298 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HLST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXI. 



may acquire from inoculation with the venoms of Indian snakes will afford 

 it no protection against the bites of distinct species from other parts of 

 the world. But it may be the case that the inherited immunity of 

 whose origin we are ignorant, does possess a more general protective 

 power. 



I am under the impression, which may be mistaken, that the venom of 

 Lachesis lanceolatus is relatively less deadly than that of the Indian cobra. 

 If so, it is of interest in this connection to note that Professor Calmette's 

 experiments ap]pear to indicate a lessened degree of immunity in respect 

 of the former species. 



As to whether, or how far, the Indian mongoose is, in point of fact, 

 protected against venomous snakes other than Indian, I have no know- 

 ledge. He may be quite unaffected by a dose of 10 to 15 millegrammes 

 of cobra poison or of 3 or 4 millegrammes of the krait's deadlier prescrip- 

 tion, but personally I should hesitate to back his chances against a pro- 

 portionate injection of the venom of, say, the Australian Tiger-snake or 

 the rattle-snake. 



If, however, the inherited immunity of the mongoose is found to be at 

 all general, as the article in the Indian Field implies, the theory is at once 

 shown to be impossible, that such immunity was originally due to the 

 effects of inoculation through successive generations with the venoms of 

 such snakes only as inhabit the same countries as itself. Unless, indeed, 

 the father of all serpents inoculated the father of all the mongoose tribe 

 with a venom containing all the characteristics of all the various special- 

 ised snake venoms now in existence ! 



If I have ventured to write rather a long screed on a subject I know 

 nothing about, it is in the hope of inducing one or two of those who do 

 know to put pen to paper for the benefit of myself and other dwellers in 

 ignorance. Can any Members give evidence as to a suggested immunity 

 to snake-bite on the j)art of the Felidce ? 



I shovild mention that the quotations I have made from Calmette and 

 Bassett-Smith are taken from the Society's Journal, Vol. XI, p. 516, and 

 Vol. XV, p. 115. Major Lamb's figures are from articles in Vol XIV, 

 p. 221, and Vol. XVII, p. 16. 



Since writing the above, I have come across a reference which, with 

 regard to the Felidce, may be worthy of note. Major Wall in Vol. XVII 

 of the Journal, p. 383, quotes Mervyn Smith as stating that "the tiger 

 slayers in Chota Nagpur poison their arrows with cobra-poison and 

 set them in traps to be sprung. When wounded, the Tigers go off and 

 soon die, their movements being watched by the hunters. " 



A. H. MOSSE, Captain, i.a. 

 DwARKA, htli May 1911. 



