170 The Rhinoceros in Bhotan. 



the day, thus " some palms flourish luxuriantly far inland, on 

 the tops of mountains 14,000 feet high, and in the immediate 

 neighbourhood of perpetual snow."* 



Organic bodies of all kinds furnish subjects for microscopic 

 investigation, and it is hoped that this brief sketch of some of 

 the more important properties of heat will assist the beginner 

 in his pursuit. It is very important to note the physical condi- 

 tions under which organisms are developed and. thrive, and if 

 we can succeed in starting our friends in studies of this nature 

 they will experience a two-fold pleasure from their investigations, 

 and readily find in scientific treatises a larger body of informa- 

 tion than we could attempt to give. 



THE RHINOCEKOS IN BHOTAN (RHINOCEROS 



INDICUS, Cut.). 



BY E. C. BEAVAN, LIEUT. BENGAL SURVEY. 



Op all the large game in India the rhinoceros has gradually 

 become the rarest, and has been driven by the progress of 

 civilization further and further from the haunts of men, until 

 now it is to be found only in the dense untrodden jungles 

 which skirt the bases of the Eastern Himalayas, and the 

 branches of that chain which penetrate Assam. 



The range of the Indian rhinoceros formerly extended to 

 the Ganges, and within the memory of man an occasional 

 straggler has been seen in the dense vegetation which in 

 places borders that mighty river; but their present stronghold, 

 shared also by the wild elephant, is that belt of country called 

 the Terai, which extends along the base of the Himalayas 

 from Nepaul to the valley of the Burrampooter in Assam. 



Unlike the African, the Indian rhinoceros has but one 

 horn, which is seldom seen of more than 12 to 16 inches in 

 length, and its body is well protected by a coat of mail, whilst 

 its size in its native wilds far exceeds that of specimens seen 

 in captivity. 



Far remote from human habitations, it frequents during 

 the day the densest reed covers, and passes the time either in 

 sleep or in wallowing in the swamps, the tracks it leaves 

 behind it being often as large as if elephants had been there. 

 They generally live in families of four or five together, and are 

 considered by those acquainted with their habits the most 

 dangerous to attack of all Indian wild beasts. Leaving their 



* Bcrthpld Sicmavm's Popular History of JO alms, p. 32. 



