The Americans are said to encourage these reptiles, on account of their great use in clearing houses of rats, which they will pursue with amazing agility, and even chase them to the roofs of the barns and outhouses. The farmer's wives, however, have no cause to rejoice in their inmates, since they not only skim the milkpans of the cream, but rob the hen-roosts of the eggs. Catesby tell us, they have been found coiled up in a nest under a sitting hen; they are so very active, and pass along the ground with such speed, that it is almost impossible for the person to escape, when they are determined to overtake him; the only way to get rid of the creature, is to face it boldly and strike it with a stick.

It was a species of this snake, which had been so completely tamed by a lady as to come to her whenever she called it, follow her in her walks, wind itself round her, and sleep in her bosom. One day, when this lady` went in a boat to some distance up a large river, she threw the snake into the water, imagining that it could easily recover the boat by swimming; but the current proving unusually strong at this time, owing to the advance of the tide, the poor animal, in spite of all its efforts to reach the vessel, was unfortunately drowned. On the ap proach of winter, this kind of snake, like the common snake, retires into some underground retreat, and passes that season in a state of

torpor, from which it recovers in the Spring, when it casts its skin, and appears in its highest beanty.

Very few of these snakes which take the water, have fangs, or are in any degree venomous. In the Guzerat lakes in India, says Mr. Forbes, they are of beautiful colours, and their mode of pursuing their prey is extremely curious; they watch the frogs, lizards, young ducks, and other animals, when reposing on the margin of the lake, and at a favourable opporunity, swallow them whole, though oftentimes thicker than themselves: These snakes in their turn, become food to the larger water fowl which frequent the lakes, who also swallow them and their contents entire; thus it sometimes happens, that a large duck not only gulps down the living serpent, but also one of its own brood, which was still existing in its maw- -Barrow relates a very curious fact, respecting livingserpents in the stomach of a Secretary bird after its death, which puts the matter beyond doubt. An English gentleman at the Cape of Good Hope, killed a Secretary bird, which he carried home with the intention of having an accurate drawing made from it. He threw it on the floor of the balcony near the house; where after it had remained some time, and been examined and tossed about, one of the company observed the head of a large snake pushing open the bill, out of which it speedily crawled, in perfect vigour,

and free from any injury; on the supposition that others might be still in the stomach, the bird was suspended by the legs, and presently a second made its appearance, as large and as lively as the first.

THE BLACK SNAKE.

THE Black Snake is a North American Serpent that grows to a great length. It is very smooth and slender, black on the upper parts, and of a pale blue beneath, except the throat, which is white.

The activity of these animals is astonishing, since, in speed, they will sometimes equal a horse. Their different motions are very diverting: they will, at times, climb the trees in quest of tree-frogs; or for other prey, glide at full length along the ground. On some occasions, they present themselves half erect, and in this posture, their eyes and their heads appear to great advantage. The former displays a fi ry brightness, by means of which, we are told, they are able to fascinate birds, and the smaller quadrupeds, in a manner similar to the rattle-snake. Their body is said to be so brittle, that if, when pursued, they get their head into a hole, and a person seizes hold of the tail, it will oiten twist itself to pieces.

The Black Snake is sometimes bold enough to attack a man, but may be driven off by a smart stroke from a stick, or whatever other weapon he may chance to have in his hand. When it overtakes a person, who has endeavoured to escape (not having had courage to oppose it,) it is said to wind itself round his legs in such a manner as to throw him down, and then to bite him several times in the leg, or wherever it can lay hold of him, and run off again.

During Professor Kalm's residence at New York, Doctor Colden told him that in the Spring of 1748, he had several workmen at his country seat, and among them, one just arrived from Europe, who of course knew but little of the qualities of the Black Snake. The other workmen, who observed a male and female lying together, engaged their new companion to kill one of them. He accordingly approached them with a stick in his hand: this the male observed, and made towards him. The man little expected to find such courage in the reptile, and flinging away his stick, ran off as fast as he was able. The snake pursued, overtook him, and twisting several times round his legs, threw him down, and almost frightened the poor fellow out of his senses. He could not rid himself of the animal, without cutting it through, in two or three places, with a knife. The other workmen laughed heartily at the incident, without once offering to help their companion,

considering the whole affair, only as a scene of the highest amusement.

This Snake, which is altogether innoxious, is very greedy of milk, and it is difficult to keep it out, when once it is accustomed to get into a cellar where milk is kept. It has been seen eating out of the same dish with children, without biting them, though they often gave it blows with their spoons upon the head, when it was too greedy.

The following description of a contest between the Black Snake, and a serpent of another species is extracted from the Letters of an American farmer: "One of my constant walks when I am at leisure (says this gentleman) is in my lowlands, where I have the pleasure of seeing my cattle, horses, and colts. Exuberant grass replenishes all my fields, the best representative of our wealth. In the middle of that tract, I have cut a ditch eight feet wide. On each side of this, I carefully sow, every year, some grains of hemp, the plants from which rise to the height of fifteen feet, so strong and full of limbs as to resemble young trees. These produce natural arbours, rendered olten still more compact by the assistance of an annual creeping plant, which we call a vine, that never fails to entwine itself among the branches, and always produces a very desirable shade. As I was one day sitting solitary and pensive; in this primitive arbour. ny attention was engaged by a strange sort of