NATURAL HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA 
returned and dined, and in the morning was 
found dead. The destruction wrought to the 
stock of the farmer by jackals, especially in 
the Cape Midlands, is immense. 
The only way by which a farmer in jackal- 
infested districts can succeed in saving his stock, 
is to erect what is known as jackal-proof wire 
fencing, and shutting up his stock in secure kraals 
at night. 
In the past, the Cape Government paid 7s. 6d. 
each for jackals’ tails, and, although hundreds of 
thousands of pounds were spent, the jackals in- 
creased in numbers. Until the country becomes 
more thickly populated, and the vast masses of 
dense, thorny scrub and prickly-pear-covered lands 
are cleared, the jackal will continue to thrive and 
levy toll upon the pioneer farmer. 
The pelt of the Black-backed Jackal is utilised by 
the natives for making karosses. It suits this pur- 
pose admirably, for the fur is close, soft, and thick, 
and the blackish silver-spangled back, bordered 
with red, has a handsome appearance. In size this 
jackal is slightly larger than an adult English fox, 
and is very similar in shape. ‘The whole of the 
back is covered with what seems to be a black patch 
interspersed freely with grey. However, on close 
examination of the under fur of the back, it will be 
noticed to be fine and woolly, and reddish-yellow 
in colour. Beyond this, long hairs grow which are 
black at the tip and base, with the median portion 
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