718 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XVIII. 



Volume (clearly a krait though peculiar in colouration) is called 

 "Sen walaley." "Sen" or "Sew" means "brown." The same 

 authority* says this snake is called " gedi paragoodoo " further north 

 about Vizagapatam. Mr. J. M. Turing, Deputy Commissioner at 

 Vizagapatam, to whom I lately appealed for information, says the 

 words are Telugu, " gaddi " meaning " grass," and " parugudu " a 

 " runner." He suggests that this is the same snake known about 

 there as " tutte purugu," the Telugu for "rubbish reptile." 

 Russell's other name for this species in this locality, viz., " pakta 

 poola " he can throw no light on. 



I have frequently heard it called "krait " or "karait " by natives 

 but am not sure whence these names emanate. Sampwallahs journey 

 far from their own homes, and coolies and some of one's household 

 servants- too, and many will consequently make use of these names in 

 a locality where they may not be known. Kalian, the snake catcher, 

 I knew in Delhi always called this species " krait," but Major 

 McMahonf says " krait is I presume merely an English corruption of 

 the Urdu word kalgundait. If not it must be a Bengali corruption 

 of it, as no native of Delhi would understand you if you spoke of the 

 karait or krait." I have had " kalgundait " given me by a native of 

 Karnal in the Punjab for the Zamenis diadema, but there seems little 

 doubt it is the Urdu name for the krait. I find Baboo Awmoola 

 Ruttum Bysach in his work on medicine written in Urdu gives the 

 name for this krait which he mentions by its scientific name cceruleus 

 and describes, as " kala gandait." He says the " kala " means black, 

 and that " gandait" refers to the white lines across it. I cannot 

 however find confirmatory evidence of such a word in Urdu. He also 

 gives as one of its names " dhaman chitti," " chitti " I find means 

 speckled or variegated. These names "chitti" and "dhomum" or 

 " dhomna chitti " are also mentioned by FayrerJ and Ewart§ as being- 

 used in Bengal. It must be noted that " chittee " is the name applied 

 according to Russell to a very different snake in Bengal, viz., Helicops 

 schistosus.^ A European subordinate who had been many years in 



* Loc. cifc., Vol. I., p. 2. 



f Fayrers Thanatoph. Ind., p. 11. 



X Loc. cit., p. 122. 



§ Ind. and Australn. Snake Poisoning. 1871, p. LXXV1I. 



1 Loc. cit II., plate IV. 



