THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST 
537 
Feb. I, 1898.] 
not slaughtered for their horns 01 foi their hides, 
and as they breed and uniltiply more rapidly 
than their larger brethren, there can be no danger 
of their extinction or even decrease. 
Paddy Field Deer (or Axis Porcinus).— 
Ibis handsome little beast inhabiting the jungles, 
mainly of the Southern and Western Provinces, 
has been inadvertently omitted from the list of 
protected game. He is by no means common, 
and being by nature more or less a day-feeder 
should receive the attention of all sportsmen in 
whose vicinity he may l e found who should 
endeavour to extend to him the protection he 
merits and needs. For the information of those 
who may not have come across this deer J 
describe him as a miniature sainbhur. 
Peafowl. — These birds are, I understand, 
becoming more and more scarce, as they are 
shot by native traders for their handsome 
plumage, and I fear their “ closed” season is but 
lightly regarded by these poaching scoundrels. 
Mouse Deer and 1Iare='. — The aegis of pro- 
tection is not extended to these animals which 
are very plentiful on the hills and plains alike, 
but sportsmen should ende.avour to stop in their 
neighbourhood that pernicious habit of the Tamil 
cooly of setting dead-fall traps in the jungle and 
nets in the open patanas and scrub by which 
means large numbers are killed, whilst many a 
good hound and favourite dog has fallen a 
victim to the former. 
Horns and Hides. — The Proclamation of 
October 23rd, 1894, prohibiting the export of 
sambhur and deer hides conipelled the traders 
in those commodities to seek fresh means of 
disposing of them, and a large local industry 
in c nverting them into leather is carried on in 
Colombo, as is evidenced by the large number of 
tanneries now in existence. Hides are also being 
stored in large quantities in ■ anticipation of the 
expiry of the term during which the prohibition 
of the export is to be in force. The Proclama- 
tion should therefore be indelinitely prolonged. 
I am of opinion that deer and sambhur hides 
are smuggled out of the Island in considerable 
quantities, concealed in cattle and buffalo hides 
as well as in native boats from South and East 
Coast Ports. A case of the former method was 
detected at the Custom House in Colombo some 
months ago, and the only punishment was, accord- 
ing to the newspapers, the confiscation of the 
hides. 
With regard to horns of deer and sambhur, 
these are exported in sufficiently large quanti- 
ties to prove that the export is not confined to 
shed horns It is wellknown to all siiortsmen 
who have stndieil the habits of deer that they 
eat the shed horns of their species very quickly, 
and unless the collector of horns goes his rounds 
very frequently he would find very little left for 
him to cairy home. Within a few days all but 
the very base of the horn would be gnawed 
away and consumed. 
Government is, I believe, to a certain extent in 
sympathy with the Society and would, I believe, 
gladly take measures to check the trade in horns 
cottld it be proved to their sati.sfaction that the 
bulk exported are not shed horns. 
Horns stored for export in Colombo have been 
inspected and examined by members of the 
Society, and what vvould seem so easy to prove 
is by no means so. The itinerant Mahomedan 
traders who collect them have evidently some 
method of detaching them from the bone, so that 
the horn has all the appearance of a shed horn, 
except that the corrugations on the base of the 
horn are roughei and fresher looking than they 
would be if shed in the course of nature. 
On November 16th, 1897, the Honorary Secre- 
tary paid a surprise visit to one of the shops in 
the Pettah of Colombo where horns of deer are 
stored for export, and having discovered a large 
heap ot deer and sambhur horns, took the oppor- 
tunity of examining them closely w’ith the ob- 
ject ot ascertaining the proportion of shed horns 
amongst theni. At a rough calculation not more 
than five per cent, w'ere “shed” horns, the rest 
h.ad bone attached and were undoubtedly those 
of killed animals. The Honorary Secretary was in- 
formed that the market value in London for 
spotted deer horns was K2 per lb., and that of 
sambhur horns 62 cents per lb. A pair of deer 
horns was then purchased for R5 
It is believed hy many members of the Society 
that the export of deer horns is not confined to 
the Port of Colombo, but that a large illicit 
export is carried on from the Southern and 
Eastern coasts. With this in view, the Hon Secre- 
tary on November 1st, wrote to the Hon. L. F. 
Lee, Principal Collector of Customs, asking for a 
statement of the export of deer o.nd sambhur 
horns during the years 1896 and 1897 from Colombo 
and other ports, and the following reply was 
courteously and promptly returned : — 
No. 1,113. H. M, Customs, 
Colombo, 3rd Nov. 1897. 
Sir, — I have the honour to enclose a statement 
giving the information asked for in your letter of the 
1st instant. 
No horns were shipped from other ports in the 
Island during the period mentioned. 
I am, &c., 
L. P. Lee, 
Principal Collector. 
THE EXPORT OP DEER AND SAMBHUR HORNS SINCE 
1892 TO THE PRESENT DATE IS GIVEN BELOW IN 
HUNDREDWEIGHTS. 
1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 ^^1897 
Deer . . — -- — 548 512 
Sambhur . . — — — — 605 295 
Total .. 1313 1643 1760 1439 1153 807 
* For the first 10 months. 
The above figures represent a ghastly record of 
slaughter. 
It has been stated by the Custom House author- 
ities that the average number of Sainbhur horns 
to a cwt. is 114, and of deer 130. This evidently 
refers to the single horn and not the pair, for tlie'y 
are all cut or sawn in two for shipment. 
If members of the Society will now reckon up 
the value to the trading native gunner of a 
spotted deer, of its flesh, it.s horns and its hide 
he Avill find that the temptation to make a trade 
in their carcases is very great. It should be borne 
in mind also that more hinds than stags are 
killed by natives. 
I am unable in this report to give a list of 
prosecutions under the Game Ordinances, but they 
are comparatively insignificant and will be dealt 
with in my next Report. 
1 append a statement of the Society’s funds and 
accounts to tlie present date. 
THOS. FARR, Hon. Secy., G.P. Society. 
