HAMLYN'S MENAGERIE MAGAZINE. 
23 
F.Z.S., F.R.M.S., Director of the Port Elizabeth 
Museum. I feel sure he will be kind enough to 
oblige. My advice to oall out-of-the-way farmers, 
is that they should purchase the book " Snakes of 
South Africa," written by the above-mentioned 
person. He gives and tells you everything in 
connection with every living snake in South Africa 
together with every little detail. The book is an 
education in itself, and as I have already men- 
tioned no* out-of-the-way farmer, and others to, 
should be without this book. 
"R.P." mentions the puff-adder. The fol- 
lowing is a paragraph from Mr. FitzSimons' 
book, on puff-adder poison symptoms : — '" Intense 
but not prolonged smarting, discolouration, and 
swelling at the site of the fang punctures. With- 
in twenty minutes the venom begins to bring about 
constitutional symptoms, such as giddiness and 
irregular, fluctuating pulse. The skin grows cold 
and clammy, the pupils of the eyes are dilated, 
followed by intense nausea and vomiting, often 
accompanied with evacuations from the bowels. 
If death fails to take place within twelve hours, 
the swelling becomes more extensive. If the bite 
be on the lower part of the leg, the swelling grad- 
ually extends upwards and into the body. At the 
same time haemorrhage from the walls of the ca- 
pillary blood-vessels takes place, causing purple 
patches, more or less large, to appear in various 
parts of the body. Oozing of blood from the 
gums, lining membrane of bowels and bladder also 
occurs. If the patient survives this stage, any 
extensive escape of blood into the tissues may set 
up mortification or gangrene, and death may take 
place two or three weeks after the bite. Once the 
danger point has been passed, however, the pa- 
tient rapidly becomes mentally active and cheer- 
ful, and recovery quickly follows." 
The above is word for word from the book I 
have; to my mind it could not be explained better 
and more fully. 
Thanks in anticipation. — I am, etc., 
"SNAKE." 
Cape Province. 
GENERAL NOTES. 
THAT Mr. I. Gundle, London, the original pro- 
moter of South African egg export, supplies the 
following figures of the numbers and values of 
eggs shipped to London since 1913 : — 1913 
2,160, £9; 1914: 828,168, £4,113; 1915 
2,237,940, £12,210; 1916: 5,523,120, £46,062 
1917: 6,446,880, £79,258. 
THAT a giant skate stated to weigh 1461b., has 
been captured on a long line at Weymouth. 
THAT the monkey mascot of the Royal Fusiliers' 
contingent at Shoreham is missing, and the 
men are very concerned. The monkey was 
secured in the occupation ot Tunga, in Ger- 
man East Africa. 
THAT the Rev. E;. Millard, Vicar of St. Anne's, 
Grantham, was fined £10 for using oatmeal 
bread and rice for purposes other than human 
consumption. 
A poliecman said the food was given to 
animals. Defendant kept deer, goats, rabbits, 
various species of monkeys and birds. 
Mr. Millard said he had kept rare animals 
for many years. His monkeys were the only 
specimens of their kind in the country. He 
gave them only scraps. 
[My sympathies are with this gentleman. 
Mr. Millard has been a customer of mine 
for some years. He is an ardent Natur- 
alist. — Ed.]. 
THAT a halibut, which weigher over l^cwt., 
realised £11 at Mallaig Fish Market the other 
day. 
♦ As the lines were being hauled in a codfish 
on one of the hooks was followed to the sur- 
face by the halibut, which made several efforts 
to swalow the cod. 
After a struggle the monster was landed 
on deck. It had an old hook firmly fixed in its 
mouth. 
THAT at the monthly general meeting of the 
Zoological Society, it was stated that 68 addi- 
tions had been made to the menagerie during 
May. Special attention was directed to two 
Grecian ibexes, born in the menagerie, to a ruby- 
throated warbler from India, presented by Mr. 
W. H. St. Quintin, F.Z.S., and to an Indian 
chameleon from Calabar, presented by Mr. A. 
M. Kinloch, new to the collection. 
THAT most interesting articles on animal, bird 
and insect life appear regularly in the leading 
Yorkshire and Scottish papers. 
They are jwell worth 'reading. 
THAT a wild cat, and several of her kittens, have 
been captured on the Grampians in the vicinity 
of Loch Con, Struan, by Mr. Robert M'Laren, 
shepherd, Blairfettie Farni. The cat is an ex- 
cellent specimen of the wild feline tribe, which 
is now very uncommon in the Highlands. 
THAT a hen belonging to Mr. Brazier, of Great 
Wakering, Essex, has laid an egg the white 
of which was contained in one shell and the yolk 
in another. 
THAT the various American collectors at pres- 
ent in Singapore, Calcutta, and Dutch East 
Indies are having a trying time. The impor- 
tation of animals and birds are prohibited in 
the United States. One collector has six ele- 
phants, several tigers, with a variety of other 
