The Sun.
London, England, 1870-01-03 00:00:00

REMEDIES FOR COBRA BITE.

has long been known that the cobra snake is one of
the most venomous of the reptile tribe, and its bite has
been proportionately dreaded by the traveller. The terror
with which it is regarded seems to be by no means exagge-
rated if we judge from recent experiments in India, con-
ducted under careful auspices. The Poonah Observer, in
referring to these experiments, says they have demonstrated
that none of the new remedies for cobra poison are
of the slightest avail, when that poison has
been injected into the system under favourable
conditions. Cases have been known in which
persons bitten by a cobra have recovered, but when a nu!
bite, bringing the poison out of the upper hollow fangs,
has been inflicted, every remedy fails. The construction
of the cobra's teeth is peculiar. Those which communi-
cate with the poison fangs, which are seated in the
roof of the mouth, are retractile, and can be
pushed back flat upon the roof of the mouth,
if need be, the hollow points thus being turned
in an opposite direction from that taken by the jaws in
inflicting a bite. If, therefore, it should happen that, in
a _!izing its victim, the cobra should do so at a moment when
these two fangs were retracted, the only wound creatsd
woull be by the fangs of the lower jaw, which are perfectly
harmless. Our Indian contemporary is of opinion that the
"well attested cases of recovery from the bite of a full
sized cobra have their origin in this distinction. When
the upper hollow fangs have penetrated the flesh and
the poison glands exude their deadly contents into
the wound, no known human agency can ward off
fatal results. The cobra is, fortunately, a timid creature,
and, as a rule, will not strike the passer-by unless attacked.
He is also incapabie of striking as he moves, so that a
yard's space puts the traveller out of danger. It is
ruggested that the Indian Government should put a
special reward on the destruction of this serpent, which
would be a wise expenditure of public money, since, in
spite of • all our improvements, the cobra retains a supre-
macy over modern science which is at once startling and
humiliating."

THE LANGHAH HOTEL.—DUring the past year
something like £70,000 in hard cash has been received at
this London hotel, and in the height of the season over
550 persons slept within it, and even now at the slackest
period of the year there aro over 160 visitors. On
New Year's-eve, the servants to the number of
175 were entertained at a grand ball and supper.
Everything was well done. One part of the entertainment
deserves mention. Just as the chimes had finished pro-
claiming the end of the year the ballroom was suddenly
darkened, and at one end there appeared a large trans-
parency, beautifully illuminated from behind with the
magnesium light, on which was inscribed "A Happy New
Year."

A GOOD STORY OF A PRILOSOPRER,—A little
story of Sir David Brewster is worth mentioning. Ott
the evening of Mr. John Stuart Mill's election for West-
minster, the philosopher and his friend Professor
Bain, of Aberdeen, were walking along Pall-
mall. They were met by Sir David Brewster.
The great savant and the philosophical member
wero not known to each other ; they were, therefore,
introduced by their common friend, Professor Bain, "So
you are Mr. Mill ?" was Sir David's remark. "Well, sir, I
knew your father, and have heard him preach when he was
a minister of Abroath, and an uncommonly poor preacher
he was !"

A CIGAR-MAKING MA CHINF,—An American com-
pany has been formed for the introduction of a new
machine for making cigars. Tho invention includes seven
patents, and the cigars, of which several millions have
already been made, are in no way inferior to the ordinary
article, while the cost of manufacture is reduced from 70
to SO per cent. An exhibition of the machines has been
lately made at New York, in which the process
was shewn. Thirty young women were soon working
as many machines all set in motion by an engine of one-
horse power. Portions of the odoriferous leaf were rolled
by the attendants into the rough similitude of a cigar and
placed in the machine, which compressed them and
whirled them into shape. Then one end of the wrapper,
already pasted, was presented to the revolving mass,
and in less than a minute the cigar was
turned out complete. A separate machine turn;
out the wrappers at the rate of 100,000 a clay, and another
machine cuts off the broad end of the cigar. A cigx:
maker, receiving tobacco in good working order, will
on an average, from 175 to 225 cigars per day. The the
required to learn to make them by hand is from two :.

three years, while it is asserted that a girl of moderate
intelligence can, after a few weeks' practice on the machine
Dub from 400 to 600 per gay.

The very extensive Distillery now being erected
at Belfast, with all recent improvements for the manufacture of
Irish whisky, by Messrs. DUNVILLE & Co., who have gained
a world-wide celebrity for their fine old Irish whisky, is to No
called "The Royal Irish Distillery."

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.
Morning. Evening.
SATURDAY 12 min past 1 40 min past 1
SUNDAY 5 min past 2 28 miu past 2
M ONDAY 50 min past 2 15 min past 3
TUESDAY... 37 tuft, past 3 56 miu past 3
WEDNESDAY 12 min past 4 35 min past 4
1 HURSDAY 52 miu past 4 12 min past . 5
FRIDAY .30 miu past 5......50 min past 5