You can make sure that the government will never kill fewer than 110,000 snakes in a year, and that it will newer quite reach 300,000 too much room for oscillation; good speculative stock, to bear or bull, and buy and sell long and short, and all that kind of thing, but not eligible for investment like the other.

The man that speculates in the government's snake crop wants to go carefully.

I would not advise a man to buy a single crop at all--I mean a crop of futures for the possible wobble is something quite extraordinary.

If he can buy six future crops in a bunch, seller to deliver 1,500,000 altogether, that is another matter.

I do not know what snakes are worth now, but I know what they would be worth then, for the statistics show that the seller could not come within 427,000 of carrying out his contract.