MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 363 



No. IV —NOTE ON THE DIGESTION OF EGGS BY 

 COBRAS AND DABOIAS. 



With reference to Mr. C. P. George's Note printed on page 174 of this 

 volume, and in accordance with a suggestion made by Mr. Phipson at the last 

 meeting of our Society, I have made the following experiments with the live 

 snakes at my disposal at the Government Laboratory, Parel, with a view of 

 ascertaining how long snakes take to digest a hen's egg if swallowed with the 

 shell intact. 



Our first attempt was a failure, in so far as the egg broke in the cobra's 

 gullet while being pushed down. 



No trace of the egg or its shell could be found next day on palpating the 

 snake's body. The animal passed a motion 16 days afterwards, in which a few 

 pieces of egg shell were observed. 



The second cobra was successfully fed with an entire egg, by using long 

 forceps to open the gape, and by oiling the shell freely. "When examined on the 

 following day, a bulging was noticed about f down the body, which proved to 

 be the egg. On feeling this lump a distinct crackling was felt, pointing to the 

 commencing disintegration of the egg. Twenty-four hours later all trace of 

 the egg had disappeared. 



A third cobra was similarly fed with a like result. 



It thus appears that the cobra requires 48 hours to digest a whole fowl's egg. 



In the case of the Russell's viper it was found impossible to introduce even a 

 bazaar egg, so we had to content ourselves with pigeon's eggs. 



The result was the same as in the case of the cobra, viz., the egg could be felt 

 after 24 hours as a softish lump which crepitated distinctly under the fingers, 

 and it had disappeared entirely in 48 hours. 



W. B. BANNERMAN, M.D., Lt.-Col., I.M.S. 

 Plague Research Laboratory, Parel. 

 Bombay, November, 1904. 



No. V.— DO WILD ANIMALS EVER DIE OF INTESTINAL 



OBSTRUCTION. 



In the course of numerous post-mortem examinations on animals from the 

 Victoria Gardens, Bombay, two cases of death from obstruction caused by the 

 presence of foreign bodies have come under the notice of the officers of this 

 laboratory. It strikes one as incongruous that such misceilanous feeders as the 

 bear and Cassowary should thus die, yet the following prove3 that, in captivity 

 at least, such is the fact. 



CASE I. — In September 1903, a common Indian Black Bear died of some 

 intestinal trouble in the Victoria Gardens, Bombay. 



It was sent here for examination, and the cause of death was found to be 

 peritonitis due to perforation of the small intestine caused by the impaction of 

 a mango stone. 



