182 Proceedings of ike lioyal Society of Victoria. 



extensive recourse to tables, furnished to me by the ever 

 obliging Government Statist, Mr. Hayter. 



Table I, which follows, shows the deaths which have taken 

 place fi'oni snake and insect bite (for the two are bracketed 

 in returns together) in the Australian colonies during the 

 decade 1881-1890. In accordance with the foot-note 

 appended to this table, I have rejected from further 

 consideration any deaths occurring in other colonies than 

 Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland. You will 

 further note that of the total 1 25 deaths which occuri'ed in 

 these three colonies in the period mentioned, at least 5 or 6 

 are obviously due to bites of other animals than snakes. 

 There is the further probability tliat some of the deaths 

 have been caused by the enthusiastic administration of alcohol 

 to persons bitten or supposed to be bitten. However, to be 

 well within the mark, I assume that 125 deaths represent 

 fatal cases of snake-bite, and proceed to deal with them 

 accordingly. 



Table I. 



Deaths from Snake and Insect-bite in iite Australian Colonies, 

 1881 tn 1890. 



Note. — There are no deaths from snake-bite in New Zealand. 



In Victoria, in 1891, there were .5 deatlis from snake-bite, and 1 from iguana-bite. 



* In other years than 1881 and 1882, no distinction was regularly made in Victoria between 



snake and insect-bites. Two of the deaths in the former yeai-, and 1 in the latter, were from 



insect-bite. 



t In the case of these colonies, it i.s not certain whether there were any deaths in several 

 of the years, as the cause was not specifically mentioned in the list of causes of death, 

 t One of these is distinguished as " vermin-bite " and 1 " insect-bite." 



