Nov. 16, 1912 
FOREST AND STREAM 
615 
AFRICAN PUFF VIPER. 
It is seldom one sees such a rare combina¬ 
tion of beauty in color and pattern and of re¬ 
pulsiveness in form and aspect as is exhibited 
by the two puff adders of tropical Africa, com¬ 
monly called the gaboon viper and tbe nose¬ 
horned viper. Entirely lacking the sinuous 
grace characteristic of the majority of snakes, 
these vipers have a body almost sluglike in its 
obesity, while the huge arrow-shaped head, sup¬ 
ported on a slender neck, and with glassy cat¬ 
like eyes set close behind the blunt snout is the 
very incarnation of the popular conception of 
the word “venomous” when applied to poison¬ 
ous as opposed to harmless species of snakes. 
Of the color and pattern no words can give 
an adequate idea, but perhaps Sir Harry John¬ 
ston’s description of the gaboon viper’s beau¬ 
tiful carpet pattern of pinkish gray, black, 
lemon yellow and slaty blue summarizes the 
general effect as well as another. It must not 
be supposed that the pattern is a confused med¬ 
ley of these tints. On the contrary, the patches 
are arranged sub-symmetrically with reference 
to the middle line of the body, a row of about 
a dozen or more large oblong yellow marks 
running down the spine being the first feature 
in the coloration to catch the eye. Another 
noticeable characteristic is that the skin has 
none of the sheen which whether accompanied 
or not by metallic reflections one associates 
with the scaling of snakes, but is dull and sug¬ 
gestive of carpet pile as much as of anything 
else. 
Despite the beautiful coloration of these 
vipers it seems that they must be very difficult 
to see lying on the variegated carpet of fallen 
leaves in the forest. And there is evidence 
that the common puff adder of north, east and 
south Africa is also obliteratively tinted. At 
the same time they are extraordinarily fearless 
and sluggish reptiles, as if conscious of im¬ 
munity from attack. Nevertheless when pro¬ 
voked or alarmed they speedily advertise their 
presence by inflating their lungs with air and 
slowly expelling it with a loud and prolonged 
hiss comparable in effect, according to the 
“warning” theory to the rattle of the rattle¬ 
snake. 
The deadly daboia, or Russell’s viper of 
India, is also a loud hisser, and in this connec¬ 
tion it is interesting to recall that the desert 
viper attracts attention in a different way— 
namely, _ by rubbing tbe heeled and serrated 
scales of one part of the body against those of 
another part, thus giving rise to an audible 
rustling. 
Nevertheless the “warning” methods of all 
these viperines are in principle the same in 
the sense that they appeal to the ear. In this 
respect they differ from the “warning” methods 
of the cobras, which appeal to the sense of 
sight.—London Field. 
MILKWEED AS FOOD. 
One of the economic triumphs of the age 
is the utilization of waste material, and the use 
of weeds as food staples is a phase of this 
triumph. 
The. most interesting of these new “weed 
foods” is milkweed, the common wild variety 
that grows in every rocky pasture, in meadows 
and by roadsides. 
Its large thick smooth leaves are familiar 
to all, and its deep, dull pink tuft of flowers, 
and later its seed pods filled with delicate floss 
and flat brown seeds. When it is broken off 
a thick white milky juice exudes. This is rich 
in nutrition. 
This common and luxuriant weed is now 
being cultivated in gardens as a valuable food 
staple and makes one of the most delicious of 
vegetables.. It tastes almost exactly like aspar¬ 
agus and is cooked in much the same way as 
spinach. It has been found to be rich in natural 
Salts and nutrition and is easily cultivated.— 
Leslie's Weekly. 
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CAMPING AND HUNTING 
I have camped, canoed, hunted, fished and trapped 
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A PROBLEM’S SOLUTION 
Log Cabins and Cottages; How to Build and Furnish Them 
A seasonable book when all minds are bent on the problem of getting close to nature. Mr. Wicks 
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FOREST AND STREAM PUBLISHING CO. 127 Franklin Street, NEW YORK CITY 
