8 



THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



In another letter the same gentleman says : — " I believe the toad 

 is the natural food of the snake, quite as much so as the frog ; in fact, 

 I have seen more toads than frogs disgorged by snakes. It has been 

 only when teased (as described in my previous letter) that the snake 

 has endeavoured to get rid of its prey, for the purpose, as I conclude, 

 of enabling it to move more rapidly away. I once teased a young 

 viper, about nine inches long, in the same way, and it threw up the 

 body of a lizard (minus the tail) which had not been swallowed long." 



A few weeks ago in course of a conversation with an intelligent 

 gamekeeper of my acquaintance he informed me that he had once found 

 a toad in rather a curious place. He had killed a snake, which, 

 being very big in the middle, he out of curiosity cut open, and by this 

 means released a toad, which, after a time crawled away, to all 

 appearance very little the worse for its temporary sojourn in the body 

 of its snaky enemy. 



White, of Selborne, also says that snakes eat toads. 



Another favourite morsel much relished by the snake is the newt. 

 To obtain these creatures the subject of our sketch will dive to the 

 bottom of ponds and pools. It will also search for them on land. 

 To-day (July 14th, 1873) a snake was killed close to this house by 

 some children, who on cutting it open found a large and live warty 

 newt {Triton cvistatus) in its stomach. The snake had evidently been 

 traversing a wall for the little reptiles. The snake has also been 

 known to take fish, and to chase a brood of ducklings in the water. 

 It digests its food very gradually. 



The subject of " snake fascination " over birds, is one about which 

 we do not care to give an opinion. We have never seen an instance 

 ourselves. In the act of " fascination" the snake is said to lie coiled 

 up and quite motionless, with head erect, neck swelled out, and 

 eyes bright and glittering. The steadfast stare of the reptile, like 

 that of the wily fox in the hen-roost, is supposed to be the decoying or 

 fascinating power. 



Two or three times in the course of the year the snake finds its 

 outside garment fitting somewhat too tightly for comfort, and, 

 therefore, makes arrangements for getting rid of it. To this end it 

 entangles itself among the grass or heather, and proceeds by wriggling 

 and twisting to disrobe itself. The skin first bursts about the head 

 and neck, and the reptile thrusting back its old skin crawls out. The 

 cast-off, commonly called the " slough/' is often found lying in the 

 haunts of snakes, and is frequently seen hanging up in the labourer's 

 cottage as an ornament. Sometimes these " sloughs" are marvel* 



