CHAPTER XIII 

 SNAKES IN RELATION TO MAN 



UNDER this head, the question of poisonous 

 snakes naturally occupies the first place. In 

 addition to what has been said above in Chapter VI., 

 dealing with the anatomical and physiological aspects 

 of the subject, we have to allude to the accidents 

 caused by these dangerous reptiles, and the measures 

 taken to combat them. 



The enormous mortality for which snake-bite is 

 responsible in India is well known. Statistics estab- 

 lish the fact that an average of 20,000 human lives 

 are thus lost annually : 24,264 is the official return 

 for 1911. In Australia, where highly poisonous snakes 

 of various genera and species abound, the fatal cases 

 are likewise very numerous, though less in propor- 

 tion than in South America, and no doubt also in 

 Africa. In the small island of Martinique, the Fer- 

 de- Lance, Lachesis lanceolatus, causes every year 

 the death of about 100 human creatures. Though 

 numerous in species, the poisonous snakes of Ceylon 

 cause a comparatively small mortality — 200 per 

 annum. 



Modern research has resulted in the discovery of 



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