218 



KNOWLEDGE. 



' October 1, 1900. 



of the cow are concealed ! Tlie somewhat spiteful and 

 uncertain temper of the bull is indicated by the circum- 

 stance that it was found necessary to af&x brass knobs 

 to its horns. From the more tvpical buffaloes the anoa 



Male and Female Anoa at Woburu Abbey. 



From a PhoiognipJi hy the DrcHESS OF Bedford, 



differs by the general presence of wliite markings. These 

 usually take the form of a gorget on the lower part of 

 the throat, and of one or two spots on each side of the 

 under jaw, as well as patches above tbe lateral hoofs ; 

 but there mav also be white blotches on the neck and 

 back, and in front of the eyes, while more or less of 

 white may appear on the muzzle and the whole of the 

 lower portion of the limbs. The special interest attach- 

 ing to these white markings is that the spots on the 

 sides of the face as well as the gorget on the throat ai-e 

 also met with among certain antelopes, such as the kudu 

 and the bushbucks ; and from this it has been inferred 

 that the anoa is more neai-ly related to the antelopes 

 than is any other member of the ox tribe. Although 

 this may be true to a certain extent, the connection 

 with the kudu tribe is remote. 



According to the meagi-e accounts we at present possess 

 of the creature in its native haunts, the anoa dwells in 

 pairs on the elevated ground of the interior of Celebes, 

 where it passes most of its time in thick forests in 

 the neighbourhood of water. In associating in pairs it 

 is quite unlike all other wild cattle, with the possible 

 exception of the Philippine tamarau ; and here again 

 it presents a resemblance to the kudu and bushbucks. 

 which also generally go about in pairs or small family 

 parties. 



Examples of the anoa are but rarely seen alive in 

 England, although they do not appear very difficult to 

 procure. The first specimen exhibited in the London 

 Zoological Gardens was purchased in May, 1871, and 

 a second was obtained by exchange in June, 1880. Be- 

 tween the latter date and 1896 (when the last complete 

 list of the animals in the menagerie was published) not 

 a single example of this very interesting little buffalo 

 was obtained. At "Woburn Abbey the pair represented 

 in ♦he accompanying photograph dwelt in a good-sized 

 paddock by themselves and flourished for a considerable 



period. tJnfortunately, however, one of the two has 

 died since the photograph was taken. 



Apart from the interest attaching to it as a primitive 

 island tvpe. and as being the smallest representative 

 of the ox tribe, it cannot fairly be said that the anoa 

 is a very attractive animal. It has nothing specially 

 to commend it from an jesthetic point of view, being, in 

 fact, a rather uglv and ungainly creature ; and from its 

 pugnacious disposition it is not adapted for turning out 

 in British parks among other horned animals. More- 

 over, it has a decidedly delicate constitution, which alone 

 would be sufficient to render it unfit for this kind of 

 life. 



THE BORDERS OF THE KARST. 



By Grekville A. J. Cole, m.e.i.a., f.g.s., Professor of 

 Geology in the Royal College of Science for Ireland. 



If we ascend the Predil Pass from the Karinthian side, 

 we rise above the fields of Villach to the typical land- 

 scapes of the Eastern Alps. At Raibl we are surrounded 

 by the dehris of the crags, and the white pebbles fill 

 the valley-floor; still climbing, through the last fir- 

 woods, we look down into the rich green Eaibler See. 

 and then up to the notch that forms the passage through 

 the limestone crests. After that all is limestone, down 

 to the very shores of the Adriatic, and there we 

 approach, with a feeling of satiety, the bare white 

 plateaux of the Karst. 



The learned Mojsisovics* reminds us that the Karst is 

 occasionallv clothed with grass upon its summits, and 

 with woodland on its flanks towards the sea. Anyone 

 who has gazed upon the Karst will feel, however, that 

 he must insist on its essential barrenness. 



The Aran Isles off the coast of Clare, and some 

 surfaces in the west of Yorkshire, may give us an 

 inti-oduction to the nakedness of the Karst. In a 

 limestone country, where storms prevail, on the one 

 hand, or where drv seasons parch it, on the other, such 

 soil as may be formed has little chance of preservation. 

 The exposed surface becomes worn down along the planes 

 of bedding of the strata ; if these are gently tilted, the 

 bare dip-slope may extend for miles ; if they are hoi-i- 

 zontal. a dreai-y and unbroken plateau may result. 

 Solution sets in along the prevalent joint^planes, and 

 great open grooves arise, like the crevasses in the surfaee 

 of a glacier. The water missing from the surface is 

 found again underenround, where it dissolves away the 

 rock, and forms chains of caves and passages as it flows. 



As we swing down the great curves of the Predil. 

 under the peaks of the Mangart and the Terglou, the 

 pebbly floor assumes more and more a feattire of the 

 landscape. The vegetation on the shifting limestone 

 surfaces becomes broken up into little clumps, and 

 acquires the monotonous dull green tint that seems 

 characteristic of the east. The road in summer lies 

 inches deep in hot white dust, as the Slovenian peasant 

 knows too well, trudging down the ravine behind his 

 thirsty flocks. At length we emerge on the plain of 

 Gorz. where Eocene sandstones and marls lend some 

 divei-sity.f But there is a grim touch of the genuine 

 Karst in the ridge that has still to be encountered, 

 before the Italian deltas come in view. 



The landscape reminds one mostly of pictures of 



* "Ziir Geologie der Karst-erscheinungen," Zetischrift d. deiitsch. 

 >i. oesferr. Alpenvereinf, 1S80. 



t See L. K. Moser. Ber Karxf und xeine Hohlen (Trieste, 1899), 

 ,,.11. 



