remely nasty, there being a peculiar disagreeable flavour which
lingers long in the mouth. However not only do all animals,
carnivorous as well as herbivorous, like them, but they are highly
appreciated by the natives, who not only eat them raw, but dry them
in the sun and thus keep them for future consumption, and also distil
an extremely intoxicating spirit from them. The fresh refuse, or
_marc_, after the extraction of the spirit is also attractive to
animals. Some years ago I sent to Mr. Frank Buckland, for publication
in _Land and Water_, an account of a dog which used to frequent a
distillery for the purpose of indulging in this refuse, the result
of which was his becoming completely intoxicated. This _marc_, after
further fermentation, becomes intensely acid, and on one occasion
I used it successfully in cleaning and brightening a massive steel
and iron gate which I had constructed. I made a large vat, and filling
it with this fermented refuse, put the gate in to pickle. The seeds
of the _mohwa_ yield an oil much prized by the natives, and used
occasionally for adulterating _ghee_. The wood is not much used; it
is not of sufficient value to compensate for the flower and fruit,
consequently the tree is seldom cut down. When an old one falls the
trunk and large limbs are sometimes used for sluices in tanks, for
the heart wood is generally rotten and hollow, and it stands well
under water. If you ask a Gond about the _mohwa_ he will tell you
it is his father and mother. His fleshly father and mother die and
disappear, but the _mohwa_ is with him for ever! A good _mohwa_ crop
is therefore always anxiously looked for, and the possession of trees
coveted; in fact a large number of these trees is an important item
for consideration in the assessment of land revenues. No wonder then
that the villager looks with disfavour on the prowling bear who
nightly gathers up the fallen harvest, or who shakes down the
long-prayed-for crop from the laden boughs.

The Sloth Bear is also partial to mangos, sugar-cane, and the pods
of the _amaltas_ or _cassia_(_Cathartocarpus fistula_), and the
fruit of the jack-tree (_Artocarpus integrifolia_).

It is extremely fond of honey, and never passes an ant-hill without
digging up its contents, especially those of white ants. About twenty
years ago my first experience of this was in a neighbour's garden.
He had recently built himself a house, and was laying out and sowing
his flower-beds wit