HABITS OF THE RINGED 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 

 impossible. 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 Ringed Snake is often found in the hedgerows or on waste 

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



RINGED SNAKE, OR GRASS SHAKE,-Tropidonotus natrix. 



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 head- 

 ache, and is tied tightly round the forehead when employed for alleviating pain. 



The Ringed 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 

 sometimes swimming boldly for a distance that seems very great for a terrestrial creat- 

 ure to undertake. This reptile will even take to the sea, and has been noticed swim- 

 ming 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 pre- 

 ferred diving to the very bottom, and there lay among the stones, heedless of all the pelt- 

 ing 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 



