ts there survives that germ of instinctive affection which binds
the dog to the human race, and a gentle word, even a look of
compassionate kindness, is sufficient foundation for a lasting
attachment.

The Singhalese, from their religious aversion to taking away life in any
form, permit the increase of these desolate creatures till in the hot
season they become so numerous as to be a nuisance; and the only
expedient hitherto devised by the civil government to reduce their
numbers, is once in each year to offer a reward for their destruction,
when the Tamils and Malays pursue them in the streets with clubs (guns
being forbidden by the police for fear of accidents), and the
unresisting dogs are beaten to death on the side-paths and door steps,
where they had been taught to resort for food. Lord Torrington, during
his tenure of office, attempted the more civilised experiment of putting
some check on their numbers, by imposing a dog tax, the effect of which
would have been to lead to the drowning of puppies; whereas there is
reason to believe that dogs are at present _bred_ by the horse-keepers
to be killed for sake of the reward.

_Jackal_.--The Jackal[1] in the low country hunts in packs, headed by a
leader, and these audacious prowlers have been seen to assault and pull
down a deer. The small number of hares in the districts they infest is
ascribed to their depredations. An excrescence is sometimes found on the
head of the jackal, consisting of a small horny cone about half an inch
in length, and concealed by a tuft of hair. This the natives call
_Narri-comboo_, and they aver that this "Jackal's Horn" only grows on
the head of the leader of the pack.[2] The Singhalese and the Tamils
alike regard it as a talisman, and believe that its fortunate possessor
can command by its instrumentality the realisation of every wish, and
that if stolen or lost by him, it will invariably return of its own
accord. Those who have jewels to conceal, rest in perfect security if
along with them they can deposit a Narri-comboo, fully convinced that
its presence is an effectual safeguard against robbers.

[Footnote 1: Canis aureus. _Linn_.]

[Footnote 2: In the Museum of the College of Surgeons, London (No. 4362
A), there is a cranium of a jackal which exhibits this strange osseous
process on the super-occipital; and I have placed along with it a
specimen of the horny sheath, which was presented to me by Mr.
Lavalliere, the district judge o