42 
then the lower jaw is pushed forward till even 
with the upper jaw.” 
“Truly, Count, the snake pulls itself over its 
food in the act of gorging ?” 
“Yes, that is the real explanation of the act 
of deglutition in snakes. Now, however a snake 
may seize live prey, it generally works toward 
either extremity, preferably the anterior part of 
its victim’s body before beginning the act of 
gorging. You can readily perceive the great 
advantage of swallowing its prey head-first, as 
it then has far less trouble with the hmbs of its 
victim which are thus pressed close to the body 
and easily disappear down the snake’s dilatible 
throat. 
To illustrate the marvelous expansive powers 
of the snake’s jaws and throat, and to prove the 
ability of the snake to gorge objects much 
larger in diameter than its own body, let me 
detail a case that came under my critical ob- 
servation. I had confined in my snake-box a 
medium size water adder that persistently re- 
fused the tempting food dropped into the box 
for its nourishment. After many days fasting 
I finally tempted the adder with the following 
results. I secured a big toad, one of the largest 
specimens I have ever seen. This I dropped 
into the box and quietly sat by to watch devel- 
opments. The snake was comfortably coiled 
in the water-vessel, with its head gracefully 
resting on the edge of the vessel. Soon the 
movements of the active toad attracted the 
