52 6 SNAKES. 



played. Dr. Arthur Stradling, on the contrary, tells us 

 that his own snakes * are almost always within hearing of a 

 piano, and never show the slightest emotion at the sound.' i 

 His observations, I believe, refer chiefly to his life at sea, 

 where his cabin did duty as concert-room, menagerie, 

 and all else combined, and where, apart from piano, 

 there would be ceaseless noise and jarring ; or even if on 

 shore, the 'always' would rather support my own theory 

 or speculation as to any feasible solution of the fact that 

 serpents are affected by 7ioise, not ' music' And my idea is, 

 that it is the jarring or vibration through solids, and not the 

 mere sound, that thus affects the snakes. Since first 

 venturing to express this idea in the Dublin University 

 Magazine, Jan. 1876, I have continued to observe the effect 

 on snakes of what we may call disturbing noises. At the 

 Gardens, where they become accustomed to noises of all 

 kinds, it is less easy to arouse them ; but when the place is 

 unusually quiet, the experiment may be tried. The * snake 

 men ' of the East, whose trade is to hunt out snakes by 

 means of sound, effect this by rapping on the wall or ceiling, 

 or by making loud, clucking noises with their tongue as 

 much as by their so-called 'music ;' and Pliny, — if we may 

 cite Pliny to suit our purpose and discard him otherwise, 

 — or whoever Jie quotes, affirms that snakes are more 

 easily aroused by the sound of footsteps than by the sight of 

 the approaching person. A custom is prevalent in Ceylon, 

 we are told, of using a jingling stick in the dark to strike the 

 ground in order to frighten snakes out of the path. The 

 jingling 'music' here is disturbing, not alluring, but as 



* Land aud Water, April y\, 1880. 



