HABITS OF THE EINGED SNAKE. 



127 



The whole process of swallowing a frog is very curious, as the creature is greatly wider 

 than the mouth of the Snake, and in many cases, when the frog is very large and the 

 Snake rather small, the neck of the Serpent is hardly as wide as a single hind leg of the 

 frog, while the body is so utterly disproportioned, that its reception seems wholly impos- 

 sible. Moreover, the Snake generally swallows one leg first, the other leg kicking freely in 

 the air. However, the Serpent contrives to catch either the knee or the foot in its mouth 

 during these convulsive struggles, and by slow degrees swallows both legs. The limbs 

 seem to act as a kind of wedge, making the body follow easily, and in half an hour or 

 so the frog has disappeared from sight, but its exact position in the body of the Snake is 

 accurately defined by the swollen abdomen. Should the frog be small, it is snapped up by 

 the side and swallowed without more ado. 



In captivity, this Snake will eat bread and milk, and insects of various kinds, such as 

 the cockroach, mealworm, or any beetle that may be found running about under stones 

 and leaves. It always, however, prefers frogs to any other food, and seems to thrive best 

 on such a diet. 



The skin or slough of the Einged Snake is often found in the hedgerows or on waste 

 grounds, entangled among the graso stems and furze through which the creature had 



RINGED SN4.KE, OR GRASS SNAKE. Tropidondtus matrix. 



crawled with the intention of rubbing off the slough against such objects. In some parts 

 of the country, the rejected slough is thought to be a specific against the headache, and is 

 tied tightly round the forehead when employed for alleviating pain. 



The Einged Snake is fond of water, and is a good swimmer, sometimes diving with 

 great ease and remaining below the surface for a considerable length of time, and some- 

 times swimming boldly for a distance that seems very great for a terrestrial creature to 

 undertake. This reptile will even take to the sea, and has been noticed swimming between 

 Wales and Anglesea. 



I have often seen tame Snakes taken to' an old deserted stone-quarry for a bath in the 

 clear water which had collected there. Generally the Snake would swim quietly from one 

 side to another, and might then be recaptured, but on sundry occasions it preferred diving 

 to the very bottom, and there lay among the stones, heedless of all the pelting to which 

 it was subjected, and impassive as if perfectly acquainted with the harmless nature of 

 stones projected into water. Nothing would induce the Snake to move but a push with a 

 stick, and as the water was rather deep and the quarry wide, a stick of sufficient length 



