OPHIDIAN NO ME XC LA TURE, E TC. 42 3 



' In Brazil, Jeboia and Cas-cavel are the universal names for the boa and rattle- 

 snake ; every snake with red in its markings is a coral snake ("corral," from the 

 vSpanish word for a ring), every one found in or near the water would be a 

 Cobra de agtta, and every other is a Jarraracca or a Curucucu. 



' I believe every country has a pet bugbear among serpents. '* Fer-de-lance " 

 is the cry in St. Lucia when a snake rustles away in the bush or inflicts a bite 

 unseen, "Bushmaster" in Demerara, "Toboba" in Nicaragua, "Vaia" in Mexico, 

 •' Vivera de la cruz " in the River Plate. Over and over again have I had snakes 

 of widely different species sent to me, each guaranteed to be a genuine Jarraracca, 

 until I began to doubt whether the Jarraracca had any existence at alL I believe 

 that the one I sent to the Zoological Gardens the other day is the real thing — 

 Craspedocephahis Brasiliensis—2X last' (the Xenodon after all!) 'and I think I 

 have sifted the Curucucu down by elimination till I can fix the term on Trigone- 

 cephahts atrox. 



• #•••••••* 



* I fear we shall never get a decent classification till some competent obser\-er 

 studies them on their native soil ; the excellence of the books on Indian reptiles 

 is doubtless due to this. We want a man in authority to settle the very vernacular 

 for us — one who can say, "This and no other shall be the Jarraracca, this the 

 Bushmaster," etc., for it is undoubtedly a great advantage to have a well-defined 

 native or local synonym. The marvel is that the present classification should be 

 so good as it is. Look at the difficulties. When people see a snake they rush 

 at it, smash it with sticks or stones, pick up what is left of it and put it in a 

 bottle of canha, cachasse, rum, or other coarse spirit, label it with a wrong 

 name, and' send it home. And these are the materials an ophiologist has to 

 build on.' ^ 



Krefift, speaking of the confusion of vernaculars in Australia, 

 also says : ' To make a work on ophiology useful to all, co-opera- 

 tion is 7iecessary ; and as a good, sound English name is pre- 

 fixed to every species, it is to be hoped that such name will, 

 if possible, be retained.' He is referring more particularly to 

 the ' Diamond snake,' which on the mainland is the harmless 

 PytJion mohirus, and in Tasmania the venomous Hoplocephaliis 

 siiperbus, with very broad scales. Therefore he ' hopes that 

 Tasmanian friends will accept the designation " Broad-scaled 

 snake" in lieu of "Diamond" for their poisonous species.' 

 In the accounts sent to England, the indiscriminate use of 



' Land and Water, October 16, 1S80. 



