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2 maintain his appetite, which he lost in the absence of that remedy,
3 and that he had been in the habit of using it since his earliest
4 childhood. He was a thick-set, muscular man, of good intelli-
5 gence, merry humoured, had a light complexion, and long black
6 hair. The proverb proved true with him: —
7 “ Quod cibus est aliis, aliis est acre venenum.*'
8 “ One man’s meat may be another’s poison.”'
9 In my numerous collection of serpents, I had only three
10 Venomous species, namely: — 1. The annulated serpent ( Aspidoclo -
11 nion) ; % The cobra di capello ( Aspis Naja) ; 3. Vipers, of
12 different colours and sizes. The first (Aspidocl onion) is
13 reputed to be the most venomous. Its poison affects the throat
14 immediately, whence the Indian name, sungchure (neck-strangler).
15 It is stated that its bite will kill the strongest man in one hour,
16 and that no antidote is yet known. The length of this serpent is
17 about a yard and a half, and it is an inch and a half in diameter.
18 Its back is of a dark-grey colour, the belly white, the head not
19 bigger round than the body, the tail long and pointed. One span
20 below the head, cross-stripes of a white colour commence, similar
21 to rings, each one inch distant from the other, which run down
22 to the end of the tail. It is stated that they live for five hundred
23 years. They cannot easily be excited, and consequently they
24 seldom bite. The man who brought me such a reptile, took it
25 up with a linen rag tied round his hand, opened its mouth
26 with a small stick, introduced the neck of a live fowl, and set
27 them both at liberty. The serpent held the bird for a few
28 seconds, and then released it. The poor animal seemed to be
29 stunned ; it did not appear to suffer any pain, but was unable to
30 move, shut its eyes, and sat down. I lifted it up, and examined
31 the bitten part on the neck. It was scarcely to be detected, and
32 looked like the wound from a pin. After the application of some
33 local and interior remedies, it seemed to recover a little ; opening
34 its eyes, erecting itself on its legs, and having two watery
35 evacuations of a dark-green colour. A quarter of an hour
36 after the bite, it sat down again, and died. All this lasted