with frogs and fish in it. However, I could
never induce the bull snakes to eat any of these batrachians. They
would, almost playfully, stalk the frogs, but at the moment when one was
within reach, the snake would glide away. Neither would the snakes,
unless force-fed, eat anything they had not caught themselves.

My children were delighted to have the snakes there and made pets of
them. Only once was one of the girls bitten when she attempted
force-feeding. The bite was a mere scratch but we feared that it might
be slightly poisonous. However, it healed so promptly that it was quite
apparent that the bull snake's bite is not toxic. I, too, have had my
skin slightly punctured by their teeth, but always the wound healed with
no more pain or trouble than a pin prick. Such is not at all the case
when a person is nipped by a squirrel or gopher. I have purposely
allowed a pocket gopher to bite me, to determine what the effects are.
The pain was severe and healing was slow. Once, bitten by a gray
squirrel when I reached into a hollow tree to get it, I received such a
wound that fever started in my whole hand. Its teeth punctured a
finger-nail and were stopped only by meeting the bone. Such bites I
consider rather poisonous.

Rabbits also committed much damage at my nursery by gnawing the bark of
my trees, especially during times of deep snow. They did not bother the
walnuts particularly, but were very fond of hickories and pecan trees.
On the smallest ones, they cut branches off and carried them away to
their nests. On larger trees, they gnawed the bark off of most of the
lower branches. This was dangerous but seldom fatal, whereas the gnawing
of mice, near the base of the trunks, was such that in some cases when
complete girdling occurred, it was necessary to use bridge-grafting to
save the trees. This consists of connecting the bark immediately above
the roots with the bark above the girdled portion, so that the tree can
receive and send the food substances it elaborates to its upper and
lower parts.

Rabbits and mice, therefore, had to be dealt with. Of course, one could
go hunting for rabbits and later eat them. This was one task I had my
employees do. I, myself, was unwilling to take an active part in it,
although still intent on saving my trees in spite of my pity for the
little animals. Placing hundreds of cans in the orchard, with a pinch of
poisoned wheat and oat mixture in each, helped to eradicate the mice.
The