THE BLINDWORM. 41 



upon the little white slug, so common in fields 

 and gardens, eating six or seven of them, one 

 after the other ; but it did not eat every day. 

 It invariably took them in one position. Ele- 

 vating its head slowly above its victim, it would 

 suddenly seize the slug by the middle, in the 

 same way that a ferret or dog will generally 

 take a rat by the loins ; it would then hold it 

 thus sometimes for more than a minute, when 

 it would pass its prey through its jaws, and 

 swallow the slug head foremost. It refused the 

 larger slugs, and would not touch either young 

 frogs or mice. Snakes kept in the same cage 

 took both frogs and mice. The Blindworm 

 avoided the water; the snakes, on the contrary, 

 coiled themselves in the pan containing the 

 water which was put into the cage, and ap- 

 peared to delight in it. The Blindworm was 

 a remarkably fine one, measuring fifteen inches 

 in length. It cast its slough whilst in my keep- 

 ing. The skin came off in separate pieces, the 

 largest of which was two inches in length, 

 splitting first beneath, and the peeling from 

 the head being completed the last."* 



As will be seen on comparing this extract 

 with some of our own observations, it does not 

 entirely accord in all its minor details. For 



* Note to White's "Selborne," Bennett's edition. 



