Life history, morphological variation, and basic biology of Pantherophis guttatus (Linnaeus, 1766), the Red Cornsnake, are not well known, particularly for the allopatric populations in Kentucky. To address some of the information gaps for this species, we report field observations, including activity patterns, reproduction, and meristics of P. guttatus in Kentucky. In 2003 and 2004 we conducted field surveys using drift fences, artificial cover, manual searching, and driving on roads and captured 101 P. guttatus in Edmonson and Hart counties, Kentucky. We found that artificial cover was the best method of detection with 77% of snakes captured using this method. Numbers of encounters peaked in April-May and August-September suggesting bimodal activity patterns similar to other colubrid snakes. Males had signifi cantly higher subcaudal scale counts than females while females had significantly higher ventral scale counts than males. We detected more individuals in 2003 than in 2004, most likely influenced by severe drought conditions in Kentucky during 2004. Size-class distribution of snakes was skewed towards large individuals (> 70 cm SVL). The absence of individuals in juvenile size classes (30 cm -70 cm) may be an artifact of lower detection probabilities for smaller size classes, different habitat use by juveniles, or may indicate low recruitment.

An article with the above title would have made teachers of twenty-five years ago throw up their hands in horror. However the world has been moving rapidly in the past two decades and mathematics has been keeping in stride. Our experiences coming out of the war have caused some consternation and a great deal of thought provoking study on,^h at and how/5 In mathematics teaching we have found many of our students with less real knowledge than we assumed they had. We found our students needing more and still more mathematics. We found our leaders demanding more thinking of the type we do in mathematics. We found our students unable to reproduce those facts we thought they had learned so well. In the light of this discouraging discovery we have thoroughly scrutinized our program to determine the weaknesses of the past and possible strengthening for the future.

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We have long paid homage to the type of education with Mark Hopkins on one end of the log and a student on the other. However, is the change that comes about in the student, under these conditions, planned or accidental? Education has always been plagued with all the uncertainties encountered when one tries to identify those personal activities which will lead without question to specific results.

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics continually tries to bring to its membership various types of material which will be beneficial to the mathematics teacher in his day-to-day activities. Due to the rapidly changing nature of the mathematics being taught in the elementary and secondary school, it seems wise to provide at this time a set of criteria which will aid the teacher in the selection of the textbook which will best meet his needs.