
BROWN SNAKE. 51 
Cases of snakebite.—In the experiments made by Dr. Halford 
on snake-poisoning, which are tabulated in the Medical Society’s 
Journal for March, 1875, all the people bitten by the brown snake 
and treated by the injection of ammonia recovered. In one of the 
cases mentioned in the public journals—the Bendigo Advertiser, 
27th Oct., 1877—a snake of this species, 8 feet 6 inches long, 
had bitten Mrs. Ingleby in the hand; she resided at Sebastian, 
Bendigo, and died from the effects within 50 minutes. The acting 
coroner, Mr. Strickland, who held the inquest, sent the snake, 
which had been killed, to the museum, where it is now deposited, 
and the species has been determined with certainty. This is the 
fifth snake referred to in the above table of measurements. 
A fatal case occurred near Sydney in Jan., 1892. Some boys 
were gathering ferns near a swamp in the vicinity of Mount Rennie, 
when they were surprised by a brown snake. One of them, 13 
years of age, who was bootless, and before he saw the reptile, was 
bitten twice on the big toe; he became drowsy, but walked home, 
and informed his parents, who at once conveyed him to the Prince 
Alfred Hospital. The medical superintendent, Dr. Purser, found 
two small punctures on the right foot. The patient who was very 
drowsy seemed to improve by the application of hypodermic injec- 
tions, but on the third day he complained of a sore throat and 
inability to swallow, and suecumbed during the ensuing night. 
In February, 1892, at Glen Innes there was a fatal case. A boy, 
aged 10 years, was bitten by a brown snake at Réd Range. His 
father immediately cut out the flesh and sucked the wound, and 
gave the boy some drops of ammonia in water to drink. He was 
taken to the hospital on the following afternoon in a comatose state. 
- Although new remedies were tried, and every effort was made by 
Dr. Wrigley, his patient died in 70 minutes after admission. 
The Victorian newspapers record a case somewhat parallel to 
that instanced above which took place near Sydney, but attended 
with different results On Nov. Ist, 1892, some youths were 
gathering ferns at Blackburn, Victoria, when one of them, while 
crossing a creek on a log, was bitten by a snake. His companions 
had learnt at a state schoo] the rudimentary treatment for snakebite. 
They applied a ligature and sucked the wound, Having conveyed 
the patient to a doctor, although fully an hour had elapsed, their 
treatment had prepared the way for saving the life of their comrade 
who reeovered. 
Fryine Fox—Pteropus poliocephalus. 
Description.—This well-known bat is called by the colonists the 
flying fox. The entire head is covered with brown hair, grisled with 
grey ; round the neck and advancing on to the back there is a very 
road collar of deep rust-red. The upper surface and the clothing 
of the arms are glossy black, grisled with greyish olive, the olive 
hue becoming more apparent on the hind quarters. The under sur- 
face is brownish black, many of the hairs being pointed with olive- 
