MISCELLANEOUS NOTES, 553 



Ins. 

 A to A— 23|. 



B to B— 3l|. C to E, right horn 21 ins., left 19f ins. 



C to C— 36. 



D to D— 21|. 



E to E— 10|. 



F to F— 3i. 



These horns were picked up by me in the Pili jungles while out after a tiger — 

 by wliom I believe the stag had been killed. The measurements are as nearly 

 exact as it is possible to get them. 



W. H. SALMON, Lt.-Col., 



3rd Infy., H. C. 



No. XII.— DUCKS. 



I am sending you by post the skin of a duck I shot at Dhonsa Tank, about, 

 seven miles oif, the other day. I cannot identify the bird cither from Hume's 

 "Game Birds," or in Barnes' ''Birds of Bombay," hut it appears to me to be 

 a female of one of the pochards.* 



It may also interest you to know that last year (14th February) I shot 

 3 White-fronted or Laughing Geese {Anser albifrons) at a place called Deviria 

 near Anjan, in this province. Lieut. Barnes states that Anser albifrons is a 

 " comparatively rare cold-weather visitant to Sind alone." This may be of use 

 to him, should he bring out a new edition of his book. He also states on page 398 

 that the Cotton Teal ( Nettopus coromandelianus ) is not recorded from Guzerat, 

 but I find from a pencil note that we obtained it in December 1888 on a tank, 

 about 15 miles from Godhra, Panch Mahals. Three out of five were shot by 

 Mr. W. L. Souter of the Police, who was one of our party during the Christmas 

 holidays. I believe the Panch Mahals are in the province of Guzerat. 



C. D. LESTER, Lieut. 

 Blinj, Cntch. 



No. XIIL— THE GIANT BETEL-NUT TREE. 



I am sending you two specimens of the fruit of the Rdm-adki or Giant Betel- 

 Nut tree with three of the common betel-nuts for comparison. The nut is of 

 no value, and can be eaten only when quite unripe, and is used as a medicine. 

 The tree is of the same height as the Betel-nut palm, but the stem is from twice to 

 four times as thick. The leaves more closely resemble those of the Cocoa-nut 

 palm, the stem being half as thick as the latter, but in outward appearance it is 

 like the Betel-nut palm. It is in fact a half-way link between the Betel-nut 



* The duck has since been identified by Mr. S. B. Doig as an immature specimen 

 of the pin-tail duck {Dafila acuta). — Ed. 



