THE COBRAS. 65 



impunity. 5 ' Far otherwise, however, is the venom of Hoplocephalus 

 cur/us, and also of some others. H. curtus is one of the worst 

 Snakes ot Australia, where it inhabits the more temperate parts of 

 the country from east to west. Its bite is almost as deadly as that 

 of the Indian Cobra, to which it is considerably allied. " A good- 

 sized dog bitten became paralysed within three minutes, and was 

 dead in fifty minutes afterwards ; a goat died in thirty-five minutes ; 

 a porcupine ant-eater (Echidna hystrix) lived six hours ; and a 

 common tortoise, an animal which will live a day with its head cut 

 off, died in five hours after being bitten." The H. suptrbus replaces 

 it in Tasmania. 



The Cobras (Naja) are widely known, alike from the virulence of 

 their poison and for their remarkable dilatable disc or " hood" on the 

 nape, the ribs which support this hood being much elongated. Two 

 species are commonly recognised, the Cobra di Capella of Southern 

 Asia, Fig. 17 (Naja tripudians], and the Asp (N. haje] of Africa; 

 but there are marked local varieties of both species, and the N. 

 sputatrix. of the Malay countries should probably be recognised as 

 a third species. Those of India, with Ceylon, have a mark like a 

 pair of spectacles upon the hood ; while those of Burmah and the 

 neighbouring countries eastward, have only an oval black spot upon 

 it. In India the commonest colour of this formidable reptile is 

 uniform brown, though many are of a pale yellowish straw colour; 

 and there are others of every shade between that and black. It 

 grows to a length of about five feet, seldom more. " Almost every 

 writer on the natural productions of the East Indies," remarks Dr. 

 Guiither, "has contributed to the natural history of this snake, 

 which has been surrounded by such a number of fabulous stories, 

 that their repetition and contradiction would fill a volume." It is 

 very generally diffused over the Indian region, though, as Mr. 

 Theobald notices, from its nocturnal habits, it is less often seen than 

 many harmless species. "This snake is, I believe," he adds, "of 

 inoffensive habits, unless irritated, but is, of course, a dangerous 

 neighbour to have in a house.* Not only in Burmah, where the 

 respect for animal life is greatest, but in India also, I have known a 

 cobra enticed or forced into an earthen jar, and then carried by two 

 men across a river, or some distance from the village, and liberated. 



* Although the Cobra di Capella is so plentiful in India, we could never hear of 

 one instance of a European being bitten by one during a residence or many years 

 in that country. They prey chiefly on rats the presence of which is the attrac- 

 tion which brings them about human habitations occasionally upon young 

 chickens, and commonly upon toads. Ep. 



77 



