best.— Adv. 
species exhibited, its scales shining as 
though japanned. Though wilder and 
more aggressive than most of our native 
snakes, this is not venomous. The Colu¬ 
ber family, to which the Black snake 
belongs, includes a number of perfectly 
harmless native snakes. Among those 
exhibited, was the Corn snake of the 
Carolinas, which is handsomely marked 
in chestnut and reddish brown above, 
black and white below ; it is described 
by naturalists as gentle and familiar, 
though no one but a naturalist would de¬ 
sire familiarity on the part of a snake. 
Some slender Pine snakes were exhibited 
by a woman who keeps them as house 
pets; she says that they are better 
mousers than the family cat. Milk 
snakes, which are very easily tamed, 
Ribbon snakes, Bull snakes and Chicken 
snakes (the last named being credited 
with an appetite for young poultry) were 
also shown. I was impressed, at this 
show, by the interested city students who 
are pursuing nature study under very 
restricted conditions. I met one school¬ 
boy who keeps tame snakes in his bed¬ 
room ; be said that his mother didn’t 
mind, so long as he didn’t drop them 
around the house ! 
Chameleons, frogs, Snapping turtles 
and terrapins added to the interest of the 
show, and it proved a decided attrac¬ 
tion to the public. I have often read of 
the cold, clammy folds of a serpent, but 
after a personal introduction to the Boa 
constrictor, I have decided that this de¬ 
scription is inaccurate. The serpent I 
met was neither cold nor clammy, and 
appeared much gratified when stroked or 
patted ; still, I hardly expect that Boas 
will ever become popular family pets. 
E. T. R. 
Time’s Pulse 
Is recorded truthfully and minutely by that 
marvel of mechanical skill—an 
Elgin Ruby Jeweled Watch. 
Since Elglns began to be—a third of a hundred 
years ago—nearly eight million of these complete, 
truthful time tellers have done faithful duty, — 
more than any other factory has produced in the 
same period. The World’s Standard. 
Sold by Jewelers Everywhere. 
B. & EL 
one item—a good one 
—plenty of other good offerings here, 
choice useful Dress goods underprice— 
but this particular offering is so ex- 
There is as Much. 
.difference \nfl 
wheat as in potatoes. 
The wheat used 
in the manufacture of: 
Is not selected from its looks—it’s 
analyzed. 
We don’t guess at its herltli- 
giving qualities, we test it. 
Everybody likes it because it is 
palatable and satisfying. 
If your grocer does not keep it, 
send us his name and your order 
—we will see that you are supplied. 
Made only by the 
FRANKLIN MILLS CO., 
Lockport, N. Y. 
traordinary as every home where The 
Rural New-Yorker goes, should be 
sure to know about. 
All-wool Zibeline Plaids, 40 
inches wide, 35c. yard— half price— 
the style and quality will show it. 
They’re Plaids of quiet effect—blue, 
green, garnet, etc.—not bright but color 
enough to give them good tone—styles 
that will be approved by all people of 
taste. 
This remarkable midwinter offering, 
when girls new school dresses and neat 
goods for house waists are wanted—half 
price—you’ll find such a chance as will 
pay to give heed to at once, and you’ll 
get money’s worth unsurpassed in like 
goods. 
Splendid Dress Goods, 42 to 52 inches 
wide, 50c. yard— dressy styles. 
Samples cost you nothing. 
BOGGS SC BUHL, 
Department C, 
ALLEGHENY, PA. 
$9.50 BUYS A OKALE VICTOR MACUItO 
Adapted to Light .ad Hr at. Work. RrlUblr and Fiool; 
Finished; Gusmntoed for 10 Year*. Writ, for 32 Page <J.U 
logue- Attachments Free. 30 DAYS FREE TRIAL Addre* 
Dept. 629.YICTOB J1FG. CO., 295-297 Fifth Av«.. Chicago 
The Great Singing Class Book£Ess$> 
Delightful Method ! Charming music ! Extra size I 
Low price—60c. Large discount! Send only 30o. 
in stamps for one sample. Full descriptions free. 
S. W. STRAUB & CO.. tU03 Monroe Ave., Chicago. 
ENTERPRISE Choppers 
Twenty-eight sizes and styles, $1.50 to $275.00 
No. 5 , Clamps to table, 
No. 10, “ “ 
No. 20, “ " 
No. 12, Screws on table, 
No. 22, “ “ 
No. 32 , «• “ 
Price, $2.00 
“ 3*00 
“ 5-00 
“ 2.50 
•• 4.00 
“ 6.00 
FOR CHOPPING 8uusage and Mince Meat, 
Hamburg 8teak for Dyspeptics, Tripe, 
Hogshead Cheese, Suet, Codfish, 
Cocoanut, Clams, etc. 
For sale by the Hardware Trade. 
Catalogue Mailed Free. 
Farm and Fireside says: American Agriculturist says: 
“ It Is the only Meat Chopper we ever saw that “ We have given this Meat Chopper a thor- 
we would give house room. It haa proved such ough trial with most satisfactory results. They 
a very useful machine that we want our readers excel anything of the kind made in either 
to enjoy its benefits with us.” hemisphere.” 
Our trade-mark “Enterprise” Is on every machine. Send 4c. In stamps for the Enterprising 
Housekeeper”—200 recipes. 
THE ENTERPRISE MFG. CO. OF PA • PHILADELPHIA. 
