SEEING A SNAKE FEED. 39 



and manage these two constrictors was less easy than on 

 the previous occasion, though then the snake had been 

 swallowed. In the same cage were also two other pythons, 

 quite strong enough to strangle a person had they taken a 

 fancy to hug him round the neck. Both were aroused and 

 displeased at the commotion, and ready to 'fly' at the 

 men, who, on the whole, had an exciting time with the 

 four constrictors, all from eight to twelve feet long. 



Cannibalism is very common in snakes, particularly among 

 the ElapidcB, which have small and narrow heads, and can 

 therefore more conveniently swallow a fellow-creature than 

 a bird or a quadruped. The keeper told me that often 

 a box arrives at the Gardens labelled 'Ten cobras,' or 

 ' twelve,' as may be ; when, on opening the box, the number 

 falls short ; suggesting that cannibalism has diminished 

 the company. It is a curious fact, however, that snakes, 

 as a rule, seize prey whose bulk far exceeds their own, 

 even when a more manageable kind could be easily caught. 

 It is as if they were aware of the accommodating nature of 

 their multifold ribs ; as a snake longer than themselves 

 must be doubled up in their stomach, and those broader than 

 themselves must, one would imagine, be a most uncomfort- 

 able meal to dispose of Yet this is common. Mr. H. W. 

 Bates found in a jarraraca an amphisboena larger than itself, 

 and in another snake a lizard whose bulk exceeded its own. 

 My BraziHan correspondent, Dr. Arthur Stradling, wrote me 

 of a similar circumstance. He received a little Elaps lem- 

 Jiiscatus in Maceio, which presented a singularly bloated 

 appearance. It no doubt felt itself in a condition not 

 favourable to rapid escape ; or captivity impaired its diges- 



