In the illustration, on the left hand, the growth of the Mangrove is seen. The drawing is taken from a sketch by the late Mr. Baines, and generously placed at my disposal, as were all his drawings and journals. The Mangrove is a wet-loving tree, never flourishing unless rooted in mud; and whether the moisture of the mud be attributable to fresh or salt water seems to make little difference to the Mangrove, which, of the two, appears to prefer the latter. Now, the seeds of the Mangrove look very much like elongated skittles, except that one end comes to a sharp point. As they hang on the tree, the point is downwards. When they are ripe, they fall from the branch, and by their own weight are driven deeply into the mud, where they develop roots and leaves, and become the progenitors of the future Mangrove race. I cannot but think that the native hunter, having seen the tremendous force with which the Mangrove seed buries itself in the mud, has applied the same principle to a weapon which shall bury itself in the body of an elephant. WAR AND HUNTING. CHAPTER VIII. CONCEALMENT.--DISGUISE.--THE TRENCH.--POWER OF GRAVITY.--MISCELLANEA. Concealment needed in Modern Warfare.--Concealment by Covering.--Masking Guns.--Birnam Wood.--The Reduvius.--The Cuckoo-spit and the Spider-crab.--Concealment by Disguise.--Stratagem of the Barea.--Complete Deception.--Larva of Geometra.--The Leaf-insect.--The Luppet-moth.--The Ptarmigan and the Ermine.--Principle of the Trench.--The Hunter’s “Skärm.”--The Wax-moth or Galleria-moth, and its Tunnel.--Fate of a Collection.--The Termites and the Travelling Ants of South America.--The Power of Gravity.--The Battering-ram and its Force.--Miscellanea.--War by Suffocation.--The Stink-pot.--The Chili-plant.--The Sulphur-room.--The Bombardier-beetle.--The Bullet-making Machine and the Silkworm. CONCEALMENT. We will first take Concealment by means of Covering. If History repeats herself, so does Warfare. I have already shown the repetition of History in the Fortress--I shall now show it in the Field. In former days, when arms of precision were not invented, concealment was not needed. No soldier ever was visited with a dream so wild as that of taking definite aim at the enemy, and reserving the fire until the aim was certain. I have in my collection several of the French and English muskets used about the time of Waterloo, and, though a fair rifle-shot, would not engage to hit a haystack with either of them at a distance of a hundred yards. With the Snider or Martini-Henry in the hands of a skilful adversary, he would be a bold man who would offer himself for a target at a thousand yards. Indeed, if the first shot happened to miss, the marksman would be tolerably sure to notice the failure, and to correct his aim with fatal certainty.