File:Little folks in feathers and fur, and others in neither (1875) (14781793094).jpg

Identifier: littlefolksinfea00mill (find matches)
Title: Little folks in feathers and fur, and others in neither
Year: 1875 (1870s)
Authors: (Miller, Harriet (Mann) Mrs.), 1831- (from old catalog)
Subjects: Zoology
Publisher: Hartford, Conn., Dustin, Gilman & co. Cincinnati, Ohio, Queen city publishing co. (etc., etc.)
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress

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s, ifnot kept down by the Fer de Lance. You have all heard of our North American venomous snake—the Rattle Snake. I need not tell you about his peculiar way ofwarning people to get out of his way, by his rattle. He lives onrats and mice, reptiles and small birds. When the weather getstoo cold for him, he retires to some quiet place—a hole in a rockor a cave, or the wet ground, under some patch of long-leavedmoss. There he will curl up with five or six other snakes, andspend his long winter. The last pictureI shall give you, is ofa Horned Puff Ad-der, a native of SouthAfrica, and as dread-ful as any of thoseterrible creatures.It is slow in itsmotions, and is saidto spring backwardsto bite. It is fourfeet long, sometimesmore. It has a habitof burying itself inthe sand, so as onlyto leave out its head;%^^r but unfortunate is the creature thatcomes near that ugly head. The Boa Constrictors have a very different way of killingtheir prey, as you have doubtless read. They coil themselves
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72 LITTLE FOLKS around their victim and crush it to death. They are very large,sometimes as many as thirty feet long, and their prey is nearlyalways much larger than themselves. It is wonderful to see whatimmense creatures they will swallow. Often the shape of thecreature can be plainly seen through his skin. After this feat, theBoa is not very lively, nor does he want anything more to eat forsome time. He lies quietly till it is all digested, and he is readyfor another meal. What do you think of snakes for playthings? Children inBorneo are very fond of a certain tree snake, the Boiga, as a pet.They twine it around them, and tame it. It is a very pretty crea-ture, blue in color, with gold colored stripes. And even in Francethere is a harmless snake which the children catch, tie a string toits tail, and drive for a horse. Many people eat snakes. The inhabitants of Cathay considerit the most delicate meat they can get. Brazilians eat the meat ofa green and yellow variety. The Sardinians

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