THE INLAND SEA EEVISITED. 6 1 



after the rice is thus planted, all the flat country has 

 become green. From thence to harvest-time (October), 

 the crops require constant cleaning and attending. 

 Too much water may wash the plants away, too little 

 dry them up. Snakes are very fond of these warm, 

 muddy fields ; frogs abound, and on these the snakes 

 feed. When snipe-shooting once, I heard in the tall 

 rice a very peculiar loud note, unlike any bird or animal 

 I knew. I approached cautiously, expecting some 

 winged creature to rise every moment. I got so near 

 at last, that the sound appeared almost at my feet, and 

 on parting the long green plant with my hand, I saw 

 an unfortunate frog in the jaws of a snake. The reptile 

 had seized the frog by the stern, half was already in his 

 jaws, but the frog being large, it was no easy matter to 

 manage the remaining part. Every time the snake 

 gave a gulp at his victim, and another eighth of an inch 

 disappeared, the croak of anguish which had attracted 

 my attention was squeezed out of the poor frog. There 

 are very few species of venomous reptiles in Nipon, 

 and even these, unless trodden on, are harmless. 



After passing Simonosaki, the Korean Straits are 

 entered, and following the coast to the south for 

 eighty miles, Hirado, a large island, is reached. It is 

 separated from the mainland by a very narrow pass. 



