regards white people, venomous snakes only cause one-tenth the number of deaths caused by dogs. Amongst the black population, the annual loss of life, when reduced to sober death-rates, is really of trifling amount; it is on the average about one death in 15,000 inhabitants, spread over sixty square - miles of country. A tithe of the money wasted on snake destruction would effect sanitary improvements of far greater value than even the extermination of venomous snakes.

This list of errors could be considerably augmented, though it could never be exhaustive, as fresh errors crop up continually. I would, in conclusion, draw attention to the remarkable illustration which this subject affords, of the law of the three intellectual stages formulated by Comte.

FIRST OR THEOLOGICAL STAGE.

Fetish period.-The venomous snake is a god; period of simple serpent-worship.

Polytheist period.-It now becomes an emblem of various gods or powers-generation, death, eternity, life.

Monotheist period. It is a beast cursed by Heaven, and devoted to destruction.

SECOND OR METAPHYSICAL STAGE.

Most of the errors now pointed out belong to this stage. In it Lucretius wrote

Est utique ut serpens hominis contacta salivis
Disperit ac sese mandendo conficit ipsa.

THIRD OR POSITIVE STAGE.

Snakes are examined in connection with the other classes of reptiles; reasoning and observation take the place of fable and prejudice.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.

PLATE I-NAGA TRIPUDIANS, the Cobra.

Fig. 1 & 2.-The gape of the jaws.

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3.-Skin of the head removed, showing the parotid (poison) gland and duct, the maxillary and mandibulary saliva-glands, the superficial muscles of the jaws.

4.-Salivary glands and superficial muscles removed; the mucous envelope of the fang also dissected off.

5.—The same, seen from below; showing principally the muscles which keep the maxilla normally depressed by drawing the pterygoid bone back. 6, 7, & 8.-Views of the skull.

PLATE II.-DABOLA ELEGANS, the Chain-viper.

Progressive Dissections of the Head.

Fig. 1.-a. Skin removed; b. poison gland exposed; c. poison gland removed; lachrymal gland exposed.

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2.-Gland and superficial muscles removed, showing the deep depressor muscles of the maxilla and pterygoid. The short and high maxilla is seen to be attached at its upper part to the prefrontal and postfrontal bones by the elastic jugal ligament.

4.-The skull from above.

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5. The skull from below; inner alveoli of the maxilla occupied by the mature fang, outer alveoli empty.

6.-The skull, lateral view; the pterygoid bone is seen to divide, giving off the tooth-bearing palatine on the inside and the slender ectopterygoid on the outside. The latter abuts against the maxilla below its fulcrum, and, when drawn forward, pushes the maxilla, and causes it (and the long fang it bears) to rotate through a considerable arc; the fang is thus erected from its normally supine position.

Note. These etchings are printed from the copper-plates on which I recorded my dissections of Indian snakes. They are not to be considered as having been made for purposes of demonstration, yet, from their correctness, I have thought they might be useful to give a general idea of the anatomy of the head of two principal Indian venomous snakes.