MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 225 



No. V.— MEASUREMENTS OF TIGERS' SKULLS. 

 Apropos of the article in No. 4, Vol. VIII, on " Horns and Skull Measure- 

 ments," by Capt. St. John Richardson, I have carefully measured, between 

 uprights, the skulls of two large tigers shot by me in Canara. 



The dimensions are llj" by lOf" and 14§" by 10§". The former belonged 

 to a tiger measuring 9'-7|", as it lay on the ground ;* the latter to one con- 

 siderably larger, but unfortunately I omitted to measure it. 



HUGH MURRAY, 

 Belgaum, 18^ June, 1894. Divisional Forest Officer. 



No. VI.— SAMBHUR HORNS EATEN BY PORCUPINES. 



I have frequently been told by " Gonds " and other jungle inhabitants that 

 porcupines (Hystrix leucura) are in the habit of eating stag horns which have 

 been shed. I do not know whether this fact is generally known and I certainly 

 did not believe it until I stumbled across undeniable evidence of it. 



Whilst in camp in this district of Nagpur, in some out-of-the-way forest on 

 the Seoni border, during the month of June, 1893, 1 found many shed Sambhur 

 horns, and on picking up one I found it had been gnawed in many places. On 

 asking the " Gonds " with me what animal had done this, they said that it was 

 done by porcupines, and on investigating the spot I found that it was lying 

 near a porcupine's burrow, with a regular " run " leading from the burrow to 

 the horn, and there were fresh tracks on the run. 



It would be interesting to know whether porcupines eat horns in this way 



for food, as the " Gonds " say, or only for wearing down and sharpening their 



teeth, in the same way that rats and rabbits are known to gnaw wood. 



P. H. OLUTTERBUOK, 



Assistant Conservator of Forests. 

 Nagpub, August, 1894. 



No. VII.— CANNIBAL DRAGON FLIES. 



Walking among the Trimulgherry Rocks a little before sunset on the 10th 

 September, I noticed a couple of dragon flies flying in an unusual manner and 

 followed them up to where they fell among the grass. 



The larger one which was uppermost, with his wings at rest, seemed to have 

 a hold of the smaller one who was on his back by the throat, if a dragon fly can 

 be said to possess one, and I could distinctly hear a grinding snip-snip going on. 

 In a few seconds the under one's head dropped off. More snip-snipping. After 

 a while I disturbed them, and the larger one flew away. I picked up the body 



* Mr.Murray since writes : — " The measurements of the 9'-7i'' tiger were not taken between 

 " uprights, nor were they taken altogether along the curves. I always make one man hold 

 " the tape on the point of the nose and another man on the very end of the tail ; then I press 

 " the tape down into the hollow of the back, thereby increasing the length by an inch or an 

 " inch and a half." 



