were so continually ravaged by lions, that no safety could be secured for cattle, which consequently had all to be withdrawn. The woods are thick only at the edge of the ponds, which I imagine are all in the line of what was the bed of a river, that in all likelihood has now been dry for centuries.
From the open character of the adjacent country the Libanani glade has a special charm for sportsmen. It abounds in many varieties of game, from the duykerbock to the elephant, and here, as in other parts of the plateau, the ornithologist will find a most interesting field for study in the waders and swimming-birds. Both by day and by night, too, birds of prey are perpetually to be observed, and in the moist places, where the soil is carpeted with flowers, sun-birds and bee-eaters may be seem in swarms, while in the boughs that overhang the water, the bright blue Alcedo cristata, the Halcyon Swainsonii and the black-and-white Ceryle rudis are perpetually sporting. I must also include in my list the giant heron (Ardea Goliath), and the beautiful little Nettapus Madagascariensis. This is of the goose tribe; it is from twelve to fourteen inches long; its head, neck, and back are of a glossy dark green; underneath it is white, except the breast and sides, which are of a reddish brown; its face and throat are also white, and it has a bright green spot on either side of its neck.
Attractive as the diversity of animal life makes the Libanani, there are two reasons why it is very undesirable to make a lengthened stay there; in the first place the pools at the end of summer exhale a very malarious atmosphere, and in the second, it is infested with yellow cobras, which, in the way to
