42 + MOSTLY MAMMALS 
breed of zebra-hybrids, whose capacity for work and powers 
of endurance should be somewhat on a par with those of 
the horse and the mule. 
Turning to the list of animals given by Dr. Trouessart 
as suitable for domestication or acclimatisation, we find it 
headed by the Patagonian cavy (Dolichotis patagonica) of 
the open plains of South America; a creature singularly 
like a hare in general appearance, although its affinities 
are with the guinea-pig. The mara, as this animal is 
called by the natives, bas already been introduced into 
several English parks, notably those of the Duke of Bedford 
and Sir Edmund Loder, where it appears to flourish well, 
with a certain amount of protection. It does not burrow, 
but merely makes a “form” among long grass, after the 
manner of the hare. Its flesh is of excellent quality ; and 
this, together with its interesting habits, is urged as the 
chief reason for its introduction. It is not, however, a 
rapid breeder, and to a considerable extent is diurnal in 
its habits and slow in its movements (except when tho- 
roughly frightened) ; so that its chances of making its way 
in European countries, where hares are year by year 
diminishing in numbers, would appear to be but small, A 
second species (D. salinicola) inhabits the salt-plains of 
the Argentine, and it is accordingly urged that it would 
be suitable for turning down in the so-called Chotts of 
Algeria and Tunisia. But would the game be worth the 
candle ? is the natural question. 
With regard to the domestication of the African elephant, 
so much has been written elsewhere that I may be brief on 
the present occasion. It is interesting to notice, however, 
that the French missionaries of Fernan-Vaz, in the north 
of French Congoland, have succeeded in taming a young 
individual of this species, which appears to be the first of 
