1812 The Zoologist — September, J 869. 



on native testimony is amply confirmed. In the year 1855, in the 

 rains, Ur. Cheke was standing in his verandah with the late Claude 

 Russell, when he observed a great commotion amongst some ten or 

 twelve minas at a little distance. The chattering of the birds and 

 their excited movements drew the observers to the spot, when, to 

 their surprise, all the others flying away, they saw one of the minas 

 {A. tristis) detained by a large bull-frog, which had hold of him by 

 the thigh. lie struggled hard to escape, but could not : stooping 

 down, Dr. Cheke took hold of the bird and lifted him up, and with 

 him the bull-frog, which refused to let go its hold for a long time ; and 

 doubtless had he not been disturbed, or the bird released by his com- 

 panions, he had made a meal off him. 



I have heard of another instance, which I will give in the words of 

 its narrator, T. P. Gudgen, Esq., of the 2nd Dragoon Guards. " In 

 August, 1858, when quartered at Marian, near Lucknow, I saw a 

 large rain or ram frog spring in amongst a number of sparrows that 

 were picking up wails and strays in the shape of loose grains of rice, 

 &c., near my servant's huts and catch one of them, with which it imrae- 

 diateiy made off. Some of my servants (who had also witnessed this 

 little incident of frog life) and I immediately gave chase, and in a 

 few seconds one of my syces (grooms) cleverly captured the frog by 

 throwing a horse-cloth over it. Ou opening the frog's mouth, I found 

 that the sparrow had not wholly disappeared, and that the legs and 

 tail were easily come-at-able; I instantly seized the former with my 

 thumb and finger, and gently withdrew the sparrow from its unique 

 position. On examining the sparrow I found that, with the exception 

 of a slight wetting and rufBing of the feathers, it had suffered little 

 inconvenience from its temporary sojourn in a frog's throat. I may 

 add thai, as soon as the sparrow's feathers got dry, it flew away quite 

 briskly."—/'. G. 



But enough of frogs, to which digression I have been led in my 

 search for snake-stones. The virulence of snake bites is at times 

 very great, e. g., on the evening of July 2nd, 1864, one of my finest 

 goats was bitten in the tongue by a snake in the grass ; she bleated 

 three times very loudly so as to attract notice, but she was lying dead 

 ere any one could reach her; she may, however, have been bitten a short 

 time before we noticed her. Here is a case of cure worthy of record, 

 and given in the words of the medical attendant. Dr. F. Pearson, of 

 Almorah. "On May 80th, 1850, at about 3 p.m., Lieut. S. was 

 bitten in the knuckle of the right thumb by a snake (which proved 



