632 MANUAL OF NATURAL HISTORY. 



MAMMALIA. 



Here the rifle will be found especially service- 

 able, as by it alone most of the large quadrupeds 

 can be procured ; while the gun, loaded with large 

 shot, will not be less so in procuring many of the 

 smaller antelopes and deer ; a charge of shot being 

 found to produce a greater shock at the moment 

 than a rifle ball, and the creature may thus be 

 secured before it has time to recover, otherwise the 

 almost invariable impulse, when an animal finds 

 itself wounded, is, to seek the seclusion of some 

 retired spot, probably in dense cover, and thus be 

 totally lost. A small gun with lighter shot will of 

 course be required for the smaller species. In all 

 cases natives must, if possible, be secured as guides, 

 to afford information and to assist in procuring 

 specimens. 



Every opportunity should be embraced of ac- 

 quiring information relative to the several breeds 

 of domestic cattle ; indeed, the vast group of Rumi- 

 nants, Wild Antelopes, Deer, &c., are all well 

 worthy of attention, many of their habits being 

 but imperfectly understood. The range of species 

 should, if possible, be ascertained, and the extent 

 and kind of influence exerted by local conditions 

 in producing varieties traced. Care should likewise 

 be taken to observe the changes produced by age 

 in individual species, and to note the development 

 of the horns of deer at different periods of life. 



