A week ago I received a four-foot snake with a request for information as to whether of not it was a poisonous variety. Every summer 1 receive a dozen or so specimens and questions of this nature, and almost invariably the answers are in the negative. In this particular instance, the snake had caused a furore in a residence on Connaught Road by entering the house from the garden and taking up a strategic Position on the telephone, thus severing communications with the outside world. But someone heard cries of distress emanating from the lady of the house and came to her rescue, despatching the intruder with a few well directed blow! on the. head. There need have beea no alarm, however, for the snake belonged to a perfectly harmless species, namely, Elaphe taeniurus, Cope, which Mr. E. G. Boulenger, curator of Reptiles in the London Zoological Gardens, in his recent delightful book "World Natural History" calls the Striped Shake, remarking that it is found nearly all over Southeastern Asia, He might have included Eastern Asia as well, for the range of this serpent extends as far north as Manchuria, where I once secured a specimen on the north bank of the Yalu River. Of a pale olive-greeny-yellow colour, this handsome snake. is chiefly distinguishable by a sort of black ladder-shaped pattern down the lower part of its back and dark bands across the eyes. It has a long gracefully shaped head and a slender neck. It reaches a length of 5 to 6 feet, and frequents paddy-fields and the banks of creeks. A good swimmer, it may often be seen in mid-stream with its head a few inches above the surface of the water as it crosses from one side of the creek to tfe other in search of food. It is very common in Shanghai gardens. especially in the Western District. Diurnal in its habits, it is more often seen than the Red-bended Snake (Lycodon Tufozonatum. Cantor) which is the commonest of our Shanghai snakes, but, being nocturnal, is less frequently noticed. This species, while it looks and acts like à poisonous snake. is also harmless. So fat only one species of poisonous snake has been recorded from the Shanghai area. This is the short-tailed Pit-viper (Agkistroon blomhoffi brevicandus, Stejneger), which may easily be recognized by its short thick body, sharply up-turned snout and heart-shaped head. It is usually beautifully marked on the body with an irregular pattern. It is by no means common. The deadly little Bamboo Snake, the Chinese Cobra and the Chinese Krait do not, apparently, range further north than Hangchow in Northern Chekiang.—a, DE c.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.