228 BRITISH SERPENTS. 



curled round some projecting point, and was being- 

 used as a means of prehension — much as a conger 

 eel will do in a hole in the rocks. — Author.) — John 

 L\ B. Masefield, Cheadle, Staffordshire. 



Retrieving a snake. — " A ring snake was once 

 seen as late as October (by Mr E. Blagg) swimming 

 across a pool near Cheadle. His retriever dog went 

 after it and seized it by the neck, the head only being 

 above the water. It then coiled up and the dog loosed 

 it, but again seized it (quite tenderly) and brought 

 it to his master." — John E. B. Masefield, Cheadle, 

 Staffordshire. 



Frog croaking though swallowed. — " I had a 



small ring snake, about 20 inches long, this year 

 (1900), which was kept in the same case as a very 

 large specimen, and one day I put a full-grown frog 

 in the case, intending it for the large snake. The 

 smaller one, however, immediately seized the frog, 

 and after some difficulty swallowed it. I distinctly 

 heard the frog croak in the snake several minutes 

 after it had been swallowed. In a quarter of an 

 hour or so the frog was disgorged all but the head, 

 which was retained in the snake's mouth. The frog 

 was still alive, and did its best to free itself from its 

 unpleasant predicament, but without success, and the 

 snake began to swallow it again. This process took 

 about half an hour to accomplish, and in another 



