98 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. IX. 



well observe that they are called in Marathi "Ashok"; and in Gujarathi 

 " Asso P£l " ; but are not at all connected with the Hisdustani Ashoka (Joncria 

 AsoTca or Saraca Indica), which we here call " Jasud." 



In the same compound, with these saplings, dwelt many families of Bandi- 

 coots—each in its own burrow — and now and again these would nibble the 

 bark of a young " Ashoka, " but the wound generally healed over. Tropical 

 trees are mostly very hard to kill when healthy. But in March, 1894, the 

 Ashoka saplings, near a particular Bandicoot burrow, were cut down at the 

 rate of two or three every night for some days. Only one was attacked at the 

 root ; all the rest were cut into at two points, usually about 3'' and 5" above 

 the ground, and the wood torn away between the cuts in strips not unlike 

 " Tandstickers." No tree was quite cut through ; many were cut half or three- 

 quarters through, some seven-eighths or more. The largest saplings attacked 

 were six inches round at the lower cut. The cuts showed many grooves of 

 concave section, both in diameter and on the longer axis. These were in pairs, 

 meeting each other near the centre of the remaining wood. The widest groove 

 measured was J" wide ; the longest f " long. But they had trespassed on each 

 other so that few remained of full size. 



I have gone into these details because they may be useful to others. In this 

 case they showed clearly enough the work of a good sized rodent ; and no hare 

 nor giant-squirrel inhabits the spot. So there could be little doubt as to what 

 to do next ; and the rat-catchers were called in. They caught eighteen 

 bandicoots, but no rat of any other species in the whole compound, though 

 it is in the middle of a large town. 



Perhaps these large rats " fear, like the Turk, no brother near " ; or, perhaps, 

 the numerous little village cats can keep down other rats and mice, but are not 

 equal to killing an old bandicoot. The " musk-rat " exists in the compound 

 and is carefully protected ; but he is not really a rat at all. 



Those bandicoots caught in the neighbourhood of the injured trees had their 

 stomachs full of Polyalthia splinters. The others had not. The saplings are 

 all over the compound, but in most of it there is also Haryali grass or other 

 root forage, which these rats are very fond of. 



In one place they had dug up a lot of dwarf -lily bulbs ; tasted them and 

 dropped them in disgust. The particular corner where the Polyalthia trees 

 were attacked happened to contain, it would seem, no other forage to their 

 taste ; and the supply of plunder obtainable at my expense had been sharply 

 reduced by the departure of about eighteen adult human beings and six horses 

 and ponies in different directions, leaving only two temperate native families 

 cooking and eating in the place. 



The method of capture was fumigation with dry grass and red chillies ; very 

 scientifically fanned into the holes. There was some digging, but very little, 

 in no case amounting to " digging out." Whether stupefied or not, the 

 bandicoots were very stupid, and were easily caught by hand with little 



