071 Troglodytes Niger. 381. 



succulent leaves. This, vulgarly called the ^cabbage/ is con- 

 sidered a delicacy by the natives also, either in a crude or 

 cooked state. Their knowledge of its edible quality, as well 

 as that of the fruits generally, was obtained from the monkeys. 

 It is a common saying among them, that, 'what is good for 

 monkey is good for man.' I have found different fruits in 

 the maw which are recognised as ' plums,' one of which only 

 is known botanically — the P armarium excelsum. The fruit 

 of the Carica papaya would seem to be its greatest favorite — 

 from its saccharine quality, as I suppose. The Musa sapien- 

 tium and paradisiaca are also freely eaten, and, three species 

 of Amomum, A. azfelii, A. grandijlorum 1 and a third unde- 

 scribed. There are other fruits of which they are fond, but, 

 not having obtained the flowers, 1 am unable to name them 

 botanically ; — one, called a cherry, is pleasantly acid ; an- 

 other, called a walnut, is not unlike the fruit of the Juglans 

 nigra, both in the husk, in its green state, and the nut — these 

 they crack with stones precisely in the manner of human 

 beings. 



" The strong development of the canine teeth in the adult 

 would seem to indicate a carnivorous propensity ; but, in no 

 state save that of domestication do they manifest it. At first 

 they reject flesh, but easily acquire a fondness for it. The 

 canines are early developed, and evidently designed to act the 

 important part of weapons of defence. When in contact with 

 man, almost the first effort of the animal is — to bite. 



" They avoid the abodes of men, and build their habitations 

 in trees. Their construction is more that of 7165^5 than of huts, 

 as they have been erroneously termed by some naturalists. 

 They generally build not far above the ground. Branches or 

 twigs are bent or partly broken and crossed, and the w^hole 

 supported by the body of a limb, or a crotch. Sometimes a 

 nest will be found near the end of a strong leafy branch twenty 

 or thirty feet from the ground. One 1 have lately seen that 

 could not be less than forty feet, and more probably it was 

 fifty. But this is an unusual height. 



" Their dwelling place is not permanent, but changed in pur- 



