CHAP. I.J THE MONGOOS. 145 



for food. Lord Torrington, during his tenure of office, 

 attempted the more civilised experiment of putting some 

 check on their numbers, by imposing a dog tax, the effect 

 of which would have been to lead to the drowning of 

 puppies ; whereas there is reason to believe that dogs are 

 at present bred by the horse-keepers to be killed for sake 

 of the reward. 



Jackal. The Jackal 1 in the low country hunts in 

 packs, headed^by a leader, and these audacious prowlers 

 have been seen to assault and pull down a deer. The 

 small number of hares in the districts they infest is 

 ascribed to their depredations. An excrescence is 

 sometimes found on the head of the jackal, con- 

 sisting of a small horny cone about half an inch in 

 length, and concealed by a tuft of hair. This the 

 natives call Narri-comboo, and they aver that this 

 " Jackal's Horn " only grows on the head of the leader 

 of the pack. 2 Both the Singhalese and the Tamils 

 regard it as a talisman, and believe that its fortunate 

 possessor can command by its instrumentality the reali- 

 sation of every wish, and that if stolen or lost by him, 

 it will invariably return of its own accord. Those who 

 have jewels to conceal, rest in perfect security if along 

 with them they can deposit a Narri-comboo, fully con- 

 vinced that its presence is an effectual safeguard against 

 robbers. 



Jackals are subject to hydrophobia, and instances are 

 frequent of cattle being bitten by them and dying in con- 

 sequence. 



The Mongoos. Of the Mongoos or Ichneumon five 

 species have been described ; and one that frequents 

 the hills near Neuera-ellia 3 , is so remarkable from its 



1 Cams aureus, Linn. 



* In the Museum of the College of 

 Surgeons, London i 

 is a cranium of a j 



bits this strange osseous process on 



the super-occipital ; and I have placed 



along with it a specimen of the homy 



VOL. I. 



(No. 4362 A), there 

 jackal which exhi- 



sheath, which was presented to me 

 by Mr. Lavalliere. the district iudtre 

 ofKandy. 



3 Herpestes vitticottis. Mr. W. 

 ELLIOTT, in his Catalogue of Mam- 

 malia found in the Southern Maharata 

 Country, Madras, 1840, says, that 



