NATURAL HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA 



in a bag, and taken to the haunts of jackals. 

 They are then taken up one at a time with a 

 pair of forceps, or some other contrivance, and 

 singed to destroy all human smell or scent. They 

 are then placed under a bush where the sun 

 cannot melt them. This plan frequently fails, 

 for the jackal often detects the human scent left 

 upon the ground by the feet of the placer of the 

 poisoned bait. A better plan would be to 

 remain mounted on a horse, and drop the 

 prepared bait without dismounting, after care- 

 fully singeing it. If in addition a lump of de- 

 caying meat were trailed along the track taken 

 by the rider, a jackal, picking up the scent, 

 would follow it to the places where poisoned 

 bait was lying. 



The use of poison in this way at times does much 

 mischief, for the smaller carnivorous animals and 

 some useful birds eat the poisoned bait and perish. 

 Some of the species of small carnivorous animals 

 do a considerable amount of service to man, for 

 their chief diet consists of rats, mice, and noxious in- 

 sects. The Secretary Bird frequently falls a victim to 

 the poisoned bait laid for jackals ; and all observers 

 of the habits of this bird cannot but admit that it 

 fulfils an important mission in the economy of 

 nature, and is of much economic value to man. On 

 reference to the back numbers of the various South 

 African agricultural journals, there may be found 

 an abundance of writings on the destructiveness of 



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