xvi AFRICAN NATURE NOTES 



** mutual recognition " theory of coloration has 

 been at the least carried to an extreme by closet 

 naturalists. The prongbuck of North America has 

 the power of erecting the glistening white hairs on 

 its rump until it looks like a chrysanthemum ; but 

 there seems scarcely any need of this as a signal ; 

 for prongbucks live out on the bare plains, never 

 seek to avoid observation, are very conspicuous 

 beasts, and have eyes like telescopes, so that one of 

 them can easily see another a mile or two off 

 According to my experience — but of course the 

 experience of any one man is of limited value, 

 and affords little ground for generalization — the 

 "chrysanthemum" is shown when the beast is 

 much aroused by curiosity or excitement. 



Mr. Selous' chapters on the lion possess a peculiar 

 interest, for they represent without any exception 

 the best study we have of the great, tawny, maned 

 cat. No one observer can possibly cover the entire 

 ground in a case such as this, for individual animals 

 differ markedly from one another in many essential 

 traits, and all the animals of one species in one 

 locality sometimes differ markedly from all the 

 animals of the same species in another locality (as 

 I have myself found, in some extraordinary par- 

 ticulars, in the case of the grizzly bear). Therefore, 

 especially with a beast like the lion, one of the most 

 interesting of all beasts, it is necessary for the 

 naturalist to have at hand the observations of many 

 different men ; but no other single observer has left 

 a record of the lion of such value to the naturalist 

 as Mr. Selous. 



One of the most interesting of Mr. Selous* 

 chapters is that containing his notes on wild dogs, 

 on hunting hounds, and on cheetahs. Especially 

 noteworthy are his experiences in actually running 

 down and overtaking by sheer speed of horse and 

 hound both the wild dog and the cheetah. These 



