HOtJRS WlTrt NATURE. 



and does so in its wild state; but* in captivity, it is 

 obliged to be content with easily obtainable and less costly 

 fare, such as duck, fowl, rabbit &c., or, on rare occasions, 

 kid. Smaller pythons feed on rats, chickens, guineapigs 

 &c. Pythons in captivity have been known to become 

 tired of the sameness of food. One accustomed to be fed 

 on duck may refuse to go for it, but would readily take 

 a fowl instead. During the cold weather and the early part 

 of spring, pythons, like all other snakeSj hybernate, /. <?., 

 remain inactive without food or drink in a state of 

 partially suspended animation. When deprived of its 

 liberty, a python does not unfrequently remain in a state of 

 sulkiness for a long time, refusing all offer of food. A 

 python seventeen feet long has been known to go without 

 food for a period of eighteen months, none the worse for 

 this prolonged fasting. 



Wise provision of Nature. A python feeding is 

 a gruesome spectacle, and children had better avoid 

 looking at it. Yet it is not without its lesson. The 

 act of swallowing costs the snake much time and trouble 

 especially if the animal to be devoured is large as 

 compared with the capacity of its jaws ; the mouth and 

 throat become enormously distended and distorted out 

 of shape. The question naturally suggests itself : how is 

 the snake able to carry on respiration when the mouth is 

 so full and the throat almost choking ? The beneficent 

 Creator has solved the problem in a most ingenious and, 

 efficient manner. During the progress of swallowing, 

 the windpipe of the snake protrudes from the mouth, 



