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just sufficient to hold tlieir prey if necessary and prevent it 

 escaping ; the only inconvenience of having a nine-foot 

 python or hamadryas coiled round one is that he is apt to 

 make a mess on one's clothes. Neither do snakes lick their 

 crushed prey (' slaver it over' is the term used in story and 

 simile) before swallowing it ; if the prey is active, after 

 catching it with their teeth they throw a few folds round 

 it simply to prevent it from struggling, and then bolt it head 

 foremost just as they would a frog. 



Chapter II. — The Serpentarium. 

 The collector of snakes must study their habits if he 

 wishes to be successful in his search for specimens ; and I 

 ban only give a few indications as to the likely places for 

 them. Dry nullahs leading down to tanks are a good find 

 for amphibious snakes such as the Tropidonoti; tussocks 

 of grass in wet paddy-fields often afford shelter to the 

 ground vipers ; the neighbourhood of houses is affected by 

 Lycodon ; the old galleries of white ants' nests are the refuge 

 of various kinds of snakes, cobras included ; the earth-snakes 

 are to be found under large stones, and the hollows of old 

 trees containing decaying vegetable matter are often chosen 

 by snakes as a nest for their eggs. The squeals of a frog 

 caught by a snake can never be forgotten if once heard, and 

 they often enable the collector to surprise a snake at his 

 meal. Snakes may often be captured while swimming, as 

 they are readily detected in the water.* 



But the European in India can do little himself beyond 

 keeping a sharp look-out whilst walking for exercise or 

 after game ; by far the greater part of collections are made 

 by employing the patience and acuteness of Indians in this 



* Most snakes take to the water readily, either to capture frogs, or 



to cross over to some other spot. I captured a snake which rejoices 



in the highly terrestial name of Psammodynastes pulverulentus, the 



dusty king of the desert, while it was swimming across the Rangoon 

 lake. 



