BY WILLIAM MACLEAY, F.L.S., &C. 567 



An analysis of the foregoing list discloses the remarkable facts, 

 that, unlike all other countries, the venomous snakes -of Australia 

 are much more numerous than the harmless ; that out of 108 

 species of Ophidians known to inhabit Australia, 35 species only- 

 are innocuous, while 73 are venomous, and that no country in the 

 world possesses so many species of poisonous reptiles as this. In 

 India, which is looked upon as the home of venomous serpents, 

 there is nothing like the same number. Dr. Gunther in the 

 " Reptiles of British India," gives 18 species as the number of 

 the Elapidai or venomous Colubrine Snakes and 19 as that of the 

 Viperine Snakas, or 37 in all ; whereas in Australia there are, after 

 deducting the Hydrophida>, or Sea Snakes, 58 species. In 

 America, too, also famed for its numerous reptiles, the numbers 

 are few in comparison to ours. In that enormous Continent, 

 extending from the Arctic to the Antarctic regions, there are scarcely 

 more than twenty species regarded as venomous, though these, no 

 doubt, belong chiefly to the much dreaded Family of Crotalidxe, or 

 Eattle Snakes. Such being the facts, it seems strange that cases, 

 or reported cases, of snake bite, are so seldom heard of here. In 

 India, where an annual record is kept of all casualties proceeding 

 from this cause, I And that the deaths from Snake bite in 1877 

 amounted to 16,777, or one death to every 15,000 of the popu- 

 lation, taking that at about 240,000,000. The same ratio of deaths 

 applied to the present population of Australia, would give about 

 1 i as the annual loss from Snake bite. 



There is in this country no official record of deaths from this cause, 

 but newspapers ax*e so numerous and so widely spread throughout 

 the country, that I am satisfied that no casuality occurs that is not 

 duly notified once or even oftener in one or other of those publi- 

 cations. The probability is that not only are these cases repeated 

 at intervals as fresh cases, but that some are not caused by the 

 bites of venemous Snakes, or even of Snakes at all. 



I think, therefore, that we may safely take it for granted, that 

 no casualities occur in any part of this country, without its being 

 publicly announced, and looking at the paucity of these announce- 

 ments, we may confidently conclude that the Indian death rate is 



