338 Wild Life in a Southern County. 
exhibited by people whose whole lives are spent in 
the fields and by the hedges. 
Now and then a peculiar squealing sound may be 
heard proceeding from the grass; on looking about it 
is found to be made bya frog in the extremity of 
mortal terror. A snake has seized one of his hind 
legs and has already swallowed a large part of it. 
The frog struggles and squeals, but it is in vain; the 
snake, if once he takes hold, will gradually get him 
down. I have several times released frogs from this 
horrible position; they hop off apparently unhurt 
if only the leg has been swallowed. But on one 
occasion I found a frog quite half gone down the 
throat of its dread persecutor : I compelled the snake 
to disgorge it, but the frog died soon afterwards. 
The frog being a broad creature, wide across the 
back—at least twice the width of the snake—it ap- 
pears surprising how the snake can absorb so large a 
thing. 
In the nesting season snakes are the terror of 
those birds that build in low bushes. I have never 
seen a snake in a tree (though I have heard of their 
getting up trees), but I have seen them in hawthorn 
bushes several feet from the ground, and apparently 
proceeding along the boughs with ease. I once 
found one in a bird’s nest : the nest was empty—the 
snake had doubtless had a feast, and was enjoying 
deglutition. In some places where snakes are 
numerous, boys when bird’s-nesting always give the 
