163 



than 44,450 venomous (?) snakes were brought in for 

 reward between May 29th and December 7th, 1869. As 

 the reward was for the gi-eater part of the time at the rate 

 of 4 annas a head, not less than Rupees 10,000 must have 

 been spent in this attempt at extermination. Let us now 

 make a little calculation ; the district swept of snakes being 

 that immediately round the kucherry, could hardly have 

 been more than 100 square miles in extent but let us say 150 

 square miles ; now supposing that this extermination were 

 carried out all over India, an extent of about 1,500,000 

 square miles, we should have 10,000 such areas each costing at 

 the rate of Rupees 17,000 per annum for snake extermination, 

 thus making a total item of 1,700 lacs of rupees in the annual 

 budget. I have estimated the snake-yielding area of 

 Bancoora very liberally ; supposing it to be only 15 miles, 

 a more probable extent, there would be 100,000 such 

 areas. 



It may be objected that the Bancoora snakes could not 

 all have been venomous. Granted ; they were probably not 

 so, but we cannot make a department of ophiologists to 

 superintend the disbursement of rewards, and must needs 

 confide it to the civil authorities.' Supposing the rewards 

 were in every case to be disbursed by an officer versed in 

 ophiology and devoting his whole time gratuitously to the 

 extermination — then reaUy venomous snakes wouldalone be 

 paid for ; but the rates must, of course, be higher than when 

 any snake is accepted as venomous on the dictum of a 

 kucheny peon,* and from my experience in Bangalore I may 

 say that it could not be fixed at less than four annas. Now, in 



* I found that in the Bangalore municipal snake extermination of 

 1871 about 5 per cent, of the snakes paid for were really venomous. 

 In the present year, the destruction was transferred to me by the 

 Mysore Government for experiment and report. Every snake re- 

 corded in Appendix B was examined and registered by me. 



