THE MUNGOOSE 



it devours his crops and pasturage. Therefore it 

 must be admitted the sportsman's antipathy to the 

 mungoose is a selfish one, for the creatures which 

 he seeks to reserve the sole right of killing are, with 

 but few exceptions, not only of no economic value, 

 but are a decided hindrance to the agriculturalist 

 and stock farmer. In South Africa we have little 

 or no pasturage to spare for the maintenance of 

 wild animals useless to man. What is not required 

 for the grazing of stock is urgently needed to clothe 

 the veld and hills, to suck up the rain and prevent 

 it carrying the fertile soil with it into the river beds, 

 and eventually to the sea. In various indirect ways 

 vegetation affects the rainfall, and in a country like 

 that of South Africa, suffering from a chronic con- 

 dition of thirst over at least one-half of its area, the 

 matter of the conservation of water and vegetation 

 is important. 



Mungooses in their native haunts, away from 

 the vicinity of man, do a small amount of harm in 

 occasionally eating the eggs and young of useful 

 insectivorous birds which build their nests on the 

 ground or in low bushes. This, however, is a thou- 

 sand times compensated for by the mungoose, as 

 it devours the creatures which are inveterate ene- 

 mies of bird life. Mice, rats, and snakes, which 

 destroy vast numbers of the eggs and young of use- 

 ful birds, are killed and eaten by the mungoose. 

 The nests of birds are perfectly safe from the mun- 

 goose when they are in trees, steep banks, and in 

 VOL. ii 17 2 



