174 
SPOLIA ZEYLANICA. 
Their headquarters appear to be in the palm grove at the entrance 
gates, whence they sally out at dusk, gliding from tree to tree in the 
vicinity, and often wandering to a distance of at least a quarter of a 
mile. They are frequently to be seen in the ‘ ‘ Ingasaman ” ( Pithe - 
colobium ^saman) avenue along the Station road, and in the large 
Bombax trees in front of the Mycologist’s and Entomologist’s bun¬ 
galows. They are also partial to the old Ficus elastica trees that 
used to be such a feature of the approach to the Gardens, but which 
are now in a state of decay. On one occasion I had the rare pleasure 
of watching a troop of five or six of these graceful animals parachut¬ 
ing to and fro between the Eicus trees and the palm grove. A few 
individuals may be seen almost any night, if one has the patience 
to wait about between the hours of 6 and 7 p.m. just outside the 
gates of the Gardens. The exhibition of animal-seroplaning is worth 
waiting for. 
Peradeniya. E. ERNEST GREEN. 
3. Cobra Reminiscences .—In 1891 I was stationed on the 
Hanwella-Bope road, aj^out 2 miles from Hanwella, and occupied a 
small house belonging to Mudaliyar G. Amarasekera. This house was 
situated on a piece of land newly cleared and planted with coconut 
seedlings, and was surrounded by low and thick scrub. The ground 
was honeycombed with white ants’ nests and infested with snakes, 
principally cobras and polongas, of which I killed about 160 odd in 
two years. I had come to know the white ants’ holes which con¬ 
tained cobras, and noticed for one thing that these snakes habitually 
returned to the same holes, even though they might have taken 
temporary refuge in some other. 
I was able to satisfy myself that? the partiality of snakes (at least 
as regards cobras) for music is nothing but a myth. The sole effect, 
so far as I could see, was to arouse their curiosity, as they would pro¬ 
ject their heads out of their holes equally well for any kind of noise, 
from the shrill piping affected by snake charmers down to the 
tingling noise made by dragging a surveying chain past their dwell¬ 
ing, or even that made by light and repeated tapping with a switch 
close to their hole. It would appear, however, that the tone must 
be high, as grave sounds, such as tom-tom beating or deep notes from 
a flute or ocarina, had, so far as I could see, no effect upon them. 
Another delusion, which is often found in story books, and which 
I have never observed, is the power of fascination which they are 
said to exercise towards birds. On the contrary, on at least two 
instances I saw cobras chased by birds. The first occurred in 
November, 1891. Returning from work about 5 p.m. I noticed some 
commotion occurring in the bush about 20 yards from my door. 
There appeared to be a dispute going on amongst some birds ; their 
shrill cries could be heard proceeding from the same spot, accompanied 
