IN CAPTIVITY IN LOWER BENGAL. 157 



the drainage should be properly ascertained, and if defective, improved. 

 The back of the paddocks should be formed of a brick wall at least 

 6 feet 6 inches high, or, in other words, a compound wall should be built 

 along this side, and utilized for this purpose. 



It is cheaper in the long run to use iron for the fencing, which 

 should be of an uniform pattern, though its strength may vary according 

 to the strength of the animals to be placed inside. A 6 feet high 

 fencing is enough to prevent most of the ruminants from jumping out, 

 although in some instances swamp deer and nilgai have been known to 

 clear walls and fences of nearly that height ; but uryals, ibex, and other 

 animals of that group require special arrangement, if it is essential to 

 keep them within bounds ; either the fencing should be higher, or they 

 should have a covered enclosure. Quick-growing trees should be planted 

 within the paddocks to afford the animals shade, which is welcome to all 

 and indispensable to some, such as the gyal, gaur, wapite, sambur, &c; 

 tanks, proportionate to the size of the enclosures, should also be provided 

 for the latter animals, especially the wapite and sambur, which frequently 

 resort to water ; a few trees on the banks overshadowing the water will 

 keep it cool during the fierce midday heat of the summer. Shallow exca- 

 vations, about 18 inches deep, may be made under the shade of trees and 

 filled with water, to allow the animals to roll themselves in mud and 

 ooze, which, while lowering the temperature of their body, helps to 

 protect them from flies and mosquitoes also. They are quick to take 

 advantage of such muddy depressions, which some of them themselves 

 make with their sharp pointed horns. A gravel path about 3 feet 

 broad should be laid inside each enclosure, along its front and sides. 



A shelter of some kind is necessary to protect the animals from the 

 vicissitudes of climate, although under ordinary circumstances spotted 

 and hog deer do without any, beyond that afforded by trees and shrubs ; 

 but even amongst these, circumstances constantly happen rendering it 

 necessary to confine one or other of them in houses. Each shed should 

 consist of a stall, enclosed with fencing of the same pattern as that 

 used for paddocks, and a retiring room with plank or brick wall ; it 

 should be built, if possible, against the compound wall, or at least far 

 back in the paddock. Details of arrangements, however, must always 

 vary, and be modified according to requirements. 



Food. — The following are the principal grains used for feeding the 

 ruminants : — gram, Indian-corn, paddy, and bran. A quarter to half a 

 seer each for the smaller, and half to one seer for the larger deer and 

 antelopes, of a mixture consisting of gram and bran, or gram and 

 paddy or Indian-corn, with salt and onions, will generally be found 

 enough, if ample opportunity for foraging for themselves exists. 

 During the winter and summer, when the lawns become parched up, or 

 when the number of animals in an enclosure is larger in proportion to 

 the extent of the turf, quantities of grass, hay, and other fodder should 

 be supplied, in addition to the small allowance of grain, salt and onion. 

 Of the various species of trees and shrubs in a garden, many yield 

 palatable and wholesome fodder to the ruminants, and of such not a 

 twig or branch that is pruned, or a leaf or pod, green or dry, that falls 

 during the autumn and spring, should be thrown away, but carefully 

 saved, collected, and offered to the animals. As far as consistent with 



