18 A HAND-BOOK OF THE MANAGEMENT OF ANIMALS 



up the sides of the cage from the level of this shelf to the top some 

 seclusion can be obtained. Also, instead of fixing the planks perma- 

 nently against the wire or the bars of the cage, they may be joined 

 together by battens so as to form a continuous screen for each side of the 

 cage and suspended by hooks. Such an arrangement has this advan- 

 tage, that the screen can be removed whenever desired either for the 

 purpose of thorough cleaning or for ventilation. 



A screen such as has been described also affords additional protec- 

 tion against bad weather and during very cold nights. The purple- 

 faced monkey and the simpai will do better if they can be allowed 

 occasional liberty in the same way and under the same restrictions as 

 hoolocks on many occasions have been. 



Food. — The Assam langur or black-capped monkey appears to be 

 less fond of leaves than most of the other members of the same genus. 

 Possibly their favourite leaves have not been discovered and provided, 

 and those given as food are not appreciated. Several of these langurs 

 have exhibited a slight partiality for a kind of Amaranthus leaves ; 

 others again would not touch them. The proboscis and red monkeys 

 have shown a liking for the green stocks of paddy and wheat and 

 young shoots of kalmi (Convolvulus reptens). Neither the purple-faced 

 nor the banded leaf monkey ever throve in this garden, although 

 the various kinds of food suggested by experience were tried. 



Besides leaves and grass these monkeys must have fruits, vege- 

 tables, bread, biscuits ; in fact all the several articles of food which have 

 been recommended for feeding hanumans and other monkeys will be 

 found useful for these also. 



Breeding. — None of these monkeys have ever bred in the garden. 



Treatment in sickness. — The only disease to which these creatures 

 are known to be subject is diarrhoea ; it yields to the same treatment as 

 has been already recommended. 



The red monkey occasionally suffered from a kind of fit, but the 

 character of the attack was never properly ascertained. 



Observations on their habits. 



The Assam or black-capped langur is gentle and timid. Even 

 after several years of captivity it has never been known to become 

 sociable. On the other hand, it is never so savage or ill-tempered as 

 a hanuman. In captivity most of them lose the pale yellow colour of 

 the lower parts and sides of the head, neck and chest ; whether this is 

 the effect of age or change of conditions has not been determined. 

 In some the colour disappears for a season only, generally during the 

 rains, appearing again in the spring. In its movements the black- 

 capped monkey is more light and active than a hanuman. A speci- 

 men in the garden developed, at one time, a mischievous propensity of 

 biting the battens and posts of the wooden cage in which it was for 

 some time kept. Monkeys of this species have not been seen to carry 

 their tails curved forward over their back as a hanuman sometimes 

 does while walking on the floor of the cage, or on the perch. 

 Whatever may be the habits of the proboscis monkey in a wild state, 

 it is silent, slow and phlegmatic in captivity, and sits for hours 



