MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 743 



hours we fished. A large prawn is the most killing bait, but they take a spoon 

 bait well, and I have also caught them with n itural bait ; in fact, they will 

 take almost anything when properly on the feed. Although the monsoon 

 monthsarethe best, I have caught them each. month from May to October, 

 but during th^ cold weather they do not come much into the harbour. My 

 best day alone was ten fish, 51 lbs., all caught with a lg- inch spoon in two 

 hours. This was on the 14th August, 1888, and on 21st September, 1890, two 

 rods took fourteen fish, 41 lbs. The largest fish I have heard of caught at 

 Sunk Rock was 16 lbs., though of course there have been larger ones which 

 have broken away. Although I have taken notes of the state of tide, wind, 

 colour o c water, &c„, each time I have been out, I have always found the 

 chances of sport most unreliable. One day the fish are about and the next, 

 although the conditions are the sa^e, they are conspicuous by their absence, 

 and I can only agree with the giHies 1 remacks about the salmon that " the 

 habits of the fish are no properly kenned. 11 



E. L. BARTON. 

 Bombay, February, 1898. 



No. XIII.— THE YOUNG OF THE HUNTING LEOPARD. 



Major Rodon in bis interesting article on the young of the hunting Leopard 

 Which appeared in the last number of the Journal, says : " Possibly, like lion 

 cubs, they were born with their eyes open.' 1 In 1892, when shooting in 

 Somali Land, I shot a lioness over a kill, and afterwards found her three cubs. 

 All three had their eye3 closed. 0.1 the following day two of the cubs had 

 their eyes open, but the other one did not open its eyes till the mornino- of 

 the third day. The Somalis with me said that the cubs, when I found them 

 were nine or ten days old ; but, from the condition of the mother and from 

 the appearance of the cub*, I did not think they could have been more than 

 two or three days old. 



I wrote to several people to try and ascertain whether there was any de- 

 finite time for lion cubs' eyes to remain closed after birth as with dogs cats 

 &c., but could not obtain any definite information, nor was I able to find out 

 anything from the few books on natural history in my possession. The 

 general opinion appeared to be that lion cubs' eyes opened two or three days 

 after birth, and it would be interesting to know whether this is a recognized 

 fact. 



I presume the period would be the same in wild animals, as in thosa born 

 in captivity ! 



H. P. CLEVELAND, Surgeon-Captain, 

 fffiEMUCH, 8th April, 1898. 3rd. Ba. Cavalry. 



