386 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. [1 Noy., 1898. 
and on his defence. The instant the blow is made, the poison bag is com- 
pressed, and the venom runs down the channel in the fang into the wound. 
A thick woollen stocking will often prevent serious effects by absorbing the 
poison as it passes down the channel. Many of the innocuous snakes destroy 
their enemies or kill their prey by means of constriction. The constrictive 
powers of snakes of the boa and python species are enormous. A 10-feet long 
carpet snake has power to crush the life out of a human being. Such a snake 
seized by the neck and tail simultaneously is rendered harmless, as the tail is 
said to be requisite for aiding the constrictive operations. AJ] Australian land 
snakes, except the death (or deaf) adder, are good climbers. A black snake will 
climb the smooth surface of a gum-tree with ease. When an attempt is made 
to draw a large snake from a hollow log by the tail, the attempt is almost sure io 
fail, as the snake opens its scales and so offers strong resistance to its would-be 
captors. 
Ke The death adder has, near the end of the tail, a peculiar hooked appendage, 
of which scientific men have not yet been able to decide the use. It is too 
soft to enable it to penetrate anything. It is not hollow, and contains no 
poison. Its functions are as much a mystery as the curl in the tuft of a lion’s 
tail. When bitten by a snake the victim should, if possible, keep calm and 
kill the reptile. On examination it will often be found that there is no cause 
for alarm, and hence no need for violent remedies. 
Should, however, the snake prove to be venomous, a ligature of a strip of 
linen, of greenhide or cord, should be at once applied above the wound, which 
should be scarified with a knife, to cause profuse bleeding. If no other remedy 
is at hand, the person bitten should keep in motion and resist all inclination to 
lie down. Spirits—either alcohol or ammonia—should be freely administered, 
if procurable. The bite of a black, brown, or even diamond or tiger snake is 
not necessarily fatal, much depending upon the clothing worn by the victim at 
the time, and upon the direction and locality of the bite. 
The bite of the death adder is, however, said to be usually attended with 
fatal consequences. 
Carpet snakes, although harmless to human beings, who often make pets 
of them, are a source of great trouble to poultry-keepers. They often attack 
the fowlL-roosts at night, and destroy eggs, chickens, and grown fowls. They 
are, on the other hand, excellent ratters, and thus are useful in the barn. They 
are far superior to cats in this way, as they can follow the rats to their hidden 
nests, and they do not assemble on the roof at midnight and loudly proclaim 
their connubial bliss to the sleeping world. They are not in the least a source 
of danger in the house. The writer once slept all night in a small room 
6 feet broad by 8 feet long in company with a large carpet snake. On 
entering the room a peculiar smell was observed, and this led to a search 
fora snake. There is a distinct odour exhaled from the breath or else exuded 
from the body of a snake, which, in a confined space, betrays its presence. On 
the occasion now mentioned, this odour, being recognised, led to a search 
which was fruitless, and it was concluded that if a snake had been in the room 
he had been warned that it would be healthier for him to seek outside quarters, 
Next morning, however, there was his snakeship comfortably coiled up on a 
heap of bags in one corner. The only wonder is that it did not seek the 
warmth of the blanket during the night. The reptile was about 7 feet long 
and nearly 9 inches in circumference. It now is located in a large glass case 
in the hall of a house in London—stuffed, of course. 
There is a lamentable amount of ignorance of snakes and their habits, even 
amongst old bushmen, timber-getters, fishermen, &c., and ludicrous beliefs 
exist In consequence regarding the methods of attack adopted by the reptiles. 
Here is one. There is on the South Coast lands of Queensland a ringed snake, 
the marks on its body being alternate black and white rings. Under the name 
of ‘hoop snake,” thisanimal is supposed to take its horny pointed tail in its mouth, 
and start for its enemy or for its prey inthe form of a boy’s hoop or a bicycle 
wheel. Onarriving within striking distance, it lets go the tail, straightens itself 
