lo 
28 BRITISH SERPENTS. 
curled round some projecting point, and was being 
used as a means of prehension—much as a conger 
eel will do in a hole in the rocks. —Author.)—John 
Rt. B. Masetield, Cheadle, Staffordshire. 
Retrieving a snake.—‘A ring snake was once 
seen as late as October (by Mr E. Blagg) swimming 
across a pool near Cheadle. His retriever dog went 
after 1t and seized it by the neck, the head only being 
above the water. It then coiled up and the dog loosed 
it, but again seized it (quite tenderly) and brought 
it to his master.’—Johnu R. B. Masetield, Cheadle, 
Staffordshire. 
Frog croaking though swallowed.—‘“I had a 
small ring snake, about 20 inches long, this year 
(1900), which was kept im the same case as a very 
5 
in the case, intending it for the large snake. The 
large specimen, and one day I put a full-grown frog 
smaller one, however, immediately seized the frog, 
and after some difficulty swallowed it. 1 distinctly 
heard the frog croak in the snake several minutes 
after it had been swallowed. In a quarter of an 
hour or so the frog was disgorged all but the head, 
which was retained in the snake's mouth. The frog 
was still alive, and did its best to free itself from its 
unpleasant predicament, but without suecess, and the 
snake began to swallow it again. This process took 
about half an hour to accomplish, and in another 
