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SNAKE charmers would like the rest of us to believe that the reptiles rise
from their baskets entranced by the high-pitch of the music they hear. But
snakes are not good at hearing. Instead the snake reacts to the motion of the
flute which it perceives as a danger. To protect themselves, some charmers
surgically remove the fangs from the snakes or sew their lips. Can snakes be
charmed? is one of the many questions posed and answered in the book Snakes
in Question. The book, by Carl Ernst and George Zug, is a
joint publication of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington and CSIRO
Publishing. It is available for $29.95 from CSIRO Publishing, PO Box
1139, Collingwood, VIC 3066, Australia.