188 SPORT IN ASIA AND AFRICA 



this reason. I do not believe that there has been 

 any deterioration of the heads of genuine wild 

 animals. The length of an animal's horns depends 

 very largely upon its habitat. The horns of the 

 impala in the vicinity of the northern Guaso 

 Nyiro evidently attain a development which 

 is unknown in Central and South Africa. The 

 horns of the sambur stag in the Vindhya and 

 Satpura Mountains in India may attain to a 

 length of 50 inches, and a head of 48 inches has, 

 I understand, been obtained in recent years. 

 Forsyth, in The Highlands of Central India, 

 published in 1871, says that the largest sambur 

 head he ever saw was one which he shot himself, 

 which had horns 41 inches long and 8J thick in 

 the thinnest part of the beam, and that 30 to 

 35 inches is the average length of the horns of 

 mature stags. Forsyth was a keen sportsman, 

 and, as Assistant Conservator of Forests under 

 the Central Provinces' Administration, which 

 was formed in 1861, he was probably the first 

 man who shot with a rifle in many parts of the 

 Provinces. His sambur head was no doubt a 

 very fine one, but many finer heads have been 

 shot since, and his estimate of the average length 

 of the horns of mature stags appears to be too 

 low. It is clear, therefore, that the horns of the 

 sambur have not deteriorated in the past sixty 

 years. The sambur is also found in Ceylon and 

 Mysore, but 30 inches is, as I understand, 

 considered there to be a fine head. In Assam 

 and Burma also, the heads obtainable are far 

 inferior to those of the Central Provinces. 



We reached the Lorian in safety, but the 



