M - A T R A. 
little finger. The ftories told, of their fwallowiilg dicr and buffaloes, 
in Ceylon and Java, almoll choke my belief, but I really caonot take 
upon nic to protiouiice them falfe. If a fnake of three or fotir inches di- 
araeter, can gorge a fowl of fix or eight inches, I kc not but chat a 
fnake of thirty feet in length, and pro|>ortionatc bulk and flrcngth, 
might fwallow almofl any beafli after having fmafhed the bones, which 
they arc faid to do by twining round the aniimL 1 imag^ine that the bite 
of very few of the fnakes of Sumatra is mortal, as I have never mtc 
with a well autlienticated inllance of any pcrfon fuffe ring from them> 
though they are very numerous, and frequently found in the houfes. 
The hooded fnake is feen in ihe country, but is not common. 
Infed:s, the iHand may literally be faid to fwarm with, I doubt if 
there is any part of the v^roiid, where greater variety is to be found; but 
this branch of natural knowledge has of late years become fo extremely 
comprehenfive, that I cannot take upon me to fay there are many new 
and undcfcribed fpccies. It is probable however that there are a few; 
but in order to afccrtain thefe, it is ncccflary to have an accurate know* 
ledge of thofe already claffed, which I do not pretend to. I ihall only 
make fome few remarks upon the aot fpecies, the multitudes of which 
overrun the country, and it*s varieties are not Icfs extraordinary than it's 
numbers. The white ant, or termcs^ I had intended a defcription of, 
with an account of it's deilru^tive effeds, but this fubjed has lately been 
fo elaborately treated by Mr. Smeathman who had an opportunity of 
obferv ing them in Africa, that I purpofely omit it as fuperfluous. Of the 
formic , the following diftind:ions are the moft obvious. Tlit^ great red 
ant, called by the Malays " cranga :^ this is about three fourths of an 
inch long ; bites fevercly, and ufually leaves it's iiead, as a bee it*s {ling, 
in the wound : it is found moftly on trees and bufiies, and fonns it's 
neft, by faftening together, with a glutinous matter, a colle^ion of the 
leaves of a bough, as they grow. The common red ant^ refembling our 
piflmire. The minuU red ant, much fmaller than th« former. There 
* S*e Pliilofophical Tranfefliona for the year 1781* 
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