184 LT.-COL. C. DELME-RADCLIFFE ON THE NATURAL [June 6, 



msidcmus, carrying its young on its back. The specimen had 

 been presented to the Society by Mr. Heniy Munt, F.Z.S. 



Dr. P. Chalmei"S Mitchell, the Secretary to the Society, read a 

 paper, illustrated by lantern-slides, entitled " On the Intestinal 

 Tract of Mammals." 



This paper will be published entire in the ' Transactions.' 



The following papers were read : — 



1. Rough Notes on the Natural History of the (Country 

 West of Lake Victoria Nyanza. By Lt.-Col. C. Delmk- 

 Radcliffe, M.V.O., F.Z.S. 



[Received June 6, 1905.] 



These notes contain the general results of my observations on 

 the Natural History of the region traversed by the Anglo-German 

 Boundary Commission in the years 1902-4. Memoirs dealing 

 more exactly with the collections that were made have already 

 appeared in the ' Pi-oceedings ' of the Zoological Society (P. Z. S. 

 1904, vol. i. pp. 371, 459) and • The Ibis ' (1905, p. 199.). 



Mammals. 



Beginning AvitJi the larger mammals in the country under 

 discussion, it may be stated that Elephants appear periodically in 

 the swamps and forest near the mouth of the Kagera River on 

 the northern side. These elephants stray in this direction, 

 pi'obably, at a time when it is dry in the interior. They come, 

 no doubt, from the herds in northern Ankole and Toru. At no 

 other point were traces of elephants seen except one single track 

 goiug from north to south from the Koki hills towards the 

 Busenya forest. In the west, a few elephants v/ere noticed near 

 the shoi-es of Lake Albert Edward, also probably stragglers from 

 the herds further north. There was no evidence of elephants 

 crossing from south to north, or vice versa, along the 1st parallel 

 south latitude. 



It may perhaps be assumed that the herds of elephants reported 

 by E. S. Gi'ogan and other travellers in the Mfumbiro district 

 belong to the forest-regions of thf* west. The herds of elephants 

 on the east of Lake Albert Edward and Ruwenzori probably do 

 not wander into the Congo forests. It has been noticed that the 

 elephants to the west of the great line indicated by Lake 

 Tanganyika, Lake Kivu, Lake Albert Edward, Lake Albert, &c., 

 and the Nile differ in many particulars from those lying to the 

 east of this line. At the same time, it must be remembered that 

 large herds of elephants are in the habit of crossing the Nile to 



