MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 97 



forest, but he was not to be found. The incident happened in the G-haveda 

 forest of the Mahim Taluka, in the Thana District, and the Patel of the village 

 was one of the men with me. 



G. P. MILLETT. 



Tanna District, teh April, 1894. 



No. Ill— THE SPOTTED-BILLED DUCK. 



This duck is very prevalent between Allahabad and Umballa, owing, I believe, 

 to the fact that in this region, which comprises the country between the 

 G-anges and Jumna, there are a number of small feeder streams which run into 

 these two large rivers. All these little streams, which occur every 10 or 12 

 miles along the length of the larger rivers, are in fairly deep beds flanked by 

 raviny and therefore uninhabited land, for a width varying from a quarter of 

 a mile to three or four miles. The waters are consequently undisturbed. In the 

 dry-season the streams either cease to run, or are reduced to an almost impercep- 

 tible current. In the curves, however, there are deep pools, and these frequent- 

 ly are taken possession of by a pair of " spotted bills " for the breeding season. 

 The young brood are brought up there, without chance of molestation. 



I have found eggs in July and August in such localities, but not later. I 

 have, however, seen young birds in October and November which might have 

 been hatched at a somewhat later season. I have also found eggs and young 

 birds on the banks of the canal. During the last fifteen years I have taken some 

 trouble (with Mr. Phipson's assistance on more than one occasion) to send this 

 bird to England. It could, I believe, be easily domesticated. Some of those 

 I sent home took the first prize at the Crystal Palace Show two years in succession 

 and produced young freely at the Zoological Gardens. Some of the produce 

 were sent to the ornamental waters at Sandringham, and I was told by Mr. 

 Bartlett that the ducks sent there interbred with the wild ducks which visited 

 England in the winter, and that the young half breds inherited the non-migra- 

 tory habits of the " spotted bills " and did not leave the waters when the 

 Northern visitors departed in the spring. It would be interesting if further 

 experiments could be made in this direction. If a non-migratory wild duck, 

 so well adapted for the table as is the " Spotted Bill," could be established on 

 English or European waters, a useful result would be obtained. 



E. C. BUCK, I.C.S. 



Simla, April, 1894. 



No. IV.— THE DESTRUCTIVENESS OF BANDICOOT RATS. 



The specimens sent in are saplings of Polyalthia longifolia, a tree of the 



order Annonacece ; that is, a distant relation of the Custard-apple. They are 



three years and nine months old from the seed, and did belong to a generation 



of about an hundred such until they were nibbled by Bandicoots. I may as 



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