176 
THE RHINOCEROS. 
made by the rhinoceros, necessarily confin'^* 
him to such countries where both abound : 
it is not for drink alone that he frequents 
and marshy places, but for a defence agaio®^ 
the weakest of all his foes. This is a fly? 
prevent the incessant persecution of which b® 
resorts to this stratagem. At night, when 
fly is at rest, the rhinoceros, rolling in ^b^ 
mud, clothes himself with a kind of cas®’ 
which protects him from his winged enea^J' 
for the following day. The wrinkles and 
of his skin serve to keep this plaster of 
firm upon him, excepting about the hips, 
and shoulders, where by motion it cracks 
falls off, leaving those parts exposed to _lb^ 
attacks of the fly. The consequent itcbi'^*’ 
and pain impel him to rub himself against ib^ 
roughest trees, and this is supposed to be 
cause of the numerous pustules or tubefcl®^ 
with which he is covered. He seems to derJ' ^ 
great pleasure from rubbing himself, and 
