VALUE OF THE PLANT PANGALA. 



455 



recognised than it has been hitherto. It is, of course, impossible to 

 shew the exact percentage of the deaths from snake-bite for which 

 the Echis is responsible. In the returns no attempt is made to dis- 

 criminate the species to which the recorded deaths are attributable, 

 and little, if any, reliance could be placed in the statistics even if 

 such an attempt were made. But the conclusion stated above may, 

 I think, be fairly drawn from the fact, which is very clear from the 

 returns in their present shape, that in all those districts, where the 

 Echis is known to abound, the average mortality from snake-bite 

 is nairkedly high, while conversely, the mortality is insignificant in 

 other districts where the Echis is either rare or absent. The follow- 

 ing table, which I have compiled with some care and labour from 

 the official returns for the eight years, 1878 — 85, shews the population, 

 the actual average mortality, and the mortality^/* mille of each dis- 

 trict in the Bombay Presidency : — 



District. 



Population 



by 



Census of 



1881. 



A verage 



actual 



mortality 



from snake 



bite, 1878 



to 1885. 



Average 

 mortality 

 per mille, 



1878 to 

 1885. 



Hydrabad 



Thar and Parkar 



Karachi 



Ratnagiri 



Thana 



Panch Mahals 



Rhikarpur 



Surnt i 



Kaira 



Bronch 



Upper Sind Frontier 



Kolaba 



Ahmedabad 



Sattara 



Kanara 



Belgaum 



Poona 



Dbarwar 



Khandeish 



Bijapnr 



Kasik 



Abmednagar 



Sholapur 



754,624 

 203,344 

 47^,688 

 997,090 

 908,548 

 255,479 

 852,986 

 614 198 

 804 800 

 32R.930 

 124 181 

 381.649 

 856,324 



1,062,350 

 421,810 

 £64.014 

 900,621 

 882,907 



1,237,231 

 638,493 

 781,206 

 751,228 

 582,487 



0- 

 0- 



0-217 

 0-239 

 0-183 

 •155 

 •119 

 0-119 

 0-085 

 0-067 

 00-586 

 00-584 

 0-053 

 0-052 

 0-046 

 0-038 

 0-037 

 0-034 

 0-020 

 0-019 

 0-018 

 0-017 

 00-138 

 00-137 

 0-003 



Thus three Sind districts and Ratnagiri, in all of which the Echis 

 swarma in suitable localities, stand well at the top of the list with an 



