270 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XVII. 



to indicate tli3 truth of their assertions. I havo more than once 

 engaged in a heated discussion on this subject, hut after listening to 

 many assurances, the confession has heen invariably elicited that the 

 sexes of the supposad engaging parties had never been investigated ! 



I think the most convincing argument in disproof of this fable lies in 

 the fact that there are beyond dispute both male and female cobras, 

 and both male and female dhamans. One may assume they breed true, 

 since no hybrid, as far as I am aware, has ever been recorded. The 

 possibility of a hybrid I am not prepared to doubt in face of the fact 

 that hybrids have been produced in captivity, the progeny of parents of 

 cliff rent ophidian genera, but if the outrageous attachment between 

 Mr. Dhaman and Mrs. Cobra were true, our museums should be well 

 stock 3d with evidences of their guilt. It is satisfactory to note, when 

 reflecting upon this alleged flagrant laxity of morals, that one never 

 hears even a whispered imputation breathed by these scandalmongers 

 against the characters of Mr. Cobra and Mrs. Dhaman. 



The Revd. Mr. John appears to have originated the idea of an attach- 

 ment between the cobra and the dhaman, for Uussell says, Mr. John 

 told him, speaking of the dhaman, that it was often found in company 

 with the cobra. The fact is these snakes are of similar habit, and seek 

 out similar quarters, but companionship is merely a matter of accident. 



Husseli* says : The natives say it is not dangerous, but assert that 

 its bite occasions blindness in persons over forty ! Again he says the 

 Elevd. Mr. John tells him that the sharpness of its scales sometimes does 

 harm to rice grounds! 



Distribution. — Its range of distribution is very extensive. It is found 

 throughout the whole Indian Peninsula, from Ceylon in the south to the 

 Himalayas in the north. On the west it extends through Kaipiriana, 

 and Sind to Afghanistan, and Transcaspia. In the east it ranges 

 through Burma, and the whole Malayan Continent to Southern China 

 and Formosa. In the Archipelago it has only been recorded from Java. 

 In almost every locality it is to be reckoned as one of the commonest 

 snakes, at any rate in the plains. In upland regions it becomes scarcer 

 as one ascends. It is common at moderate elevations (5,000 ft.), and 

 has been found up to 7,000 ft. (Sutlej Valley f) but is probably rarely 

 met with much above this altitude. 



• "Ind. Serp., " Vol. II. p. 21. 

 t Stoliczka " Jonrl. As. Soc, Bengal, " XXXIX, p. 185. 



