The garter and ring-necked snakes
wear Eve's wedding-ring as a collar. They cannot hurt and they eat up
quantities of insects, but beware of the yellow and brown rattlesnakes,
especially after rainy weather, for it is said that after wet weather
they cannot make any noise with their rattles and therefore you are not
warned of their presence. The most deadly snake, the moccasin, is
brownish with a flat head.

The green lizards, too, will almost rid a house of flies if left to
wander about at will. The fence lizard, a scaly alligator looking chap,
is just as useful but never gets tame.

Try petting a toad some time. He will get to be quite at home in a
garden and pay well, for he will eat all kinds of destructive insects.
Some gardeners buy toads, paying as high as a quarter apiece, for they
know how much good they can do. A toad digs his hole backwards. Watch
him and see the fun. In the spring if there is water near he may be
induced to sing to you. If you think he is slow and clumsy you have only
to see how quick he can catch a fly.

Provisioning a Camp

This should be a matter of mature consideration. Unless there is some
place near by where deficiencies can be supplied your camp may be a
misery instead of a pleasure. Have lists made out of the things each is
to bring, if it is to be a cooperative affair. It may be best to have a
committee, even if it is a committee of one, to do all the buying. But
even in this case individual tastes must be consulted. A full list
should be made out and strictly adhered to. At one camp where each
brought what she thought best there were six cans of soup, four pounds
of sugar, and no tea or coffee.

Canned goods are all very well if you do not have to carry them too far.
So too are potatoes. For lightness on long trips, dried fruits and meal
or grits are a wise selection. Oatmeal is light and easy to cook.
Prepared batter-cake flour is a pure joy to the camp cook. Once when
camping in the mountains we had unexpected difficulties. We were at such
an elevation that water boiled at too low a temperature to cook many
things "done," so the frying-pan there reigned supreme. As to that same
frying-pan be sure to select the "long handled kind." If not you will
have to splice out the handle with a long stick. Never pack up your
"unwetables" in paper bags. At any time a shower or even a heavy dew at
night may make you run short on salt, sugar, or flour. Covered tin cans
are too cheap to