150 Miscellaneous. 



one end and then at the other. I thought it best to thrust the dag- 

 ger into the snake as near the head as possible ; but as that was 

 hidden by the bench I could not see it, and I made a thrust through 

 the lungs. It started and Fanny was thrown from its folds with a 

 jerk, when its aim was to retreat by the way it had entered. I then 

 withdrew the dagger and thrust it into the snake furtiier back, so as 

 to hold him till the men on the outside could disable him. As his 

 head appeared they beat him with sticks, so as to prevent him from 

 running away entirely." 



To the above I will add, that Mr. Smith displayed great fearless- 

 ness on the occasion ; for though there were on the spot a number 

 of men, both colonists and natives, yet not one could be induced to 

 follow him into the house. An attack from the serpent might have 

 been apprehended, for he was evidently in a state of extreme hunger. 



The general habit of this serpent in seeking for its prey is to lie 

 in ambush near a frequented path or watering-place, and suspended 

 from a tree, or with its tail fixed to some other object, suddenly dart 

 upon the unwary animal. The attack is so sudden and violent that 

 the victim is often prostrated and stunned, and then begins the 

 dreadful process of constriction. A bullock was so much injured in a 

 recent attack, as to be supposed beyond the possibility of recovery. 



In making the onset, it is not always necessary that the tail should 

 be coiled around a fixed object. The hooks or claws near the anus 

 are sometimes protruded, it is said (and the evidence is wholly satis- 

 factory), and inserted in the ground or under roots, thus affording a 

 fulcrum which gives inconceivable force to the blow. 



These horny processes, or rudimental feet as they have been called, 

 are also serviceable in ascending trees : they are inserted into the 

 ground and bark of the tree, constituting fixed points, which greatly 

 facilitate the ascent. We have satisfactory testimony in proof of 

 another habit that I have never seen mentioned, in which these hooks 

 must be highly serviceable. It is said, that in fields more or less open 

 they often raise their heads above the surrounding grass and shrub- 

 bery in search of prey ; their application then in this act must be evi- 

 dent ; protruded and penetrating the ground beneath the roots, they 

 must afford great support to the body. In this position birds have 

 been known to attempt to alight, mistaking it, in its motionless at- 

 titude, for a stick or stump, and thus to have fallen unwarily into its 

 distended jaws. 



Instances of its attack upon men are very rare, and never, pro- 

 bably, except when it is in a state of extreme hunger. 



The natives fear them single-handed, but not in numbers. They 

 seek them for food, esteeming them very highly on their bill of fare. 



Its places of resort are streams and damp places. Almost all ani- 

 mals constitute its prey. It is not poisonous, as is well known. Its 

 constrictive power is all that renders it formidable. — From the Boston 

 (U. S.) Journ. of Nat. Hist. vol. iv. No. 2. 



ON THE PLACE OF ISOETES IN THE SYSTEM. 



Following the opinion of C. Richard, M. Bory de St. Vincent con- 

 siders that the Linnscan genus Isoetes has such distinct characters 

 that it must be regarded as a natural family ; to this it has been ob- 



