96 ZOOLOGY OF INDIA. 



From the foregoing statement it appears, as observed by 

 Mr. Macrae, that the first effect of the poison on being re- 

 ceived into the body is to excite the action of the heart 

 and arteries, and to produce a great heat over the whole 

 body ; and as a similarity of effect proves a similarity of cause, 

 and the effect of all stimuli is to excite, it follows, in his 

 opinion, that the poison of the serpent is a stimulus of the 

 most powerful nature, which destroys life by its excess. 



Dr. Russel has figured and described 43 of the most 

 common serpents of HinJostan ; and he informs us that a 

 quantity of warm Madeira taken uiternally, with an out- 

 ward application of eau-de-luce on the punctures, was 

 generally successful in curing the bite of the most venom- 

 ous species. He also states that the medicine called the 

 Tanjore-pill is equally efficacious. Of the 43 serpents ex- 

 amined by Dr. Russel, he found only seven that were pro- 

 vided with poisonous organs ; and on comparing the effects 

 of the poison of five of the oriental species on brute animals 

 with those produced by the poison of the rattlesnake and 

 the European viper, he remarked that they all produced 

 morbid symptoms nearly similar, though they might differ 

 in the degree of their deleterious power, and the rapidity 

 of its operation. 



We shall devote the remainder of this chapter to a short 

 indication of a few of the fishes of India. 



Bombay is supplied by the surrounding sea with a variety 

 of excellent fish. The pom/ret is not unlike a small turbot, 

 but possesses a more delicate flavour ; and the kind called 

 the black pomfret is still more highly esteemed. The robal, 

 the scir-fish, and several others, are also excellent ; but 

 the bumbalo, a small species of an exceedingly nutritious 

 nature, is the favourite food of the natives, who capture it 

 in immense numbers. In a dried state it furnishes an im- 

 portant article of commerce, and forms a principal article 

 of food among the lascars, or Indian sailors. 



The Indian eel described by Willoughby (^IchtL appen. 

 t. 3, p. 3), belongs to the genus Tnchiurus. The colour 

 is pale-brown, varied with spots of a somewhat deeper hue. 

 It is said to possess a certain degree of electrical power, 

 ftom which it derives its name of Tnchiurus eleclriciis. 



The extraordinary genus Gymncirus, — of which the fish 



