148 REPTILES 



photographing one of these reptiles — an operation which seemed 

 to cause it much excitement — he noticed that the creature 

 suddenly elevated its head slightly, when its neck became rigid, 

 its eyes bulged from their sockets, and a sound was produced 

 like that made by pressing the tongue against the roof of the 

 mouth, and forcing forwards a small quantity of air. This rasp- 

 ing sound, lasting only for the fraction of a second, was accom- 

 panied by the emission of a high-pressure jet of blood, which 

 struck the wall four feet distant at the same level as that of the 

 reptile. The emission occupied about one and a half seconds : 

 and the jet of blood, which was as fine as a horse-hair, seemed 

 to issue from the eyelid, which was momentarily swollen. For 

 some time after the eyes remained closed, but when opened 

 they had recovered their normal condition. The quantity of 

 blood ejected was considerable, as no less than 103 spots, 

 averaging an eighth of an inch in diameter, were scattered over 

 the wall. This account renders it clear that the jets do not 

 come from the eyeball itself, and thus removes one difficulty in 

 attempting to account for the phenomenon. Assuming the jets 

 to issue from the eyelid or the corner of the eye, the exact 

 modus operandi remains still to be explained. 



The following letter from Mr. H. L. Jameson on the spitting 

 powers of African snakes appeared in the Field newspaper of 

 nth January, 1908: — 



" The ' spitting ' habits of certain South African snakes, 

 notably the spij-slange {Naja haje) and the ring-hals {Sepedon 

 hcemachates), are so well known to colonists that it is strange they 

 should be apparently discredited by many European naturalists. 

 For example, Dr. Gadow, in the Cambridge Natural History, 

 Amphibia and Reptiles, p. 632, writing of Naja haje, says : — 



" ' The name spij-slange, meaning spitting snake, refers to 

 the habit this and other African cobras have of letting the 

 poison drop from the mouth like saliva when they are excited. 

 This is not a particularly economical habit, nor is it of the 

 slightest use to the snake.' 



" I had already come across so many persons who declared 

 that these two snakes could not only spit, but could actually 

 project their venom for a distance of several yards, that a prac- 

 tical proof of the habit a few days ago, which might easily have 

 had serious results, was not altogether a surprise. 



