“ The poison apparatus, fangs (which are of the proteroglyphic type) , and the manner and result of biting, are treated of under Snake. Here it needs only be said that, like the vipers generally, these snakes are sluggish and loth to bite when it can be avoided, or when they are not surprised into a sudden stroke. This disposition varies, however, with the weather, their hunger, the season (all are irritable when sloughing their skin) , and it differs in various species. Even the smallest may cause a man serious illness and perhaps death if it succeeds in introducing much poison into a wound ”

“ This snake inhabits wooded regions, avoiding prairies. It is especially fond of rocky districts, and hence is most numerous among mountains, where it is inclined to gather in considerable numbers in certain holes and caverns in the autumn, in order to undergo the winter sleep in closely entwined companies. About nine young are born annually in mid-summer. The Southern States have a still larger species known as the ‘diamond rattlesnake’ (Crotalus adamanteus) on account of the rhomboidal black blotches, each perfect in all its angles, and edged with yellow, which ornament its yellowish body. ”

“ Hunting of rattlesnakes affords occasional profit to a few persons, who find a market for their skins and for the clear smooth oil yielded by their fat, which is esteemed by watchmakers and gunsmiths, and is in demand as a medicine among the ignorant. ”