1 maintain his appetite, which he lost in the absence of that remedy;
2 and that ho liar! been in the habit of 'using it since his earliest
3 childhood, Jle was a thick-set, muscular man, of good intelK-
4 gence, merry humoured, had i light complexion, and long hlnck
5 hair. The proyerb .proved true with him: —
6 M Quod cil)U« < st alii*, alii* est aero venonum.
7 ijfm matt’* meat may be nnothci’’* poison.”
8 In my numerous collection .-of .serpents, I had only three
9 venomous species, namely:— 1. The simulated serpent (A+pidoiki-
10 nion) ,• g. The cobra .li capello (Aspia Nnja); 3. Vipers, of
11 different colours and sizes. The first (Aspidoclonion) is
12 reputed t<> be the most venomous. Its poison affects the throat
13 immediately, whence the Indian name, simgclnn e (neck-strangler).
14 It. is stated that its bite will kill the strongest man in one hour,
15 and that no antidote is yet known. The length of this serpent is
16 about n yard and a half, and it is an inch and a half in diameter.
17 Its back is of a dark-grey colour, the belly white, the head not
18 bigger round than the body, the tail long and pointed. One span
19 below the head, cross stripes of a white colour commence, similar
20 Vo rings, each one inch distant from the other, which run down
21 to the end of the tail. It is stated that they live for five hundred
22 years. They cannot easily be excited, ant! consequently they
23 seldom nite. The man who brought i te uch a reptile, took it
24 up with a linen rag tied round his hand, opened irs mouth
25 with a small stick, introduced the neck of a live fowl, and set
26 them both at liberty The serpent held the bird for a few
27 seconds, and then .released it. The poor animal seemed to be
28 stunned ; it did not appear to suffer any pain, but was unable to
29 move, shut its eyes, and sat down. 1 lifted it up, and examined
30 the bitten part ou the nock. It was scarcely to be detected, and
31 looked l : ke the wound from a pin. After the application of some
32 local and interior remedies, it seemed to recover a little ; opening
33 if eycis, erecting itself on its legs, and having two watery
34 evacuations of a dark-green colour. A quarter of an hour
35 after the bit*, it sat down again, and died. All this lasted