POSTSCRIPT. 



Note A. 

 Page 16. The poison of Daboia elegans shows a tendency ,.to 

 crystallization during dfying mucli mofe marlkied than in the case of 

 cobra-poison. This snake being rare in Mysore I have had no oppor- 

 tunity of examining its poison while revising this manual. 



Note B. 

 Page 29. It will be observed, by reference to the scheme of 

 development at page 43, that I have assigned to the DipsadidcB a 

 place not far removed from the GrotaUdce. I have remarked that the 

 brown tree-snake Dipsas gokool, when angry, vibrates its tail in the 

 same way as the tree-vipers ; I have not noticed this action in the 

 other families of Colubrine tree-snakes. 



Note C, 

 Page 147. Echis carinata is so small a snake that ohe might 

 naturally suppose its bite to be of little danger to man. Along with 

 some live specimens of this snake sent me from Arconum by Mr. H. 

 R. P. Carter, one of the Resident Engineers of the Madras Railway, 

 I received the following interesting note : — 



" My servant was bitten by one about a week ago when catching 

 it. He of course nearly died of fright, not of poison, but although 

 the snake only managed to strike and draw blood and not to seize or 

 bite, the thumb was numbed — and that the blood was affected was 

 curiously proved. The boy had cut- himself some days before on the 

 hand which was not bitten ; the cut appeared to be all right but two 

 days after being bitten a small artery burst which kept bleeding for 

 12 hours before I found it out." 



Note D. 

 Page 162. It would appear that in five districts of the Madras 

 Presidency — Nellore, Ohingleput (and Madras), North Arcot, Bellary 

 andTanjore — comprising about one-fifth of the area of the Presidency 

 or about one-thirtieth that of British India, Rupees 1,57,290 were 

 expended during the year 1872 in two-anna rewards for snakes 

 destroyed. 



