THE BOOMSLANGE. 516 



drophidse, so called from the habit of residing among the branches of 

 trees. 



Our first example of this family is the well-known Boomslange of 

 Southern Africa. In pronouncing this word, which is of Dutch or 

 German origin, and signifies " tree snake," the reader must remember 

 that it is a word of three syllables. The Boomslange is a native of 

 Southern Africa, and is among the most variable of serpents in color- 

 ing, being green, olive, or brown, of such different colors that it has 

 often been separated into several distinct species. 



Dr. A. Smith has given the following valuable description of the 

 Boomslange and its habits: 



" The natives of South Africa regard the Boomslange as poisonous, 

 but in their opinion we cannot concur, as we have not been able to dis- 

 cover the existence of any gland manifestly organized for the secretion 

 of poison. The fangs are enclosed in a soft pulpy sheath, the inner 

 surface of which is commonly coated with a thin glairy secretion. This 

 secretion may possibly have something acrid and irritating in its qual- 

 ity, which may, when it enters a wound, occasion pain and swelling, 

 but nothing of great importance. 



" The Boomslange is generally found on trees, to which it resorts for 

 the purpose of catching birds, upon which it delights to feed. The 

 presence of a specimen in a tree is generally soon discovered by the 

 birds of the neighborhood, who collect around it and fly to and fro, 

 uttering the most piercing cries, until some one, more terror-struck than 

 the rest, actually scans its lips, and almost without resistance becomes 

 a meal for its enemy. During such a proceeding the snake is gene- 

 rally observed with its head raised about ten or twelve inches above 

 the branch round which the body and tail are entwined, with its mouth 

 open and its neck inflated, as if anxiously endeavoring to increase the 

 terror which it would almost appear it was aware would sooner or later 

 bring within its grasp some one of the feathered group. 



" Whatever may be said in ridicule of fascination, it is nevertheless 

 true that birds, and even quadrupeds also, are, under certain circum- 

 stances, unable to retire from the presence of certain of their enemies, 

 and, what is even more extraordinary, unable to resist the propensity 

 to advance from a situation of actual safety into one of the most immi- 

 nent danger. This I have often seen exemplified in the case of birds 

 and snakes ; and I have heard of instances equally curious, in which 

 antelopes and other quadrupeds have been so bewildered by the sudden 

 appearance of crocodiles, and by the grimaces and contortions they 

 practised, as to be unable to fly, or even move, from the spot toward 

 which they were approaching to seize them." 



We now come to one of the most deadly of the Serpent tribe, the 

 well-known Cobra di Capello, or Hooded Cobra, of India. 



