THE RING SNAKE. 19 
whether any one could say what our snakes first feed 
on in their infancy ; at any rate, I would not presume 
to doomatise about it. Probably some insects and 
small slugs are the first diet, but as the snake grows 
to maturity much bigger game is substituted. An 
adult ring snake undoubtedly prefers a young frog 
to anything else, and the process of swallowing it 
is a task requiring some time and careful manipula- 
tion. The frog is, as a rule, seized by one hind-leg, 
simply because it is usually making an eflort to keep 
well ahead of the pursuing snake. It is a hopeless 
effort, however, and the reptile, darting forward its 
head with an extremely rapid movement, secures its 
prey, then proceeds more leisurely to devour it. Once 
caught, the frog makes no further struggle, exhibiting 
that remarkable state of semi-unconsciousness often 
seen in other animals in the presence of serpents. 
One hind-leg swallowed, the body of the frog begins 
to disappear, the mechanism of the ophidian jaw 
being adapted for the passage of very laree articles 
of diet. The picture presented at this stage of the 
performance is sufficiently ludicrous,— the three legs 
and the head of the frog are seen standing forward, 
in a very singular manner.”? If in the first place the 
frog happens to have been seized by the body, the 
snake turns its victim until the head is towards the 
mouth and then swallows the frog head first, the 
unfortunate amphibian being alive all the while. 
1 Knapp. 
