28 G Proceedings. 



branches an empty parrot's nest, the occupants of which had no doubt furnished 

 the snake with a meal. 



" About twelve months ago, three of my sons on one of their play afternoons 

 were in the bush, and seeing an opossum hole in a tree (about four feet in 

 thickness, the first branch being about seven feet from the ground), one of 

 them climbed up to see if the hole were occupied, and on looking in saw an 

 opossum moving about, instead of sitting perfectly quiescent as they usually 

 do ; he then made a noise, when the animal looked up, and as my son leaned 

 back to break off a stick, jumped out and ran away along the ground, pursued 

 by the children. The opossum soon climbed a small she-oak tree, where 

 he was immediately shot. On going to take him up, a red snake was 

 seen entwined round his neck, the head hidden or buried in tlie fur. The 

 snake was about 30 inches long, and had two turns or coils round the opossum's 

 neck ; it was of course killed. 



" Here are instances of two species of snakes climbing trees* — the first 

 evidently on a predatory excursion ; the last possibly on the same errand. 



" It is not unlikely that other persons may be able to communicate facts 

 similar to those I have detailed ; but whether such be the case or not, it seemed 

 to me that the relation might prove interesting to many persons, and perhaps 

 induce others to be more observant of the habits of a class of reptiles justly 

 held in general abhorrence. 



" I remain, thy friend, 



(Signed) " Francis Cotton. 



" Kelvedon, Great Swan Port, 

 12th of 6th month, 1850." 



In connection witli this subject the Secretary laid on the table the 

 following statement of experiments made by Dr. Dawson, D.I.G.H., 

 and Staff-Surgeon Huish, in presence of other medical men, in 

 order to test the efficacy of a preparation alleged by Charles Under- 

 wood to be an antidote to the poison of Snake bites, on the 13th, 

 14th, and 19th February, 1850 :— 



" Two cats and twenty-three dogs, in all twenty-five animals, were 

 bitten by black, brown, and diamond snakes. To fourteen. Under- 

 wood applied his preparation ^ and four of them died. The other 

 eleven were tied up without anything being done to counteract the 

 effect of the bite, and three of them died ; or 28^ per cent, died after 

 the application of the antidote, and 27^ per cent, without the 

 antidote. 



" Excepting in one case the snakes would not voluntarily bite ; the 

 exception was in the case of one of the cats, which died. The 

 methods adopted to make the snakes bite were, first, by confining one 



* Dr. Agnew stated that in the vicinity of Sydney he had shot a snake upon the limb 

 of a tree at least 30 feet from the ground. 



