172 HE ZOOLOGIST. 
123 ft., tail 2 ft., height 6 ft.2in., horn 14 in. As a rule all 
Rhinoceroses are inoffensive; they inhabit such remote localities 
that they can seldom do damage to cultivation; yet if some ryot 
cultivates a patch of ground, and the pachyderms get scent of it, 
they will soon devour it. They are nocturnal by habit, and 
retire to dense thickets in the midst of a swamp soon after sun- 
rise. It is naturally a timid animal, more anxious to escape than 
fight, and, notwithstanding their thick hides, far easier to kill 
than a Buffalo. It is an exploded idea that their skins are 
impenetrable. The outer cuticle offers no great resistance whilst 
on the living animal, but when removed and dried in the sun it 
will turn aside an ordinary bullet fired with a moderate charge of 
powder; yet heavy rifles with large bores and immense driving 
power behind are absolutely requisite, for the vital spots have 
between them and the skin such a mass of blubber, muscle, and ~ 
bone that only a hardened ball driven as above described can 
reach them. If shot behind the ear an ordinary smooth-bore 
will account for them. I have seen a shikar knife driven in to 
the hilt behind the shoulder of one just killed by an ordinary 
man. The best material to mix with lead to harden the bullets 
is quicksilver. It should not be allowed to remain long in the 
crucible, as it will then evaporate; one-twelfth of quicksilver is 
sufficient. If too much is used the bullet gets brittle and flies 
to pieces on impact. 
The R. indicus has only one horn, seldom 18 in. long, gener- 
ally a good deal less; this is liable to fall off through injury or 
disease, but another will grow in its place. It is formed bya 
coagulation of hair, and the Indian variety only uses it to dig up 
roots, and never as a weapon of attack, like the African pachy- 
derms. It has two formidable tusks in the lower jaw, and with 
one of them he can cut an Elephant’s leg to the bone; and in 
season they fight a good deal amongst themselves, for I have seen 
not only the males but the cows scored all over. The skin is 
exceedingly thick, with a deep fold at the setting-on of the head, 
another behind the shoulder, and another in front of the thighs; 
two large incisors in each jaw, with two smaller intermediate ones 
below, and two still smaller outside the upper incisors, not always 
present. General colour dusky black. They are very plentiful 
along the Terai, and in the Durrung, Nowgong, and Goalpara 
