The Zoologist — September, 1869. 1821 



rather while. The snail under notice is called here ghoonghaJ^- My 

 statement as to a cobra having sometimes a diamond, — which is a 

 popular notion, — will no doubt be ridiculed by many; I h;ive here the 

 authority of an ex-stndent of the Medical College of Calcutta, who 

 on referrence remarked, that as this poisonous reptile lives a long life, 

 the effect of time matures its carbon to a diamond. People say it 

 sometimes emits light, which has perhaps led them to believe this : 

 it is, however, a fact that a cobia would live as much as 100 years. 

 I shall write again about it in my next ; but, in the meanwhile, I beg 

 to be allowed to say that there are several varieties of Cobra-di-capello, 

 and the black snake is only one of them." — Roj Chandra Sandel ; 

 Benares, January 28, 1867. 



" With reference to my letter of the 28th ult., and in reply to your 

 favour of the 11th inst., I beg to write by this opportunity again : — 



" The village in which I was residing in Bengal six years ago has, 

 as I stated, a jungly aspect. The chief animals which I had the 

 opportunity of seeing when living there, were snakes and frogs of 

 different kinds, rats, bats, monkeys, jackals, otters, and several kinds 

 of birds and numerous insects. The Cobra-di-capello has four 

 varieties. The black snake, which is said to be the male reptile, is 

 called kaotd ; the other three, which are said to be females, are 

 khya, khoris, and gokhoors. They are all equally poisonous ; but 

 each is characterised by a different feature. The black snake is, 

 therefore, contrasted with the khya, which is white ; whilst the others 

 are holding intermediate positions. The great terror which the 

 poisonous serpents have spread in Bengal has originated from time 

 immemorial the Munshd pujah, or the worship of the Serpent God- 

 dess, which is observed annually in the Bengali month of Bhadoef, 

 or when the rains are very excessive, and owing to which the cobra is 

 obliged to take shelter, from the submerged state of the country 

 around, in the burrows made in the dwelling-houses by the mice. The 

 popular notion in Bengal is, that in every house there is a " tutelary " 

 cobra, which has an attachment for the family, and which cannot be 

 destroyed or expelled without the risk of a great calamity. This sup- 

 posed serpent is called the " basfoo" serpent, i. e. belonging to the 

 house. 



" I once saw a man play with a black snake with a small stick, the 

 sight of which crumpled the reptile, which was strutting with its fearful 



* The common Indian term for a shell. f July — August. 



