The _Cancutti_ is a small snake, which generally makes a spring at the eyes. I never had an opportunity of seeing this snake, or the preceding; but I was assured by the natives of Malabar, that both kinds are found in the country. During my residence at _Verapole_ I found snakes every where, not only in the gardens, but also in the houses, and even in the _Patayas_, or rice magazines. People, therefore, must be always on their guard, and keep every thing neat and clean. They must also burn frequently strong smelling substances, and such in particular as occasion a great deal of smoke and vapour; for these are the best means to drive away snakes, which generally take up their abode in places where little attention is paid to cleanliness. It is well known, that the Indians are acquainted with a method of charming serpents, or of enticing them towards them by a certain kind of art. This operation I have several times seen, and I always observed that the whole process was perfectly natural. The people who charm the snakes rub their hands with various kinds of sweet smelling herbs, and employ at the same time the assistance of singing and music. As soon as the snake, which is acute of hearing as well as sharp-sighted, perceives what is doing, it creeps from its hole, becomes as it were inchanted, and twists itself round a slender stick which is presented to it. The charmer then takes out its poison, puts it into a basket, and carries it about through the streets, where it is made to amuse the populace with all kinds of tricks[154]. According to the Brahmanic mythology, there is a snake which surrounds the whole world. They give it the name of _Sarparagia_, the king of the snakes, or _Vàsughi_. Properly speaking it is nothing else than the _Annulus Platonis_, a symbol of life and death; the eternal revolution of every thing in the universe. It is well known that Plato was indebted for this idea to his preceptor Pythagoras[155], to whom it was first communicated by the Magi in India. Among the zoophytes, or animal plants of Malabar, is the sea-nettle; called by some _urtica marina_, and by others _flamma maris_. It is a spongy body, with a hole in the middle, which is surrounded by a purple-coloured band, that forms as it were a sort of cap. In the sea, near Cochin, there are two kinds of this animal, which swim about in the same manner as the sea-star. When held in the hand it occasions a painful sensation, like that produced by the common nettles. In the Malabar language it is called _Cioriunu_.