474 TRANSACTIONS LIVERPOOL BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



ultimately lost the tip of his thumb as a result of necrosis 

 and death of the tissues. Here, without doubt, a con- 

 siderable amount of poison had been injected, simply by 

 reflex contraction of the muscles from pressure on the tip 

 of the fang. 



A few words might be said regarding the keeping of 

 snakes and taking their poison. 



The snakes were usually brought in by snake charmers 

 during the early part of the rainy season. Later, the grass 

 grows so long that they have difficulty in obtaining them 

 in quantity, and at times they were scarcely obtainable 

 from the neighbourhood of Bombay, either through the 

 grass in the jungles being long or the proverbial laziness 

 of the native, who promises, but never performs much. 



The snakes were kept in wire cages, or biscuit boxes 

 with wire netting over the front and a door at the back. 

 Snakes have been kept for over a year in this fashion. 



The snake charmer came once a week or ten days to feed 

 the snakes. His method of procedure was as follows : — 

 Having shaken or pulled the snake, be it cobra or viper, 

 out of the box to the ground, he allows it to make off, and 

 following, he grasps its tail with his left hand and elevates 

 it, so that the snake is unable to turn upon him — it simply 

 hisses loudly. 



He allows it to steady its head on the ground, and while 

 so doing he gently and firmly places a strong, slender 

 stick across its neck, pinning its head to the ground. He 

 now lowers his left hand, and places the tail under his 

 naked left foot, and with the left hand grasps the neck 

 firmly close to the head, the stick keeping the head steady 

 until he has accomplished his object. By taking the tail 

 in his right hand, he has now complete control of the snake. 



His first object is to take poison from the snake. After 

 washing the mouth (if mucus or dirt is present) with a fine 



