LAND AND WATER 
November I4, 19 14 
know that the men have toiled mght and day or ou p o^ 
tection. and that thev can onl J-P.'^^^^tfntan received in 
i"Th"4kTmu.t hat bee? welcome. It contained a 
[Kf^lie-M^^ 
anH sifetv-matchcs. Thousands of parcels have ^ont^ 
ouJalreadv sonie have reached their owners and ^ome have 
nS Under' the Field Force scheme no parcel should go 
astray. 
Comforts for the Fleet 
\ huge Union Jack floats outside No. 47 C.rosvenor 
Square a^nd. though a house-agent's board announces 
faScallv that the f.ouse is to be sold, the Passer-bjMS wc 
aware that it is inhabited temporarily. Cabs, and arts, ana 
vanr, ull up at the entrance all day long. People m cars 
and pS^on foot come and go early and late . when 
curiosity or kindness prompts a fresh v.sUor to penetrate e 
doors, he receives a cheering impression o ^^ "a;|:Jl c 
carpeted premises, and is greeted so complaisantly that he 
feels he is the one person on earth whose presence is desired 
From small and tentative beginnings this wonderful 
work has developed into a perfect organisation for sending 
comforts to the Fleet. Its administrative abihty '« a great 
tribute to womankind, and its sympathv is all it should be. 
In the secretary's room Mrs. Jebb-Scott, the honorary 
secretary and her assistant secretaries are busy from mornmg 
till night acknowledging cheques and parcels answering 
inquiries and attending to the many secretarial duties that 
arc inevitable. In the unpacking room the clothes are arranged 
under the care of Mrs. Longland, another member of the com- 
mittee There is no confusion, no misplaced energy anywhere 
— simplv a desire to send good things out to the Fleet, and to 
accomplish this as speedily as possible before the cold becomes 
too bitter. Further on in the packing room Miss Kathleen bcott 
directs the energies of her assistants. Here the parcels are made 
up • thev are sent off, with a list and a message in each, at 
the' rate "of a hundred and a hundred and twenty a day, and 
already two hundred ships have been cheered and comforted 
bv these practical evidences of sympathy from the Mother 
Country. Over a ton of clothing and hospital equipment has 
been sent to the Naval hospitals at Haslar, Chatham, 
Plymouth, and Southend. The work has been done with 
the approval of the Admiralty ; it has been assisted very 
generously by Queen Mary's Needlework Guild, and has 
co-operated with Ladv Jellicoe's fund. 
The amateur packer becomes expert in a few days. 
Her parcel must pass severe scrutiny before it is allowed to 
risk transit ; but the labours of the packers are amply repaid 
bv the grateful letters received telling that " the men look 
like balloons," so well are they protected, or " the arrival of 
the parcels was the great excitement of the day." Piloted 
by Miss Matheson, another member of the executive, the 
hospital room, where all the emergency night-shirts, bed- 
iackets, apphances, etc., are stored, is reached. Here the 
visitor is brought up face to face with stern realities, and 
then up a few stairs is shown the large reception 
rooms of the house, turned for the time being into a work- 
room, as busy and as businesslike as that of any factor}'. 
Here Mrs. Walter Scott and Mrs. Fuller administrate, and 
the work is turned out beautifully. It is the result of 
voluntary effort almost entirely, though a few paid machinists 
are working there under ideal conditions. Erica. 
CORRESPONDENCE 
To the Editor of L.\nd .^xd W.\ter. 
Sir —Apropos the recent article in Land and Water 
querying female adders swallowing their young, will you 
permit my telling what I witnessed vvhcn a boy ? 
Mv home in North Wales was locally renowned for the 
number of snakes one could find in those days on its 300 acres. 
Always interested in them, the opportunities afforded for 
observation were many ; besides, I have had several snakes 
in captivity. ,, ,, ^ 4. 1 
Once I was passing near a stone wall that separated a 
small plantation from a grass field when I spotted a snake, 
dark brown and white in colour. Having got nearer— some 
two yards away— I saw five or six baby snakes about 4 in. 
long ■ They were close to and in front of their mother. 1 he 
faniily were on a low rock, just above the surface of the ground. 
i saw the mother snake open her large mouth- the lower 
iaw did not seem to move— and most distinctly did I see the 
five or six little ones wriggle into that mouth and disappear. 
The parent slid away and through the dry wall, and was lost 
to view in the grass on the other side. 
As she left the rock I thought her mouth remained open. 
I heard no hissing or other invitation to her children. That 
snake, I should say, was not more than 2 ft. in length. All 
this was a matter of seconds only, 
I take it that as soon as she was beyond the wall, i.e., 
out of danger, the little ones reappeared. In about an hour 
I returned to the spot— this time very cautiously— but I only 
saw three of the baby snakes, and I captured them. 
It must be borne in mind that the gullet of a snake is 
very elastic. It is fair to presume that the little ones did 
not go lower than the gullet, for there they had the air taken 
in by the mother at the time of their entry— inhaled by her 
for the purpose of the youngsters. 
I have opened British snakes, and several times found 
young ones inside, but never in the gullet ; they were 
invariably in the oviduct. I doubt whether they had ever 
teen daylight before, though on emerging they wriggled 
about. I rather think it was premature birth, those snakes 
being viviparous. Of the hundreds I have handled and 
seen, I never knew one larger than 3 ft. 5 in. ; and that 
was a harmless green snake with^the white collar. 
I have watched wild snakes catching and devouring their 
prey ; but only once did I see young ones taking refuge in 
the mother's gullet. 
Doubtless it will astonish many of us to be told that in 
a certain part of England there are to-day snakes 8 ft. and 
9 ft. in length. Luckily they are not venomous. Also 
that south of the Amazon,"^ in the swamps of Brazil, anacondas 
have been killed that measured 65 ft. long, whilst others 
have been seen approximating 85 ft. 
The largest of snakes never kill for their food anything 
more bulky than a marsh pig or a dwarf deer — shall I add 
travellers' tales notwithstanding ? 
Yours faithfully. 
Sunny Bank, Coldbrook, P. Picton. 
Abergavenny. 
A SUNDAY LECTURE 
Next Sunday, at 4 p.m., Mr. Hilaire Belloc, whose weekly 
articles in Land and Water are commanding considerable 
attention, will deliver a lecture on " The Strategy of the 
War " at the Globe Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, which is 
being lent by Mr. Oscar Asche and Miss Lily Brayton for 
that occasion. The proceeds of the afternoon will be devoted 
to the Daily Telegraph Belgian Relief Fund. Seats may now 
be booked bv written application to the manager at the 
theatre. Ordinary theatre prices (los. 6d. to is.) will be 
charged. 
The Cardinal Publishing Co.. of .^ Wine Office Court. London, E.C., 
have just issued their No. i of " War Hero Portraits " from the 
original copperplate etchings by WilUam Renison. One of these will 
be found as a frontispiece to Land and Water this week. The price 
is 3d. each, or is. 6d. the set of six. 
THE NECESSITOUS LADIES' HOLIDAY FUND 
To Die Editor of Land and Water. 
Sir, — You were good enough on previous occasions to allow me 
space in your valuable paper to appeal for contributions to provide 
holidays by the sea or country side for necessitous ladies. Through 
the generosity of your readers I was enabled to bring rest and 
refreshment to many. 
I appeal again for help to send away governesses, typewriters, 
hospital nurses, secretaries, musicians, actresses, and ladies engaged 
in other professions, who, unable to provide holidays for themselves, 
and without the possibility of earning money in the summer months, 
are left behind in London, exposed to the sufferings attendant on 
poverty. 
I appeal for those too proud to plead for themselves, for the 
delicate, and more especiallv for those broken down in health from 
overwork. 
.Ml contributions sent to me will be thankfully acknowledged 
and distributed among deserving cases if sent to appended address. 
f am, Sir, 
Your obedient servant, 
CONSTANCE BEERBOHM. 
48 Upper Berkeley Street, 
London, W. 
Among the well-known employers who arc holding out induce- 
ments to their staffs to respond to the call to arms, Messrs. James 
Carter &- Co., of Raynes Park, S.W., the well-known seedsmen, are 
not only keeping positions open but paying half wages to all incmbers 
ol their staff who are accepted for service. No distinction between 
married or unmarried is made, as Messrs. James Carter & Co. realise 
the latter have dependents also. 
