////: ORYX. 





of id,-. -hud. At r.-rtain seasons of the year they carry a great quantity of fat, at whi< -\\ tun.- 

 iin-\ ran morv ea.sily ! ridden into. 



< >wini; to tin- fw-n natiiii- of th,. Around which the<Jem> -bok fr.-qu.-nr ; Mi-pi 



rion- disposition, and tin- .xti'-iin- di-taiire fnun water to which it must l follo\\,-.l, it i-, 

 never stalk---! or driven to an ambush like the Antelopes, but is htint<-<i on horwlnick ami 

 ridih-ii down 1\ u long, severe, tuil-on->nd chase. Of several aniinal.s in South Afrim which 

 :n.' liiinti-din this inann-r. tin- <i.-nis l>k i- l>\ far tin- >\\ifti-st and tin- nutM emluring." 



^\v< 



. 



Although tli> Oeins-l)ok is nearly independent of water, it stands an much !n need of 

 moisture aa any other animal, and would speedily jM-ri>h in the arid di-^-r-i.s \M-P- it not <lirvrt-<l 

 by its instincts towards certain succulent plants which are placed in those n-jdons, and which 

 ],--.-- tin- u-'ful p.. \\.-r of Mtti-i.-tiii- :in-l ]---t:iiniii_' BfCT] pvtfafa oJ BObtOi !ii-)i m:i\ 

 happen to settle in their vicinity. The most common and most valuable of these plants is a 

 bulbous root, belonging to the Liliftrea. railed, from its prvuliar property of retaining the 

 moNtinv. the Water-Root Only a very small portion of the valuable plant appears above 

 the ground, and the water-l>earinK r bulb i- v. i-ncni-t.-.l with hardened soil that it must be dim 

 out with a knife. Several otln-r -m-i-nli-nt plants also possess similar qualities, among which 

 may be noticed a kind of little melon which is spread over the whole of the great Kalahari 

 desert. 



RESEMBLITTO the gems-bok in many particulars, the ORYX can be easily distinguished from 

 its predecessor by the shape of the horns, which, instead of being nearly straight, are con- 

 siderablybent, and sweep towards the back in a noble curve. 



