⁠⟨⁠S⁠⟩⁠ir,

Allow me to contribute the following facts in support of your theory of selection.

The males of the small brown monkey of Western India are in the habit of castrating the young males, a⁠⟨⁠nd⁠⟩⁠ I believe the same thing is done by the large Langoors but I cannot state this as a fact, for only on one occasion have I observed a male monkey of this kind without testicles¹   Natives who have had good opportunities of observing their habits assure me that castration is practised by both kinds of monkeys— There can be no doubt of it with regard to the small monkey. In some places (at Sapt Sring² for instance, they are so tame that they may be observed from ⁠⟨⁠a⁠⟩⁠ distance of a yard or two, and I have never seen more than two or three males with testicles in each troop the testicles of all the others appearing to have been entirely removed at a very early age. I mentioned this fact to a friend who had been for some years in America   he told me that the American Grey Squirrel³ was in the habit of castrating the young males— When serving in Gujarat some years ago natives assured me that the wild asses of Kulch castrated the superfluous young males of the herds but I was never able to verify this by personal observation⁴

Tigers destroy the young males an⁠⟨⁠d this⁠⟩⁠ is no doubt the reason why the tige⁠⟨⁠r⁠⟩⁠ ⁠⟨⁠after⁠⟩⁠ breeding leaves the jungles. [her] cubs may often be found in places where there is hardly any cover. I have had many opportunities of observing the destruction of young male tigers by the old male.⁵ There are usually three or four females to each male tiger and he has been developed by selection to a size nearly a third larger than the female but the only other respect in which he differs from the female is in the greater quantity of hairs about the neck.

Hogs⁶ also are in the habit of killing the young males, it is not unusual when hunting for the beaters to pick up the bodies of young males which have ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ been killed.

During many years spent in the jun⁠⟨⁠gles⁠⟩⁠ of India I have recorded observations which confirm your theories but as it is unnecessary to accumulate evidence, I will not trouble you with them—

Yours very truly | L. Ashburner | Magistrate of Kandesh—

I am sorry I cannot give you the scientific names of the monkeys I allude to