THE START 21 



this snake is such an object of terror as to be at times a 

 genuine scourge. Surely it would be worth while for the 

 authorities of Martinique to import specimens of the mus- 

 surama to that island. The mortality from snake-bite in 

 British India is very great. Surely it would be well worth 

 while for the able Indian Government to copy Brazil and 

 create such an institute as that over which Doctor Vital 

 Brazil is the curator. 



At first sight it seems extraordinary that poisonous ser- 

 pents, so dreaded by and so irresistible to most animals, 

 should be so utterly helpless before the few creatures that 

 prey on them. But the explanation is easy. Any highly 

 specialized creature, the higher its specialization, is apt to 

 be proportionately helpless when once its peculiar special- 

 ized traits are effectively nullified by an opponent. This 

 is eminently the case with the most dangerous poisonous 

 snakes. In them a highly peculiar specialization has been 

 carried to the highest point. They rely for attack and 

 defence purely on their poison-fangs. All other means 

 and methods of attack and defence have atrophied. They 

 neither crush nor tear with their teeth nor constrict with 

 their bodies. The poison-fangs are slender and delicate, 

 and, save for the poison, the wound inflicted is of a trivial 

 character. In consequence they are utterly helpless in the 

 presence of any animal which the poison does not affect. 

 There are several mammals immune to snake-bite, includ- 

 ing various species of hedgehog, pig, and mongoose — the 

 other mammals which kill them do so by pouncing on 

 them unawares or by avoiding their stroke through sheer 

 quickness of movement; and probably this is the case with 

 most snake-eating birds. The mongoose is very quick, 



