REVIEW. 391 



REVIEW 

 ON 



* The Mammalia of India — (continued from page 251). 



The Black-buck is a more beautiful and interesting animal than 

 Tefraceros, almost as widely distributed in India, and, like it, found 

 nowhere else. 



Being a beast of the open plain, it is a great deal better known and 

 more popular. Mr. Blanford may be congratulated in this case, on 

 the scientific name that he has adopted, Antilojje cervicapra. 



In his Indian names he is unhappy. Mirga is bad Sanskrit for 

 Mriga, which is given just below (docked), as Hindustani " Kalwit" 

 is not Hindustani (or anything else) for the female. But '' Kal^hint " 

 is Maratha for the male, on account of his black (Kdla) skin. 

 «' Bamani Haran" is neither Uria nor Maratha, but bad Hindustani, 

 fit for the mouth of a Shikari. The word " Phanddyat " may be 

 Maratha ; perhaps one of our Maratha-speaking members wiU tell us. 



Mr. Blanford gives a good set of average dimensions, and puts the 

 weight at "about 90 lbs." apparently for both sexes. At any rate, 

 the present writer found that average obtain amongst many speci- 

 mens weighed in Khandesh, the Deccan, and Gujarat. Some exceeded 

 90 lbs., none reached 100 lbs. ; and the heaviest female was as 

 heavy as any of the males, though the latter are commonly a little 

 the larger. A good many females were amongst those weighed, 

 because the writer often only shot, when meat was needed, in countries 

 where the bucks were mercilessly shot down by head-hunters in cow- 

 carts, and the herds could better spare those than the few surviving 

 stud-bucks. 



Mr. Blanford describes the family of a Black-buck as " from 10 

 to 30 in number, but sometimes as many as 50," and including two 

 or three-brown (young) bucks. But in the few places where the 

 bucks are not especially persecuted^ the right proportion seems to be 

 about a dozen brown hides to one black one, and wherever they come 

 near twenty to one, the head of the herd should be spared. Doe venison 



* The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burmah. Published under 

 the authority of the Secretary of State for India in Council. Mammalia, bj 

 W. T. Blanford, F.R.S. 

 51 



