f Kandy.]

Jackals are subject to hydrophobia, and instances are frequent of cattle
being bitten by them and dying in consequence.

_The Mongoos_.--Of the Mongoos or Ichneumons five species have been
described; and one which frequents the hills near Neuera-ellia[1], is so
remarkable from its bushy fur, that the invalid soldiers in the
sanatarium, to whom it is familiar, call it the "Ceylon Badger." I have
found universally that the natives of Ceylon attach no credit to the
European story of the Mongoos (_H. griseus_) resorting to some plant,
which no one has yet succeeded in identifying, as an antidote against
the bite of the venomous serpents on which it preys. There is no doubt
that in its conflicts with the cobra de capello and other poisonous
snakes, which it attacks with as little hesitation as the harmless ones,
it may be seen occasionally to retreat, and even to retire into the
jungle, and, it is added, to eat some vegetable; but a gentleman who has
been a frequent observer of its exploits, assures me that most usually
the herb it resorted to was grass; and if this were not at hand, almost
any other that grew near seemed equally acceptable. Hence has probably
arisen the long list of plants; such as the _Ophioxylon serpentinum_ and
_Ophiorhiza mungos_, the _Aristolochia Indica_, the _Mimosa octandru_,
and others, each of which has been asserted to be the ichneumon's
specific; whilst their multiplicity is demonstrative of the
non-existence of any one in particular to which the animal resorts for
an antidote. Were there any truth in the tale as regards the mongoos, it
would be difficult to understand, why other creatures, such as the
secretary bird and the falcon, which equally destroy serpents, should be
left defenceless, and the ichneumon alone provided with a prophylactic.
Besides, were the ichneumon inspired by that courage which would result
from the consciousness of security, it would be so indifferent to the
bite of the serpent, that we might conclude that, both in its approaches
and its assault, it would be utterly careless as to the precise mode of
its attack. Such, however, is far from being the case; and next to its
audacity, nothing is more surprising than the adroitness with which it
escapes the spring of the snake under a due sense of danger, and the
cunning with which it makes its arrangements to leap upon the back and
fasten its teeth in the head of the cobra. It is this display of
instinctive ingen