62 8 OPHIDIA 



CHAP. 



small birds. It drinks much, and hunts chiefly in the late 

 afternoon and in the evening, although it possesses a round 

 pupil. It avoids hot sunshine. Many observations show that 

 the cobras live in pairs, otherwise they do not take much notice 

 of each other or of other kinds of snakes. The female lays about 

 a dozen soft-shelled eggs as large as those of pigeons. 



This cobra is used by Indian conjurers. The " dance " is 

 the habit of these snakes of erecting themselves, when agitated, 

 upon the hinder third or quarter of their length, whilst they 

 spread out the hood and sway the head and neck to the right 

 and left, always in an attitude ready for striking. They are 

 docile and by nature not vicious. Most of the performing 

 cobras have their teeth drawn, and they then know well that 

 they cannot bite. They only strike at the hand, just as 

 uninjured specimens soon avoid biting into the iron rod with 

 which they are lifted up in menageries. The drawing of the teeth 

 is axL operation which has to be repeated, since reserve -teeth 

 soon take the place of the lost pair. 



I cannot refrain from relating an abstract of a ridiculous 

 episode which happened in the Munich Aquarium in the 

 year 1882. One of six specimens of the African species Naja 

 haje was missing. The police closed the establishment, which 

 during the following eight days was turned inside out without 

 any other effect than that two other, harmless, snakes were dis- 

 covered. Twice the building was fumigated with sulphur, until 

 the Cobra was at last found suffocated, fifteen days after the 

 beginning of the search. This snake caused the owner of the 

 A(xuarium a loss of nearly £1500. But the cruel joke was, 

 that during the commotion the man who had collected and sold 

 the six snakes declared upon oath that their teeth had been so 

 well drawn and the germs of possible reserve-teeth had been so 

 thoroughly destroyed that the snakes were rendered absolutely 

 harmless. But he was not believed, in spite of a commission of 

 professors and doctors appointed, who experimented upon the 

 remaining five Cobras with sulphur and did not find any poison- 

 fangs, " although the mouth was probed and poked into as far 

 down as the larynx." 



Cobras have quite a number of enemies. Peafowl and 

 Jungle-cocks are said to be partial to young snakes ; pigs eat 

 them greedily, and are to a certain extent immune against 



