259 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol VIII. 
the habits of drinking water after their meals. In the Alipore menagerie the 
larger Felide are fed only once a day; and once a week they are either 
starved or kept on half rations, and it has been uniformly found that this 
system proves beneficial to their health. Small quantities of doob grass ought 
to be given them almost daily, as it acts as an emetic, as also flower of sulphur 
which acts as a tonic to almost all animals in captivity—the latter to be given 
either in their food or in their drinking water. All the bears in the collec- 
tion (with the exception of the Ursus maritimus) like sweets more or less, 
sugarcane and biscuits being a favourite food with them. They are usually 
fed on boiled rice, sugar, vegetables, fruits, eggs, bread, biscuits, and milk, 
The Polar bear (U. maritimus) was given only 3 Ibs. of fat mutton in the 
evening, with a change of fish and live pigeons occasionally. All the four 
species of Asiatic rhinoceri in the Gardens, Rhinoceros unicornis, R. sondaicus, 
R. lasiotis,* and R. sumatrensis, are fond of the leaves of the jack-fruit tree, 
but these being costly and not always procurable, they are fed on leaves of 
the gulher or doomoor (Ficus glomerata) and other species of figs; but the 
experience gained in the Gardens is that it is better to restrict them to jack 
and gulheras much as possible, supplemented by allowances of soaked gram 
and bran, together with salt and small quantities of goor, or country treacle 
occasionally. Both the species of tapirsf hitherto represented at Alipore, 
Tapirus malayanus and T. roulini, feed on vegetable substances, such as leaves, 
shoots, and roots, sweet potatoes, yams, bran, and boiled rice being occasionally 
given to them, The Hquus burchelli and EL. onager thrive best on crushed food 
consisting of grain, &c., hay, paddy, straw, and salt. The Bovide, especially 
Bos frontalis, B. sondaicus and B. gaurus, are very fond of bamboo leaves ; but, 
as they become reconciled to their captivity, they imbibe a taste for such 
things as gram, bran, hay, &c., together with a few onions. Salt is very neces- 
sary to them, and should be given daily, either mixed with gram or in small 
lumps for licking, together with a large troughful of clear water. Other 
members of the same family have been found to thrive best on grass and 
grain, only the Wild Buffalo of the Celebes (Anoa depressicornis) being fond 
of the green stalks of paddy plants. Of the antelopes, the Eland (Oreas 
canna), the Nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus), the Beisas (Oryx beisa and 
* It is doubtful whether Rhinoceros lasiotis can be called a distinct species. Mr. W, T. 
Blanford is of opinion that the several points of distinction in the external appearance of the 
rhinoceri from Chittagong and Majlacea, which led Mr. P. L. Sclater to create a distinct 
species, /astotis, for the reception of the Chittagong form, are scarcely of any specific value. 
He regards the two forms—one from Malacca (A. swmatrensis) and the other from Chittagong 
(R. lasiotis)—as varieties only. He says that, though the most remarkable difference between 
them is in the shape of the head, yet it is a variable one, as has been shown by Blyth. (Vide 
The Fauna of India : Mammalia, p. 477.) The author of the work under review has, how- 
ever, after a careful examination of both the Chittagong and Malayan species now living in 
the Calcutta Zoo, noted the principal points of difference between the two, most of which are 
found iy tally exactly with those observed by Sclater. (Vide page 182 of the work under 
review. 
+ A pair of American tapirs (Tapirus americanus, Gmal.) have been recently added to the 
Calcutta Zoological Gardens. See Englishman of 6th June, 1892. 
