
138 DO SNAKES SWALLOW THEIR YOUNG? 
















tive and interesting little works on popular Natural History, — 
and among them “Our Reptiles”* which contains such con- 
firmations of some of the statements given in this shom 
sketch, and so many well-authenticated accounts of snakes 
taking their young into their mouths for protection, that *) 
quote the following passages. i 
On page 50, in writing on the food of the common Eng 
lish Snake, which is the European representative. of the 
common Striped-snake of America, and closely allied to it in 
its habits, he gives the following quotation from Mr. Bell: 
“I once saw a very small one [frog], which had been swal- 
lowed by a large snake in my possession, leap again out of 
the mouth of the latter, which happened to gape, as they 
frequently do immediately after taking food.” And again oi 
the same page he writes: “During the present summer, 
gentleman of our acquaintance saw a lad kill a snake in the 
wood. It was a very large one, and the boy cut it opet 
along the under surface with his pocket-knife. By 
means a full-sized frog was liberated from the stomach oft yr 
snake. It was very sone and soon hopped away. 
may not young vipers remain as long with equal ease 
stomach of their parent?” 
On page 68, in treating of the venom of Vipers, he mer p 
tions the following case of a Horned-viper presented | toe F 
Guyon in Mista : “This reptile had been put into 4) att 
which had since remained hermetically closed. It had 
in there for six weeks, without food and without air, 
looked quite dead, since it could not stir in the bottle, 1 
it filled entirely. And yet, on opening the bottle, 
aimee 
— ee 

* OUR REPTILES. A plain and easy papae: ‘of the Lizards, Snakes, New an 
M. C. Cooke, author 
ry sage and numerous wood-euts. Published by Robe 
- 200 pages, 11 plates, and numerous cuts. 
We ca can heartily recommend the works of oe Cooke to our readers, 9 i 
books tha ill nature, an nd should be Pp 
any of le for our subscribers. — Eps. 

