AUSTRALIAN SNAKES. 29 



Again, the re23tile known in some parts of Tasmania 

 as the Carpet Snake, and in others as the Black Snake, 

 is neither our harmless Carpet Snake nor our venomous 

 Black Snake, but the equally or more deadly Tiger 

 Snake of the continent, also known as the Brown-banded 

 Snake. Those persons who, through ignorance, pooh- 

 pooh the use of scientific names, may here receive a 

 conclusive answer to the question : " Why do you 

 naturalists put Latin or Greek names to your specimens ? 

 Why not write them in plain English alone ? " 



How could we expect a foreign naturalist to under- 

 stand of what snake we wrote, when, even among our- 

 selves, we have four names for the same reptile, some of 

 which are also applied to totally different species ? 



Scientifically, the Tiger Snake is known as Kotechis 

 scutatus, and, under this name, could be found and 

 identified by naturalists all over the world. There is a 

 Black Snake in America, another in Africa, and others 

 in other parts of the world ; but there is only one 

 Pseudechis poiyhyriacus, and that is the Black Snake 

 of Australia. 



Speaking of technical names, I must admit that 

 snakes, in common with other animals, have frequently 

 had two, three, or even more scientific names applied to 

 them : this arises from unavoidable causes, and as soon 

 as the anomaly is discovered the duplicate names are 

 discarded. 



