1889.] 



THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



7 



snakes have been killed which contained two frogs, the upper one 

 (that is the one last swallowed) being still alive, and apparently very 

 little the worse for its adventure. 



I always believed till one day in August, 1 871, that no animal was less 

 liable to fall a prey to gluttony than the common toad, having many a 

 time come upon the uneaten carcase of the poor creature lying by the 

 roadside totally neglected, except by that insect grave-digger, the 

 burying beetle (Necrophorus vespllo). Who ever knew the body of any 

 other animal to remain so long unburied as that of the toad ? On the 

 day in question I was out for a ramble, and on passing a small coppice 

 I came suddenly upon a large snake and a half-grown toad together 

 near a wall. The snake soon made its escape, leaving the poor toad 

 behind in a sadly bewildered state. It seemed fascinated. Its hind- 

 legs were stretched out sideways in the most curious fashion, and the 

 whole front part of its body, and a good way down its back, was 

 literally smeared with a slimy fluid, as if it had been swallowed thus 

 far. It remained immovable for some time, but at length as it were, 

 collecting its faculties, it moved a little, and then slowly crawled 

 away, disposing its fore-parts in a hole of the wall, close to where the 

 snake had gone in. 



The above incident, on being inserted in Science Gossip, brought 

 several replies, conclusively proving that toads, if they happen to come 

 in the way of snakes, stand an extremely good chance of being 

 swallowed there and then. I also received two interesting letters on 

 the subject from a Somersetshire clergyman, extracts from which I 

 will give, though they have already appeared in the above magazine : — 

 " I have never caught snakes in the act of doing so (i.e., swallowing 

 toads), but I have several times seen them disgorge toads in various 

 stages of decomposition. I particularly remember one occasion, when 

 more than a mile from home, I caught a snake, which I saw had very 

 recently swallowed its prey. I took it home, and placing it on the 

 lawn began to tease it with the intention of making it disgorge its 

 meal. It immediately began to strain, and the protuberance in its 

 body moved slowly towards the head, each strain advancing it a short 

 distance. At length the jaws opened, and first one fore-leg, then the 

 head, and lastly the whole body of a toad was gradually ejected. 

 After remaining in statu quo for a few minutes, the toad showed some 

 signs of life, and the limbs slowly regained their proper position. It 

 wiped off the slime from its face and head, and then crept slowly 

 away. The disgorging is a curious process well worth watching by 

 those who take an interest in such matters." 



