26i Capt. Lynes on the Ornithology [Ibis, 



short excursions on horseback from Azrou and Ain Leuh 

 into the forest, every moment of which brought some new 

 delight, ornithological or botanical, and that we returned to 

 Rabat with the desire strong in my mind to return to the 

 Forest as quickly as possible in order to take a full stock of 

 its treasures during a prolonged stay. 



Again, thanks to the kind arrangeinenis made for me by 

 General Lyautey and his Departments, three days hiter 

 (1st of May) found me leaving Rabat by train with equip- 

 ment for a long stay at Azrou, where I arrived by Camion 

 posiale from Meknez the following day, and remained until 

 the 17th of July, an extremely happy ten weeks, thanks to 

 the never-ceasing interest of my work and the charming 

 society of my French friends, C;ipitaines Bousquet and 

 Chaplet, and the officers, who graciously made me an 

 honorary member of their Mess. 



Here my time was spent making (hiily excursions into the 

 forest and its dominating "Phvteau''; the Tigrigra valley 

 offered comparatively little of interest, though the river 

 often su])plemented our menus with delicious brook-trout 

 up to a pound in weight. 



In June, while the advance column was operating iu the 

 Upper M'louya territory, a vedette encampment established 

 by Azrou on the southern edge of the plateau near Jebel 

 Hebbri, enabled me to spend several nights under canvas 

 there, enjoying the hosi)itality and companionship of tSous- 

 Lieutenant Leriche, and (during the days) to take better 

 stock of the Plateau than would otherwise have been i)Ossible. 



Night work was nowhere possible, for we were close to 

 the mountain encampments of the still hostile Berber tribes ; 

 even in the day-time it was never permissible to go out 

 without an armed gunrd of " Mokhraznis '' or '^ Goumeurs," 

 besides which I had been unable to recruit a native taxi- 

 dermist, so that the working hours available for field-work 

 were curtailed by much time spent at the skinning-table and 

 over the various other collections. 



My peregrinations covered some ton miles length of Forest 

 above Azrou^ many square miles of " Plateau," including two 



