48 
T am unable to state, for fearing I might lose a 
good cabinet specimen by waiting too long 
a time, when they would be sure to separate, I 
prepared them for keeping in this condition.” 
“You really do not mean that after swallow- 
ing a portion of its unfortunate contestant for 
the meal, the water snake would free its cap- 
tive and the two would separate without injury 
to either ?” 
“Yes, I mean exactly what I stated. I have 
observed two baby garter snakes fiercely con- 
test the possession of a wee baby toad that they 
had both seized at opposite extremities, when 
one succeeded in securing all of the toad and 
besides swallowed all but an inch of the strug- 
gling relative. Then when disturbed by my 
handling them, each hastily wriggled free from 
the unnatural embrace and neither showed any 
injury whatever from their strange experience. 
Of course the successful contestant retained the 
toad.” 
“Well, well, my dear Count that is indeed 
an interesting insight into the life habits of 
these strange creatures,” 
SHEDDING THE SKIN. 
“A highly interesting feature in the life hab- 
its of our common snakes is the act of shedding 
the skin or ‘slough.’ When the growth of the 
snake, which by the way, is quite rapid in 
baby snakes, causes the epidermis to become 
