Upon my word, I am of opinion that these old, effete and grumpy libertines come to Stupify us with their silly stories, and being virtuous, out of necessity, hope through sheer envy to deprive young people of all the pleasures of life!
"The Blunderer"
Moliere
Mr W. C. L. Martin thus "explains" the statements of Dr A. Smith, and all such accounts:-"There is nothing mysterious in all this; the snake does not mesmerise its prey, but merely so terrifies it as to Stupify it; besides, the victim may feel an impulse similar to that which urges many nervous persons on the edge of a precipice, or top of a lofty tower, to throw themselves down headlong, and which we have heard such describe as resisted with difficulty; so may the panic-struck bird feel an impulse to rush into danger which it might escape by flight."
"The Romance of Natural History, Second Series"
Philip Henry Gosse
When the fungus is burnt, its fumes exercise a narcotic property, and will Stupify bees, so that their honey may be removed.
"Herbal Simples Approved for Modern Uses of Cure"
William Thomas Fernie