92 HALF-HOURS IN THE GREEN LANES. 



had been laid. After hatching, the female snake 

 appears as if she had done all she could for her 

 future progeny, and therefore she does not trouble 

 herself any further about them. Snakes are not 

 unfrequently kept in ferneries, and very pretty do 

 they look under such conditions. Their food is young 

 frogs, young birds, eggs, mice, etc., but unless hun- 

 gry, it is a difficult task to force them to eat. Even 

 if you cram the frog down a snake's throat, it will 

 cast it up again, and the unpleasant odour which 

 all snakes give off when displeased, tells you it is 

 no good going on with your attempt. When in the 

 act of swallowing, say a frog, a snake turns it 

 round much in the same way that a pike does a 

 fish, until the prey is in the most favourable position 

 for swallowing. 



The Common or Kinged Snake is very fond of the 

 water, and is, moreover, a graceful swimmer. It is 

 said to dive after the newts, when hungry, and to bring 

 them ashore in its mouth to make a meal of them. It 

 is not difficult to distinguish the common snake from 

 the Viper, with which ignorant people often confound 

 it, and perhaps make it suffer for the latter's sins. 

 In the first place, the snake delights in damp situa- 

 tions, whilst the viper seems to prefer drier spots. 

 Its colour varies considerably, but it is generally of 

 a brownish grey, with a greenish tinge, the back 

 being ornamented by two rows of small black spots, 

 with blotches along each side. The heads of the 

 snake and the viper are, however, the best means of 



