562 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. till. 



The only poisonous snake I saw was one very large cobra, which suddenly 

 appeared out of a white-ants' nest at the foot of a tree, round which a number 

 of men were sitting ; luckily it was slain before any harm was done. It seems 

 strange to me that so many natives cannot discriminate between a harmless and 

 poisonous snake ; they seem to know as little about what must be an only too 

 common object as if they had never seen a snake before. Having now 

 descended from unavoidable and constantly regretted circumstances to the 

 status of a globe-troter, I have committed my three months' experiences 

 to paper. I, however, have not investigated the drink question except when 

 my shikari has got drunk, nor the currency question except in one particular, 

 which is that, when you pay your beaters two annas each, this two annas 

 cannot be converted into food, drink, or raiment except at the rate of one anna 

 three pies ; in fact the current coin of the realm in Raipur and in most other 

 places is copper. 



I was asked to notice any particular breed of dogs which I might come across, 

 but I have not seen anything except the ordinary " Pie." By the way, what 

 is the meaning of " Pie" ? I have, however, been puzzling over the reason 

 that so many of them have tails curled round like a pug or a Chinese dog, &c. 

 I should have thought that, semi-wild creatures that they are, their tails would 

 droop. The colour of pies as a rule seems to be for the many yellow, for the 

 few black and tan. I saw about three black " Pies." I came across a very good 

 black and tan dog of sporting proclivities, and evidently, from the sleekness 

 of his coat, well looked after, but still unmistakeably a pie. 



E. F. BECHER. 

 Bosna, March, 1894. 



No. XII.— ANNELTDE REEFS. 



I am forwarding to you a couple of specimens of the Annelide Reefs of 

 Kelve Mahim in the Tanna District. 



All along the west coast, north of the Waitarna River, the coarse debris 

 brought down by numerous local streams and torrents, with the sand of the 

 Arabian Sea, and the finer silts and sands washed out of the Gulf of Cambay, 

 are forming recent deposits over the (probably) Tertiary basalt, of very various 

 quality. 



The muddy character of the water is probably unfavourable for the growth 

 of corals. But the place of these seems to some extent to be taken by tubi- 

 colous Annelides, probably of, or allied to, the genus Serpula, which are really 

 here reef builders, though not to be compared in degree with the masons of 

 the " massive corals." 



The specimens forwarded will easily enable you to understand that their 

 productions are here used in construction and have even, in Portuguese times, 

 been used in fortification. 



W. F. SINCLAIR, LCLSj 



Tanna District, March, 1894. 



