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Paper, 'Conjectures on the charm or fascinating power attributed to the rattlesnake: grounded on credible accounts, experiments and observations' by Hans Sloane

Reference number: CLP/15ii/21

Date: 1730

Description

Sloane writes that 'the various relations not only of curious and credible authors, who have given us accounts of Virginia, Carolina [USA], and the neighbouring countries, but also the testimonies of several men of integrity by word of mouth, concerning what they call charms, inchantments or fascinations by snakes, have often seemed to me greatly surprizing, without my being able to satisfy myself of the true cause of such appearances.'

Subject: Zoology

Read to the Royal Society on 22 October 1730

Published in Philosophical Transactions as 'Conjectures on the charming or fascinating power attributed to the Rattle-Snake: grounded on credible accounts, experiments and observations'

Reference number
CLP/15ii/21
Earliest possible date
1730
Physical description
Ink on paper
Page extent
13 pages
Format
Manuscript

Creator name

Hans Sloane

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Citation

Hans Sloane, Paper, 'Conjectures on the charm or fascinating power attributed to the rattlesnake: grounded on credible accounts, experiments and observations' by Hans Sloane, 1730, CLP/15ii/21, The Royal Society Archives, London, https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/clp_15ii_21/paper-conjectures-on-the-charm-or-fascinating-power-attributed-to-the-rattlesnake-grounded-on-credible-accounts-experiments-and-observations-by-hans-sloane, accessed on 12 May 2026

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  • Classified Papers

    The 'Classified Papers' of the Royal Society are papers from British and international natural philosophers and scholars categorised according to subject areas.

    Dates: 1592 - 1741

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