COBOURG 



I I.VJ 



COBRA 



Ix>ndon \v.n IIOUM- II- labored diligently. 

 >tudicd \\\\i\\\* and l.-ann-d everything he could 

 about bitumen, and by 1831 had become one of 

 the partners in a calico-printing establishment. 

 In 1835 Cobden published his epoch-making 

 pamphlet. England. Ireland and America, and 

 in 1836 In* j.:unphlet Russia. In these he set 

 forth th.- theory to which he adhered through- 

 out hid life, that the foundation of prosperity 

 I* free intercourse between the nations. He 

 wa0 one of the earliest English leaders in the 

 movement for free trade, and when he entered 

 Parliament in 1841 he began a crusade against 

 the Corn Laws which resulted in their repeal 

 five years later. During the critical days of 

 the War of Secession in America Cobden was 

 one- of a very few Englishmen of note who 

 protested against British recognition of the 

 Confederate States of America as a belligerent 

 nation. See BRIGHT, JOHN ; CORN LAWS ; FREE 

 TRADE. 



COBOURG, ko'burg, a county town of North- 

 umberland County, Ontario, on the north shore 

 of Lake Ontario, seventy miles east of Toronto 

 and 100 miles west of Kingston by rail. It is on 

 the Grand Trunk, Canadian Northern and 

 Canadian Pacific railways and has steamship 

 connection with Toronto, Montreal and other 

 ports on the Saint Lawrence River and the 

 Great Lakes. A railroad-car ferry runs between 

 Cobourg and Rochester, N. Y. The town is 

 perhaps best known as a summer resort, par- 

 ticularly for Americans, but it is also a large 

 manufacturing center. Railroad cars, woolen 

 goods, mats and carpets, felt goods, wire- 

 iVneing and other steel products and canned 

 fruits and vegetables are important. Shortly 

 after the War of the Nations broke out Co- 

 bourg became a large manufacturer of shells for 

 the allies. It has many fine public buildings, 

 including the city hall, built in 1860 at a cost 

 of $200,000. a $50,000 armory and the provincial 

 asylum for the insane, which cost $100,000. 

 From its foundation until 1890 Cobourg was the 

 seat of Victoria University; it is now located 

 at Toronto in affiliation with the University of 

 Toronto. Cobourg was founded in 1818 and 

 was incorporated in 1850. Population in 1911, 

 5.074; in 1916, about 5,300. E.A.D. 



COBRA, or COBRA DE CAPELLO, ko'bra 

 de ka pel ' o, a very poisonous hooded snake 

 which infests all India and Ceylon, being found 

 in the Himalaya Mountains at altitudes as 

 great as 8,000. feet. A related hooded snake. 

 not quite so dangerous, is found in most parts of 

 Africa. The king cobra, about twice the size of 



i In- (rue cobru ami very venomous, is also 

 found in all parts of India, and is said to eat 

 only snakes. 



The full-grown cobra is nearly six feet in 

 length and has a girth of about six inches. In 

 color it is yellowish to dark brown, with a 

 largo black and white spectacle mark on the 

 back of its head, from which it is sometimes 

 called the spectacled 

 snake. It feeds on 

 such small animals as 

 frogs and lizards and 

 it is especially fond of 

 birds' eggs, often 

 climbing trees in 

 search of the latter. 

 It has been known to 

 swim across rivers. 

 When the cobra goes 

 out to seek food it is 

 a most terrifying sight. 



THE COBRA 



The deadly serpent glides along the ground 

 with the upper third of its body erect, its hood 

 puffed out and its eyes glaring. It hisses 

 loudly when it prepares to strike. 



The bite of the cobra will cause death in a 

 few minutes, and there is no known antidote for 

 it; however, prompt amputation or cauterizing 

 will sometimes save life. As it is found every- 

 where in fields and jungles and even enters 

 huts, it is estimated that from 15,000 to 20,000 

 natives, as well as thousands of cattle, perish 

 every year from its bite. Perhaps there would 

 not be so many of these reptiles if the natives 

 were not too superstitious to kill them. The 

 cobra is very revengeful, and it is said will pur- 

 sue anyone who injures it until it kills him. 



The jugglers and snake charmers of India 

 usually select the cobra for exhibition pur- 

 poses, carrying the hideous creatures around 

 the country in baskets and making them per- 

 form at the sound of the flute; and it is not 

 unusual to see one of these snake charmer? 

 trudging down a dusty road in India with half 



