THE VENOMOUS SNAKES OF NORTH KANAKA. 



67 



snakes, have been completely ignored. To show the abundance of 

 the echis in the Ratnagiri District alone, I give below the number 

 of these snakes killed and brought in for rewards during the six 

 years, 1882-87, in that district, as compared with the total number 

 destroyed in the Bombay Presidency the same period : — 



I have not at hand the figures for the whole of British India for 

 all the above years. But I find that in 1885 and 1886, the total 

 number of snakes killed in all India is recorded as 420,044, 417,596, 

 respectively. Thus it may safely be concluded that of the whole 

 number of snakes annually destroyed throughout British India, 

 considerably more than one-half, consisting almost exclusively of 

 individuals of the Echis species, are killed in Ratnagiri alone ! 

 These figures convey a very fair idea of the strength of the " Phitrsa" 

 community in this locality, though they by no means represent the 

 maximum possible number of " Phursas" which might be destroyed, 

 if more vigorous measure were adopted. But one looks in vain for 

 any mentioD of the occurrence of the Ech is in Ratnagiri in all the 

 books dealing with Indian snakes. It is not indeed very many years 

 since the then head of the Bombay Medical Department, in a list of 

 the poisonous snakes of India, with vernacular names attached, 



