CHAPTER XXVII 
CONCLUSION 
In taking leave of “Wild Beasts and their Ways,” 
there are certain destructive creatures which can be 
hardly classed under this denomination, but through¬ 
out the Indian empire they'exist in such enormous 
numbers that it would be interesting to obtain some 
approximate computation of the money value of the 
crops which they destroy. These enemies are 
monkeys, parrots, and flying foxes. 
The monkey is sacred ; this pest is accordingly 
permitted, carte blanche , to pillage at discretion. 
The mischief committed by these creatures is 
most serious, but as this has continued for many 
ages, the people have become inured to their 
depredations. 
It is a curious fact that, although monkeys and 
apes are closely linked with the human species, they 
never can be trained to anything that is really useful. 
They are not companions to man, like the dog, but 
they are simply caricatures of the human race, and 
if every monkey and ape could be destroyed by one 
flash of lightning, so that they ceased to exist in the 
