Live Frog taken out of a Snake

YOUR correspondent, Colonel Major, may be interested to hear of another instance of a Batrachian returning alive from the stomach of a snake. A grass snake of about 24 inches, kept in captivity, had not fed for three weeks: it was then given a very large specimen of the common frog, full-grown; this was swallowed at once, in the usual way by taking the hind leg first. In about an hour and a half the frog was a third of the way down the snake's body. Then, on the snake being played with and handled, after some minutes the lump began to move up rapidly towards the head of the snake, the mouth opened and out slid the frog; rather off colour, and not very happy-looking, but quite able to hop about in a shuffling fashion, though decidedly shaky on his legs. To an amphibian imprisonment without air could not be very hurtful for a few hours, were it not for the poison of the gastric juices. When the grass snake was left again with the frog it re-swallowed its prey. A snake will often take half an hour swallowing a frog: the distension of the jaws during the operation is extraordinary to witness. In about an hour's time the frog will be a third of the way down the snake's body.