MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 379 



Farm, and on referring to Mr. Green's monograph of the Ceylon Coccidaj 

 I found that he got only a single example of the insect and that on a twig 

 of Gelonium lanceolatum. He further adds, " Several larvae emerged 

 and these were transplanted on to the bush but failed to establish them- 

 selves. I am inclined to think that Gelonium is not the normal food plant 

 of the insect. In form and colour it bears a remarkable resemblance to 

 a rose thorn and it is possible that its proper habitat may bo a thorny 

 plant." Some of the specimens I collected were forwarded to Mr. Green 

 and in reply he wrote, " I am deliglited at the possession of further 

 material of this beautiful species and am very interested to find that my 

 prediction as to the thorny habitat of the insect has proved to be correct." 

 This year I was on the watch for the appearance of the insect and I have 

 not been successful. As one who is paying some attention to scales, I 

 shall be glad to know whether any members have come across this inte- 

 resting insect, on any of the above two or dififerent plants anywhere else 

 in India. 



T. V. RAMAKRISHNA AYYAR. 



Agriculxukal College, Coimbatore, 

 Ibth October 1915. 



No XXXII.— THE YE-SIN OR WATER-ELEPHANT. 



One of the most common beliefs throughout Burma and the Shan States is 

 that there exists an animal called the Ye-sin or water-elephant. This is an 

 elephant which lives in the rivers of Burma exactly like a land elephant 

 in every way except that it is about the size of a rat. It has power over 

 ordinary elephants and for this reason is sometimes called the Sin-min. 

 ( In the same way a kind of cat has power over other cats and is called 

 the Kyaung-min. There is also a cat which has power over tigers and is 

 known as the Kya-min. Both these cats are species of civets.) If an 

 elephant dies while crossing a river, it is nearly always said that it was 

 owing to the power of the Ye-sin. Ye-sins are said to be very dangerous 

 in the Sittang. Recently an elephant died near Pegu. A Burman told 

 me that after it had died the foot-prints of a Ye-sin were found in its 

 tracks near the river bank. A European in Toungoo some years ago told 

 me he had seen a Ye-sin and he had no doubt whatever about the existence 

 of the animal. ( I always thought that it was the mouse-deer which gave 

 rise to these beliefs.) About a week ago a Burmese lady told me that a 

 woman had brought her a Ye-sin and that she had bought it for Rs. 5. 

 She asked the woman how she got it and she said that an old Burman 

 carrying a bag had come to her house and asked for a drink of water. She 

 gave him the drink and asked what he had in the bag. He said that he 

 was a fisherman and had caught a water-elephant in his nets. It had lived 



days after he had caught it. He wanted to sell it for Rs. 25, but she 

 succeeded in getting it into her possession and took it at once to its present 

 owner and sold it to her for Rs. 5. I send it to you by registered post. 



1 think you will agree that it is a very clever fake. The feet, trunk and 

 tail are rather poor, but the rest is very like an elephant. It is quite good 

 enough to deceive anyone who wished to believe in the existence of such 

 an animal. This specimen is said to be unique in that it is complete. In 

 most Ye-sins the legs or body are missing. I should be very glad if. you 

 would let me know what animals it is made of and return it to the enclosed 

 address as the present owner values it very highly aud only consented to 



