The Cobra's Jewel.
1 We all have heard of the jewel situated • in thgjiead of a tcua— in fact, Shakespeare alludes to it, saying, "Which like the toad, ugly and venomous, possesses yet a precious j jewel in its head." la India there Is a common superstition . to the effect that the jeweled cobra, a most poisonous reptile, can never be found without its precious stone. The natives assert that as soon as a cobra loses its stone or has ' it taken away it eventually dies a lingering death or commits suicide. i The Electrical World tells of an investiI gation into this matter of the "cobra's jeAel," which led to the discovery that the cobra, while young, makes a search for a phosphorescent pebble, composed probably of barium sulphide, which upon being slightly heated resembles the light emanat- * leg from the female firefly. This he lays 4> upon the ground immediately in front of I- his mouth, and as the winged insects apr ..preach they become an easy prey to this *> most venomous reptile.
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Manawatu Herald, 29 December 1896, Page 4
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175The Cobra's Jewel. Manawatu Herald, 29 December 1896, Page 4
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