"In a case where two were stung at the same time by serpents, the stone was applied to one who recovered, but the other for whom it could not be used died.
"It never failed but once, and then it was applied after the twenty-four hours.
"Its colour is so dark as not to be distinguished from black.
"Corfu, 7th Nov. 1860."
Upon the above I wish to make a few remarks. While in Corfu, where I resided some years, I became slightly acquainted with the gentleman in question, Signor Ventura, of the Strada Reale, Corfu. His family is, as stated, of great antiquity in the island; he does not know exactly when the stone first came in their possession, but conjectures it was brought from India by one of his ancestors. I have myself never seen this remarkable stone, but I am fully satisfied as to its efficacy, as I have constantly heard of people being cured by it; in fact the first thing the Greeks do when bitten by a venomous snake, of which there are several species in Greece, is to apply at once to Signor Ventura. The stone is then applied in exactly the manner described above, and the patient in due time is cured.
The instance alluded to where one died while it was being used for another, is of a countryman who was bitten by the olia or viper (whose bite is I think more deadly there than in England, owing, no doubt, to the greater heat of the climate) while cutting myrtle or bay for church decoration. He, as soon as bitten, ran to the town, distant some miles, and arrived when the stone was in use. When it was procured for him it would not adhere, for it seems this singular stone requires to rest in milk for some time, to vomit as it were the poison absorbed. Before it was fit for use again the man died.
The stone was broken by a very clever but unscrupulous native physician, who procured it to look at, as he said, but who broke it in halves, and subjected one half to the most severe tests, totally failing, however, to discover its component parts. Contrary to the opinion expressed in the preceeding extract, the fracture of the stone has slightly impaired its curative power, and in consequence I have heard the physician, "Dottore ," railed at in no very measured language by the Greeks.
There is a current rumour in Corfu that the Jews possess another and larger stone; but I will not vouch for the accuracy of this, nor do I profess to give an opinion as to the nature of these mysterious stones, but we have all heard of the so-called "Bezoar Stone," taken as is said from the inside of goats, monkeys, snakes, and toads, and its power in rendering the bites of snakes innocuous. I have read of such things in the works of Dumas and other authors, and have always regarded such as fables, but I had my faith greatly shaken in Corfu, and at last became a convert, per force, to public opinion and the wonders of this, which be it a bezoar-stone or what, does, it is certain, cure snake bites in every instance when properly applied. The wonder is that no one seems to know its composition, whether it is in reality the secretion of some animal or a stone of an earthly absorbent nature. Once, on mentioning it to an Indian acquaintance, he did not seem surprised, as he told me that he had seen a stone in India, known to possess the like powers, and which was taken from the body of a deer.
I have mentioned these facts and my own crude remarks in the hope that some more scientific person than myself can give a satisfactory explanation of the nature of such stones, or adduce fresh evidence in their support.
Note.—Zuhr Mohra, a blackish stone, is used in India for external application in cases of snake bites. Sir W. B. O'Shaughnessy states that the Zeher Morah is a kind of Bezoar, of which some are celebrated in Eastern works as remedies for snake-bites, hydrophobia, &c. Ainslie says that the Hindoos suppose it to possess sovereign virtues, as an external application in cases of snake-bites or stings of scorpions; and its various oriental names imply that it destroys poisons. Dr. Davy, on examining what are called snake-stones in India, found them to be bezoar. They are simply absorbents. The goat bezoar has a smooth, glossy surface, and a dark green or olive colour.—Ed. S. G.
ZOOLOGY.
The Gorilla.—Three skulls of the gorilla, from M. Du. Chanillu, were exhibited at the Royal Society, at the meeting on the 16th of January.
Buonaparte's Gull (Larus Buonapartii)—Occurred in Falmouth Harbour on the 4th January. This is its first recorded visit to England. Twice it has visited Ireland, and once Scotland. Its first occurrence was in 1848.
A few days ago, whilst on a visit in Shropshire, a lady who heard me putting in a plea for the birds, gave me this fact. She was watching the trussing of a pheasant dinner, and as the crop was much distended she had it opened, and the contents were wire-worms; of these real pests to the farmer there were, she said, as many as would fill a teacup. This occurred at a farmhouse in Salop, where game of all kinds is in bad repute.—J. W. Bedford.
Notice of a Mule Breeding.—Mr. A. Fonblanque, of the British Consulate at Alexandria, has communicated to Mr. Darwin a notice of a "curious birth," which has lately taken place at Cairo—that of a foal produced by a mule. He says, so great was the excitement at this unheard-of event amongst the native population, that it produced an official inquiry. The mule is twenty-two years of age, has no milk, and the jennet has to be fed.—Natural History Review.
In what Nest does the Cuckoo lay her Eggs?—Mr. Brockholes says, "I have always found the titlark's nest the favourite with the cuckoo for the deposition of its eggs. The skylark's appears to be the next most favoured nest. I have also had the egg from the nests of the sedge warbler, yellow wagtail, yellow bunting, common bunting, and sparrow; but I do not remember an instance of two eggs in the same nest."
A Starling who had seen the World.—I remember one poor bird (a starling) that had escaped from domestication, in which it had entirely lost, or probably never knew, the language or manners of its race, and acquired only the name of its mistress; disliked and avoided by its congeners, it would sit, by the hour together, sunning on some tall elm, calling in a most plaintive strain, "Nanny, Nanny," but no Nanny came; and our poor solitary either pined itself to death, or was killed, as its note ceased.—Knapp's Journal of a Naturalist.
