MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 811 



the squirrel came to close quarters the lizard snapped at him, hut the little fellow 

 was mi'.el*. too quick for him, jumping hack or round the bough, and then tackling 

 the Monitor from another quarter. At last the latter gave in and came down 

 the tree pursued by the squirrel with tail erect and hair frilled out in great triumph. 

 The Monitor ran into the grass, where my terrier settled accounts with him 

 forthwith, greatly to the sweeper's horror, who thought it was all up with "Tim, 

 Tim." It is curious that lvere in the North- West Provinces the appearance of one 

 of these monitors causes more dismay among the natives than any Krait or 

 Cobra.* One of my men assured me he had known a woman who died from the 

 bite of a bis- cobra, 



G. J. RAYMENT. 



Bahugarh, September, 1883. 



2— THE WATER RAIL (BALLUS AQUATWUS). 



I write to inform you that I killed a specimen of the Water Rail (Rallus 

 aquaticus) in the Bohri Taluka of Shikarour, Colleetorate of Sind, on 5th Nov- 

 ember. Hume and Marshall describe it as extremely rare, and only known to 

 them as having been seen in the Dun, with the exception of two specimens, one of 

 which was killed near Sialkote and the other near Abbotabad. I have carefully 

 examined the bird, and it is undoubtedly Rullus aquaticus a&d not Rallus hulicus 

 the distinctive points being unmistakable. 



D. GEORGE. 



Sukkur, Uh November 1889. 



3.— HOW A SNAKE CLIMBS. 



A specimen of LycondoK anlicus was killed yesterday in my house while climb- 

 ing up a bamboo blind (chick) stretched vertically and lashed in position. I saw 

 the operation myself. The snake evidently climbed by hitching the edges of the 

 ventral shields ©n to those of the b&mboo lattice of the blind, and not by winding 

 bis body, which was entirely on the siile of the blind next to me, round the 

 bamboos. He moved slowly and not painfully or awkardly. This species of 

 «nake is notoriously apt at eses;lade, but this is the best thing in that way I have 

 seen of it. 



W. F, SINCLAIR. 



Alibag, September 1883, 



* It is exceedingly difficult te account for the widespread belief, amongst the 

 natives of India, in the so-called " Bis~Cobra*" The young of the Common Indian 

 Monitor (Varanns draccenu) is greatly dreaded in most parts ©f the Bombay Presi- 

 dency, although, curiously enough, when the lizard becomes full grown, it is called the 

 w Ghorpad," and is recognized by the country people as being perfectly harmless. The 

 young differ considerably from the adult, in having a mottled appearance. Many 

 other equally harmless lizards are thought to be exceedingly poisonous by the natives 



in other parts of the county, where the term Bis-Cobra is applied to them Vide 



Mr. Vidal's interesting paper on the subject on page 71 in Vol. 3 of the Soaiety'g 

 Journal. — Ed. 



