ANIMAL ANECDOTES. 
A writmr on Indian natural history tells how he 
decided to have a few red and 
green lizards in his new bungalow 
to keep down the mosquitoes :— 
“So Bugwan, the butler, was summoned, and to his 
great perplexity lizards were put on order—‘ live 
lizards, two dozen at least, and ek dwm—right 
away. But the Hindu ‘boy’ is a man of 
resource, and at tiffin time Bugwan, after consul- 
tation evidently with the other servants of the 
household, announced that the sahib’s order 
would be obeyed that very night. The word 
‘night’ arrested my attention, and I pressed my 
enquiries. In the result I resolved to accompany 
Bugwan and his friend the syce, or groom, on a 
lizard-hunting expedition. About an hour before 
midnight we sallied forth, and the method of 
capture proved to be simplicity itself. The syce 
merely climbed the lamp-posts along the roadway, 
and at the top of each he bagged a lizard! The 
dainty-feeding reptiles had adapted themselves to 
their surroundings of civilization; as the gas 
lamps attracted moths, there the lizards came at 
supper time. Hach tiny creature seemed to hold 
undisputed possession of its own particular post, 
for in no single lamp did we find more than one 
solitary lizard. So the introduction of gas in the 
Hast has provided a comfortable and easy living 
for at least one tribe of our animal friends.” 
How to catch 
Lizards. 
Do 
‘“ON one occasion,” says an Anglo-Indian, ‘‘ when 
residing on the top floor of a lofty 
building in Bombay, we happened 
to leave overnight on the table of 
the balcony (four storeys from the ground) a 
bottle filled with sugar almonds, in which the 
cork had not been replaced. Next morning, by 
daybreak, we discovered that an army of millions 
of ants were ascending the house wall in a solid 
column a foot wide, while a second army was 
descending by a parallel line, also in compact 
regular formation. Hach retiring soldier ant 
carried in its arms a tiny morsel of the sugar 
taken from the almond bottle, where now there 
was hardly a trace of the white coating of 
some fifty sugar almonds left.” 
An Army of 
Ants. 
“Aw old coloured woman selling snails occasionally 
makes her appearance in certain 
streets here,” says a Philadelphia 
paper; ‘she carries an old basket 
in which the snails repose on freshly-sprinkled 
leaves.” These are not sold as food, but for 
cleaning the outside of window panes—an old 
practice still in vogue in Kensington. The snail 
is damped and placed upon the glass, where it 
at once moves around and devours all insects and 
foreign matter, leaving the pane as bright and 
clear as crystal. There are old-established 
business places in Kensington where the upper 
windows, when cleaned at all, are always cleaned 
by snails. There is also a fine market for snails 
among the owners of aquaria, as they keep the 
glass clean and bright. 
Wa" 
A FEW years ago a black stallion, the leader of 
a herd of wild horses in northern 
Arizona, was finally shot after 
repeatedly showing his heels to 
the best horses in the country. On his flank 
was the brand of the Bar L ranch, a large 
establishment owned by the Perrin Company. 
Tt was learned then that three years before, 
when a half-grown colt just from Kentucky, he 
had escaped from the barn and joined the wild 
herd. He recovered from his bullet wound, 
and for three years won races in Arizona, New 
Mexico and California, the combination of his 
good breeding and his early life with the wild 
herd giving him speed and stamina which sent 
him to the front. 
Cleaning 
Windows 
with Snails. 
A Truant 
Mustang. 
Wa 
CompaRED with the insect fight, the Spanish 
bull-fight is very tame, in the 
opinion of the Chinaman, at least. 
The insect used by the Chinese 
for these fights is known as the Mantis. Two 
insects are put in the case at a time. No sooner 
do they spy each other than both remain stiff 
and motionless, fixing their eyes on each other. 
In this condition they continue a long time, 
while the spectators tap on the glass and use 
every expedient to urge them on. Suddenly 
the whole frame of each becomes violently 
A Chinese 
** Sport.’’ 
318 
