r 7 8 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE. 



warm, and a garter snake made its ap- 

 pearance, despite the fact that it was 

 mid-winter. For a little time about six 

 or eight inches of the snake rested in the 

 branches ; then it dangled in mid-air, ap- 

 parently intending to come down to 

 drink or get some milk. About this time 

 a big fat frog had come on to the plat- 

 form from the water below ; in a very 

 few moments he had espied the snake 

 suspended from the tree. In a trice and 

 without warning he leapt into the air ; 



Another rescue occurred one day 

 when I had placed a "newly formed 

 frog," i. e., one who had just completed 

 his metamorphosis in the aquarium from 

 polly-wog to big frog, out into the pond 

 where the veterans lived. I had turned 

 my head but a moment, when the little 

 fellow had disappeared ; knowing the dis- 

 tance he could have jumped in that time, 

 and a diligent search under the plants 

 not revealing his whereabouts, I turned 

 my attention to some big comfortable 



WE THREE RISE TO ASK THAT 

 Note : — By the way, ever try to photograph a 



his aim had been good, and an inch or 

 two of the snake was in the frog's mouth. 

 Having a good hold in the arboreal 

 house, the snake pulled back ; and the 

 frog having an equally good hold on the 

 snake with his little teeth, would not re- 

 linquish his grip, and so there he was, 

 dangling and kicking in mid-air. A few 

 inches of the snake would slip out of the 

 house due to the weight of the frog, and 

 then a renewed tug on the part of the 

 snake would pull the frog off the tips of 

 his toes, his long hind legs having in the 

 meantime rested on the platform below. 

 This novel and unusual struggle contin- 

 ued a few minutes until I could regain 

 my composure sufficiently to liberate the 

 poor snake and once more replace the 

 frog on terra firma. The snake was 

 twenty-four inches in length. 



YOU GIVE US CAREFUL STUDY. 

 frog? If you have, you will appreciate the above. 



looking frogs near by ; two tiny little legs 

 and feet protruding from the mouth of 

 one of these showed the possible fate of 

 the little one. Needless to say the big one 

 was made to disgorge his prey, and the 

 little one was given a home which was 

 safe from his cannabalistic relatives. 

 an "illuminated" frog. 

 But the most interesting observation 

 to my mind, and one I have never seen 

 referred to in the literature were what 

 we styled the "illuminated frogs.' On 

 dark nights we would exhibit them to 

 our visitors from the city. Everybody 

 would be told to catch fire-flies, or "light- 

 ning bugs," as they are designated here. 

 These were then fed to the frogs, who 

 snapped them up readily from our hands. 

 As is their custom they do not bite or 

 chew their food, so the poor hapless flies 



