68 



JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, 1890. 



published for the guidance of District officers under the authority 

 of Government, omitted all mention of the Echis carinata, and 

 declared the " Phursa" of Western India to be identical with Eahjs 

 Himalayaiius ! 



I have assumed above that all or nearly all the snakes destroyed 

 for rewards in Ratnagiri belong to the Echis species. In making 

 this assumption, I am relying on past personal observation, as well 

 as arguing from the natural probabilities of the case. The totals 

 may include a few Cobras and Daboias, and possibly a few harmless 

 snakes sometimes find their way into the bags. But the number 

 of snakes other than 'Phursas' brought in for rewards in Ratnagiri 

 is so insignificant that for all practical purposes it may be treated 

 as a quantite negligeable. The truth is that no other snakes but 

 the Echis are, or can be, systematically hunted and found in great 

 numbers. A band of professional snake-charmers would think 

 themselves lucky if they bagged a pair of cobras after a day's search 

 in likely places. A party of Ratnagiri ' Phursa' catchers would 

 curse their luck considerably, if their take of ' Phursas' averaged 

 less than 50 a day. It is on record that in 1862, when the reward 

 for 'Phursas' was tentatively increased from six pies to two annas a 

 snake, 115,921 ' Phursas' were killed and brought in for rewards in 

 Ratnagiri within eight days (December 2nd to 10th) ! At the same 

 rate, had the reward been continued without limit as to total 

 expenditure, five millions of ' Phursas' would have been destroyed in 

 one year. But after this alarming display of zeal, the rate of reward 

 was promptly reduced to its former level. The real truth is that 

 notwithstanding the enormous number annually destroyed in Ratna- 

 giri for years and years past, no really serious impression has as yet 

 been made on the ' Phursas.' This is clearly shown by the fact that 

 the mortality from snake-bite in Ratnagiri has not sensibly dimi- 

 nished in the last ten years. The reason is that a limit is fixed on the 

 total expenditure on rewards.* The rate now in force — three pies 

 per snake — is sufficiently high to make ' Phursa' hunting a profitable 

 business. But as no rewards are paid, after the limited grant for the 

 purpose is exhausted, the annual campaign is incomplete and in- 

 effective, and the enemy is left in possession of the field with only 



• * The limit some years ago was Rs. 50 per taluka per month. 



