PRECOCITY IN ORANGE-SEEDLINGS 
415 
CONCERNING BABOONS 
By A. Blayney Percival 
Amongst all African natives the story of baboons stealing 
children is common, and Rider Haggard makes it a great 
point in one of his books. 
Authentic cases are, however, very rare, so the report sent 
in by Mr. G. H. Goldfinch, Game Ranger, West Kenia, is 
particularly interesting. He writes : ‘ I have often heard 
of baboons trying to steal children, but I have not come 
across an authentic case before. One tried to steal the child 
of a Kikuyu woman on the Hon. R. B. Cole’s farm (West 
Kenia). She was in the forest collecting firewood, and in 
rescuing the child was rather badly bitten in leg and arm. 
I do not know what a baboon would do with a baby, but 
presumably take it up and drop it, as is their way with puppies 
and kittens. About the same time another child disappeared 
altogether from the same place and was supposed to have 
been stolen, but it seems quite likely it may have been taken 
by baboons.’ 
PRECOCITY IN ORANGE-SEEDLINGS 
By C. M. Dobbs 
During the last year or so we have raised a certain number 
of orange plants from seed, and in many cases these young 
plants, when about eight months old and about 2 or 8 in. 
high, have produced a single flower on the very top of the stem. 
In several cases this has been followed by a perfectly formed 
miniature orange about J in. in diameter. So far none 
of these oranges has ripened, as the fruit generally falls off 
after a certain time, but the mere fact that such a diminutive 
plant can form a fruit seems somewhat remarkable. It 
may of course be nothing out of the ordinary, but I have never 
seen a phenomenon of this kind before. 
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