MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 491 



No. X,— THE FOOD OF PYTHON MOLURUS. 



{With a Plate.) 



The accompanying engraving illustrates a somewhat uncommon incident 

 which occurred to Mr. W. Woodrow of the Forest Department and myself, 

 whilst tiger shooting, in the Forest of Canara, on 2nd April, 1892. 



On that date a tiger had been wounded in the first beat. After tracking for 

 some time through high-timbered forest, the sportsmen arrived at a bamboo 

 clump, in the trees above which monkeys were swearing vigorously. Feeling 

 sure it must be a tiger passing through — for the cover was not thick enough for 

 him to lie up in — the sportsmen ran round with the object of outflanking him, 

 On arriving in the open forest beyond they were recalled by the " Mahits," who 

 showed them the subject of the engraving lying coiled up amongst dead leaves 

 with the Langour in its embrace as depicted. The sportsmen now approached 

 the python, who slowly uncoiled himself and as slowly advanced on them, when 

 he was killed by the writer with a shot in the neck. The python measured 

 12' 10" and was photographed by Mr. Woodrow the next morning, the monkey 

 being arranged in the python's embrace as originally seen. 



O. CHANNER, 



Surgeon-Major. 



The Fort, Belgaum, 2nd October, 1894. 



No. XI.— HEMIDESMUS. 

 For some years past it has come under my observation, on various occasions 

 and in different places, that this valuable drug has been inadvertently 

 substituted by Gymnema Sylvestre. Both these plants, as is well known, not 

 only belong to the same natural order, Asclepiadece, but their similarity in 

 most respects is so great that they cannot be easily distinguished from each 

 other, unless the person is well conversant with the characteristics of each 

 plant or is cautioned against such an easy error. Gymnema Sylvestre is not 

 so rare as Dr. Dymock says in his first edition of the " Vegetable Materia 

 Medica of Western India." The reason of this remark is that, when he 

 wanted to get in the Concan Gymnema Sylvestre under the Deccani name 

 of " Kavli," he could not get it, as it is known here as " Kali kardori" (i.e., 

 black cord, from its use in tying firewood bundles,) as it was ascertained 

 subsequently. Hemidesmus is, however, a plant rare, at least from my expe- 

 rience, in several places of the Thana Collectorate, Goa, and Poona, so 

 much so that I can safely say that to every hundred of Gymnema Sylvestre 

 about one or so of Hemidesmus will be found. Both these plants are found 

 growing on similar soil and sometimes together. On one occasion the 

 Gymnema Sylvestre was brought to supply the Medical Stores of Bombay, 

 and would have been passed unnoticed as Hemidesmus had not the keen 

 scientific eye of Dr. Dymock made it out. I myself on the first occasion 

 when procuring Hemidesmus found it difficult to v distinguish it from 



