54 SPOLIA ZEYLANIOA. 
‘and other members of the colony were passing up and down over 
the bodies of their devoted comrades. Owing to a strong breeze, 
which swayed the branches of the shrub, the chain was kept under 
great tension. After about ten minutes it weakened, by the defection 
of some of its members, until it consisted of a series of six links, 
each represented by a single ant. These six insects held on pluckily 
for some minutes in spite of the increasing strength of the breeze. 
One member was held by the foot of the middle leg on each side ; 
another was gripped by one anterior and one posterior foot ; these 
two insects appeared to be in imminent danger of being torn 
asunder. The rupture finally occurred by the failure of the lowest 
members to retain their hold of the supporting leaf; the chain 
swung up, and the component members scrambled over each other 
up to the leaf above. This chain must have been let down—lnk 
by link—from above, and indicates a remarkable degree of organi- 
zation amongst the members of the colony,,some of whom must 
have been deliberately told off for the purpose. 
(d) A ease of Snake-bite.—Mr. P. C. Briscoe, of Columbia estate, 
Hewaheta, sends me particulars of a case of snake-bite. The 
snake, which was sent for identification, proved to be the small 
viper Ancistrodon hypnale, the bite of which has never been known 
to prove fatal to man. 
It appears that the cooly was bitten at 8.30 a.m. on the second * 
finger of the right hand. His comrades tied a ligature above the 
elbow and sent the man down to the factory, where he was seen by 
the superintendent ten minutes later. He was very frightened, and 
was crying and trembling. There were two distinct punctures 
from which blood was oozing. The hand was bathed in a strong 
solution of permanganate of potash, the punctures were lanced 
with a penknife, and crystals of permanganate rubbed into the 
cuts, The man was then sent to the local dispenser, who again 
lanced the place and dressed it with boric acid. About three 
quarters of an hour after the infliction of the bite the cooly was 
given a wine-glassful of neat brandy. At 4 p.m. the hand and 
forearm were swollen, but the man was suffering no pain and 
complained of no other symptoms. By the next day he had 
apparently recovered completely. 
(¢) Reproduction of Leaf-insects by Parthenogenesis.—I have long 
suspected that our common leaf-insect (Pulehriphyllium crurifohum) 
can on occasion produce fertile eggs asexually. I have now 
proof of the fact. 
The Rev. L. Lacombe, of St. Joseph’s College, Trichinopoly, tells 
me that three years ago he obtained eggs of the leaf-insect from 
Ceylon and reared them at Trichinopoly. The eggs produced 
females only, and these females laid fertile eggs, from which a second 
