HAMLYN'S MENAGERIE MAGAZINE. 
21 
LAD'S ADVENTURE. 
An exciting adventure fell to the lot of a lad 
of about fourteen or fifteen, at Ruiterbosch, in 
the Mossel Bay district. The young- nimrod was 
out on the mountain side after some birds, and 
while in one of the wooded kloofs which are of 
frequent occurrence he was just making his way 
round a bushy patch when immediately in front 
of him he saw a full-grown leopard, which set 
up some ominous growlings. Without a moment's 
hesitation- and without losing his nerve, the lad 
at once levelled his shot-gun and put the whole 
charge of bird-shot into the beast. His dogs 
succeeded in accomplishing that which the small 
shot failed to do. The young boy's jubilation 
on his ne bag equalled his parents' pride. 
BURIED ELEPHANT. 
The (Prince Albert Friend" says : — We are 
told that owing to the heavy rains recently the 
riverside on the farm Welgemoed," of Mr. P. 
Hattingh, was so washed away that the skeleton 
of an elephant, which must have been under- 
ground for many years, was brought to light. All 
the bones and parts of the tusks are there, but 
of course so decayed that the latter are of no 
commercial value. On the same farm there are 
also Bushman paintings on the rocks in the 
mountains, and many curios of different kinds are 
still to be found there. 
In the issue of April 17th, "Anxious," Trans- 
vaal, wrotes as follows : — 
"We have planted some gum trees, and we 
have a lot of trouble with hares and meerkats, 
as they eat off these trees on the ground. We 
will be much obliged to you if you would ask your 
numerous readers through the medium of your 
paper for some remedy." 
REPLY. 
Mr. W. F. Schlupp, Entomologist, School of 
Agriculture, Potchefstroom, replies : — 
The "meerkatsi" referred to \are probably 
ground squirrels, as true meerkats do not attack 
trees. For protecting trees from hares and squir- 
rels, three ways are open, viz. : — 
1. Applying a repellent mixture, to the 
trees. Oils, tar, etc., are injurious to the trees. 
Bitter substances, such as aloes and volatile sub- 
stances, such as carbolic acid, are not much °T>od. 
Animal fats and blood are distasteful to hares, 
but ma attract micey. Whitewash has some value 
but is easily washed off by rain. It is much im- 
proved if enough copperas is mived with it to 
give it a deep green colour. This is to be painted 
on the trunks, not on the leaves. Lime-sulphur 
has also given good results but does not stick 
long enough. It will stick much better if a little 
glue is added. For this purpose the lime-sulphur 
may be prepared as follows.; — Slake 21b. of lime, 
mix 21b. of sulphur into a paste with a little 
water, and stir it into the slaking lime, add about 
one gallon of water and boil for about forty-five 
minutes in an iron pot; add the glue and then 
dilute with enough water to make five gallons of 
wash. This is primarily a winter wash, but I 
have used it on the trunks of young gum trees 
in summer without any apparent injury. 
2. Applying a poisonous mixture to the 
trees. The following has given excellent results 
as a winter wash in Idaho and California : — Dis- 
solve |lb. of loundry starch in one pint of cold 
water; dissolve one ounce of powdered strichnia 
sulphate in three quarts of boiling water. Add 
the starch water to the strychnine solution, boil 
intil it is clear, add siy ounces of glycerine and 
stil thoroughly. When cool paint it on the tree 
trunks. This kills rodents that gnaw the bark. 
Glycerine is expensive at present; probably raw 
linseed oil could be substituted for it. 
3. The use of a poison bait : — This is recom- 
mended if the area to be treated is very large. 
Mix 251b. of oats with 51b. of sugar or treacle 
and a little water; boil until the oats are soft. 
Then mix one ounce of powdered strychnine with 
one ounce of baking soda, put it into a pepper 
box and sift it over the oats. Or the strychnine 
can be added to the water in which the oats has 
been boiled. Place only a teaspoonful of the bait 
in one spot. It is well to put out unpoisoned 
sweet oats once or twice, then, if it is well eaten, 
put out the poisoned bait. 
The first shipment of 1 00 of Rhodesian cattle 
for the troops in East Africa is about to be made 
(says the " Beira News"), and other shipments, 
aggregating if possible some 2,000 head monthly, 
will be put through as fast as the stock can be 
collected and entrained for Beira. 
CONCEALMENT. 
A curious story reaches us from the St. 
Mark's district (says the Queenstown paper), of a 
very strange occurrence. According to this, four 
natives made up their minds the other night to 
go out fowl stealing. While they were busy in 
