REVIEWS. 269 



similarity in appearance of many of the " Kjaits " has, up 

 to the present, rendered their identification somewhat 

 difficult except to the expert, and the author is to be con- 

 gratulated on his " Key, " in which the distinguishing 

 characters of the snakes are ones that aro easily discernable, 

 being as follows : — The number of scales round the body ; 

 the shape of the vertebral scales ; the number of ventrals and 

 subeaudals, and whether the latter are divided ; the comparative 

 Avidth of the second supralabial ; the shape of the body ; the 

 number of bars on body and tail. Particularly useful to the 

 naturahst should be the different native names that are given 

 of the commoner snakes, as much interesting information must 

 often be lost through the casual observer, .'who is only able to 

 obtain the native name of a snake, being ignorant of its 

 EngHsh equivalent. 



In the account given by the author of the cobras and 

 coral snakes, the former are distinguished from the latter 

 by the fact that the third upper labial in the cobra (counting 

 from the nostral) touches both the nasal shield and the eye. 

 The common cobra (Naia tripudian^ may be distinguished 

 from every other snake by the presence of a wedge-shaped 

 scale (or scales, as there may be as many as three), the 

 " cuneate " situated at the edge of the lower lip above the 

 lower labials, and which may be hidden by the upper Hp when 

 the mouth is closed. The length of the two largest cobras 

 recorded by the author is 6 ft. 7 in., one of which was killed 

 in Colombo. The largest recorded Hamadryad, king cobra 

 (Naia hungarus), which is distinguished by a pair of contiguous 

 shields behind the parietals, was 15 ft. 5 in. 



From the account given of the Pit vipers httle appears to 

 be known of the poison of many of them, but none of the cases 

 of bites by these snakes, recorded by the author, terminated 

 fatally. 



The first portion of the book ends with descriptions of the 

 Pitless vipers (Viperinse), and those interesting snakes the 

 Viper a russellii and Echis carinata are particularly described. 



In the second part Major Wall gives a highly interesting 

 account of snake poison, which includes the analyses of the 

 different poisons, and the effects of their constituents on the 



