When a native of the Malabar Coast finds a _Naja_ in his dwelling, he begs it in a friendly way to depart; if the request be without avail, he offers it food in order to attract it outside; if the snake still does not move, the Hindu goes in search of the pious servitors of one of his divinities, who, procuring an offering, address the most touching supplications to it (_Brehm_). The mortality due to the bite of this snake, which is by far the most common in India, is considerable. In the course of a period of eight years, from 1880 to 1887, it amounted on the average to 19,880 human beings and 2,100 head of cattle every year. In 1889, 22,480 persons and 3,793 head of cattle perished from snake-bite. Since then, the annual tale of fatalities always fluctuates between 16,000 and 22,000, in spite of the rewards for the destruction of snakes which the Indian Government has been obliged to institute, which represent an expenditure of about £10,000 per annum. For every 100 persons bitten, it is estimated that on an average from 25 to 30 die, and in most cases death supervenes in from two to twelve hours after the bite. _Naja bungarus_, or the Hamadryad, is the largest and most formidable of poisonous snakes. It is very vigorous and very aggressive, but is more rarely met with than _Naja tripudians_. It loves the vicinity of rivers and streams, lives in forests and jungles, and climbs trees with facility. It feeds upon other snakes (whence its name _Ophiophagus_), and also on birds, fish, and small mammals. Hindu snake-charmers assert that it is very difficult to capture, and dangerous owing to its strength; they handle it only after having extracted its poison-fangs. A very intelligent Hindu told Torrens how he had seen the way in which the Hamadryad procures the snakes that form its favourite food. The Hindu in question happened to be on the flat roof of his house, when a young Hamadryad appeared quite close to him. The snake raised its head, expanded its neck, and emitted a shrill hissing noise. Thereupon a dozen snakes came crawling up from all directions and assembled round the Hamadryad, when the latter made a dart at one of them and hastened to devour it (_Fayrer_). The Hamadryad is dreaded with good reason, for not only is it aggressive, and hurls itself boldly upon its adversary, but it also pursues him, a trait exhibited by no other poisonous snake.