MAMMALIA.

Mammalia (from Mamma, breast) is a term in natural history applied to those animals which give suck to their young; and it consequently includes not only all quadrupeds, commonly so called, but also the cetaceous tribes, or whales. The Mammalia form the first class of the Animal Kingdom, and may be defined as follows: They produce their young alive, and nourish them by means of milk; they possess a heart with two ventricles,—lungs,—warm blood,—a voluminous brain, with a corpus callosum,—complete senses,—a muscular diaphragm between the chest and abdomen, and seven cervical vertebrae.^[1. An inconvenient animal the Ai, or Bradypus tridactyhis, Linn., is the only known quadruped hitherto supposed to present an exception to the character last above named; and it appears from recent investigations, that even this solitary exception is more ap∙ Îarent than real. “An isolated exception to a rule so general, and obtaining in cases of such diversified forms as those to which I ave alluded, presents itself to the mind of every one accustomed to look at the general harmony of the established laws of formation, as a violation of that unity of design which constitutes one of the most interesting objects of our investigation, especially as the exception itself is abrupt and sudden, and without any of those intermediate gradations of structure by which the mind is prepared, as it were, for considerable diversities of form, and which so generally soften the transitions which the different offices of the same organ in different groups may render necessary. It was from this consideration rather than as merely correcting a generally received error, that I found, with feelings of no ordinary satisfaction, that in truth this numerical law is not departed from in the present instance, and that the animal in question forms no such exception to the general rule as had been asserted; the two vertebrae which have hitherto been considered as the eighth and ninth cervical, being in fact the first and second dorsal, each of them bearing a pair of rudimentary ribs, moveably articulated to their transverse processes by a true articular surface. This fact I have ascertained by the examination of two skeletons in my possession, one of which is an adult, and is artificially articulated, the other very young, and preserved as a natural skeleton in spirit.”—See Observations on the Neck of the Three-toed Sloth, lìradypus tňdactylus, Linn., by Thomas Bell, F.R.S., in Transactions of the Zoological Society of London, vol. i. p. 113. ]

The natural history of quadrupeds certainly forms one of the most interesting and important departments of zoology. The class itself exhibiting a vast range in size and structure, from the delicate harvest mouse to the enormous whale, presents us with so many species of the highest economical value to the human race, that selfishness alone, or at least the desire of immediate personal advantage, would suffice to induce their attentive study, independent of any more philosophical consideration. The study of the organization of quadrupeds has also been of great advantage in throwing a clear and steady light on several points which would otherwise have long continued extremely obscure in the physiology of man. We need scarcely say to any one who has witnessed even their external aspect, that the quadrumanous tribes, or monkeys, are nearly allied in conformation to the human race; and that the lord of the creation, in spite of his spiritual attributes, his intellectual nature, and immortal destiny, holds many things in common with the brutes that perish. He is himself a mammiferous animal, and closely allied, in organization and many physical qualities, to the other orders of his class; nor can it be expected that experience, derived from the practical observation of the other three great classes of the vertebrated animals, to-wit, birds, reptiles, and fishes, will ever avail to the physiologist in a way so full and satisfactory as that deduced from the careful study and observance of the mammiferous tribes. At least the latter furnish by far the most immediate and logical affinities to the human race. In regard to the economical uses of quadrupeds, it is scarcely necessary to say, that they supply us with the most truly precious of our earthly gifts. What in themselves arc the ingots of pure gold, or the most dazzling lustre of barbaric gems, compared in value with the ample covering of our fleecy flocks? Without the horse, the ox, the sheep, and the dog, how different would be the social, commercial, and political conditions of the most civilized tribes of the human race! Without his rein-deer how would the forlorn Laplander support either his iι sleepless summer of long light,” or the desolate gloom of a snow-enshrouded winter? Without the enduring camel the desert sands of Africa, if not lifeless solitudes, would at least be nearly impassable to the human race, and as useless for all commercial purposes as an ocean without ships.

It is true, indeed, that every being in nature, the most apparently insignificant production of a Divine Creator, is necessarily deserving of the most studious attention, on the part not only of the philosophical naturalist, but of every intelligent and instructed mind; yet it must be readily admitted, that the creatures with which the great mass of mankind have the most immediate connection, and in the history of which we are most interested, either from the advantages they yield, or the injuries they inflict, are those which may naturally claim our chief attention. Indeed all branches of natural history are in themselves so interesting, independent of any economical result, that each in its turn, when steadily regarded, seems to claim the precedence; and we fear that certain of the treatises on the subject which have already appeared in this work, may have been deemed as somewhat too extended by those who had not previously considered the beauty and excellence of such topics. Indeed we doubt not that many may still regard an insect chiefly as a thing to be trampled on, and a reptile as one to be more carefully avoided; and it probably results from this wide spread persuasion, that even modern authors not seldom commence their entomological or other expositions of the so-called inferior tribes, with something like an apology for discussing the attributes of such lowly creatures. To us it seems to be enough to know that they have been created—that they consequently form parts of that magnificent circle of organic life—of those wonders “manifold” which we are desired to magnify, and the least obtrusive of which are well worthy of the most deliberate study by the deepest mind. We scarcely think, then, that an “apology” is necessary between man and man for any degree of devotion to the works of God; and this, so far as concerns the mammiferous tribes with which we are now about to be engaged, will probably, from the undeniable importance of the subject, be at once admitted. Few are so sceptical as to doubt the merits of beef and mutton, and every one may feel kindly disposed towards a study which numbers, in its subject-matter, so many materials that feed, clothe, and enrich the human race.

We do not propose to enter into any lengthened historical exposition of this branch of science from remote periods to the present times. Such investigations may be met with in many accessible works, and would here occupy too much of that space within which we must endeavour to illustrate the more important features of the actual subject. A few brief notices, however, may not be misbestowed on the principal epochs which characterize the investigations of the human mind in this important department.
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Although among very ancient authors some valuable distinctive principles were pointed out which remained long unattended to, and have been recognised and acknowledged in their due importance only in comparatively recent times; and although the fact of our thus, with all our additional appliances and stores of knowledge, merely as it were retracing what had been ascertained and recorded by those whose mortal remains have now for so many ages mouldered in the dust, cannot but prove the value of ancient discoveries and observation; yet, upon the whole, it cannot be said that any work of a remote antiquity presents an accurate picture of the truth of nature. Fact and fable are in most instances so intermingled, and a distinct appreciation and lucid description of individual features so frequently blended with unreal or fantastic characteristics, that to derive advantage from such lucubrations, the reader would require to be as learned as his author. At least a constant watchfulness must be kept up, lest the fictions of imagination be received as the records of truth.

Although in Herodotus, the “Father of History,” we find a few casual indications regarding quadrupeds, and a greater number in the later labours of Columella, Varro, Seneca, Athenaeus, and Oppian, yet the ancient authors who have treated most amply of their history and attributes, are Aristotle, Pliny, and Aelian. If the ancient annalist first named deserved the title above alluded to, so with equal propriety has Aristotle been named “the Father of Natural History.” His descriptions, though often incomplete, are almost always exact. The general results with which we are now familiar in the works of our great physiological naturalists must not indeed be looked for; nor can it be denied that the merest tyro in anatomy would now be astonished at his doctrines relating to the structure and functions of the brain, which he regarded as a cold spongy mass, adapted for collecting and exhaling the superfluous moisture, and intended for aiding the lungs and trachea in regulating the heat of the body. He looked upon the heart as the seat of vital fire, and not only the fountain of the blood, but the organ of motion, sensation, nutrition, the seat of the passions, and the origin of the veins and nerves. He deemed that the blood was confined to the veins, while the arteries contained an aerial spirit; and by nerves he signified not only what are now so called, but also tendons and arteries, that is, any extended srrm<7-like portion which the name of viυςov literally implies. The heart, he alleged, had three cavities, and that in the larger animals it either communicated with the windpipe, or the ramifications of the pulmonary artery received the breath in the lungs and carried it to the heart, while respiration was effected by the expansion of air in the lungs, by means of internal fire, and the consequent irruption of the external air to prevent a vacuum. Digestion is a species of concoction or boiling, performed in the stomach, aided by the warmth of the neighbouring viscera! “It is perhaps impossible at the present day, when the investigation of Nature is so much facilitated by the accumulated knowledge of ages in every department of physical science, by the commercial relations existing between countries in all parts of the globe, by a tried method of observation, experiment and induction, and finally, by the possession of the most ingenious instruments, to form any adequate idea of the numerous difficulties under which the ancient naturalist laboured. On the other hand, he had this great advantage, that almost every thing was new; that the most simple observations correctly recorded, the most trivial phenomenon truly interpreted, became as it were his inalienable property, and was handed down to succeeding ages as a proof of his talents, a circumstance which must have supplied a great motive to exertion. The History of Animals is undoubtedly one of the most remarkable performances of which physical science can boast. It must not, however, be imagined, that it is a work which, replete with truth, and exhibiting the well-arranged results of accurate observation and laborious investigation, is calculated to afford material aid to the modern student. To him more recent productions are the only safe guides; nor is it until he has studied them, and interrogated nature for himself, that he can derive benefit from the perusal of the treatise which we now proceed to explain.”^[2. Macgillivray’s Lives of Zoologists, in Edinburgh Cabinet Library, vol. xvi. p. 57∙ ] We shall here avail ourselves in part of the brief abstract of the writer just quoted.

The first book of Aristotle’s History of Animals contains a short description of the parts of which their bodies are composed, and of the differences in the mode of life of living creatures. He asserts that man alone is capable of design, for although many other animals are endowed with memory and docility, none possesses the faculty of reflection but the human race. The sense of touch, he states, is common to all animals, and every living creature has a humour, blood, or sanies, the loss of which produces death. Every species that has wings has also two feet, and we know of no animal which flies only, as fishes swim, for such as have membranous wings likewise walk, and bats have feet, as have seals, although of an imperfect structure. In this chapter he divides animals into such as have blood, and such as have it not. Of the former (that is, the red-blooded), some want feet, others have two of these organs, others four. Of the latter (the white-blooded), many have more than four feet. Of the swimming animals, which are destitute of feet, some have fins, which are two or four, others none. Of the cartilaginous class, those which are flat have no fins, as the skate. Some of them have feet as the mollusea. Those that have a hard leathery covering swim with their tail. In regard to the mode of production, some animals are viviparous, others produce eggs, some worms. Man, the horse, the seal, and other land animals, bring forth their young entire; as do likewise cetacea and sharks. Those which have blow-holes have no gills, as the dolphin and whale. Of the flying animals, some, as the eagle and hawk, have wings; others, in place of wings, have membranes, as the bee and the beetle; while others are furnished with a leathery expansion, as the bat. Such as have feathered or leathery wings have blood (that is, red blood); but those provided with membranous wings, as insects are without blood (7. e. are white -blooded). Although he had previously stated that every winged species has also feet, he now propones that such as fly with wings or leathery expansions, either have two feet or none; for, says he, it is reported that there are serpents of this kind in Ethiopia. Of flying bloodless animals, some have their wings covered by a sheath, as beetles, while others have no covering, and of these some have two, others four wings. Those which are of large size, or bear a sting behind, have four, but the smaller or stingless have two wings only. Those which have sheaths to their wings, have no sting; but those which have two wings are furnished with a sting in their forepart, as the gnat. Animals are also distinguished from each other, so as to form kinds or families. These, according to Aristotle, are quadrupeds, birds, fishes, and cetacea—all of which have (red) blood. Then there is another kind, covered with a shell, such as the oyster; and another, protected by a softer shell, such as the crab. Another kind is that of the mollusea, such as the cuttle-fish ,∙ and finally, the family of insects. All these latter kinds are destitute of (red) blood. Here, then, we have a general classification of animals, which it is important should be borne in mind by whoever follows historically the stream of zoology [7:14:75]to later times, a stream which, resembling that of certain actual waters, will be found in its downward course not only occasionally to diminish, but sometimes altogether to disappear.

It has been well observed that these, and numerous other general aphorisms which we have omitted, are by no means so simple or so easily attained, as one might imagine after cursory perusal; and this will be the most readily admitted by him who possesses the most comprehensive view of the great series of animated life. This system of Aristotle, then, may be exhibited in its general features by the following form :—

Red-Blooded Animals. Quadrupeds, Serpents, Birds, Fishes, Cetacea. White-Blooded Animals. Testacea, Crustacea, Mollusea, Insects.

It must not, however, be understood that Aristotle proposes any formal distribution of animals, for his ideas respecting families, groups, and genera, were extremely vague, and bear little or no relation to the views entertained in modern times. His Quadrupeds (and it is with them that we are at present mainly concerned), include both the modern Mammalia and the quadrupedal Reptiles. He divides them into those which are viviparous, and those which are oviparous; the former covered with hair, the latter with scales. Serpents are also scaly, and, excepting the viper, oviparous. Yet all viviparous animals are not hairy, for, he observes, some fishes likewise bring forth their young alive. In the great family of viviparous quadrupeds there are also many species (or genera), such as man, the lion, the stag, and the dog, and he mentions as an example of a natural genus those animals which possess a mane, as the horse, the ass, the mule, and the wild ass of Syria, which are several distinct species, but together constitute a genus or family.^[3. Ibid. pp. 58-62. ]

In his second book Aristotle enters more into minute details, many of which are curiously accurate, while others are as singularly erroneous. An instance of the latter we meet with at the commencement, when he asserts that the neck of the lion has no vertebrae, but consists of a single bone. In speaking of members, he takes occasion to describe the proboscis of the elephant, and to enter generally into the history of that gigantic quadruped. He describes the buffalo and the camel, and in regard to the latter, he mentions both the Arabian and the Bactrian kinds. He next discusses the subject of claws, hoofs, and horns, and states that some quadrupeds have many toes, as the lion, while others have the foot divided into two, as the sheep, or composed of a single toe or hoof, as the horse. His general aphorisms on the subject of horns are wonderfully accurate. He states that most (he might have said alD animals furnished with them have cloven hoofs, and that no singlehoofed animal has two horns. He might have added, “nor even one.” He next treats of teeth, which, he says, are possessed by all viviparous quadrupeds. Some have them in both jaws, others not; for horned animals have teeth in the lower jaw only, the front ones being wanting in the upper. Yet all animals which have no teeth above are not horned—the camel, for example. Some have projecting teeth, as the boar; others not. In some the teeth are jagged, as in the lion, panther, dog; in others even, as in the horse and cow. No animal has horns and protruded teeth; nor is there any having jagged teeth that has either horns or projecting teeth; but the seal has them all jagged, because it partakes of the nature of fishes, which possess that peculiarity. His remarks on the shedding of teeth are, however, erroneous, and his account of the hippopotamus is inaccurate in almost every particular. But in treating of monkeys he notices their great resemblance to the human race, the peculiar formation of their hind feet, and their perfect fitness to be used as hands. He then gives a general account of oviparous quadrupeds, and next proceeds to that of birds and fishes; but with none of these departments are we at present concerned.

Aristotle’s third book is chiefly what may be called physiological. His fourth treats of those animals which he regards as destitute of blood; but even here we find interspersed various interesting and accurate observations on the higher classes. Thus he enumerates the organs of sensation, stating that man, and all the red-blooded and viviparous animals, possess five senses, although in the mole vision is defective. Yet he pretty correctly describes the eye of that subterranean dweller, shewing that although it is covered by a thickish skin (it is not of course so covered, though the aperture is smalD, it presents a conformation similar to that of other animals, and is furnished with a nerve from the brain. He says that all viviparous quadrupeds not only sleep but dream; but that it is uncertain whether the oviparous ones indulge in dreams, although they sleep. The fifth, sixth, and seventh books are occupied by the subjects of generation and parturition, and the eighth relates to the food, actions, migrations, and other circumstances in the history of animals. The ninth contains a multitude of topics not apparently at all related to each other, but which have in some way successively suggested themselves to the mind of the author. It is indeed believed that whatever remains to us of Aristotle’s History of Animals may be looked upon as fragmentary; but in whatever light it may be viewed, it cannot be otherwise regarded than as entirely deficient in method. We continually meet with the most abrupt transitions, the subject more immediately at first in view being seemingly lost sight of for the sake of indulging in digressions foreign to its nature, and we frequently find a circumstance repeated. “This work resembles the rude notes which an author makes previous to the final arrangement of his book; and such it may possibly have been. Of descriptions properly so called there are few, those of the elephant, camel, bonasus, crocodile, chameleon, cuckoo, cuttle-fish, and a few others, being all that we find.”^[4. Loc. cit. p. 72. ] It cannot, however, be denied, that notwithstanding his numerous imperfections, he did much both for anatomy and natural history, “and more, perhaps,” says Dr Barclay, “than any other of the human species, excepting such as a Haller or Linnaeus, could have accomplished in similar circumstances.”^[5. On Life and Organization. The best edition of the ∏sj∕Zuaι’⅛Ι>ζia is that of Schneider, himself a great Grecian, and an accomplished naturalist. 4 vols. 8vo, Leipsic, 1811. ] The great importance justly attached to his writings as the founder of natural history, has induced us to present a more extended sketch of his views and doctrines than we can afford to other ancients. In our remaining notices we shall therefore be extremely brief.

Nearly three centuries and a half elapsed between the death of Aristotle and the birth of Pliny, who came into the world during the reign of Tiberius, and in the twentieth year of the Christian era. He was a voluminous compiler of all that was known during his own time, and although of less accurate observation, and of more defective judgment than his great predecessor, his works are extremely curions, and of considerable value in their way. His Natural History was his latest work, and unfortunately it is the only [7:14:76]one which has descended to the present times. It was composed, according to his own statement, of extracts from more than 2000 volumes, written by authors of all kinds, and is in truth not so much a treatise on what we now term Natural History, as a relation of all that was known (and of not a little that was imagined) concerning animals, vegetables, the mineral kingdom, the “great globe itself,” agriculture, commerce, medicine, and the arts. It is divided into thirty-seven books, the eighth of which consists of notices not only regarding our mammalia proper, such as elephants, lions, tigers, panthers, camels, cameleopards, rhinoceroses, and others, but also touches on the history of dragons, serpents, and reptiles. As an exposition of natural history, strictly so called, the work is in truth of little real interest, and of no utility, and we need scarcely say that every principle of natural arrangement is utterly unknown, or disregarded.

The only other ancient naturalists whom we shall here name are Aelian and Oppian. The former, surnamed by reason of the sweetness of his style the honey-tongued, flourished in the latter part of the second century, and wrote a history of animals in Greek, which abounds in foolish fables; the latter was a poet, of the early part of the third century, who is said to have received from Caraealla a golden crown for every line. Besides his works on fishing and faleonry (the latter lost), he composed certain books on hunting (Cynogetieon), which, with the others, are probably still consulted by the curious, although we cannot pledge ourselves to their in any way advancing the student’s knowledge of the mammiferous tribes.

When the darkest ages began to pass away, that is, when a lengthened period was concluding, during which, so far as can now be ascertained, the European mind does not seem to have been successfully exercised either in science or literature (excepting chiefly what was gained in the one from the Arabian writers, in the other from the legends of the Provençal Troubadours), we begin>again to perceive the emanation of a feeble light. The expression, perhaps, should be qualified by considering the disadvantages of early writers,—their ignorance of anatomy,—and, for aught we know, the non-existence of museums. Albertus Magnus flourished during the greater period of the thirteenth century, and composed, among innumerable other works, a History of Animals. It is a remarkable production for its time. The author lived long at Cologne, where he is said to have miraculously raised flowers in winter, to please William Count of Holland. Another of his wonderful feats was the construction of a speaking automaton, which, however, was one day knocked on the head by Thomas Aquinas, the angelical doctor, who deemed it an agent of the devil. From these facts we ought probably to infer, that he possessed no mean skill in horticulture, and was an adept in mechanical philosophy. He is said, by some, to have derived his latinized name of Magnus, not so much from the greatness of his learning and celebrity, as because his family name in Dutch was Groot. Yet none of the Counts of Bollstadt, to whom he was akin, seem ever to have borne such name. In the greater proportion of his works, he appears either as a commentator on Aristotle (he is alleged to have been no great Grecian, and to have studied the Stagyrite chiefly through the medium of a Latin translation), or as a compiler from the Arabian writers. His history of animals is mainly composed from Aristotle, Pliny, and Aeliaiļ. * i He was a man,” says Sir Thomas Browne, “who much advanced their opinions by the authoritie of his name, and delivered most conceits, with strickt enquirie into few.”

Passing over about two hundred years, we have next to name some celebrated writers of the sixteenth century. Old Conrad Gesner, as we are accustomed to call him, died įn the prime of life of a pestilential disease, in the year 1565. He was a native of Zurich, in Switzerland, and a very voluminous author. His only work which falls within our present eognisance is his History of Animals, which consists of five books, forming several folio volumes, the last of which was published posthumously, more than twenty years after his decease. They are adorned with numerous wooden cuts, which, as may be supposed, are more curious than accurate. This extraordinary compilation contains a critical review of whatever had been previously effected in zoology, but is itself principally composed of extracts from ancient writers. A portion of it was translated into English by Topsell, under the title of a “History of Four-footed Beasts and Serpents.” Gesner’s writings were long held in the highest estimation. Haller called him Monstrum Eruditionis, and his works on Natural History certainly contain a sufficiency of learning, and not a few monstrosities. He is said to have been the earliest individual who, being short-sighted, used the artificial advantage of concave glasses.

During the same century flourished (to use an accustomed term, although we regret to say, that, in regard to naturalists, it admits of a varied, and sometimes very doubtful interpretation) four other naturalists, all, in their way, entitled to the name of great; we allude to Pierre Belon, Hippolito Salviani, Guillaume Rondelet, and Ulysses Aldrovandi. The first three devoted themselves chiefly to fishes, and were, in fact, the founders of modern Ichthyology; the last named was more excursive and extended in his range. Bayle indeed has remarked, that antiquity does not furnish us with an instance of a design so extensive, and requiring such an amount of labour, as that of Aldrovandus. He truly far surpasses Pliny, both in length and verbosity. His works amount to thirteen volumes folio, only four of which (those on birds and insects) seem to have been published during his own life. The volume on “Quadrupeds which divide the hoof,” was first digested by Cornelius Uterverius, and afterwards by Thomas Dempster, a Scotchman, professor at Bologna, and published in 1621. That on “Quadrupeds which do not divide the hoof,” was likewise digested by Uterverius, and made its appearance in 1613. The volume on “Quadrupeds with toes or claws,” as well as that on Monsters, was compiled from the manuscripts by Ambrosinus. The whole were afterwards reprinted at Frankfort, although it is now difficult to obtain a uniform edition. “Aldrovandus,” says the Abbé Gallois, “is not the author of several books published under his name; but it has happened to the collection of natural history, of which those books are part, as it does to those great rivers which retain, during their whole course, the name they bore at their first rise, though, in the end, the greatest part of the water which they carry into the sea does not belong to them, but to other rivers which they receive; for, as the first six volumes of this great work were by Aldrovandus, although the others were composed since his death by different authors, they have still been attributed to him, either because they were a continuance of his design, or because the writers of them used his memoirs, or because his methoçļ was followed, or, perhaps, that these last volumes might be the better received under so celebrated a name.” Aldrovandus is usually regarded as an enormous and insatiable compiler, without much taste or genius (the latter attribute, fortunately for encyclopaedists, being not altogether essential to such an occupation), and seems to have borrowed largely, both as regards plan and materials, from his predecessor Gesner. Buffon says with great truth, that, if all that is useless or unnecessary were expunged from his works, they might be reduced to a tenth of their bulk; but we fear it may be added, with equal truth, that, if the same operation were performed on every author, not a few would be found to yield not even that priestly proportion. It is certain, however, that when [7:14:77]Aldrovandus treats of cocks or oxen, he does in no measure restrain himself to their natural history properly so called, but he tells us of all that the ancients have thought of them, of all that has been imagined of their virtues or their vices, their courage or character, all the miracles with which they have been connected, all the superstitions of which they have been the subject, all the comparisons which they have furnished to poets, all the attributes with which various nations have endowed them, as well as the hieroglyphics, or armorial bearings, in which they are represented; in short, of every thing that can be found or fancied in the history of cocks or oxen. It must be added, however, that, notwithstanding (possibly in consequence of) his endless redundancy, he is often extremely exact in many important particulars; and, although Baron Cuvier calls his compilation a troublesome and indigested mass, yet we know of more than one who has found it both curious and instructive. Aldrovandus, although of noble birth, and originally of prosperous fortunes, is said to have died blind in an hospital in Bologna. It was this melancholy recollection which, coming across our mind at the commencement of the present paragraph, induced us to qualify the meaning of the term flourished.

Notwithstanding the voluminous labours of the authors hitherto alluded to, little or no advance had been made in systematic zoology. It is indeed surprising, that, endowed with so much learning, and of course with energy and perseverance as its sources, none of these observers should have seen natural objects in the light in which they at present appear, even to the uninstructed; for the most ignorant amongst us would scarcely now arrange all mammiferous land animals and lizards in the same natural group, simply because they are characterized in common by the possession of four legs. But great advances were made in the course of the ensuing or seventeenth century. One of the earliest, and, we fear, also one of the least successful zoologists of this period, was John Johnston, descended no doubt originally from a Scottish family, but born near Lissa, a city of the district of Posen in Poland, in the year 1603. That portion of his “Historia Animalium” which treats of quadrupeds, was published at Frankfort-on-the-Maine in 1652. The plates, engraved by Matthew Merian, exhibit some improvement on those of Gesner and Aldrovandus, but the letter-press must share with theirs in the character of being in a great manner an uncritical compilation. We here pass unwillingly the great names of Redi and Swammerdam, neither of whom wrote on quadrupeds, although the physiological observations of the one, and the surprising and hitherto unrivalled researches in insect anatomy of the other, have rendered their names immortal, and, by the philosophical and inductive spirit by which they were respectively conducted, no doubt materially contributed to inspire a better and more original habit of observation than had hitherto prevailed.

The British naturalist justly regards with pride the high station occupied, towards the conclusion of the century, by the illustrious John Ray. His “Synopsis Methodica Animalium Quadrupedum, et Serpentini Generis,” was published in 1693, and besides containing a systematic classification of these creatures, it describes their external forms and internal structure, and illustrates their instinctive habits by many important and interesting observations. Indeed, there are few departments of natural history which did not receive improvements from his pen. He is termed by Baron Cuvier “le premier veritable méthodiste pour le règne animal, guide principal de Linnaeus dans cette partie.” The great Swedish naturalist was indeed deeply indebted to Ray, and a careful and comparative perusal of the Synopsis Quadrupedum and of the early editions of the Systema Naturce, certainly inspires a wish that the obligation had been more warmly acknowledged. The era in which Ray flourished has been justly described as the dawning of our golden age in natural history. “The peculiar character of his works,” says Cuvier, “consists in clearer and stricter methods than those employed by any of his predecessors, and applied with more constancy and precision. The divisions which he has introduced into the classes of quadrupeds and birds have been followed by the English naturalists almost to our own day; and we find very evident traces of his system of birds in Linnaeus, Brisson, Buffon, and in all the authors who have treated of that class of animals.” We have already alluded, in our brief notice of preceding writers, to the singular absence of all effort to illustrate even the most familiar phenomena by any approach to actual observation; and this, we think, constitutes one of the great merits of Ray, that, with sufficient learning to appreciate and report the recorded studies of his predecessors, he yet looked abroad on nature with an eye of admiration and of love, from whence resulted a freshness and originality, for which we look in vain in many bulkier volumes, both of prior and of later times. “His varied and useful labours,” observes the author of a recent memoir, “have justly caused him to be regarded as the father of natural history in this country; and his character is, in every respect, such as we should wish to belong to the individual enjoying that high distinction. His claims to the regard of posterity are not more founded on his intellectual capacity, than on his moral excellence. He maintained a steady and uncompromising adherence to his principles, at a time when vacillation and change were so common as almost to escape unnoticed and uncensured. From some conscientious scruples, which he shared in common with many of the wisest and most pious men of his time, he did not hesitate to sacrifice his views of preferment in the church, although his talents and learning, joined to the powerful influence of his numerous friends, might have justified him in aspiring to a considerable station. The benevolence of his disposition continually appears in the generosity of his praise, the tenderness of his censure, and solicitude to promote the welfare of others. His modesty and self-abasement were so great, that they transpire insensibly on all occasions; and his affectionate and grateful feelings led him, as has been remarked, to fulfil the sacred duties of friendship even to his own prejudice, and to adorn the bust of his friend with wreathes which he himself might have justly assumed. All these qualities were refined and exalted by the purest Christian feeling, and the union of the whole constitutes a character which procured the admiration of contemporaries, and well deserves to be recommended to the imitation of posterity.”^[6. Memoir of Ray, in Naturalist’s Library, Entomology, vol. ii. p. 69 ] Ray was born at Black Notley, in Essex, in 1628, and died at the same place in 1705.

The greatest naturalist who was, as it were, intermediate between Ray and Linnaeus, or at least whose life embraced the death and old age of the one, and the birth and manhood of the other, was the celebrated French entomologist Réaumur. He was born at Rochelle in 1683, and died in 1757. His well-known Memoires on insects, are among the most valuable contributions which have ever been made to that department of science; but, as he did not write on mammiferous animals, we should not have introduced his name in this place, had he not been among the first in France to form an extensive museum, containing both quadrupeds and birds, and which is known to have afforded materials for the formation of Μ. Brisson’s works.

We now arrive at the memorable epoch of Linnaeus, that [7:14:78]immortal and unrivalled naturalist, whose life and labours arc now so well known, and so universally appreciated, that we deem it needless to indulge in any observations on the subject. He was born at Rashult, in the province of Smaland, in Sweden, on the 23d of May 1707? and, after reconstructing the whole arrangement of nature, inventing an unthought-of nomenclature, and bestowing, upon both the organic kingdoms a lucid order which, but for him, they certainly would not have yet possessed, he died at Upsal on the 10th of January 1778. We shall merely add his curious and characteristic description of himself, substituting the pronoun “I” for the “He” of the original. “My head was prominent behind, and transversely depressed at the lambdoid suture. My hair was white in infancy, then brown, in old age somewhat grey. My eyes were of a hazel hue, vivacious and penetrating, with a remarkable power of vision. My forehead became wrinkled in after life. I had an obliterated wart on my right cheek, and another on the same side of my nose. My teeth were ineffective, having become unsound in early life from hereditary toothach. My mind was quick, easily moved to anger, joy, or sadness, quickly appeased; in youth hilarious, not torpid in age; in business extremely prompt. My gait was light and active. I committed all household cares to my wife, being myself concerned solely with the productions of nature. I brought to a conclusion whatever I commenced, and during a journey I never looked backwards.” The writings of Linnaeus were extremely numerous, but we have here to do only with his arrangement of the mammiferous tribes, which introduced so many clear and precise elements into what had before been little else than a chaos of darkness and uncertainty, that but few and trifling amendments have since been effected in that branch of zoology up to the present day. The first edition of his great work the “Systema Naturae,” was printed at Leyden in 1735, and consisted of only a few folio pages. Numerous editions were called for during the lifetime of the author. That usually called the twelfth (it is believed to be in reality the fifteenth) is the best, and the last which received Linnaeus’s own improvements. It was published at Stockholm in 1766, and from it we have made up the following abstract of his arrangement of the class Mammalia.^[7. A greatly enlarged but inaccurate edition, known as the thirteenth, was compiled by Cχmelin, and published at Leipsic in 1788. Dr Turton’s English edition, London 1806, is a translation of that of Leipsic. ]
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The principal objection which has been found to the preceding system is derived from the alleged unnatural separation of the Orders Bruta, Pecora, and Belluae, which are chiefly detached portions of the great Order Ungulata of Ray, and which even Aristotle had placed in juxtaposition. They have, therefore, after the ejection of certain genera into other orders, been again brought together by Baron Cuvier, in his sixth and seventh primary divisions. Yet we cannot but wonder, that with a knowledge of the nature or existence of not more than about 230 mammiferous animals (probably about a fifth part of those with which we have now some acquaintance) Linnaeus should have been able to construct such a system; for it is admitted that his genera are for the most part natural, in as far as they contain assemblages of species which in the majority of cases have been preserved in more recent systems, although under higher denominations, and split into minor divisions. It is also admitted that, with certain exceptions (which chiefly concern the Order Bruta), the internal contents of the orders themselves are natural groups.^[8. Swainson On the Geography and Classification of Animals, p. 145. ] At all events, the influence exercised by the Linnaean system was immense and immediate, and has proved continuous and abiding. Indeed, we have already had occasion elsewhere to remark,^[9. See Animal Kingdom of this Work, voh iii. p. 169. ] that, with the exception of the purely artificial classification of Klein, and the multiplied orders of Brisson and Vicq-d’Azyr, all the systems which have appeared since the middle of the last century are indebted more or less to the labours of the immortal Swede, and may be valued almost exactly in proportion to their share in the lucidus ordo of the Linnaean System. Of this no one need doubt who inclines to compare with [7:14:79]the Systema Naturπ. of 1766, the Systema Regni Animalis of Erxleben (1777), the Prodromus Methodi Animalium oĩ Storr (Ì7 80), or the Elenchus Animalium of Bodaert (1787)∙ Nor can it have escaped the notice of the critical observer, that after thirty years of profound and philosophical research into the mysteries of the animal kingdom, the most accomplished zoologist and anatomist of the age should have finally reverted to a closer approximation to the Linnaean system, than had characterized his views at any former period of his brilliant career. When Baron Cuvier first made known, conjunctly with Μ. Geoffroy (in 1797), his new classification of mammiferous animals, his numerous genera were contained under no less than fourteen different orders. Just thirty years afterwards (in 1817), he published his Règne Animal, with many improvements in the composition and arrangement of the minor divisions, and with the addition of the Order of which he is himself so bright an ornament, but composed, so far as the Mammalia are concerned, of primary divisions exactly the same in number, and nearly the same in nature, as those divulged and established by Linnaeus himself at least sixty years before. That this is the admitted opinion of many of Cuvier’s own countrymen and most devoted admirers, may be inferred from the following passage, which relates to Linnaeus :—“Aussi toutes ses coupes ont-elles été généralement adoptées. Tous ses ordres sont encore admis aujourd’hui par la plupart des naturalistes modernes, et particulièrement par Cuvier, qui sculement a substitué aux noms de Linné presque tous peu susceptibles d’être traduits en français, ceux de Quadrumanes, d’ Edentés, de Carnassiers, de Rongeurs, de Ruminans, de Pachydermes, et de Cétacés. Enfin parmi ces genres (those of Linnaeus) ceux meme qu’on a été obligé de subdiviser, se retrouvent encore conservés dans les classifications les plus récentes, où elles formes des familles naturelles. C’est ainsi, par exemple, que l’ordre des Quadrumanes comprend deux grandes familles, les Singes et les Lémuriens, qui correspond exactement au genre Simia et au genre Lemur de l’illustre législateur de la Zoologie.”^[10. Isidore Geoffroy St Hilaire, in Dictionnaire Classique d’ Histoire Naturelle, t. x. p. 66. ]

We have entered into these details (which many may deem unnecessary), in consequence of what we sometimes perceive of a spirit adverse to the philosophical character of the great Swedish naturalist. Delighting as we do to witness whatever of talent and ingenuity is being exercised in the development of the so-called Natural System (and that every age will furnish fresh materials towards the more satisfactory solution of that great and mysterious problem we cannot doubt), we yet desire it should be borne in mind how vast are the benefits which Linnaeus has conferred on natural history, and how, but for him, we should, in all likelihood, have been still straying infinitely farther from the truth,

“And found no end in wandering mazes lost.”

All who are in any way conversant in the science, know how admirable was his tact in the discovery of the minor natural groups, though he may have frequently failed in their combination. But whatever view we may take of methods and systems, it can scarcely be doubted that no one has contributed such valuable materials for the various and not seldom discordant theorists to work upon. Let those who find these materials in any great measure intractable, bethink themselves occasionally of a homely Scotch proverb, that “a bad reaper never had a good hook.”

Although Buffon cannot be regarded as a systematic author, yet his writings have exercised so strong and beneficial an influence on natural history, that we cannot pass his name unnoticed in our cursory sketch. “Il restera toujours,” says Baron Cuvier, “l’auteur fondimental pour Thistoire des quadrupèdes and we doubt not that the splendour of his style was among the earliest and most forcible of those exciting causes which led to a general interest in this delightful study. By bringing into play a finer combination of literary and scientific attainments, a more discursive and imaginative style, and perhaps a greater power of actual intellect than had previously fallen to the lot of (at least the modern) naturalist, he relieved the science of zoology from the undeserved opprobrium of being regarded as the pursuit of inferior capacities; and by embodying his thoughts in language as attractive as had ever been employed to give expression to the workings of the human mind, even in the higher departments of literature, he gained many proselytes among those who had hitherto viewed the subject, and all its barren technicalities, with coldness if not disgust. He has no doubt exposed himself to the reproach of having utterly disregarded the necessity, in so complex and multifarious a study, of a rigorous nomenclature, and a methodised arrangement, as well as of having introduced many grave errors, not the less dangerous and deceptive that they bear the impress of genius. Many of his descriptive sketches must be regarded rather as vivid representations drawn from an exuberant and irrepressible imagination, than as accurate portraitures deduced from the observance of nature. It cannot be denied, however, that many of his general observations are extremely important, and he was among the first to call attention to the interesting subject of zoological geography, by his comparative remarks on the quadrupeds of the old world and those of America.

As it is not our intention to exhibit in detail the features of any but the more important and influential systems, we shall here briefly illustrate the progress of the science by enumerating the amount of species described by certain well-known authors, who were either contemporaneous with, or the immediate successors of Linnaeus. Brisson describes 275 j^[11. Hegne Animal, 1756. ] Erxleben, 345;^[12. Systema Mammalium, ∖∏ t ]. ] Pennant, 412;^[13. Synopsis of Quadrupeds, 1771. ] Boddaert, 344;^[14. Elenchus Animalium, 1785. ] Buffon, 333 (including his supplements, and the Cetacea of La Cepcde);^[15. Histoire Generate et Particulière des Animaux, 1769-85,- Cétacés, 1806. ] Gmelin, 440;^[16. Systema Natures, 13th Ed. 1789. ] and Vicq. d’Azyr, 363.^[17. Système Anatomique des Animaux, t. ii. 1792. ] Among these authors, as Μ. Desmarest has observed,^[18. Mammalogie (Avertissement), p. 7. ] such as have indicated the highest amount of species, have been the least critical and distinctive in their enunciation of their characters. The observation applies particularly to Pennant, Gmelin, Boddaert, and Vieq. d’Azyr, who, whatever may have been their other merits (and those of our countryman were of the highest order), were in no way distinguished for a severe révisai of the facts on which they founded. It has been calculated, that, notwithstanding the additional zeal with which the natural history of quadrupeds has been of late pursued, about an eighth part of the species described by these authors remain undetermined even at the present day.

The system of liliger departs considerably from that of Linnaeus. The Berlin Professor, of whose capacity and accomplishments no one doubts, has been reproached, and not unjustly, for a needless disregard of the nomenclature of his predecessors and contemporaries, and for a love of change, which induced a French critic to accuse him,— “d’avoir inventé beaucoup plus de mots qu’il n’a fait de travaux utiles.” Nevertheless, his system, which contained, at the time of its appearance (in 1811), the indication of several new and judicious genera, has been sufficiently [7:14:80]influential to induce us to present it to our readers. He divides the entire mammiferous class into fourteen orders, containing thirty-nine families, and a hundred and twenty-five genera, as follows. We add the name of a well-known species of each genus, with a view to illustrate the nature of the group.

Illiger defines Mammalia as vertebrated animals, breathing by means of lungs, with warm red blood, a heart with two ventricles and two auricles, a diaphragm, manimae, a skin either hairy or bald, viviparous, giving milk.
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The student will not fail to perceive that many of these generic groups, indicated for the first time by liliger, now form component parts of all our recent arrangements of the animal kingdom.

Although Μ. Desmarest’s work on the Mammalia is one of great value to the student, his system of arrangement so closely resembles that of Baron Cuvier (which, with some modifications, we intend to follow in the present treatise), that its detailed exhibition would be here unnecessary. It bears the date of 1820—22, and certainly presents the most complete and accurate summary of the mammiferous tribes up to that period.^[19. Mammalogie, ou description des espèces de Mammifères. ] It may therefore be assumed as marking an epoch in the science, and as affording a useful point of comparison with preceding times. We have already mentioned that Linnaeus was acquainted with not more than about 230 mammiferous animals, and have likewise exhibited the totals of his immediate successors. The entire number described by Desmarest is 849, partitioned as follows: Bimana, 1; Quadrumana, 141; Carnivora, 320 (subdivided into Cheiroptera, 97, Insectivora, 29, the true Carnivora, 147, and Marsupialia, 47); Glires, 149; Edentata, 24; Pachyderma, 55; Ruminantia, 97; Cetae, 62. But of these 849 species, he marks about 145 with an asterisk, as being too obscurely known to be admitted with certainty to a distinct specific rank. There is also to be deducted 42 fossil species, which leaves 662 as the totality of living mammiferous animals of which we have a distinct knowledge, according to Μ. Desmarest. In regard to the general distribution of animals over the earth, our author gives the following numerical summary. South America, 181 species; North America, 54; common to Asia and America, 10; Northern Asia, 41; Europe, 88; Africa, 107; Madagascar and Mascareigne, 29; Southern Asia and Ceylon, 78; Indian Archipelago, 51; New Holland and Van Diemen’s Land, 33. About 30 cetacea and seals inhabit the northern seas, 14 those of the south, and about 28 the waters of the intermediate regions. The number of terrestrial species subjected to the service of the human race is 13, and out of that limited amount above 112 varieties have been produced by the effects of domestication. We may here remark, that from the time of Daubenton (1782)^[20. Dictionnaire clés Quadrupèdes de l’ Encyclopédie. ] to that of Desmarest (1822), exactly forty years elapsed, and that during that period the amount of known mammiferous animals has at least been doubled. During the subsequent fourteen years, we doubt not that the zeal of our other living naturalists has effected a proportional increase.

Μ. Temniinck is chiefly known as a distinguished ornithologist. To an excellent work on certain mammiferous tribes,^[21. Monographies de Mammadogie. ] he has, however, prefixed a “Tableau Méthodique” of the orders, genera, and sectional divisions, of the class Mammalia, with an (approximate) enumeration of the species contained in each. He asserts with confidence that these (in 1827) amount to 860 distinct and clearly ascertained kinds. We think it due· to -a naturalist to whom ornithology, especially that of Europe, stands so highly indebted, to present a view of the system of arrangement in accordance with which he has classed the quadrupeds in the National Museum of the Low Countries (Leyden).
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ammalia on which we are now about to enter, stands at the head of that first great division of the animal kingdom, which, by reason of the brain and continuous lengthened mass of the nervous system being contained within the bony envelope of the cranium and vertebrae, is named the vertebrated division, and of course comprises all the higher classes, or animalia vertebrata. These are,—Mammalia, birds, reptiles, and fishes, the last of which alone, under the term Ichthyology, have as yet been illustrated in our present work.

I he Mammalia in the system of Baron Cuvier, and indeed of all the other, systematic writers (although Lamarck, guided by peculiar views regarding the progressive development of species, follows an inverse order), are placed at the head of the animal kingdom,—not only because they form the class to which we ourselves belong, but because they are endowed with the highest combination of faculties, the most delicate sensations, and the most varied movements. There certainly results from the totality of their physical qualities, an intelligence more perfect, and fertile in resources, less enslaved to the blind impulses of instinct, and consequently more capable of amelioration and improvement, than that of the other vertebrated tribes.

As their power or amount of respiration is moderate compared to that of birds, the great majority are formed for walking on the surface of the earth, or for certain motions dependent for support on bodies connected with that surface. The articulations of their bones have consequently precise forms which determine their movements, and even circumscribe them with rigour. Certain species, however, possess the power of raising themselves into the air by means of prolonged and extended membranes, with which their limbs are furnished; while others have those limbs so shortened and concealed beneath the teguments, as to render them incapable of progressive movement except in water; but, nevertheless, though fish-like in their forms, they in no way lose the characteristics of their class, and the unweildy whale is as truly a warm-blooded mammiferous animal as the most active of monkeys.

In all Mammalia the upper jaw is fixed to the cranium, and the under one, composed of only two portions, articulates by means of a projecting condyle to a fixed temporal bone. The cervical vertebrae, as already mentioned, are seven in number. The anterior ribs are attached forwards by cartilaginous pieces to a sternum, formed of a certain number of vertical portions. The anterior extremities commence from a shoulder-blade, not articulated, but merely suspended in the flesh, and often supported on the sternum by an intermediate bone, named the clavicle. These extremities are further composed of an arm (humerus), a forearm (radius and cubitus ^[24. These two bones of the fore arm are sometimes distinct, and capable of a certain oblique rotation on each other (as in man and monkeys); or they are fixed by their extremities (as among the majority of the Ferteand Ilodentia). Sometimes the radius becomes the principal bone, and the cubitus, reduced to a rudimentary state, forms only a simple apophvsis. This is the case among ruminating animals, and the genus Equus or horse tribe. ' o a ] ), and a hand,—the last named [7:14:85]being itself constituted by two ranges of small bones named metacarpus, and of fingers or phalanges. The extremities of these last bear the nails or hoofs. With the exception of the Cetacea, all the species have the first portion of the posterior extremities attached to the spine, and forming a girdle or pelvis, which in early age, is divisible into three pairs of bones, the ilium, which is attached to the spine; the pubis, which forms the anterior girdle; and the ischium, which forms the posterior. At the point of the union of these three bones is the cavity which contains the articulation of the thigh (or femur), to which is attached the leg, itself composed of two bones, the tibia or shin bone, and the fibula. ^[25. These two last-named bones offer the same variations in their relation to each other, as do those of the fore-arm just noted. ] γ The leg is terminated by the foot, a compound organ, composed of parts analogous to those of the hand, and named the tarsus, the metatarsus, and the toes.

The head in the Mammalia is always articulated by two condyles on the atlas or first vertebral joint. The brain is always composed of two hemispheres united by a medullary lamina called the corpus callosum, containing two ventricles, and enclosing four pair of tubercles called the corpora striata, the optic thalami, the nates, and testes. Between the optic thalami there is a third ventricle, which communicates with a fourth placed beneath the cerebellum. The crura of the cerebellum always form beneath the medulla oblongata a transverse prominence called the pons Varolii.

The eye, lodged within its orbit, is protected by two eyelids, and the vestige of a third. Its crystalline humour is fixed by the ciliary processes, and the sclerotic coat is simply cellular.

In the ear of the Mammalia there always exists a cavity called the drum (cavitas tympani), which communicates with the pharynx, by means of a canal called the eustachian tube, and is closed externally by the membrana tympani. This cavity contains four small bones known as the incus or anvil, the malleus or hammer, the stapes or stirrup, and the os orbiculare or spheroid bone. The ear is further composed of the vestibule, at the entrance of which is placed the stapes, and which communicates with three semicircular canals, and of the volute or cochlea, which terminates by one of its scaiae in tπe tympanum, by the other in the vestibule.

The cranium may be said to be composed of three compartments :—the anterior formed by the two frontal bones and the ethmoid, the intermediate by the parietal bones, and the sphenoid, and the posterior by the occipital. Between the occipital bones, the parietals, and the sphenoid, are inserted the temporal bones, a portion of which belong, properly speaking, to the face. In the foetal condition these bones exhibit various subdivisions, still more numerous in the embryo state, and become more and more compact and simple in the adult animal.

The face is formed essentially of the two maxillary bones, between which passes the nasal canal; these bones have in front the two intermaxillaries (which bear the incisive teeth), and behind them the two palatines, while between them descends the single lamina of the ethmoid named the vomer. On the openings of the nasal canal are the proper bones of the nose. The jugal or cheek bone unites on each side the maxillary to the temporal, and often to the frontal bone; and finally, the lachrymal occupies the internal angle of the orbit, and sometimes a part of the cheek.

The tongue is always fleshy, and attached to a bone called the hyoid, suspended by ligaments to the cranium.

The lungs, two in number, are subdivided into lobes composed of an infinity of little cells, and are always enclosed without adhesion in a cavity formed by the ribs and diaphragm, and lined by the pleura. The organ of the voice is always at the upper extremity of the tracheal artery or windpipe, and a fleshy prolongation called the velum palati or soft palate, establishes a direct communication between the larynx and back of the nostrils.^[26. Règne Animal, t. i. pp. 60-63. For details of internal structure, the general reader is referred to the article Comparative Anatomy of this Encyclopaedia, vol. iii, p. 1., or to the Sketch prefixed by Μ. Desmarests to his Mammalogie. The professional student will seek the more laboured systems of Cuvier, Meckel, De Blaiiwille, Carus, or the excellent Outlines by Dr Grant. ]

Dwelling habitually on the surface of the earth, mammiferous animals are less exposed than certain other classes to extreme alternations of heat and cold, their covering or hair, is of moderate thickness, and is usually of a slighter texture in the species of warmer climes. Linnaeus, the nature of whose genius led him to seek for the establishment of a kind of distinctive opposition in the characters of animals, maintained, among other generalised dicta, that Mammalia were furnished with hairs, birds with feathers, and fishes with scales. This is true in a general sense, although the Cetacea, which dwell exclusively in the water, are destitute of any hairy covering, and the pangolins and other species seem covered with scales. Blainville, indeed, is of opinion that the usual hairy coating exists, though under another aspect, equally among whales as in ordinary quadrupeds, and the distinction presented by the sealyspecies of land animals is more apparent than real. Yet as many birds are also partially covered by what does not essentially differ from hair, we do not think that the name of Pilfer es, by which Μ. de Blainville desires to designate all mammiferous animals, is in any way preferable to that derived from their functions of maternity. Quadrupeds have usually two kinds of covering intermingled,—the hairy, which is of a more or less stiff or consistent texture (varying as it were from silk to bristle), and from its greater length is the more apparent and external,—and the woolly, which is extremely soft and fine, and is usually concealed beneath the other. The domestic races of the sheep, however, form a remarkable and highly beneficial exception to the contrary, in the great length and abundance of the woolly portion, and the almost total disappearance of the silken or hairy. There is also an approach to this character in most animals belonging to cold countries, while in those of tropical regions, the silky coat becomes much developed, and the woolly diminishes or disappears. The quantity or proportional abundance of wool is usually in an inverse ratio, that of silk in a direct ratio, to the temperature. The silky coat or hair, is of great length on particular portions of several species, such as the mane of the lion and the horse, and the tail of the latter; and a species of Indian bear (Ursus labiatus) is remarkable for the length of its hair, which measures from seven to nine inches over the general surface, and on particular spots is nearly a foot long.

In some species the covering is partially or even entirely composed of spiny projections, varying in form and aspect; such as those of the hedgehog, tanrec, echimys, porcupine, and others. All these spines are usually pointed and cylindrical, and bear the form of a gigantic hair. But in the common porcupine (Hystrix cristata) the tail is garnished with cylindrical tunnels, which are open transversely at their extremity, thus resembling quills which have been cut across at the commencement of their opaque portion. In all the spiny species naturalists have remarked that there is a great development of those muscles which act upon the skin, a condition, in truth, indispensable in rendering the spines effective as weapons of defence.

The colours of mammiferous animals are in general much less brilliant than those of several other classes, and are almost entirely destitute of that metallic splendour [7:14:86]which so enriches the livery of the feathered tribes. In this particular the Chrysochlore, a small insectivorous animal from Africa, allied to the mole, forms almost the sole exception. Another general characteristic of the coat of the Mammalia consists in the colours being much paler over the lower surface than on the flanks or dorsal regions. This observation applies not only to the ordinary quadrupedal form, in which the under surface is less exposed to view, but to the kangaroos and other leaping kinds, in which from the almost vertical position of the body, the abdomen and the back are equally open to the influence of light and air. The exceptions are of two kinds, 1 st, of animals like the polar bear, which are of one uniform colour throughout; and, 2dly, of certain other species like the glutton, ratel, and badger, -which are lighter above than below. Of this one of the most remarkable examples is furnished by an Indian animal called Panda (Ailurus refulgens), which is of a beautiful cinnamon red colour above, with the abdomen of the deepest black.

The colours of quadrupeds are sometimes mottled or closely intermingled,—an effect produced by each hair being composed of rings of different hues, as in most of the squirrels; sometimes these colours are more broadly varied, or in stronger contrast, as among the larger spotted cats or feline animals; but in the majority of quadrupeds the colours of each species are rather uniform than varied, although the Makis and others exhibit some strongly contrasted markings. The sexual distinctions, as derived from the external covering, are much less remarkable than among the feathered tribes, the female being for the most part only somewhat less vivid than the male. Neither does the progressive advancement to age from adolescence manifest changes so singular and extensive as those of birds, although among several species, such as stags, lions, and others, the colours in early life are differently disposed from what they are in the adult condition. The young fawn is spotted with white, an aspect which is permanent in that species of deer called axis, while young lions are variously marked with dark brown or black, thus resembling the matured condition of many of their congeners. This remarkable relation between the colouring of young individuals of one species, and that of other species of the same genus in the adult state, is likewise observable in birds, but with this difference, that the early plumage, usually resembling that of the female, is always more dingy and obscure than that of the adult, whereas, as already hinted, the covering of the young Mammalia is frequently more elegantly varied than that of their parents. The varieties of colour among domesticated animals are too numerous to be here detailed, and indeed too familiar to require illustration. Even among unreclaimed species frequent varieties occur, and moles and many other - animals are found of a white or cream-colour. These changes have been observed to be extremely uncommon among the cheiropterous species, or bats. The term albinism is applied to the condition of the white varieties, that of melanism to that of the black ones; the former being more frequent in cold countries, the latter in warm ones. But melanism is much rarer than albinism, and has hitherto been observed chiefly among feline animals, deer, and rats. The water-rat, commonly so called (Arnica la amphibia'), frequently occurs exclusively of a black colour, over a whole district of country. It has not yet been demonstrated as a distinct species, though by some regarded as such.

Besides the diseased or accidental condition of albinism, several species, such as hares, ermines, and foxes, become annually white in northern countries, during the winter season. Black seems the colour most persistent in these animals throughout the year; thus the ermine always preserves the black extremity of the tail, and the points of the ears are at all times of that colour in the Alpine hare. The same fact is exemplified among birds of the ptarmigan tribe. It is difficult, however, to determine distinctly whether these and other analogous changes are the direct result of cold, as the immediate cause, or belong to some other chain of providential facts by which the well-being of these creatures is sedulously guarded amid those inclement countries in which they have been doomed to dwell. At least we know that among birds we have numerous species with plumage of the purest white inhabiting the most sultry of the tropical regions, while the'ominous raven, with a covering as usual of the deepest black, is one of the few species which braves the intensity of a polar winter, and is seen, or rather heard, throughout that long-enduring night, croaking among the desolate cliffs, or gliding like the spirit of evil along the barren ice-bound shores.

Although the subject has not been investigated in detail, we know in a general way that albinism is produced by debilitating causes, and results from the absence of the colouring matter of the skin; and if, op the other hand, it could be demonstrated that melanism is rather the result of fortifying causes, and of a superabundance of the colouring material, we should then more clearly perceive how it happens that all species, whatever may be their natural hue, are liable to exhibit one or other of the phenomena in question.

Prehension, or the seizing and handling of their food, or other substances, is executed among carnivorous and gnawing animals (Ferae and Rodentia) by means of the toes, which are usually very distinct, and terminated by nails or claws more or less pointed. In some species, such as the squirrels among the Rodentia, and the racoons among the carnivorous kinds, the food is held by a kind of pressure between the two anterior paws, and carried upwards to the mouth. The hand of man is a much admired instrument, and more perfect in its way, although of the same general structure, than that of monkeys and other quadrumana; which, however (with the exception of the genus Ateles), possess an advantage over us in the opposable nature of the great toe, by which they are rendered equally expert with either extremity. They are, in truth, as the name imports, four-handed, and are consequently the most accomplished of climbers, as we may easily conceive, by imagining with ’ what activity, in spite of his comparatively heavy form, a sailor would ascend the shrouds, or reef the sails, if his íèet were so constructed as to grasp as firmly as his hands.

The toes in quadrupeds never exceed five in number, and have never more than three articulations: there are sometimes only two articulations, and the number of toes frequently differs on the anterior and posterior extremities. These parts have furnished excellent characters for classification, when not assumed as the sole and exclusive basis of arrangement. Thus Klein, the Königsberg naturalist, divided animals into orders and sections according to the form and number of the toes, thereby bringing into juxtaposition many species entirely dissimilar to each other, and at the same time separating others between which there existed the strongest natural alliance; while Linnaeus, with his wonted sagacity, deduced from the toes only generic characters, subordinate to the more important parts of the organization, and thereby rendered them available in systematic arrangement. In many species, especially the feline, the toes are furnished with sharp, curved, retractile talons, which become very formidable weapons of defence or attack. In man, and the different species of monkeys, they are possessed of great discrimination in the sense of touch, and a false or at least exaggerated view of the subject has led Helvetius and others to attach an extraordinary degree of importance to the hand, as the medium of intellectual superiority in the human race. In bats the anterior toes assume a singular form, become greatly extended, and having their interstices filled up by membranes, act in the capacity [7:14:87]of wings; while in seals, walruses, and cetaceous animals, such as whales, they pass by different gradations into the form of fins.

The prehensile power of the Mammalia is not, however, confined to their feet and hands. Many of the American monkeys make use of their tails, both in locomotion and for the seizure of their food; and the kinkajou is said to insert the tip of that portion of its body into holes in which Crustacea he concealed, and which seizing upon and pertinaciously adhering to the intruding organ, are speedily dragged from their concealment and devoured. But the proboscis of the elephant, terminated by a strong opposable appendage, is one of the most perfect prehensile instruments to be found within the range of the animal kingdom. The same mode of seizure, but with a more restricted action, is practised by the great tribes of ruminating quadrupeds, which, using their limbs only as organs of support and locomotion, collect their food by means of the mouth alone, that is, by a combined action of the lips, teeth, and tongue.

We need scarcely observe, that all mammiferous animals are viviparous, that is, produce their young alive, and, consequently, as their name implies, nourish them by means of the secretion named milk. This brings us round to the definition with which we started, and we shall now proceed to a short exposition of the orders of the class Mammalia, as established and defined by Baron Cuvier.

The variable characters which establish the most essential differences among mammiferous animals arc derived from the organs of touch, on which depend their greater or less degree of ability and address, and from the organs of manducation, which determine the nature of their aliments, and regulate not only all that relates to the digestive functions, but also a cloud of other characteristics intimately connected with their habitual instincts. The perfection of the organs of touch may usually be estimated according to the number and mobility of the toes (using the word in its more enlarged acceptation as including the terminal portions of both the fore and hind extremities), and the mode and degree in which these parts are enveloped within the claws or hoofs. A hoof which entirely encompasses all that portion of the toes which touches the ground, of course not only blunts its feeling, but renders it incapable of grasping, the opposite extreme consists in a simple flattened nail, which covers only a limited terminal portion of the toes, and leaves the remainder in a state of delicate perception.

The habit of life in regard to food or regimen may be accurately inferred from the cheek-teeth, with the form of which the articulation of the jaws is always found to correspond. For the purpose of cutting flesh, these cheekteeth (commonly called grinders in the herbivorous animals) are in the carnivorous kinds trenchant like a saw or scissars, and the jaws are so restricted in their movements as to be incapable of lateral or horizontal motion, and meet each other vertically, with a firm but circumscribed action. On the other hand, animals destined to live by the mastication of grain or herbs have flat-crowned cheek-teeth, placed in jaws capable of horizontal motion; and as it is desirable that the upper surface of such teeth should preserve a certain inequality, like that of a mill-stone, they are found to be composed of portions of unequal hardness, one of which wears quicker than the other. All hoofed animals are of necessity herbivorous, and provided with flat-crowned grinders, because-their feet are incapable of seizing a living prey. But unguiculated animals exhibit a greater variety of form and diet, and differ greatly among them-oelves, not only in the structure of their teeth, but also in the mobility and perceptive powers of their toes. One special character in this respect, which has prodigious influence on the general address of animals, by multiplying their means of prehensile action, is the faculty before alluded to of opposing the thumb to the other fingers, so as to constitute a hand fitted for the secure and delicate seizure of the smallest objects. These various combinations, which in truth determine with great rigour the nature of the mammiferous tribes, have occasioned the establishment of the following orders :—

Among the unguiculated animals, commonly so called, the first is man, a privileged being, who enjoys a multiplicity of advantages over all other sublunary creatures, but who, in the technical language of zoology, is characterized by his erect position, and the possession of hands to his anterior extremities only. These, of course, are the accidents, not the essentials of his nature, and are inadequate to the description of a being who bears within him the germ of an immortal life. It is indeed the usual practice of naturalists to begin their systematic exposition of the animal kingdom with a “Nosce teipsum,” followed by a sketch of the physical attributes of the human race, as if that race were undistinguished by a lofty and spiritual existence, by an independent and superior perception, entirely different in its essence and action from the nature of the external senses. We have previously reclaimed against this preposterous classification of Man, of him who was created “but a little lower than the angels,” with the brutes that perish, and we shall not here depart from our accustomed rule, further than to mention that in Baron Cuvier’s system, by which in other points we shall be mainly guided, the human race is regarded as the first order, and is named Bimana, from the peculiarity above alluded to.

The next order (and it is that with which we shall commence our systematic exposition), is distinguished by what are regarded as hands on both the fore and hind extremities, and is hence named Quadrumana.

Then follows a great group which possess no free or opposable thumb on either the fore or hind extremities: these are the carnivorous animals, or order Ferae.

In all the preceding orders we find three different kinds of teeth, viz. the molar or grinding-teeth, which are better named cheek-teeth, seeing that their function in carnivorous animals is rather to cut than to grind; the canine teeth; and the incisive teeth.

The groups which compose Cuvier’s fourth order do not differ essentially in the nature of their extremities from the ferine order, but they want the canine teeth, and have incisives in front of the mouth, so disposed as to fit them admirably for that kind of manducation called gnawing. Hence they constitute the Rongeurs of the French naturalists—the order Glires or Rodentia.

Following these we have certain kinds of which the toes are straitened and sunk within great claws, usually curved, and which moreover want the incisive teeth. In some even the canine teeth are absent, -while a few are entirely deprived of those organs. They are. all comprehended under the order Edentata.

The preceding orders are all unguiculated, that is, provided with nailed toes, capable of distinct and articulate movement. These, though still existent, become constrained and encrusted within a callous skin in the ensuing order, and decrease in number till in the solipcdal family, corresponding to the genus Εquus of Linn, (the horse tribe), there is only one apparent toe, covered by a single undivided hoof, on each foot. These groups constitute the order Pachyderma, so named from the usual thickness of their skins.

The other hoofed genera compose a very distinct group, distinguished by their cloven feet, the absence of true incisives in the upper jaw, and their quadruple stomachs. From certain peculiar functions of the last named organs they are named ruminating animals,—order Pecora.

Finally, there are several aquatic Mammalia, of which the posterior extremities assume the form and functions of [7:14:88]a tail, while the anterior members act as fins. These are the gigantic whales and rolling porpoises, which, with others not necessary to be here named, constitute the great concluding order called Cetacea.

Probably the most objectionable part of the preceding system consists in placing all the pouched or marsupial animals (kangaroos, &c.) as the terminal portion of the carnivorous order. These creatures consist, in truth, of various groups, possessed of few characters in common, and ought no doubt to be distributed through several different orders, instead of being brought together (merely in consequence of each being characterized by the possession of a marsupium, or pouch) as a ferine family, under the name of Marsupialia. Their creation into a distinct order, as by some proposed, is for the same reasons equally objectionable.

Although in the present treatise we follow the system of Baron Cuvier’s “Règne Animal,” rather than that of any more modern, or, it may be, amended classification, we shall yet be careful to introduce from time to time such observations of contemporary naturalists as may seem to us to be in any way truly corrective of that system. We think, indeed, that there may possibly be some misconception on the part of many modern writers, who, deriving almost all of what they essentially know from the labours of the great French anatomist, and obviously and almost confessedly hanging their own restricted and superficial observations on the gigantic trunk which he had already raised (and which centuries will fail to undermine), suppose that because a few glittering leaves or even “bright consummate flowers' of their own imagining may sometimes meet the view, that they have created a system! Now, the actual truth may rather be, that had not the system itself been previously prepared for them, and so much transparent light called forth from such a depth of darkness, they might as easily have found their way in absence of the sun through tangled woods or pathless deserts, as have by actual observation or any intellectual effort of their own, ascertained the existence of a single great principle in natural history. But be this as it may; we have already presented the reader with tabular views of the prevailing modern systems, and these he may study and compare together, and with that which follows, and draw his own conclusions. This process will assuredly be to his, if not to their advantage.

Order I.—QUADRUMANA.

QUADRUMANOUS, OR FOUR-HANDED ANIMALS.

Teeth of three sorts—incisive, canine, and molar. Each of the four extremities furnished with a thumb, free in its movements, and capable of being opposed to the other fingers or toes, which a v re long and flexible, and bear a strong resemblance to the fingers of the human hand. The eyes are directed forwards. The mammae, which are pectoral, vary in number from two to four. A bony partition separates the temporal cavities from the orbits; but the nasal bone does not exhibit the suture observable in that of man. The stomach is simple and membranous, and the intestines are short, and greatly resemble those of the human race.

The animals of this varied and extensive order, familiarly known under the names of orang, ape, monkey, &c. inhabit the warmer regions of Asia, Africa, and America. A single species remains as a European representative on the rock of Gibraltar, either by descent as an indigenous animal, or by accidental importation from the opposing coast of Barbary, where it is extremely frequent. The quadrumanous order dwells almost exclusively in woods, feeding in general on fruits, roots, grain, and other vegetable produce. A passage, however, occurs in Ogilby’s Translation of Niewhoíf’s China, which, probably more remarkable for graphic effect than accuracy, assigns a very different disposition to some large species of the order. “The province of Fokien hath an animal perfectly resembling man, but longer armed, and hairy all over, called Fese, most swift and greedy after human flesh; which, that he may the better take his prey, he feigneth a laughter , and suddenly, while the person stands listening, seizeth upon him.”^[27. Second edition, p. 413. ] The propensity of several of the smaller species to feed on eggs and insects is better ascertained.

The most remarkable characteristic of their external form is the extraordinary resemblance which many of them bear to the human race; and their internal structure offers equally striking analogies. Their distinctive character, however, is by no means difficult to seize ;—their posterior extremities, naturally unfit for the assumption of an erect position, are admirably adapted for prehension, and the species are consequently the most active in their arboreal habits of all the larger animals. The opposable thumb on all the four extremities, although a leading character in the great majority of the order, and the one from which the ordinal name is itself derived, cannot strictly be said to occur in all the genera. In truth, it is ever thus with any single character, however influential, which naturalists may choose to select as the basis of any great natural group. A combination with other features is usually required, otherwise the organ selected will be found to undergo so many modifications, as not seldom to evade or contradict the definition. Thus in the monkey tribe the genera Ateles and Colobus want the thumb to the anterior hands, and in several of the Semnopitheci it is merely rudimentary. These therefore can scarcely be called quadrumanous, if we take the. term in its strictest etymological acceptation. It has been remarked as a fact worthy of attention, that the anomalies by which many quadrumanous animals depart, as it were, from their characteristic type of form, affect the anterior rather than the posterior members. In man, the anterior extremities alone have a free and opposable thumb. Among the Quadrumana, on the contrary, the so called thumb exists constantly on the posterior members, in a well developed state, but is frequently absent or rudimentary on the anterior extremities. Even among marsupial species we frequently find a free thumb on the hind feet, but never on the anterior, and the like structure is observable in a peculiar animal, usually ranged near the squirrels, the Cheiromys Madagascariensis. Thus it appears that various animals possess a true, that is, opposable thumb, on the hind feet, which do not possess it on the fore ones, and that the inverse character occurs only in a single creature, of which the reader and writer of the present article afford examples.

The quadrumanous order of animals certainly holds a high rank in the animal kingdom; but, though apes and monkeys often astonish us by their apparent power of imitating the actions of men, we agree with Buffon in thinking that they are not in a corresponding degree superior to other brute animals which do not possess that power. The talent, in fact, does exist in many species, but is necessarily (from their structure) confined to the imitation of their own kind; but the ape, though he does not belong to the human race, copies many of our actions (and unavoidably) through the resemblance of his organization. Thus what most have ascribed to superior intelligence, is nothing but the result of a gross affinity of form and figure.

In accordance with the modem arrangements, our present[7:14:89] order is divisible into two extensive families, the Sι- miadae and Lemuridae, groups corresponding in a great measure to the old genera Simia and Lemur of Linn.

FAMILY I SIMIADAE, Apes in general.

These, in their ordinary form and aspect, more or less resemble man. They have four straight incisive teeth in each jaw, and all their nails are flat. Their molar or cheek teeth, like those of man, are bluntly tuberculated, and in their habits of life they are essentially frugivorous, although their appetites, like our own, seem very accommodating. Their canine teeth, however, exceed the others in length, and often require for their points a corresponding lodgement in the opposing jaw. The family is further divisible into two minor groups.

1st Sub-Family. — Simiae Catarrhini, or Apes of the Old World.

Of these the cutting or incisive teeth are j, the canine 1 1 . ð — 5

- -, the cheek teeth or grinders; total 32. The l — l o 5 — 5

nostrils, as the name implies, are separated only by a narrow membrane. The tail, frequently wanting, is never prehensile. «, Genus Troglodytes, Geoffroy. Pithecus, Cuv. Canine teeth very slightly elongated, and placed close to the incisors and molars, as in man; head rounded; muzzle short; facial angle, 50°;^[28. In accordance with the usual custom of naturalists, we herθ occasionally indicate the facial angle, although we are satisfied that that character admits of too wide a range of variation to be relied upon as a specific indication. An examination of an extensive series of skulls in the Museum of the College of Surgeons (Edinburgh), had long ago convinced us that remarkable changes take place in the form and proportions of the cranium in the same species, according to the age of different individuals. For example, in the dog, badger, common pig, and especially in the Sus Babyroussa, these differences are very remarkable. ] superciliary ridges strongly marked; no cheek pouches, tail, or callosities; no apparent intermaxillary bone; ears resembling those of man, but large and projecting; arms of moderate length.

The only known species of this genus is the Chimpanzee, or black orang of Africa {Simia troglodytes, Linn.), the Troglodytes niger of the modern system.^[29. Homo sylvestris, Tyson; Man of the Woods, Edwards; Great Ape, Pennant; Jocko, Buffon; Pongo of Audebert, and of theSup. plement to Buff. tom. 7.; but quite distinct from the Pongo of Wurmb. ] See plate CCCXXVIII. fig. 2. The colour of the fur is brownish black. The form of the body and limbs more nearly approaches the human than that of any other animal. The head is middle-sized, somewhat flattened in the crown, and scarcely rising above the level of the superciliary ridges. The chest is broad, the arms robust, and the anterior thumb is placed lower on the wrist, and seems more serviceable than that of the Asiatic species.

Although we feel desirous to render the present treatise not only useful to the scientific student, but in some measure interesting to the general reader, by the occasional introduction of what is called popular matter, we would rather at present hold ourselves excused from the repetition of the various anecdotes which might be brought forward without much effort, to illustrate the history of this and the other orang.^[30. We beg to refer the curious to a very accessible little work, “The Natural History of Monkeys,” which forms a volume of Sir William Jardine’s interesting and economical Naturalist’s Library, at present in course of publication. A book entitled Anecdotes of Monkeys was previously before the public. ] Many of these are apocryphal, and, though amusing, tend to mislead rather than instruct. Two species of African orang-outang seem to have been described by ancient writers, but as from all later researches we cannot infer the existence of more than the one above indicated, it is probable that the mistake originated from the young and old of the same species having been seen apart at different times. “The greatest of these two monsters,” says Battell, “is called Pongo, and the less Engeco. This Pongo is exactly proportioned like a man; but he is more like a giant in stature, for he is very tall, and hath a man’s face, hollow-eyed, with long hair upon his brows. His face and ears are without hair, and his hands also. His body is full of hair, but not very thick, and it is of a dunnish colour. He differeth not from a man but in his legs, for they have no calf. He goeth alway upon his legs, and carrieth his hands clasped on the nape of his neck when he goeth upon the ground. They sleep in the trees, and build shelters from the rain. They feed upon fruits that they find in the woods, and upon nuts; for they eat no kind of flesh. They cannot speak, and appear to have no more understanding than a beast. The people in the country, when they travel in the woods, make fires where they sleep in the night; and in the morning, when they are gone, the pongos will come and sit about the fire till it goeth out; for they have no understanding to lay the wood together, or any means to light it. They go many together, and often kill the negroes that travel in the woods. Many times they fall upon the elephants which come to feed where they be, and so beat them with their clubbed fists, and with pieces of wood, that they will run roaring away from them. Those pongos are seldom or never taken alive, because they are so strong that ten men cannot hold one of them; but yet they take many of their young ones with poisoned arrows. The young pongo hangeth on his mother’s belly, with his hands fast clasped about her, so that when the country people kill any of the females, they take the one which hangeth fast upon its mother, and, being thus domesticated and trained up from their infant state, become extremely familiar and tame, and are found useful in many employments about the house.”

Purchas states, on the authority of a personal conversation with Battell, that an African orang once carried off a young negro, who lived during an entire season in the society of these animals, and on his return reported that they had never injured him, but, on the contrary, seemed greatly delighted with his company; and that the females especially (this was naturaD shewed a great predilection for him, and not only brought him great abundance of nuts and wild fruits, but carefully and courageously defended him from the attacks of serpents and beasts of prey. According to Pyrard, the great Ape of Sierra Leone called Barris (undoubtedly the adult black orang) is so remarkable both for strength and industry, that when properly fed and instructed, it serves as a very useful domestic. It usually walks upright (so it is alleged, we doubt not most erroneously), will pound any thing in a mortar, or fetch water from the river in a little pitcher, which, however, must be immediately taken from it on its return, else it will allow it to tumble to the ground. Passing by the impostures of Gamelli Careri, it may be asserted that the equally amusing, and scarcely more authentic, narrations which Buffon and others have compiled from the writings of Father Jarrie, Guat, and Froger must be consulted with critical caution by whoever seeks to ascertain the actual history of this extraordinary creature. With the exception of such information as has been drawn from the observance of one or two young individuals sent alive to Europe, our knowledge of its nature has in no way increased. Naturalists have become aware of the inaccuracy and exaggeration of previous portraitures, but have not themselves succeeded [7:14:90]in the completion of the picture. It is indeed most singular that when the history of animals inhabiting New Holland, or the most distant islands of the Indian Ocean, are annually receiving some new or corrected illustration, the most remarkable species of the brute creation, inhabiting a comparatively neighbouring country, should have remained for about two thousand years under the uncertain shadow of an almost fabulous name. The African orang appears to be a gregarious animal, an inhabitant of the forests, of an intelligent disposition, and capable of a considerable degree of education, though probably fierce and irreclaimable in the adidt state. It is believed that the full grown animal has never yet been examined by any naturalist. In that uncouth condition it is probably the “great wild man of the woods,” of whose existence we do not doubt, but of which (setting aside the obviously fabulous narrations) only vague indications have been given by somé African travellers.

Of the natural dimensions of the black orang, we can say nothing. The young brought to Europe have seldom much exceeded two feet in height. It is native to no other country than Africa, but we are as yet unacquainted with the extent of territory which it occupies in that continent. Angola, the banks of the river Congo, and all the districts which border the gulf of Guinea, are the localities in which it has as yet most frequently occurred.

Genus Pithecus, Cuv. Geoff. Canine teeth somewhat exceeding the others in length, but not separated from them by any interspace, and slightly crossing each other at their points; molar teeth more square than those of man, and more strongly tuberculated; head rounded; facial angle 65 degrees; no superciliary ridges j^[31. This character, we doubt not, applies only to the young animal. The ridges will probably be found stronglv developed in the adult. ] no cheek pouches, tail, or callosities; sutures of the intermaxillary bone apparent; ears rounded, resembling those of man, and applied close to the sides of the head; arms very long.

This genus likewise consists of only one clearly ascertained species, commonly called the red or Asiatic orangoutang (Simia satyrus, Linn.), Pitheciis satyrus of the modern systems.^[32. Homo sylvestris, Edwards; Jocko of Audebert and of Buff. Supplem. t. 7, fig· 1. ] See plate CCCXXVIII. fig. 1. Like the preceding it is not distinctly known in the adult state. The specimen described by Dr Clarke Abel,^[33. Narrative of a Journey into the Interior of China, p. 319. ] was brought from Banjarmassing on the south coast of Borneo. Its height, or rather length, from the heel to the crown of the head was two feet seven inches. The hair was of a brownish red colour, and covered the back, arms, legs, and outside of the hands and feet. On the back it was in some places six inches long, and five upon the arms, but very short and thinly scattered on the back of the hands and feet. It was directed downwards on the back, upper arms and legs, but upwards on the fore-arms. The face had no hair except on the sides, somewhat in the manner of whiskers, and a very thin beard. The palms of the hands and feet were quite naked. The arms were long in proportion to the height of the animal, their span measuring full four feet seven inches and a half. The legs were short compared with the arms. The hands were long compared with their width, and with the human hand. The fingers were small and tapering, the thumb very short, scarcely reaching to the first joint of the fore-finger. All the fingers had perfect nails of a blackish colour, and oval form, and terminating exactly with the extremities of the fingers. The feet were long, and as usual resembled hands in the palms and finger-formed toes, but they were likewise provided with good heels. The great toes were very short, attached at right angles to the feet close to the heel, and were entirely without nails.

This animal was utterly incapable of walking in a perfectly erect position, and never wilfully attempted so to do. His progressive motion on a flat surface was accomplished by placing his bent fists upon the ground, and drawing his body between his arms, moving in the manner of a decrepit person supported on stilts. It is thus probable that in a state of nature he scarcely travels on the ground at all, his whole external form and structure proving his fitness for climbing trees and clinging to their branches. While in Java, he lodged in a large tamarind tree near Dr Abel’s dwelling, and formed a bed by intertwining the smaller branches and covering them with leaves. He exhibited few of the grimaces of the monkey tribe, and was in no way prone to mischief. His aspect was grave, mild, almost melancholy. His chief amusement consisted in swinging himself from bough to bough; and, when on board of ship, he made use of the various tackling for the same purpose. On only two occasions was he seen violently agitated. When the vessel in which he sailed was off the island of Ascension, eight large turtle were brought on board, when he instantly mounted to a higher part of the ship than he had ever reached before, and, looking down upon the reptiles, projected his long lips into the form of a hog’s snout, uttering at the same time a most peculiar cry. He enacted the same part on another occasion, on seeing some men in a state of nature splashing in the sea. Perhaps he took them for Mr Swainson’s desired natatorial type of the quadrumanous order. We regret to add, that he died in the course of his second year’s residence in this country. Our climate, in spite of coal fires and pipes of steam, is too cold, moist, and variable for these dwellers in the tropic woods, and a complaint analogous to consumption speedily puts a period to their shivering existence.

It is the opinion of Baron Cuvier,^[34. Règne Animal, t. 1. ] that an obscurely known and almost gigantic animal, described by Wurmb^[35. Mem. de la Soc. de Rataυ., t. 2, ρ. 245. ] under the name of the Pongo of Borneo, ought to be regarded as the adult condition of the Asiatic orang-outang. The reasons assigned for this alleged identity, so far as we can collect them, from a notice on the subject by Μ. de Blainville,^[36. Note Sur l’ Orang-outang, Jour, de Phys. t. 1, p. 311. ] G are chiefly these :—As no orang-outang has ever been seen in Europe, or described by any European naturalist which exceeded the age of two or at most three years, it has consequently never been observed at all in the adult state. Observation has demonstrated, that the muzzles of apes in the menagerie of the Jardin du Roi prolong considerably with age; and it is known that the facial angle, both in men and monkeys, decreases as the individuals advance in years. The compression of the cranium has also been observed to take place from natural causes in after life. In the year 1818, Baron Cuvier received from India the head of an orang-outang, which resembled the ordinary species (the red orang) in most respects, but was remarkable for the prolongation of the muzzle, and the development of the superciliary ridges. Its characters were, in short, intermediate between those of the Asiatic orangoutang and the pongo of Borneo, from which it is concluded, that the former, in the state in which we have hitherto known it, is the young of the latter, the specimen adduced by Cuvier being regarded as an adult example of the same species, which had not, however, attained the maximum of its development. That the skeleton of the pongo in the Paris Museum was of great age, is proved by the general condition of its ossification, the state of its teeth, and the great development of the osseous crests of the cranium; the same characters being observed in old baboons, the young of which, without exhibiting so marked a disparity [7:14:91]as that whieh exists between the red orang-outang and the pongo, nevertheless differ greatly from their parents. Lastly, the relative dimensions of the red orang-outang, of the intermediate specimen described by Cuvier, and of the adult pongo, are graduated in exact proportion to the development of the characters drawn from the crests of the cranium, and the prolongation of the facial bones.

The preceding observations, if not conclusive, are at least logical. But we cannot help bearing in mind that Sir Stamford Raffles,^[37. Linn. Trans., vol. xiii, p. 241. ] in mentioning the occurrence of the orang-outang in Sumatra, states that it is there called by the natives orang Pandak, or the pigmy. Now, vernacular names are generally bestowed with some perception of natural character and attributes, and it is by no means usual for a people, however unobservant, to bestow, as the general appellation of a spceies, a title which applies to it only in a state of youthful imbecility; and if the creature in question attained in its adult state to the enormous stature of the pongo or great orang, we conceive it could scarcely do so without being occasionally observed of such a size as to render the name of pandak inapplicable. Nor do we see for what reason the great pongo, an animal of the most wary disposition, and of such extreme rarity, that not more than two or three examples of its occurrence are yet known to naturalists, should bring up its offspring so frequently within the range of human visitation. That it should be itself all the while unknown and invisible within the circle of its own domestic haunts (admitting it to be the parent of the red orang), is a circumstance still more difficult of explanation.

Whether these species, then, are identical or otherwise, is certainly still an undecided point. Another of equal interest and importance regards the specific nature of that gigantic animal killed some years ago on the north coast of Sumatra by Captain Cornfoot or his crew, and likewise described by Dr Clarke Abel.^[38. Asiatic Researches, vol. xv. ] It was upwards of seven feet in height when placed in a standing posture, and measured eight feet when suspended by the neck for the purpose of being skinned. On the spot where he was killed there were several tall trees, which greatly prolonged the attack; for such was his strength and agility, that his pursuers were unable to take a determinate aim, until they had felled all die trees but one. He received numerous balls before he was brought down, and then he lay upon the ground, as dead, exhausted by many wounds, with his head resting on his folded arm. It was at this time that an officer attempted to give him the coup de grace, by thrusting a spear through his body, but he instantly sprang upon his feet, wrested the weapon from his antagonist, and shivered it in pieces. This was his last effort, yet he lived some time afterwards, and drank, it is said, great quantities of water. He appeared to have travelled from some distance to the place of this “untoward event,” for his legs were caked with mud up to the knees. On the reception of each deadly wound, he placed his hand over the injured portion, and distressed even his relentless pursuers by the human-like agony of his countenance. Indeed, his piteous actions, and great tenacity of life, are said to have rendered the scene altogether highly affecting. At the same time, it seems odd that so much sentimental perception should have been vouchsafed to those who committed the onslaught, and who were under no absolute necessity of bringing the business to so tragical a close.^[39. We have figured the hands and feet of this extraordinary orang, of the size of life (from beautiful models transmitted to the Royal Society of Edinburgh from Calcutta, by George Swinton, Esq.). See Wilson’s Illustratiωιs of Zoology, vol. i. plates 33, and 34. ] Genus Hylobates, liliger. Muzzle short. Canine teeth lengthened. Facial angle 6θ degrees. No tail nor cheek pouches. The posteriors furnished with callosities. Arms extremely long.

This genus contains the species commonly called Gibbons or long-armed apes, none of which are as yet known to attain the formidable dimensions of the great orangs. In their habits they arc gregarious, and extremely shy in a state of nature, although their haunts are often betrayed by their singular howlings. In aid of these peculiar cries some of the species possess guttural sacks, resembling those of the howling monkeys of South America. Their distribution is confined to India and the Asiatic islands, where, like all their congeners, they inhabit forests, from which they seldom stray, and out of which they are easily captured, from the extreme awkwardness and difficulty with which they advance on terrafirma i owing to the disproportionate length of their fore-arms.

Of the species, which are numerous, the most ancient, if not the best known, is the common gibbon, Hylobates Lar (Simia Lar, Linn.). The fur is entirely black, the face surrounded by grey hairs, the nose flat, and the ears not unlike the human. The disposition of this animal is mild and gentle. In a state of domestication, it receives its food without manifesting any greedy impatience, and exhibits a strong attachment to those with whom it has become acquainted. It is a native of the coast of Coromandel, and occurs also in the Peninsula of Malacca and the Molucca islands. It was probably one of this species which Father le Compte had an opportunity of examining, and which he says walked on two feet, and had “a face like a Hottentot.” The white-handed gibbon from Sumatra, formerly regarded as a variety of the preceding, is now described as distinct, under the specific name of aibimana. ^[40. Zoological Jour., No. xiii. p. 107- ] ^ We have, moreover, the little gibbon, H. variegatus, from Malacca, the active gibbon, 11. agilis, from Sumatra, Harlan’s gibbon, H. Hoolock, from the Garrow Hills, the Moloch gibbon, H. leuciscus, ^[41. This is the Wou-wou of Camper, but not the species so named by Fred. Cuvier, which is the true II. agilis. Wou-wou seems to be a native name of some extent of application, and therefore not specifically distinctive. ] from Malacca and the isles of Sunda, and the Siamang, H. syñdactyla, from Sumatra. The last named, which we owe to the valuable researches of Sir T∙ S. Raffles, is distinguished by this peculiarity (from which it derives its specific name), that the first and second fingers of the hinder hands are united together as far as the middle of the second phalanx. It is entirely black, the face without hair, and the canine teeth long. It usually occurs in large troops, conducted, it is said, by a chief, whom the Malays believe to be invulnerable. Let them try a rifle. These assemblages remain quiet during the day, but at sunrise and in the evening twilight, they cause the forests to resound with the most dreadful cries, sufficient to deprive an unaccustomed traveller of his senses.

Genus Cercopithecus, Erxlcben. Cuv. Desm. Canine teeth projecting, with interdentary spaces for their reception when the jaws are closed. Posterior molars with only four tubercles. Head rounded. Muzzle moderately projecting. Facial angle various. Ears of medium size, sometimes rounded, sometimes slightly angular above and posteriorly. Hinder limbs greatly developed. Cheek pouches and callosities. A long tail, not prehensile.

This great generic group is composed of animals named Gτιenons by the French naturalists, and is by far the most numerous and varied of the monkey tribes. It is almost exclusively African in the localities of the species. These [7:14:92]live in troops, and commit great devastation in gardens and cultivated fields. They are easily tamed. The genus has been greatly subdivided in recent times, but we cannot here enter into any detailed exposition of the minor groups. We shall briefly describe and characterise a few of the principal species.

The golden guenon (Cere, auratus, Geoff. Ann. Mus., t. ] 9, 93) has the fur of a golden-yellow colour, and of considerable length upon the ears, cheeks, and forehead. There is a black spot upon the knee. Native of the Moluccas.

The Talapoin monkey of Shaw and Pennant (Cere. ta-lapoin, Geoff, ibid.), is a doubtful species, by some regarded as the young of the Malbrouk. Its locality is uncertain.

The varied monkey of English authors (Cere, mona, Geof. ibid. p. 95) is distinguished by its flesh-coloured lips and nose. The upper part of the head is a brilliant golden-green; the back and sides of a lively chesnnt colour, speckled with black; the upper parts of the legs, thighs, and tail are of deep slaty grey, passing into black; and there arc two white spots on each buttock. This is an African species, regarded by Buffon as the Kebos of the ancients. It is remarkable for its graceful motion, its elegance of form, and gentle docility of disposition.

The red monkey (Cere, ruber, Geoff, ibid. p. 96), has the face flesh-coloured, the ears black; a black band passing over the eyebrows, and two black lines above the lips, give the appearance of moustachios. The upper parts of the face are of a bright reddish fawn colour, passing beneath into ash colour. From Senegal.

The Palatine monkey (Cere. Diana, Geoff, ibid.), is of a deep chesnut colour on the back, with grey flanks, a pale oblique line upon the thighs, the chin and throat white, and a white crescent on the forehead,—from whence the mythological specific name. Congo and the coast of Guinea.

Genus Cebcocebus, Geoff. Teeth as in preceding genus. Muzzle rather long. Head triangular. Facial angle about 45 degrees. Superior margin of the orbits paired, and notched interiorly. Nose flat and high. Anterior hands with slender thumbs, approximate to the fingers; posterior hands with broader thumbs, placed more apart. Callosities strongly developed. Tail longer than the body.

Here we place the Callithrix or green monkey (Cere. saboeus), a well-known species from the African coasts and the Cape de Verd Islands, frequently imported alive into this country. Its colour is greenish-yellow above, somewhat grizzled on the sides of the body and outsides of the limbs, which become gradually darker towards the hands. The face, cars, and hairless portions of the hands are quite black. The neck and chest are white; the under parts have a tinge of yellow, and the insides of the limbs are grey. An account of the shooting of this species is given by Μ. Adanson. te But what struck me most, was the shooting of monkeys, which I enjoyed within six leagues this side of Podor, on the lands to the south of Donai, otherwise called Coq; and I do not think there ever was better sport. The vessel being obliged to stay there one morning, I went on shore, to divert myself with my gun. The place was very woody, and full of green monkeys, which I did not perceive but by their breaking the boughs on the tops of the trees, from whence they tumbled down upon me; for in other respects they were so silent and nimble in their tricks, that it would have been difficult to hear them. Here I stopped, and killed two or three of them, before the others seemed to be much frightened; however, when they found themselves wounded, they began to look for shelter, some by hiding themselves among the large boughs, others by coming down upon the ground; others, in fine, and these were the greatest number, by jumping from one tree to another. Nothing could be more entertaining, when several of them jumped together on the same bough, than to see it bend under them, and the hithermost to drop down to the ground, while the rest got further on, and others were still suspended in the air. As this game was going on, I continued still to shoot at them; and though I killed no less than three-and-twenty in less than an hour, and within the space of twenty fathoms, yet not one of them screeched the whole time, notwithstanding that they united in companies, knit their brows, gnashed their teeth, and seemed as if they intended to attack me.”^[42. Voyage, to Senegal. ]

Another well-known species is the Malbrouc of Buffon, the dog-tailed baboon of Shaw (Cere. cynosurus, Geoff.). It is of an olive-brown above, whitish beneath, with a pale band above the eyes. This species is one of the largest of the guenon group, measuring about a foot and a half from muzzle to tail. It possesses remarkable dexterity in the use of its hands, and although when aloft it is one of the most agile of all the ’ wood-hauting animals, its motions on the ground are extremely awkward from the disproportionate length of the hinder limbs. We find, accordingly, that the malbroucs rarely descend to the earth. “Assembled in troops, they dwell for the most part in those capacious canopies of verdant foliage which cover the rich forests of Southern Asia, fellow-citizens with the birds, exposed to no danger but from the larger of the serpent tribe, or the more insatiable rapacity of man. In these lofty retreats they are found in such numbers, as to annoy the traveller, as well by the ' petulance of their motions, as the incessant iteration of their cries.”^[43. ? Griffith’s Animal Kingdom, vol. i. p. 267∙ ] The Malbrouc in confinement is an unsociable creature, being either petulant and irritable, or morose and melancholy. He is mischievous when indulged, and sulky when kept in order. He inhabits Bengal. Numerous other species pertain to the generic group named Cercocebus. Genus Semnopitiiecus, F. Cuv. Canine teeth much longer than the incisors. The posterior molars of the lower jaw with a fifth tubercle. Tail and members long in proportion to the size of the body. Anterior thumb very short. Muzzle not greatly projecting. Cheek pouches and callosities.

The negro monkey of Pennant (Sem. Maurus, Geoff.) is entirely of a black colour, with the exception of a white spot beneath, at the base of the tail. It is said to be of a fawn colour when growing, and inhabits the island of Java. The only other species we shall mention of our present subdivision, is the Entellus Monkey of Μ. Dufresne {Sem. Entellus, Cuv.), which is of a pale yellowish-grey colour, with black hair on the eyebrows and sides of the head, directed forwards. Although systematically described only during recent years, it has long been well known in Bengal, and is one of the species venerated in the religion of the Brahmins. Its motions are slower than those of most monkeys, and the expression of its countenance betokens unalterable apathy. The height of the specimen in the London Zoological gardens exceeded two feet when in a sitting posture. The tail, which was rarely unfurled, measured nearly three feet. According to Mr Bennet, it is identical with the Ceylonese species described by Thunberg and Wolf. It is said to be frequently found in a domestic state in Ceylon, and is held in such respect by the natives, that whatever ravages it may commit, the latter dare not venture to destroy it, but merely frighten it away by cries, if possible, more discordant than its own. “Emboldened by this impunity, these monkeys come down from the woods in large herds, and take possession of the produce of the husbandman’s toil with as little ceremony as though it had been collected for their use.”^[44. The C ardens and Menageries of the Zoological Society delineated, vol. i> l>. l>6. ]
[7:14:93]

Genus Macacus. Lacep. Posterior molars furnished, as in the preceding, with a fifth tubercle, but the limbs are proportionally stouter and shorter. The tail is likewise shorter, and the superciliary ridges are distinct.

The only example we shall here name is the Wanderou (3/. Silenus), a large black species, of which the sides of the head and chin are surrounded by a broad beard or ruff, of a dingy white, or pale-grey colour. The tail is terminated by a tuft of hair, on which account it appears to have been named by some the lion-tailed monkey, “The princes and great lords,” says Father Vincent Marie, “hold him in much estimation, because he is endowed above every other with gravity, capacity, and the appearance of wisdom. He is easily trained to the performance of a variety of ceremonies, grimaces, and affected courtesies, all which he accomplishes in so serious a manner, and to such perfection, that it is a most wonderful thing to see them acted with so much exactness by an irrational animal.” We were never acquainted with more than one living individual of this species, and the only piece of “affected courtesy” it ever exhibited, consisted in nearly biting off the calf of a negro’s leg. The Wanderou is a native of Ceylon.

Genus Innuus, Cuv. Characters similar to those of the preceding genus, except that the tail is so short as to seem tubercular.

The well-known Magot or Barbary Ape (Inmius syl-oanus, Cuv., Simia innuus, Linn.), remarkable as the only species of the quadrumanous Order found in Europe, may be adduced as a characteristic example of the present genus. See Plate CCCXXVIII. fig. 4. It inhabits the rock of Gibraltar, and the nearly opposing point of Africa called Apes Mountain. It does not, however, occur in desert countries, commonly so called; the open sandy plains of Africa being altogether unadapted to the dwellings of this pigmy people. Indeed apes of all kinds are a sylvan race. Their structure being such as to render them unfit for the exercise of rapid movement, either on all-fours, or in an upright position, the intwined and densely intermingled branches of trees are their favourite places of resort. Their feet in climbing being equally useful as their hands, great additional power and activity are thus derived. Among the shady and otherwise unpeopled arbours which skirt the banks of the yet mysterious rivers of Africa, they dwell in single pairs, or in congregated groups, according to the instinct of each particular kind; and seated on the tops of ancient trees, or swinging from pendant boughs, they play their fantastic tricks, secure alike from the wily serpent during the day, and the panther which prowls by night.^[45. Edinburgh Cabinet Library, vol ii. p. 444, 2d edition. ] The species in question, which also inhabits Egypt, is supposed to be the Pithecus of ancient writers.

Genus Cynocephalus, Cuv. Canine teeth very strong. Superciliary and occipital ridges very distinct. Head and muzzle lengthened, the latter truncated at the point; nostrils terminal. Face furrowed by longitudinal striae. Cheek pouches and callosities.

The species which compose this genus, notwithstanding their resemblance in some respects to the human face and figure, are among the most disgusting and degraded of the brute creation. Their colouring is occasionally brilliant, and their fur long and ornamental; yet there is an expression of moral deformity in. their aspect, at which we cannot help revolting. Their habits in a state of nature are said to be extremely ferocious, and in confinement their propensities seem all of the roost odious kind. Their strength, in comparison with their apparent size, is enormous. By muscular energy alone, and without the assistance of their huge tusks, they will in a few minutes tear the strongest dog to pieces. Fortunately with all their fierceness, they are not carnivorous, otherwise the most dreadful of the feline races would prove less formidable foes. In the wild state they subsist principally on roots and fruits, although eggs and young birds are believed to form a portion of their occasional sustenance. The species are almost exclusively African, and are subdivided into the two following groups.

a. Tail Long. Baboons.

The Guinea baboon (Cyn. Papio, Desm.), has the fur of a yellowish-brown colour; the face entirely black. The cartilage of the nose exceeds the jaws at its upper extremity. The upper eyelids are white. It occurs on the coast of Guinea.

The pig-faced baboon (Cyn. porcarius, Desm.), has the fur of a greenish-black above; the face of a violet black, paler around the eyes; the upper eyelids white. The tail is long and tufted, and, in the adult state, there is a kind of mane upon the neck. It inhabits the Cape of Good Hope. See Plate CCCXXVIII. fig. 3. and 3 a. b. Tail Short. Mandrills.

The variegated or ribbed-nosed baboon of English writers (Cyn. mormon, Desm., Simia maimon and mormon, Linn.), is of a greyish olive-brown above, beneath white, with a yellow beard, and blue face; and (in the adult male) a red nose. It is scarcely possible to conceive a more extraordinary looking animal. It possesses great strength, and is said to be much dreaded by the negroes. The well-known “Happy Jerry” of Exeter Change belonged to this species. He was too much addicted to gin and water. We have figured as an illustration of this division, the species commonly called the Drill, C. leucophaeus, Desm. It is of African origin. See Plate CCCXXVIII. fig. 5.

We here terminate our sketch of the first sub-family, or Simiae Catarrhini, composed of all the animals of the Ape kind peculiar to the ancient world, and shall now proceed to the 2d Sub-Family. — Simiae platyrrhini, or Apes of the New Continent.

Six molar teeth on both sides of each jaw, bluntly tubercular, or only five, with acute tubercles.^[46. None of the American monkeys have fewer than 24 molars, except the Ouistitis (Hap ale, liliger), in which the amount is the same as in the species of the Old World, i. e. 20. ] Nostrils opening on the sides of the nose, and separated by a broad partition. Tail always long, and frequently prehensile, that is, endowed with the power of grasping. No cheek pouches, nor posterior callosities. Head usually of a roundish form.

1st Division. Tail long and prehensile. The Sapajous. Genus Ateles, Geoff. Molar teeth 24 in all, with blunt crowns. Facial angle about 60 degrees. Head round; members slender; thumb wanting, or nearly so, on the anterior hands. Tail extremely long and very prehensile, with a bare space beneath at the extremity.

The species of this genus seem to be of a mild,‘timid, melancholy character, and more indolent in their movements than most of the monkey tribe. A beholder is apt to believe them sick, or in a state of sufferance. It is known, however that, when necessary for their own safety they can exhibit great alacrity. They dwell in troops amid the lofty branches of forest trees, and feed chiefly on fruits; but they are alleged to eat also insects and small fishes, and to have been seen picking up oysters and other testaceous mollusea when the tide was low, and bruizing them between two stones. So at least says Dampier. D’Acosta adds as another trait of their great natural intelligence, that when they wish to pass from one tree to another without descending, they form a lengthened chain by hanging to each [7:14:94]other’s tails, and swing with a pendulous motion, till one of them catches hold of an opposing branch. The genus is spread over a great extent of South America, and contains a considerable amount of species, some of which (forming the genus Er iodes of Is. St Hilaire), in the thin partition of the nostrils, and their downward instead of lateral opening, seem intermediate between the monkeys of the old world, and those of the new.

a. A. very small, or rudimentary anterior thumb.

The Miriki monkey (Ateles hypoxanthus, KuhD is a species discovered in Brazil by Prince Maximilian of Neuwied. The fur is of a yellowish-grey colour, the face flesh colour, with grey spots. In some specimens the anal region and origin of the tail are rusty red. The miriki greatly resembles the spider monkey (A. arachnoides, Geoff*.), but the latter wants the rudimentary thumb. The only other species of this subdivision is the Ateles subpenta~ dactylus of Desm., the Chamek of Buffon.^[47. Â curious anomaly has been observed in a specimen of Chamek, viz. the existence of seven grinders on the right side of each jaw. ] It has no nail upon the rudimentary thumb.

b. No rudimentary anterior thumb.

The Marimonda monkey of Humboldt (Ateles Beelzebub, Geoff.) is one of the most noted species of this subdivision. The fur is brownish-black above, of a dingy or yellowish-white on the abdomen. It is one of the most common species in Spanish Guiana, and occurs in immense numbers along the wooded banks of the Oronooko, where they are seen hanging as it were in festoons, suspended from the branches, and holding by each other’s hands or tails. They are also sometimes observed for hours at a time, sitting with heads upraised, and folded arms, exposing themselves to the scorching rays of the noon-day sun. The prehensile power of the tail is remarkable in this species, and probably makes amends (in accordance with that providential arrangement which the French naturalists designate as la loi du balancement des organes~) for the somewhat defective •structure of the anterior hands. The marimonda is frequently used as food in South America, and would be speedily relished even by strangers, but for the child-like aspect of the heads, which, when turning round in a tureen of soup, give rise to most extraordinary and unpleasant associations. There are about ten species of Ateles described by naturalists, including those which constitute the genus Eriodes of Μ. Isid. St Hilaire.

Genus Lagothrix, Geoff, Humb. Amount of molar teeth as in Ateles. Facial angle about 50 degrees. Muzzle projecting, head round. Thumbs on all the extremities. Hair soft and frizzly.

Of this genus there are not more than three species known, and one of these is doubtful. Little has Been ascertained of their natural economy. They are gentle in their dispositions, of gregarious habits, and are usually seen sitting on their hind legs.

Genus Mycetes, liliger. Teeth the same in number as in the preceding genera, but the canines are more developed. Facial angle scarcely more thaq 30 degrees. Head pyramidal, visage oblique. Hyoid bone much enlarged, cavernous, and producing externally an inflation of the throat. Nails short and convex.

The species of this genus known under the name of Alouattes, or howling monkeys, are the largest and fiercest of the quadrmnanous tribes of South America. Their powers of voice are extraordinary, and result, we doubt not (though no detailed demonstration of the fact has yet been afforded) from the peculiar construction of the hyoid bone, and the parietes of the larynx.^[48. See Humboldt in Observations Zoologiques, and the Diction. Class, d’Hist. Nat. t. xv. p. 131. ] “Though the animals of the American continent differ in many material points from those of the old world, yet is there almost always a general analogy between them, an analogy sometimes also observable evenbetween the minorsubdivisions. We might be justified, for example, in calling the Alouattes, or howling monkeys, the baboons of the new world. They approximate to them in size and fierceness, and are perhaps still less susceptible of culture, and still less amenable to the discipline of man. They are in truth distinguished for wildness and ferocity, and the bony structure in their throats, which gives to the voice such tremendous force and volume, adds in no small degree to the terror which they are otherwise calculated to inspire. They wander in large troops, chiefly in the night, and make the vast forests resound with their dreadful yell-ings. What heightens the effect is, that they howl in concert; the entire herd joining in one deafening cry the instant they discover the approach of an intruder.”^[49. Griffith’s Animal Kingdom, vol. i. p. 301. ]

Some of the species of our present genus are so numerous, that Humboldt has counted forty on a single tree, and his calculation is, that in certain districts more than 2000 exist in one square league. We receive various and somewhat contradictory statements of their history and habits from different travellers. All agree that a practised marksman is required, whether with bow and arrow or les armes à jeu, to bring them to the ground, because, unless shot at once through the brain, their prehensile tail immediately entwines itself around a branch, and keeps its owner suspended even after death, unless that event is almost instantaneous. The females appear to produce only a single young one at a time. According to Azzara, the mother when alarmed is apt to abandon her offspring, and various other voyagers report that the instinct of maternal love is less pervading in our present tribe than among the majority of monkeys. The traveller Spix, however, relates that he mortally wounded a female, who continued to carry her offspring on her back, till she was about to expire from loss of blood, when, by a last effort, she threw her precious burthen among the neighbouring branches, and fell exhausted to the ground. Oexmelin, the author of “1’Histoire des Aventuriers,” also alleges that the female howlers are remarkable for their attachment to their young; that they succour and assist each other under various difficulties; and that when one is wounded, the rest assemble around him full of compassionate sympathy, and even attempt to stop the flowing of the life-blood from the perforation of the deadly bullet. “I have witnessed this,” says the author, “many times with admiration.” It is certainly one of the advantages of travelling into “far countries,” that one is thereby enabled to see many wonderful sights, of a nature seldom seen at home. Spix states that the howlers are monogamous. Azzara is of a contrary opinion. It is admitted that they spring with great agility from branch to branch, confiding in the powers of their prehensile tail, should their quadrumanal efforts prove fallacious. They live on fruits and insects, and seem to delight more than others of their kind in the vicinity of streams and marshes. Hence they roam either along the banks of rivers, or among those wooded islands of the moist savannahs, which are subject to frequent inundations. They even inhabit, according to Legentil, the marine He Saint George, two leagues from the main land. The howlers are rarely reared in captivity, their dispositions being unamiable, their voices unendurable, and their natural instinct little susceptible of amelioration by the human race. It is probably tor these reasons that we scarcely ever find them brought alive to Europe, notwithstanding our constant commercial intercourse with the countries which they inhabit. Naturalists do not seem to be well acquainted with more than seven [7:14:95]species of howlers. For their detailed descriptions we must refer the reader to the writings of Marcgraaff, Azzara, Geoffroy, Humboldt, Kuhl, Desmarest, and Spix.^[50. See also the article Sapajous, in Diction. Class. d’Hist. Nat. t. xv. p. 131. ] Genus Cebus, Erxleben. Teeth the same in number as in the preceding genera, but the upper incisors are broader than the under. The head is round, the muzzle short, the forehead slightly prominent, the occiput projecting backwards. Facial angle about 60 degrees. Ears rounded. Hyoid bone not inflated. Anterior thumb elongated. Tail prehensile, but furred throughout its entire extent.

In this genus, which includes the Sapajous properly so called, the members are strong and lengthened, especially the hinder extremities. They consequently leap about with great activity. Like their congeners they are gregarious, and live in trees. Their disposition is lively, but less petulant than that of the guenons of the Old World. Their cranial development is large, and their intelligence proportional. They are easily tamed, and very tractable. Our knowledge of their natural history is very slight, most of the facts by which we could illustrate their habits having been drawn from the observance of their captive state. The younger St Hilaire informs us that they indulge in abstract ideas, his proof being that he once observed a Sapajou, which had met with a nut somewhat harder than usual, descend from the top of a wooden cage, and crack the said nut by bruising it against an iron bar. “Cette observation,” he remarks, “nous parait digne d’etre citée; car elle prouve d’une manière incontestable que notre sajou abandonné à lui-méme et sans avoir jamais recu aucune éducation, avait su reconnaitre que la dureté du for l’emporte sur celle du bois, et par consequent, s’etait élevé à un rapport, à one idée abstraite.” It is delightful to find metaphysics thus combined with natural history. The Sapajous are rather omnivorous in their propensities, for although they feed chiefly on fruits, they are also avidous of insects, worms, and mollusea. The species occur principally in Brazil and Guiana, and are sometimes known under the name of musk-apes, from a peculiar odour which they emit during the rutting season. They have also been denominated weepers, from their occasional utterance of a certain plaintive and disconsolate cry.

The sapajous of our present genus, as Μ. Desmarest has well observed, are extremely difficult to characterize. Their size and general form and aspect exhibit a great similarity, and authors differ considerably as to the amount of species. Brisson describes three, Linnaeus four, Gmelin six, Buffon two, and recent authors (Kuhl, Humboldt, Desmarest) above a dozen. We must here, however, content ourselves with the preceding generalities, and a slight indication of one or two species.

The most familiarly known in this country in the living state, is that called the weeper monkey (Cebus apella, Desm.); see plate CCCXXVIII. fig. 6. The fur is of a brown colour, deeper above than below. The face is brown, encircled by darker brown hairs. The top of the head, tail, and feet are blackish-brown. This species inhabits Guiana, and is of a hardy, playful, and contented disposition. It sometimes breeds in confinement.

The white fronted sapajou (Cebus albifrons, Desm.) has the fur of a grayer colour than that of the preceding. The top of the head is black, the front and orbits white, the extremities of a brownish-yellow. This species, the ouava-pavi of Humboldt, is found in troops near the cataracts of the Oronooko. It is a great favourite among the natives, on account of its gentle docility, and the pleasing and elegant alacrity of its movements. A tame one observed by Humboldt at Maypures, seemed to have acquired indolence by domestication. It was in the habit of catching a pig every morning, and continued sitting on its back throughout the day, while it fed in the neighbouring savannahs.

2d Division. Tail long, but not prehensile. The Sagouins.

The Sagouins, in general, are distinguished from all the preceding genera of American monkeys, by their tails being destitute of the prehensile or grasping power; and this deficiency, trifling though it seems, brings with it a considerable change of character. Being unable to suspend themselves from the far branches of forest trees, they more frequently seek protection in the denser brush-wood, or among the escarpments of rocky banks. The structure of their eyes seems well adapted for nocturnal vision.

Genus Saguinus, Lacep. Callithrix, ^[51. We adopt the generic title of Saguinus long since proposed by Μ. Lacepede, both on account of its ŋrior cla im and its being a less inappropriate name than Callilhrix (ap ancient Homeric appellation) for an American group. ~ ’ ] Geoff. Cuv. Desm. Canine teeth of medium size, lower incisors vertical, and contiguous to the canine. Head small and rounded; muzzle short. Facial angle 60°. Partition of the nostrils not so broad as the range of the superior incisors. Ears very large.

We have acquired as yet a very limited knowledge of the natural habits of this genus. It is ascertained that the species exhibit great intelligence (which might almost be inferred from the large development of the cranium), feed on fruits and insects, and dwell gregariously among the equatorial forests of the New World.

The type of this genus is the beautiful Saimiri of Buffon, the squirrel monkey of our English authors (Saguinus sci-ureus). It is a small and elegant species, of an olive-gray colour, the muzzle black, the legs and arms bright red. It is remarkable for its rounded head, and the flatness of its visage. Its physiognomy is extremely like that of a human infant, but much more pleasing than that of many. It has the same expression of innocence, mingled occasionally with something more malign, and in its expression there is the same frequent and rapid alternation from joy to sorrow. Μ hen chagrined, its little eyes are seen to fiil with tears. It inhabits Brazil and Cayenne, and is common to the south of the cataracts of the Oronooko, and along the wooded shores of the Rio-Guaviaré. The natives hold it in great request, on account of its beauty, its docile manners, and the general sweetness of its disposition. It is among the most restless of living creatures, but its every movement is full of grace. It is extremely fond of spiders and other insects, and Humboldt observed it exhibit an amusing though mistaken sagacity, in singling out some engravings of these tribes, and endeavouring to pick them off the paper with its paws.^[52. Ĵlecueil ti Obserυ. Z<χji. p. 322. ] It exhibits remarkable adroitness in the capture of living insects, and, under proper culture and control, might possibly be made a very useful aide-du-camp to an entomological collector. The young refuse to abandon the dead body of their bleeding mother, and it is only through the strength of this beautiful instinct that they can be captured alive. The affection, according to Geoff. St Hilaire, corresponds with the large development of the posterior lobes of the brain. The individuals appear to vary considerably with age or other circumstances.

A much rarer species of the genus is the widow monkey (Saguinus lugens), of which the colour is blackish, the throat and fore-hands white. The fur of this creature is very soft and lustrous, the character melancholic, the habit so litary. It dwells in the forests of the Cassiquiare and the Rio-Guaviare, and is also found among the granitic mountains of the right bank of the Oronooko, behind the mission [7:14:96] of Santa Barbata. Several other species are well known to naturalists.

Passing over the genus Nocthores of F. Cuvier (Aotus ^[53. The name of Aotus was bestowed in consequence of the erroneous supposition that the animal in question had no external ears. ] of liliger), which contains the curious nocturnal monkey called Douroucouli by the natives of the Oronooko, we come to the more extensive Genus Pithecia, Desm. Incisive teeth approached, the superior oblique and broad, the inferior long and narrow, converging towards their points, and separate from the canines. Canines strong. Partition of the nostrils broad. Head round, muzzle short. Facial angle about 60 degrees. Ears of medium size, margined, and in form resembling those of the human race. Tail clothed with long hair. Nails short and curved.

The species of this genus are known under the various names of Sakis, fox-tailed monkeys, night-monkeys, &c. They are not strictly nocturnal, but move about chiefly during the evening twilight and the early morn. They inhabit the forests of'Brazil, Guiana, and Cayenne, and live on fruitsand insects. Their habits are but slightly known, probably in consequence of their seldom stirring much abroad throughout the day. They are said to dwell in small groups of seven or eight individuals, and search with avidityfor the nests of wildbees. SeePlateCCCXXIX,fig. I. ’ Naturalists are acquainted with eight or nine species of Saki. The only one we shall here allude to is the handdrinking saki (Pithecia chiropotes, Humb.), so called from its peculiar mode of imbibition. It lifts the water in the hollow of its hand, and, leaning its head to one side, conveys the liquor to its mouth. It becomes almost furious when its beard is wetted, an aversion which has probably induced it to adopt the peculiar habit just mentioned, but from what principle this aversion springs, we are not prepared to say. The fur of this singular creature is of a chesnut-red colour. It has a long tufted beard, and a thick bush of hair, separated in the middle, and hanging down on each side of the head. In Humboldt’s opinion, it more nearly resembles the human race than any other monkey of America. Its eyes, according to that author, have an expression of melancholy mixed with ferocity. It is, moreover, robust, active, untamcable, and, when irritated, will raise itself upon its hinder extremities, grind its teeth, stroke down its beard as if it were a Turk, and fly at the offending person with a fury quite unbecoming the semblance of South American humanity. Yet it is habitually melancholy, and, in the captive state, is never excited to gaiety, unless it may be for a few brief and hungry moments at the sight of some favourite food. Why, indeed, should it be gay, pent up in some wretched crib, a collared slave, far from its “friends and brothers,” and destined never more to swing from lofty and umbrageous boughs, nor listen from the depths of darkened forests to the roaring cataracts of the Oronooko, where all its “young barbarians are at play ?” '

4

Genus Jacchus, Geoff. Desm. Incisive teeth -, ca- 4

nines *, molars “ (sharply tuberculated); = 32.

Thumb of the anterior hands not opposable to the fingers. Nails long, compressed, and pointed, except upon the hinder thumbs.

The beautiful and graceful creatures which constitute our present genus (of which the striated monkey of Pennant, Jacchus vulgaris, Geoff., Plate CCCXXIX. fig. 2. may serve as a familiar example), differ in the number of their molar teeth from all the preceding genera of American Quadruma-na.^[54. This highly important distinctive character seems to have been entirely overlooked by the majority of systematic writers. ] Their habits are equally arboreal, although in climbing trees, they are supposed to make use of their pointed nails, somewhat after the manner of squirrels, a tribe of animals to which, in several other respects, they bear resemblance. Their natural history, properly so called, is little known, most of the facts narrated in books being drawn from the observation of individuals in the domestic state, to which they are frequently reduced, on account of their small size and great beauty. Μ. Audouin of Paris has had a pair of ouistitis (for so these creatures are often called) for some time in his possession, and has made several curious observations on their faculties and dispositions. They not only recognise themselves and each other in a glass (a perception denied to the sagacious dog), but can detect the nature of various animals as represented in paintings. Thus, the representation of a cat alarms them exceedingly; and although they are so exceedingly fond of insects as to dart greedily at crickets and cock-chafers, yet the likeness of a wasp made them suddenly withdraw their little paws. On a recent occasion, one of them, while sucking some grapes, happened to squirt a little of the juice into its eye, since which occurrence it has never eaten of that fruit without carefully closing the organs of vision, thereby exemplifying the association of ideas. These ouistitis capture and devour all kinds of flies with the most inconceivable dexterity, but exhibit a strong instinctive fear of wasps, the

French species being at the same time quite different from any they could have ever seen among the foliage of their native forests. They are extremely fond of sugar, eggs, and roasted apples; but they refuse all kinds of almonds, acidulated fruits, and such kinds of leaves as are usually eaten as salads. Neither are they fond of flesh; yet if a small living bird is placed within their reach, they immediately capture it, put it to death, and scoop out its brains.

The species are numerous, and are usually divided into two groups,—the Ouistitis properly so called (Jacchus, GeofF.), and the Tamarins (genus Midas of the French author.) To the former belongs the species above alluded to,—to the latter (besides the silky monkey of Shaw), the small and beautiful leonine monkey described by Humboldt.^[55. Recueil d ’ 0bserv. Zool. p. 14. pl. 5. See also, in addition to the different authors named above, Mikan’s Delectus Flora et Fauna Braziliensis, and the Diction. Class, d’llist. Nat. t. xii. p. 512. ] We deem the line of demarcation somewhat doubtful. The distinctive characters are taken chiefly from the incisive teeth.

Family II.—LEMURIDAE.

. The second family of the Quadrumanous Order exhibits a nearer approach to the ordinary quadrupedal form than the preceding. Their incisive teeth , (never more than eight in the Simiadae), vary in number in different genera. The nostrils are situate at the extremity of the muzzle. The posterior extremities exceed the anterior in length. All the thumbs are well developed, and capable of being opposed in seizure to the fingers, and the fore finger of the hinder hands is furnished with a lengthened claw-like nail. All the other nails all flat. The mammae, which are pectoral, range from two to four. Tail never prehensile—sometimes wanting. This family is composed chiefly of the genus Lemur of Linnaeus, and may be said to bear the same relation to that genus, as Simia of the same author does to the preceding family,—thus affording another of the numerous proofs which might be adduced of his surprising tact in the formation of natural groups, and [7:14:97]of the manner (not seldom unacknowledged) in -which he has prepared the great landmarks for posterity.

Genus Indris, Lacep. Lichanotus, liliger. Incisive teeth -, canine 1 ~≡-γ, molar ∣-≡-∣i = 32. Two pectoral mammae. Head long, and triangular. Fur woolly.

This genus consists of only two species, both natives of Madagascar, where they were discovered by Μ. Sonnerat. The best known is the Indris brevicaudatus (Lemur Indri, Linn.), so called on account of the shortness of its tail. (See Plate CCCXXIX, figs. 3. and 3, «.) It is an animal of about three feet long, the general colour of the fur blackish, the face and abdomen grey, the tail, and a spot at its base, dingy white. Its natural habits are little known, although in a state of captivity it is gentle and intelligent, and, when taken young, susceptible of being trained to various useful purposes. If Sonnerat is correct in stating that it is used by the natives of Madagascar, instead of a dog, in the sports of the field, it certainly affords one of the most remarkable examples of the subduing influence of the human race. It is itself a frugivorous creature, an inhabitant of the forest, and a habitual dweller in the tops of trees,—yet under the guidance of man it is induced to assume the nature and propensities of a carnivorous species, and to pursue and capture other living animals. However, we rather doubt the fact. Its voice is said to resemble that of a weeping infant. The other species, distinguished by its lengthened tail, and the yellow colour of its fur, is the flocky lemur of Shaw (Z. laniger, Gmelin.).

Genus Lemur, Lin. Cuv. Incisive teeth canine υ

1—1 G —G .

1 ŗ, molar - -; = 36.^[56. The number of molar teeth in this genus is variously stated by different authors. Baron Cuvier gives “six molaires de chaque coté en haut, six en bas.”— Règne Animal, t. i. p. 107· His brother Μ. Fred, gives only five for each side on the lower jaw Dens des Mammifères, p. 24. AΓ. Desmarest assigns five on each side for the upper jaw, but only four on each side for the under. We have stated the number which most coincides with our own observations. ]

The peculiarities observable in the dentition of this and certain allied genera, may, in the opinion of some naturalists, be thus explained. The six incisor teeth of the lower jaw are long, slender, and almost horizontal, the outer one on each side being, however, larger than the others, and of a somewhat different form. These may therefore possibly represent the canine teeth,—the more especially as the pair usually so considered do not meet those of the upper jaw, but are farther back, and bear much of the character of false molars. If they were to be so regarded, then the dentition of the lemurs would resemble that of the generality of American Quadrumana, which possess an additional molar, but the same number of incisors with those of the ancient continent.

The singular animals known under the name of Lemurs, inhabit the island of Madagascar, where they seem to occupy the place of monkeys, the latter being there unknown. They likewise occur in the not distant island of Anjouan, one of the group of the Comora Archipelago. The ringtailed species (Z. catta, Linn.), is one of the most elegant of the genus,—its motions being characterised by a great degree of lightness, its manners mild, its nature very harmless. In size it equals a large cat; the hair is extremely soft and fine, and the tail, which is about twice the length of the body, is marked by numerous alternate rings of white and black. It is gregarious in the wild state, travelling in small troops of thirty or forty. It is easily tamed when taken young, delights in sunshine, but within doors prefers a good place at the fireside to any other quarter. It is frequently brought alive to Europe; and an individual, whose acquaintance we happened to make in France, had lived there for nineteen years. It sometimes sat so near the fire in winter as to singe its whiskers. The white-fronted lemur (L. albifrons), has been known to breed in Europe. The ruffed lemur (L. macaco, Linn.), is another well known species, remarkable for the extraordinary strength of its voice, which is said to strike with fear and astonishment those who hear it for the first time. It may be likened to that of the Araguata, one of the howling monkeys of America, which fills the lonesome woods of Guiana with its wild and dreadful cries. We have figured L. ιuber of Pcron. See Plate CCCXXIX, figs. 6, and 6, a.

We have few generalities to state regarding the Lemur tribe, for they have been very sparingly observed in their native haunts. They live on trees, feed on fruits, and resemble squirrels in their attitudes. In a domestic state they are gentle, and attached to their friends, but shy of the society of strangers. This shews their good sense.

Genus Loris, Geoff. Stenops, liliger. Teeth as in the preceding, but the molars are provided with sharper points. Eyes large and approximate. Tongue rough. Ears short and furred. Tail wanting, or very short. Four pectoral mammae.

This genus, as now constituted, contains only two species (Lem. gracilis and tardigradus, Linn)., both natives of the East Indies.^[57. Μ. Geoffroy St Hilaire (in Ann. Mus. t. xix. p. 104), includes the slow lemur of English authors (L. tardigradus above named), in his genus Nyclicebus. * ] In these animals we perceive an obvious tendency towards carnivorous habits, and a departure from the character of the preceding tribes. They are said to prey very much on insects and birds, and even on the smaller quadrupeds. Their motions are extremely slow, and their mode of life nocturnal. We have represented the species last named on Plate CCCXXIX, fig. 4.

Genus Galago, Geoff. Otolicnus, liliger. Incisive , 4 or 2 . 1 1 1 1 . _

teeth —ğ—, canines and molars as in the preceding. Ears large, and naked. Hind legs extremely long. Tail also long. Two pectoral mammae.

The galagos inhabit Africa and Madagascar. We know little of their natural habits. They live in trees, and are said to feed on insects. The Senegal galago (G. Senegalensis, Plate CCCXXIX, fig. 7), is called the gum animal by the Moors, probably on account of its occurring so frequently in the forests of gum trees which border the Sahara. It is alleged, however, to eat the gum freely, although there is no doubt of its insectivorous propensities. It is a small animal of the dimensions of a rat, with a very long tail. The species are as yet but ill defined, and Geoffroy has greatly erred in placing the Fennce of Bruce among the galagos.

Genus Tarsius. Storr. Cuv. Incisive teeth ∣-, canine 1 p molar g ~- θ ; = 34. Head round, almost spheroidal.

Eyes excessively large, and contiguous. Ears long, naked, membranous. Tarsus three times the length of the metatarsus. Nails subulate on both the second and third fingers of the hind feet.

Of the three species which compose this genus, two (Tarsius Bancanus, Horsfield, and T. spectrum, Geoff.), inhabit the Moluccas, the other (T. fuscomanus, Fischer), is a native of Madagascar. Their habits are nocturnal and insectivorous.^[58. An animal of a very peculiar nature, described as a squirrel by Gmelin, and now forming the Genus Cheiromyε of naturalists, is placed by some in the Quadrumanous Order. It has, however, only two incisive teeth in each jaw; and we therefore prefer treating of it in a subsequent part of this article, as a member of the Order 11odentia∙> ] For their external aspect and teeth see Plate CCCXXIX, figs. 5 and 5, a.
[7:14:98]

Order 11.—FE1ÍAE.

This order, as now constituted (and corresponding to the Carnassiers of Baron Cuvier), contains all the Ferae, and several of the Primates, of the Linnaean system. The species of which it is composed are characterized by possessing, in common with the Quadrumanous Order, three kinds of teeth, viz. incisors or cutting teeth, canine teeth or tusks, and molar teeth or grinders; but they are distinguished from that order by the different form of their claws, and by never having a flexible thumb opposable to the fingers or toes of either extremity.

The most general attributes of the organic form of the ferine animals arc the following: 1ó7, The shortening of the intestinal canal; 2d , The increased size and sharpness of the canine teeth, and the cutting or frequently pointed form of the molars; 3d , The shortness of the lower jaw, and its peculiar articulation, which (combined with the locking of the teeth when closed), is such as to admit only of vertical motion. The term molar or grinding, therefore, cannot with accuracy be applied to the lateral or posterior teeth of strictly carnivorous animals, which masticate their food by biting it in pieces, but cannot triturate or grind it like the purely herbivorous kinds.^[59. There seems to be no very satisfactory or explicit nomenclature of the teeth of ferine animals. False molars, carnivorous cheek-teeth, and tubercular grinders, are probably the most precise and applicable terms which can be employed to discriminate the different kinds of molar teeth, commonly so called, which distinguish the family Carnivora; and these terms have the additional advantage of corresponding closely with the nomenclature proposed by Μ. Fred. Cuvier, and adopted by his illustrious brother in the Règne Animal. In the Genus Felis, for example, there are four molar teeth in the upper, and three in the under jaw. Of these the two anterior, both above and below, are the most cutting, and are called the false molars (fausses molaires of Cuvier). They are followed by a very large tooth, which, in the upper jaw, is furnished with three points or lobes, in the under with only two. T his is the carnivorous cheek-tooth (carnassière'). Behind it, in the upper jaw, is a small flatfish tooth (la tuberculeuse), which maybe named, the tubercular grinder. In animals of the cat kind there is no corresponding separate tooth of the last description in the lower jaw; but its function is performed by the inner projecting lobe of the under carnivorous cheek-tooth, the rounded point of which, when the jaws are closed, is applied to the flat surface of the upper tubercular grinder. In the canine race, however, there are two tubercular teeth on both sides of either jaw, and it is with these that they chew the grass which they so frequently swallow. In the tribe of bears the false molars, instead of being more or less compressed and cutting, are entirely tuberculated; and, in perfect accordance with this structure, they are known to be the least carnivorous of the family to which they belong; indeed, the disposition and habits of an animal may be correctly deduced from the greater or less prevalence of the cutting or tuberculated character of the molar teeth. ] 4/ä, The double convexity of the zygomatic arch of the temporal bone, and the depression of the parietal towards the axis of the head, to afford space for the insertion of the temporal-maxillary muscles, of which the bulk increases with what may be called the carnivority. Characters deduced from the size or even form of the claws are of less avail,— seeing that both the power and dimensions of these parts are increased in most of the Edentata, among which the organization of the teeth and jaws follows an inverse proportion. In the cat-kind, however, the shape of the claws is extremely characteristic.

The degree of each of the four anatomical characters above alluded to, and their combination, more or less complete, determine the degree of carnivority,—with which that of ferocity usually corresponds. We must not, however, attach to the word ferocity the idea of any fatal or irresistible necessity to murder,—for the instinct to destroy is only the sensation of hunger in animals having a propensity to flesh, and provided with the means of obtaining it. It requires, indeed, a little more determination and activity, with, it may be, more malignity of movement, for one animal to seize upon and devour its neighbour, than for another animal to masticate a turnip,—but each is acting in obedience to its natural instincts, and neither is following the dictates of a depraved appetite.

As in all other great groups, we have here various modifications of the typical character. Several bats are frugivorous, though in their general structure too closely allied to their congeners to be removed from the ferine order; while various bears and badgers are extremely accommodating in their dispositions, and will eat freely enough of vegetable substances rather than starve. The general form and aspect of this order are also highly varied. Some are organised for flight, as the Cheiroptera; others for swimming and diving, as the seals and morses; while several are subterranean, as the moles. We do not find such a diversity in the sphere of existence among the pachydermatous and ruminating tribes. The geographical distribution of the order is unlimited, so that we cannot connect flesh-eating propensities in any way with climate. If the lion and the tiger haunt habitually the torrid zone, the polar bear,

“With dangling ice all horrid, stalks forlorn” along the frost-bound shores of Greenland. Thus heat and cold have no more influence over the nutritive appetite, than over the warmth of the instinct of love,—which rules supreme alike amid perennial snows, and beneath the unmitigated glare of equatorial suns.

We arrange the genera of the Ferine Order under four principal divisions, viz. Cheiroptera, Insectivora, Carnivora, and Marsupialia.

DIVISION I—CHEIROPTERA.

The most remarkable and striking peculiarity of this group consists in the membranous expansion which pervades the sides of the body, connecting the anterior and posterior extremities, and, in many cases, the latter, with the tail. This structure enables almost all the species to fly like birds, although with less activity and power; and the exercise of such a function of course requires a modification of other parts, such as great strength of clavicle and breadth of shoulder-blade, for the production of the requisite solidity. It is, however, incompatible with the rotation of the fore-arm, which would have enfeebled the force of the flying action.

The Cheiropterous division is composed of two families, the Vespertilionidae and the Galeopithecidae. Family 1st —VESPERTILIONIDAE, or BATS.

In this family the fore-arms and fingers are excessively elongated, and the interstices of the latter being filled up by the membrane already alluded to, which also extends backwards to the hind feet, genuine wings are thus provided, more expansive even than those of birds. The pec toral muscles are extremely thick, and the sternum has a central ridge for their attachment, resembling that of birds. The thumb is short, and armed with a hooked nail, by means of which the species climb or suspend themselves. Their hind feet are rather feeble, furnished with five toes, almost always of nearly equal size, and armed with pointed and sharp-edged nails. The eyes are proportionally very small, but the external car is usually very large, partaking, as it were, of the expansive nature of the lateral membrane, and in common with it is naked, or nearly hairless. This membrane, whether in the form of auricle or wing, is supposed[7:14:99] to be endowed with a very exquisite perceptive power—sufficient to guide the flying creature through labyrinths of subterranean darkness, and even, according to Spallanzani, to wing its intervening way through various obstacles, after it has been totally deprived of sight. This power is presumed to result from the perception, by the nerves of the cutaneous system, of the refluxes of air from near opposing bodies.

Bats are nocturnal, or at least twilight loving animals, which in northern countries pass the winter in a state of lethargic repose. From this state of hybernation, however, they are easily roused, and it is no uncommon thing to see our smaller species flitting about in a winter afternoon, during the occurrence of a milder day than usual. However, the then almost total absence of moths and flies must render such occasional excursions on the whole enfeebling, by exciting the digestive and other functions (previously at rest), without, at the same time, affording the means of sustentation. During the day they hang suspended from the roofs of barns and other buildings, or in crevices of ruined castles, or find shelter beneath the murky canopy of caves, or the overhanging gloom of shaded rocks. Neither do they despise the secure concealment afforded by the hollow chambers of ancient forest trees, whether rent by the “red lightning’s glare,” or yielding imperceptibly to slow decay. They usually produce two young at a birth, which adhere tenaciously to their mother, and are frequently borne about by her during her twilight flights.

The species (including the various genera, of which our narrow limits will enable us to give but a brief account), are extremely numerous,—above 130 different kinds being known to naturalists. The majority inhabit the regions within the tropics, and none occur in the countries of the extreme north; neither are we aware that any have yet been observed in New Holland. When the “knell of parting day” announces the approach of the long continuing twilight of our temperate regions, we see our own diminutive species flitting about on leathern wings, or dimpling the surface of the still waters, in search of insects or other natural prey; but these give us but a feeble idea of the monstrous forms which inhabit equatorial countries. Many of the genera are extremely circumscribed in their geographical distribution, either owing to their nocturnal habits, or their powers of flight being unequal to a long sustained migration. We may add, that all bats possess four well developed canine teeth, but that the incisors differ in number in the various genera. Of a few of these we shall endeavour to exhibit the principal characteristics.^[60. The student who desires a detailed acquaintance with the Cheiropterous tribes, will study with advantage the systematic exposition given by Μ. Desmarest, in his Mammalogie, and Μ. Geoffroy St Hilaire’s papers in the Annales du Mus. The English reader is referred to Mr Griffith’s Translation of the “Animal Kingdom,” (particularly the Supplementary Essay, vol. ii. p. 84, and Synopsis, vol. v. p. 54). ]

4

Genus Pteropus, Brisson, Cuv. Incisive teeth -, ca- 4

nine ς molar ∣ 7·; = 3G. Form of the incisors coni-

I — 1 0 — 6

cal; canines rather large; molars with the crown obliquely truncated, and marked by a longitudinal groove. Head long and conical. Ears short, simple, and without any tragus.^[61. We apply the term tragus to that secondary leaf-like expansion, which in many bats covers or protects the auricular opening. It is the part named oreillon by the French writers. ] No peculiar appendages upon the nose. Tail short or wanting. Interfemoral membrane deeply incised. The index finger, with three phalanges and a rudimentary nail. The tongue papillose. See Plate CCCXXX, figs. 4. and 6.

The species of this genus, called Roussettes by the French, are of a frugivorous regimen, feeding on pulpy fruits, especially bananas. They are confined to the ancient world,— occurring chiefly in the islands of the Indian Archipelago, Bengal, Madagascar, the Isle of France, and several parts of Africa. They are the largest of all the bat tribe, and contain species measuring between five and six feet from tip to tip of the extended wings.

The eatable roussette (Pt. edulis} is of a blackish colour, deeper on the breast than back. It is a large species, measuring about five feet in extent ;—the body sixteen inches long. Its flesh is white and delicate, and is held in great esteem as an article of food by the natives of the Island of Timor. It seems to vary in its external character with age, and has been accordingly described under different names. Thus the Kalong of the Javanese (Pt. Javanicus, Horsfield) is regarded as identical. It is a gregarious species, very abundant in the lower parts of Java. “Numerous individuals,” says Dr Horsfield, “select a large tree for their resort, and suspending themselves with the claws of their posterior extremities to the naked branches, often in companies of several hundreds, afford to the stranger a very singular spectacle. A species of ficus, in habit resembling the Ficus religiosa of India, which is often found near the villages of the natives, affords them a very favourite retreat, and the extended branches of one of these are sometimes covered by them. They pass the greater portion of the day in sleep, hanging motionless: ranged in succession, with the head downwards, the membrane contracted about the body, and often in close contact, they have little resemblance to living beings, and by a person not accustomed to their economy, are readily mistaken for a part of the tree, or for a fruit of uncommon size suspended from its branches. In general these societies preserve a perfect silence through the day; but if they are disturbed, or if a contention arises among them, they emit sharp piercing shrieks, and their awkward attempts to extricate themselves, when oppressed by the light of the sun, exhibit a ludicrous spectacle. In consequence of the sharpness of their claws, their attachment is so strong that they cannot readily leave their hold, without the assistance of the expanded membrane; and if suddenly killed in the natural attitude during the day, they continue suspended after death. It is necessary, therefore, to oblige them to take wing by alarming them, if it be desired to obtain them during the day. Soon after sunset they gradually quit their hold, and pursue their nocturnal flights in quest of food. They direct their course, by an unerring instinct, to the forests, villages, and plantations, occasioning incalculable mischief, attacking and devouring indiscriminately every kind of fruit, from the abundant and useful cocoa-nut, which surrounds every dwelling of the meanest peasantry, to the rare and most delicate productions, which are cultivated with care by princes and chiefs of distinction. By the latter, as well as by the European colonists, various methods are employed to protect the orchards and gardens. Delicate fruits, such as mangos, jambus, lansas, &c., as they approach to maturity, are ingeniously secured by means of a loose net or basket, skilfully constructed of split bamboo. Without this precaution, little valuable fruit would escape the ravages of the kalong.

“There are few situations in the lower parts of Java in which this night wanderer is not constantly observed. As soon as the light of the sun has retired, one animal is seen to follow the other at a small but irregular distance, and this succession continues uninterrupted till darkness obstructs the view. The flight of the kalong is slow and steady, pursued in a straight line, and capable of long continuance. The chase of the kalong forms occasionally an amusement to the colonists and inhabitants during the moonlight nights, which, in the latitude of Java, are un«
[7:14:100]

commonly serene. He is watched in his descent to the fruit-trees, and a discharge of small shot brings him readily to the ground. By this means I frequently obtained four or five individuals in the course of an hour, and by my observations I am led to believe that there are two varieties which belong to one species, as they appear all to live in one society, and are obtained promiscuously.”^[62. Zoological Researches. ]

A roussette (we know not the exact species) brought alive to France about the beginning of the present century, was observed to remain constantly calm and motionless throughout the day, suspended by one of its hind feet. Yet Q,uoy and Gaimard report that they saw these great bats flying during the day in the Carolina Islands, and Messrs Lesson and Garnot have made the same remark as to their diurnal powers. These notices are the more interesting, as they confirm the statements of the earlier voyagers.

The vampire bat, commonly so called, {Vespertilio vampyrus, Linn.,) belongs to the genus Pteropus. Having already alluded to the frugivorous habits of the species, we need scarcely add, that the specific name is greatly misapplied. A vampire is an imaginary monster, the chief amusement of which was supposed to consist in sucking the blood of sleeping persons, and the superstition, however absurd, must have been sufficiently fearful to those who gave it credit, as many did in Poland and Hungary about a hundred years ago. Some vague allegations having been made regarding the blood-sucking propensities of certain bats, Linnaeus bestowed the name of vampyrus on a large species found in Madagascar. This was unfortunate, as the actual blood-sucking bats inhabit South America, and belong to another group, which now forms the genus Phyllostoma.

The other frugivorous genera allied to Pteropus in their habits are Pachysoma, Macroglossus, Cephalotes, and Hypoderma. Genus Molossus, Geoff., Cuv., Desm. Incisive teeth 2 4 4

—, canine as usual, molar; = 26. The upper in-

2 5 — 5 11 cisives are of medium size, biful, convergent, and slightly separate from the canine; the lower very small, as if pressed together in advance of the canines, and each terminated by two minute points. The upper canines are large; the under touch each other at the base, their points projecting outwards. The molars are large, and their crowns furnished with several sharp points. The head is large, the muzzle broad, the nostrils slightly projecting, opening forward, and provided with a little pad. The ears are large and united, and provided with a small tragus. No appendages to the nose. Tongue smooth. Interfemoral membrane narrow, and terminating rectangularly. Tail long, usually half enveloped at the base, the point free.

The species of this genus, of which about a dozen are known to naturalists, occur both in the Old World and the New. The majority, however, are natives of South America. We have no detailed information regarding their habits of life. In these, however, they are supposed to coincide with the bats of Europe. We suspect that even the characters of the teeth are imperfectly described. A pair of incisors in each jaw is rather an anomalous character for an insect-eating genus, and Μ. Temminck has stated his belief that several species have at first six in the lower jaw, of which four are successively dropped.

We shall merely in this place name the genera Nyctonomus of Geoffroy, of which, though one occurs in Brazil,^[63. Annales des Sciences Nat., Avril 1824. ] the species are characteristic of the Old World, and Dynops of Signor Savi, of which the typical species was some time ago discovered in the neighbourhood of Pisa.^[64. Giornale deļ Letterati, No. 21, p. 230. ]

4

Genus Noctilio, Linn., Cuv. Incisives -, canines as usual, molars ⅛—-, = 26. The central upper inci- , sives are the largest; the inferior are placed in advance of the canines; the canines are very strong. The crowns of the molars are furnished with sharp tubercles. See Plate CCCXXX, fig. 3. The muzzle is short, inflated, cleft, and covered with warts or fleshy prominences. The nose is confounded with the lips. The ears are small, lateral, isolated; the tragus internal. The interfemoral membrane is very large and salient. The tail is of medium size, or rather short, and partly enveloped, partly free, and placedabove the membrane. The claws of the hinder extremities are extremely strong.

The species are but few in number, and, as far as yet known, are natives of South America. They are sometimes denominated hare-lipped bats. The Peruvian bat of Pennant (N. leporinus) may be named as an example. See its cranium as above referred to.

4

Genus Phyllostoma, Cuv., Geoff*. Incisive teeth -, 4 canine 7—∣, molar -—f or - ~ 5 ; = 32 or 34. The incisors have often the appearance of being closely pressed between the canine, the lateral being very small; the canines are frequently very large at their base. The head is large, and somewhat uniformly conic; the gape deeply cleft. The nose supports two membranous crests, the one leaflike, the other in the form of a horse-shoe. The ears are large, naked, disunited. The tragus is internal, dentated, and growing from the margin of the auricular cavity. The eyes are very small and lateral. The tongue, capable of considerable extension, is beset at its extremity by corneous papillae. The middle anterior toe has an additional phalanx. The tail varies in size, and is wanting in certain species. The interfemoral membrane likewise varies in its degree of development.

The singular creatures which constitute our present genus are believed to be peculiar to South America, where, however, they are distributed over a considerable extent of territory, from the Isthmus of Darien to Paraguay. The incisive teeth vary in number even in the same species, some of those in the lower jaw being frequently pushed out by the growth of the canines, and in different species the amount of molar teeth is dissimilar. The papillae of the tongue above alluded to, in connection with tubercles symmetrically arranged around the mouth, bestow on several species a strong power of suction, which they frequently exercise to the disadvantage of their neighbours, by withdrawing the life-blood from man and beast. These are the famous vampires, of which various voyagers have given us such redoubtable accounts, and which are known to have almost entirely destroyed the first establishment of Europeans in the New World. Although they extirpated the cattle at Borgia, and elsewhere, they also feed on insects, after the manner of other bats, and according to Azzara do not venture to attack the cattle, unless when driven to extreme hunger by a deficiency of other food. The structure of the tongue is remarkable. It is about six times longer than broad, flattish above, rounded beneath, the surface slightly shagreened, and close to the extremity there is a peculiar cavity, the centre of which is marked by a raised point, and the circumference by eight warts. .

The molar teeth of the spectre bat, or true vampire {Vesp. spectrum, Linn.), are of the most carnivorous character, the first being short and almost plain, the others sharp and cutting, and terminating in three or four points; but it does not appear that it makes use of them while attacking[7:14:101] the larger kinds of prey, trusting rather to its subtle and insidious tongue, for by no other means could it perforate the skin of a sleeping animal, without causing so much pain as to speedily arouse it from its slumbers. Now we know that the sleep of the victim is scarcely ever interrupted, though we cannot vouch for the fact that this is effected, as some of the older voyagers allege, by the fanning motion of the wings of the bat producing a delicious coolness, which renders repose the deeper, “till the sufferer awakens in eternity.” There is no doubt, however, that the accounts given by Pietro Martyro, Ulloa, and Condamine, though perhaps stated with some circumstances of exaggeration, are substantially correct. They have been confirmed by Azzara, an accurate and discriminating naturalist of modern times, “The species,” says that observer, alluding to the Phyllostomata, “with a leaf upon the nose, differ from the other bats, in being able to turn, when on the ground, nearly as fast as a rat, and in their fondness for sucking the blood of animals. Sometimes they will bite the crests and beards of the fowls while asleep, and suck the blood. The fowls generally die in consequence of this, as a gangrene is engendered in the wound. They bite also horses, mules, asses, and horned cattle, usually on the buttocks, shoulders, or neck, as they are better enabled to arrive at these parts from the facilities afforded by the mane or tail. Nor is man himself secure from their attacks. On this point, indeed, I am enabled to give a very faithful testimony, since I have had the ends of my toes bitten by them four times, while I was sleeping in cottages in the open country. The wounds which they inflicted, without my feeling them at the time, were circular, and rather elliptical; their diameter was trifling, and their depth so superficial as scarcely to penetrate the cutis. It was easy, also, on examination, to perceive that these wounds were made by suction, and not by puncture, as might be supposed. The blood that is drawn, in cases of this description, does not come from the veins, or from the arteries, because the wound does not extend so far, but from the capillary vessels of the skin, extracted thence, without doubt, by these bats, by the action of sucking or licking it.^[65. Essai sur ΓHist. Nat. du Paraguay, T. ii. p. 273. ]”

The species are numerous, and have been formed into sectional groups or subgenera by some recent writers,— chiefly in accordance with the presence or absence of the tail.

We must here pass over, without any special notice, the genus Glossophaga, Geoff., which contains species allied in their habits to those last named, but distinguished by a longer, more extensile tongue, and other characters. θ

Genus Megaderma, Geoff. Cuv. Incisive teeth —, 4 4 4 canine as usual, molar - -; = 26. Ears very large and united. Tragus also much developed. Nose furnished with three appendages,—one erect, one horizontal or foliaceous, and a third like a horse-shoe. Tail wanting. Interfemoral membrane square. Third finger without the first phalanx. Tongue smooth and short.

The species of this genus, though few in number, are spread over a considerable extent of territory,—being found in Java, the island of Ternate, and along the coast of Senegal. We are not aware that naturalists have acquired any precise knowledge of their habits, except by induction from those of their congeners. They dwell in forests, and are remarkable for the great extent of their membranous expansions. One of their most singular organic characters consists in the absence, or at least rudimentary state of the intermaxillary bone, which of course entails with it the non-existence of the incisive teeth. It maybe inferred, however, rather that the bone is small, inconspicuous, and suspended in the cartilage, than entirely wanting. 2

Genus Riunolophus, Geoff. Cuv. Incisive teeth -, 5 ð 4

canines as usual, molars; = 30. The upper inci sors are very small, separate, and frequently fall out; the lower are bilobed. The canines are of medium size,—the crowns of the molars jagged with extremely sharp points. The ears are of moderate size, lateral, and isolated. The expansion called the tragus is non-existent, or rather is replaced by an exterior lobe of the ear. The interfemoral membrane is large, and entirely envelopes the tail, which is long.

This genus includes some European species which we distinguish by the name of horse-shoe bats, in reference to the form of the appendage on the muzzle. They hang suspended during the day from the roof of caverns, and fly about in the evening twilight, preying on moths and other insects. We shall here name only the largest of the British species, R. ferrum equinum, which is well known in the south of England. See Plate CCCXXX, fig. 1. It is of a pale rufous brown colour, and its wings extend nearly fifteen inches. 4 Genus Nycteris, Cuv. Geoff. Incisive teeth —, ca- 4 4 θ

nines as usual, molars - -; = 30. The upper inci sors are bilobed, and contiguous; the under trilobed. There is a deep longitudinal furrow down the muzzle, apparent even on the cranium, and margined, and partly covered, by a fold of the skin.

The species occur in Africa and Java, and are remarkable for the following peculiarities of structure. The nostrils are habitually closed, and require an act of volition to be put in communication with the external air, and the species, it is supposed, are thus enabled to establish themselves in subterranean chambers or other places, where their congeners would be destroyed by pestilential vapours. The skin forms as it were a sack around the body, with which it has scarcely any adherence, except at certain points, where there are some cellular attachments. At the bottom of each of the cheek pouches there is a small aperture communicating with this pervading sack, and by means of which the latter is filled and inflated with air, so that the creature becomes immersed in air, or surrounded as it were by a muff of that elastic fluid. The tail is terminated by a cartilaginous bifurcation, resembling the form of the letter T.^[66. See the Mémoires de l’ Institut d’Egypte. Hist. Nat., t. ii. Mem. sur les Chéiroptères. ]

Passing unwillingly over the genera Rhinopoma, Taphozous, and Myopteris of Geoff. St Hilaire, we reach the Genus Vespertilio of modern authors. Incisive teeth 4 . 1 — 1 1 4 — 4 5 — 5 __

-, canine ŗ ŗ; molar - or - -; = 32 or 3b.

6 1 — 1 ð—5 6 — 6

The upper incisors, pointed and cylindrical, are disposed in pairs; the under close together, inclined or projecting forwards, their edges bilobed. The’canines are of moderate size, and do not touch each other at their base. The anterior molars are simply conical; the posterior have broad crowns beset with points; the lower ones are grooved on their sides; the upper, which are twice as broad, have crowns with an oblique edge. The nose has no membranous appendages; it is neither grooved nor furrowed, and the nostrils are destitute of opercles. The under lip is simple; the tongue smooth, not protractile. The ears, more or less extended, possess a tragus. The wings are of great proportional extent. The index finger has only one phalanx, the middle three, the annular and little finger only two. The interfemoral membrane is very large, and entirely includes the tail. The fur is soft and thick.
[7:14:102]

This extensive genus includes between thirty and forty species, some of which occur in every quarter of the globe, although they may be stated as rather characteristie of temperate regions. Most of the European Cheiroptera pertain to the restricted genus Vespertilio, such as the V. murinus of naturalists, recognisable by its oblong ears equalling the head in length, with their tragus semieordate. The great bat or noctule (V. noctuld), of which the ears are shorter than the head, and triangular, and the nostrils bilobate, inhabits England (see Plate CCCXXX, fig. 2.), as do likewise the pipistrelle and several others not yet discovered in the northern quarters of the island. The cared bat (V. auritus, Linn.), is a much more common species. It belongs to the genus Plecotus, Geoff, distinguished by the large ears which unite with each other at the base, above the cranium (see Plate CCCXXX, fig. 7)∙ Altogether we have about thirteen different kinds of bat in Britain. We shall here terminate our brief view of the Vespertilionidae; — “Et nous devons faire observer ici,” we may add, in the words of Baron Cuvier, “qu’il n’est point de famille qui ait besoin plus que celle des chauves-souris d’une revue faite sur nature et non par voic de compilation.”^[67. Règne Animal, t. i. p. 122. ] Family 2d —GALEOPITHECIDAE.

Fore arms and fingers not attenuated and extended as in bats, but furnished with curved claws. Lateral membrane not bare, as in the animals last named, but covered on both surfaces by close-set hair.

Genus Galeopithecus, Pallas. Incisive teeth -, ea- 6

nine _ p molar g -; = 36. Upper incisives very small, the lateral lengthened, compressed, cutting, with a small tubercle on each side at the base. Lowerincisives inclined, and divided like the teeth of a comb; the intermediate being composed of eight laminae, the second on each side of nine, the outermost of three or four (see Plate CCCXXX, fig. 8). The upper canines are very small, compressed, sharp-pointed, broad at the base; the lower are of larger size. The upper anterior molars resemble the canines, the posterior have their crowns beset with points. The muzzle is pointed. The ears are small and rounded; the fingers short, with a broad palm, and furnished with strong curved claws.

The animal known under the name of flying lemur (Lemur volans, Linn.), may be named as an example of our present genus. It is the Galeopithecus rufus of modern systems (see Plate CCCXXX, fig. 5). This species measures about a foot in length, and is of a greyish-red colour, varying with age. It inhabits the Moluccas and the isles of Sunda, and seems to be the only species distinctly known, though two others are named in systematic works. These animals are nocturnal, living on fruits and insects, and suspending themselves by their hind legs, after the manner of bats. Yet they differ greatly from all the latter in the form of the fore paws, and the presence of claws on all the fingers. Although an ample membrane extends from the sides of the neck to those of the tail, it is useful rather as a parachute, by enabling them to spring or descend from branch to branch, than for the purposes of a sustained or continuous flight. The hind feet are equally palmated with the anterior, and in each the claws alone are free. The membrane, moreover, differs from that of bats, in being clothed on both sides with short dense hair. The species above named is called olek by the natives of the Pellew islands, who hold it in great esteem as food, notwithstanding that it smells extremely like a fox. It is capable of running on the ground, and is said to climb trees like a cat.

The position of the genus Galeopithecus is, in truth, as yet but ill determined in our systems. It seems, however, improper to remove it far from the vicinity of the bats and lemurs. Some authors, indeed, combine it with the latter, as a family of the quadrumanous order; while others extend that order, so as to include within its range the whole of the cheiropterous tribes.

DIVISION II.—INSECTIVORA.

The animals comprising this division, though dissimilar to the preceding in their general form and aspect, resemble them in several particulars, especially in the conical points of the molar teeth. They are also for the most part nocturnal, and of darkling habits, and exhibit an additional analogy in their tendency to hybernation during the colder months. They are furnished with clavieles, but do not possess the extended lateral membrane of the cheiropterous genera. Their legs may be characterized as short, and their locomotive powers as somewhat defective. The mammae, instead of being pectoral, as in the preeeding tribes, are placed beneath the abdomen. The teeth vary so greatly in the different groups, that no generalities can be deduced regarding them.

Tribe 1st. Two long incisives in front, followed by other incisives, and small canines, shorter than the molar teeth. Genus Erinaceus, Linn. Incisive teeth ~, canine 6

1_1 1 5 —5 ττ

-, molar; = 34. Upper intermediate mcι- 1 — 1 4 — 4

sives very long, separate, cylindrical, directed forwards; the inferior inclined. Canines smaller than the molars. Body covered laterally and above with prickles, beneath with stiffish hairs.

The species of this genus commonly called hedgehogs, are few in number, and confined to the ancient continent. We need not describe the well known British species (Z ’. europaeus, see Plate CCCXXX, fig. 9), a timid nocturnal creature, which feeds on snails, earth-worms, and insects. It has also been accused of injuring eggs and poultry. It is easily tamed, and is nearly omnivorous in confinement. According to Pallas, it devours the cantharis or blistering beetle with impunity. It has also been known to resist large doses of prussie acid. The female, about the beginning of summer, brings forth from three to five young, which are at first blind, almost white, and nearly naked, although the germs of the priekles are observable. Both young and old pass the winter in a state of profound lethargy. The hedgehog occurs over the whole of Europe, except the extreme north.

2

Genus Sorex, Linn. Central incisive teeth o , false

3 _ 3 4 4

canines or lateral incisives - -, or - -, true molars

Δ — Δ Δ — Δ

; 28 or 30. The central upper incisives are hooked and dentated at the base; the lower are elongated and projecting. The false canines, especially the upper, are much less than the central incisives. The molars have broad crowns beset with points, the upper being the largest, their cutting edge oblique. The head is very long, the nose lengthened and moveable. The ears are short and rounded. The eyes small but perceptible. The body is covered by fine short hair.

This genus consists of the small subterranean creatures called Shrews. The nomenclature of their teeth is a disputed point among naturalists. They are remarkable for [7:14:103]certain odoriferous glands along their flanks, and, according to Geoffroy St Hilaire, for the non-existence of the optic nerve; yet nobody doubts that they can see. Shrews viewed generically, may be said to be cosmopolites, in so far as they are distributed over almost all the earth; and it is even said, that certain species occur both in Europe and America. They vary in their habits of life, some attaching themselves to dry situations, while others prefer moist meadows, and the margins of springs and quiet streams. They prey chiefly on insects, and are themselves often killed, but seldom eaten, by cats. However, owls make amends for this omission by swallowing them greedily. It is believed that even the European species are still but incompletely known, their extremely minute size enabling them to avoid the notice of naturalists. They are probably the smallest of all quadrupeds, at least we are inclined to presume so from the recorded dimensions of some of those recently described by Lichtenstein and Savi.

The most abundant species with us is the Sorex araneus, or common shrew. It measures about 2 ; inches in length, without the tail, which is a third shorter than the body, and of a square form. The teeth are white, the ears naked and exposed. It is subject to a frequent epidemic in the autumn season, and presents one of the few instances we meet with, of an animal in a state of nature being found dead, without any apparent injury. The water shrew (Sorex fodiens) is somewhat larger than the preceding. It is of a blackish colour above, whitish beneath, the tail about a fourth less than the body in length, and compressed towards the end. The incisive teeth are red at the base, and the ears are in great measure concealed within the fur. There are many foreign species not, however, as yet distinctly characterised; and the learned antiquary Passalacqua informs us that he met with more than one species embalmed in a tomb of the Necropolis of Thebes. One of these was evidently, from its great size, and other characters, identical with Sorex giganteus, a species which, in the living state, occurs only in India. This is a fact interesting alike to the archaeologist and the natural historian, as it leads to the belief, either that certain species of animals native to Egypt in ancient times, no longer occur in that country, or that the Egyptians derived from India some of the objects of their religious worship.

We may here name the Tupaia of Raffles and Horsfield (Sorex glis, Diard∙, Cladobates, F. Cuvier), a new generic group from the Indian archipelago, of which the teeth agree with those of the Insectivora, although the habits of the species differ in this respect, that they prey like the Quadrumana among the branches of trees.^[68. Linn. Trans, vol. xiii. p. 257; and Horsfield’s Zoological Researches, fascic. 3. ] Their exact location in the system is therefore still somewhat doubtful.

Genus Mygale, Cuv. Differs from Sorex in having two very small teeth between the larger of the lower incisives, and in the upper incisives being triangular and flattened. Behind these incisives are six or seven small teeth, and four jagged molars.

Pallas and Geoffroy St Hilaire differ in their descriptions of the dentition of the species they have respectively described. These animals are of aquatic habits, dwelling in holes to which they enter under water, and then proceed upwards to dry and comfortable quarters. They feed on larvae and worms, and, according to some authors, on the roots of the nymphaea. The fur of the Russian species (Μ. Moscovita, Geoff., Castor moschatus, Linn.) is much esteemed, on account of its being composed, like that of the beaver, of long silky hair, and of a softer felt beneath. It exhales a strong musky odour, which imbues the flesh of pike and other voracious fish which prey upon it. We are acquainted with only two species, that of Russia just named (extremely abundant in the environs of Woronech, where it is often entangled in the nets of the fishermen), and the Desman of the Pyrenees (Μ. pyrenaică). It is said that these creatures, not being torpid in winter, suffer dreadfully during that inclement season, from the freezing of the waters. Many perish from suffocation in their subterranean abodes,—these having no communication with the external air. The species last named has as yet been found only in the neighbourhood of Tarbes at the foot of the Pyrenees.

Genus Scalops, Cuv. The teeth of this genus resemble those of the preceding, but their false molars are less numerous.

The only known species is the shrew mole (/S'. canadensis), a North American animal, nearly eight inches in length, with a thick cylindrical body, no apparent neck, short concealed limbs, and broad strongly nailed hands. It resembles the European mole in its habits, leading a subterranean life, forming galleries, and feeding principally on grubs and earthworms. According to Dr Godman, they exhibit the singular custom of coming to the surface daily exactly at the hour of noon, and may then be taken alive by thrusting a spade beneath them, and throwing them out of their burrows. A tame one in the possession of Mr Peale was very lively and playful, would follow the hand of its keeper by the scent (the eyes are very inefficient), and fed freely on fresh meat, whether cooked or raw. It would burrow for amusement in loose earth, and after making a small circle, would return spontaneously to its keeper. Although widely spread over North America, Dr Richardson does not think its existence probable beyond the 50th degree of latitude, at least to the eastward of the Rocky Mountains, because the earth-worm, its favourite food, is unknown in the countries of Hudson’s Bay.^[69. Fauna lìoreali-Americana (the Quadrupeds, by Dr Richardson), Part I. p. 11. ]

2

Genus Chrysochloris, Cuv. Incisive teeth -, conical teeth ∙ ~A molar; = 40.

•Ĵ «ĵ ö O

The only species distinctly ascertained to belong to our present genus, is the C. capensis(Talpa asiatica, Gmelin). commonly called the Cape Mole, an animal somewhat less than the mole of Europe, of a brownish colour, but remarkable for exhibiting (especially when moistened) beautiful metallic reflections of a green and copper colour. This burnished aspect is extremely rare among the mammiferous tribes. The species in question inhabits the Cape of Gooc Hope (not Siberia, as erroneously indicated by Seba), where it is found to be troublesome in gardens. It is subterraneaiļ and insectivorous, and differs from the true talpae in having only three claws to the fore-feet.^[70. “Ceux de derriere en ont cinq de grandeur ordinaire.” Cuvier, Règne Animal, t. i. p. 129. “Pieds de derriere à quatre doigts.” Desmarest, Mammalogie, p. 156. ] Its eyes are almost obsolete. We have represented this singular animal on Plate CCCXXXI. fig. 2.

Tribe 2d. Two large upper incisors in front, followed by two othersoreach side, of which the first has the form of a canine. canines, properly so called, small, and not distinct fron the false molars ; four lower incisors inclined forwards and spoon-shaped.
[7:14:104]

Genus Condylura, Illiger. Incisives , conical teeth, 3 3 4 4

'or false molars , true molars; = 40.^[71. The student who finds a discrepancy in our statement of the above dentition (or in that of other insectivorous groups), when compared with the descriptions of other authors, will bear in mind that this arises chiefly from a difference in nomenclature. In the present instance we follow Μ. Desmarest. Baron Cuvier seems to think that in Condylura there are only two pair of incisive teeth in the upper jaw; what we have considered as the third pair, being regarded by him as the canines. We presume the place of their insertion in relation to the maxillary bone would determine the point; but we have ourselves no access to a cranium of any species of the genus. ]

5 — 5’ 3—3

The snout in this genus is greatly prolonged, and is generally terminated by a radiated expansion, from which the name of star-nose has been applied to it. The species, of which only two or three are known to naturalists, greatly resemble moles in their manners and aspect. They have hitherto been found only in North America. We have figured the Cond. cristata of Desm. or “radiated mole” of Pennant. See Plate CCCXXXI. fig. 1 and 1, a. Tribe 3d. Four canines, apart, — between them small incisives.

~ oe τ . τ∙∙ θ . I — 1 ι

Genus 1alpa, Linn. Incisives -, canine - ŗ, molar o 1 — 1

⅛ =44.

6 — 6

We need scarcely describe the external aspect of an animal so well known as the common mole (7 1 . europoed), almost the only species of which the restricted genus Talpa is new composed.^[72. Bartram and other writers who have asserted the existence of moles in America, are supposed by later writers to have mistaken the shrew mole {scalops). Dr Richardson, however, informs us that there are several true moles in the Museum of the Zoological Society, which were brought from America. They differ from the common European species in being smaller in size, with a thicker and shorter snout. The fur is brownish-black. Dr Harlan supposes the mole of the United States synonymous with T. europoea of Linn. It was named T. americana in Dr Bartrain’s MS. ] There are few species, however, of greater interest to the naturalist, whether he regards their singular economy and instinctive habits, or their very peculiar organic structure. Moles present as it were the type or perfect form of a subterranean dweller. The snout is pointed, yet strong and flexible, the head somewhat depressed, the eyes inconspicuous, the external ears wanting, the cervical ligament unusually strong, the bones of the anterior extremity angular, and so extremely thick as to be almost as broad as they are long. The two bones of the fore-arm are fastened together, the paws are broad and shovel-shaped, with strong claws, and an elongated bone of the carpus communicates great solidity to their under edges. The clavicles are very powerful, and the motive muscles of the anterior extremity, especially the pectorals, are enormous. Although the organs of sight are feebly developed (they suffice, however, for whatever visual perceptions may be necessary to an almost constant dweller in subterranean darkness), the senses of hearing, touch, and smell, are acute.

The galleries of the mole are constructed with admirable sagacity and art, and the female brings forth in a dry and sheltered chamber, well furnished with grass and leaves. The exact period of gestation is unknown, but as young are found in spring and autumn, it is obvious that she produces twice a-year. She is careful of, and much attached to, her young; but, except in relation to these, and during the pairing season, moles lead a solitary and an isolated life. They are extremely voracious,—their appetite for food, according to Geoffroy St Hilaire, amounting to an actual phrenzy. When kept for a time in a state of abstinence they become outrageous, and will dart with violence upon whatever prey is then presented,—plunging their heads into the abdomen of birds and other animals, and satiating themselves with blood. They have been observed to refuse toads, but to seize upon frogs with avidity. With such violent propensities it may be. easily conceived that they soon die of famine when debarred from food. At the same time their appetites are not so entirely carnivorous; at least several authors allege that they occasionally eat various tender and succulent roots, and the bulbs of the colchicum. Though deemed very injurious in gardens, and persecuted by farmers even in the open grounds, they do not want advocates who espouse their cause as useful agents in the general economy of nature; and their undoubted destruction of grubs and mole-crickets must prove beneficial to agriculture. The female, indeed, while furnishing her nursery, is a somewhat too active reaper,—402 young stalks of corn, with the leaves entire, have been counted in her nuptial chamber.

The existence of the optic nerve in moles is a greatly contested point among physiological naturalists. Du-randeau and Dr Gall, conceiving vision to be impossible in the absence of that nerve, presumed it to exist in those animals in a complete and normal condition. Carns, Bailly, and Treviranus, have sought to establish its existence in a rudimentary state; while its total absence is maintained by Serres and Desmoulins. Geoffroy St Hilaire presumes himself to have reconciled these various opinions with the truth of nature, by shewing that, although the optic nerve does not occur under the same conditions as it exhibits among the normal quadrupeds, its analogue is found in a branch which proceeds from the eye to the fifth pair. Ancient writers have been accused of inaccuracy, in describing the mole as blind; and this would certainly have been a gross error in relation to an animal, of which the eyes, though small, are so distinctly perceptible. It is true that Aristotle twice repeats the assertion that the mole has no eyes; but we must remember that the true mole is extremely rare in Greece, and that the armLa∙⅛ of the ancients (translated mole) is another animal (Aspalax typhlus), of which the eyes are in truth entirely covered by the skin. It is only in comparatively recent times that naturalists have become acquainted with a species, the remarkable conformation of which thus excuses, if it does not verify, the statement of the Stagyrite.

The only other mole found in Europe is one lately discovered among the Apennines by Signor Savi. It is said to be entirely blind, and has, in that belief, been named Talpa cceca by the Italian naturalist.^[73. Mémoire Scientifahe y decade prima. Consult also C. L. Bonaparte’s Iconografia della Fauna Italica. ] It is somewhat less than the common species, and one of our correspondents states his belief that it occurs in France.

Genus Centenes, liliger. Incisives ĳ- or canines 1—1 1 6—G

ļ 1 -, molars ρ x; = 40 or 38.

1 — 1 b — b

The species of this genus resemble hedgehogs in the prickles which are intermingled with their hair, but their teeth are very different. They are nocturnal animals, and inhabitants of the torrid zone (occurring in Madagascar and the Isle of France), and are said to pass several months of the year in a lethargic state. This is a singular circumstance in the history of any intertropical species; and the term hybernation, usually bestowed upon the torpid condition (in consequence of its constant connection with the cold of winter), cannot be used in the present instance, because, [7:14:105]according to the relation of Bruguιere, it most frequently occurs during the greatest heats. About three species of the genus are known to naturalists. As an example, we have figured the radiated Tanrec (Centenes semi- spinosus), which is no larger than a mole (See Plate CCCXXX, fig. 10). The tanrecs are known to Europeans under the title of pig-porcupines. They utter a grunting cry, are generally very fat, and are used as food by the natives of Madagascar.

DIVISION III—CARNIVORA.

The genera of this division are characterized by possessing six incisors in each jaw. Their molars are usually of a trenchant or cutting character, sometimes tuberculous, but never beset with the jagged points which we so often meet with in the preceding division. Their canines are extremely strong.

Although the epithet carnivorous, as Baron Cuvier has remarked, applies, in a considerable degree, to all unguiculated quadrupeds which possess the three different kinds of teeth, since the whole are more or less dependent on animal matter for their support, yet it is among the various groups of our present division that we meet with the really sanguinary kinds. They arc more or less exclusively carnivorous, according as their teeth are more or less of a cutting character, and their regimen might almost be calculated from the relative proportion between the tubercular and the cutting surface of their grinders. The bear tribe, which is the best adapted (of carnivorous creatures) for subsisting on a vegetable diet, has almost all the teeth tubercular. Hence the accordance of its love for fruits and berries.

The anterior molars of this division are usually the sharpest on their edges; then follows a molar larger than the others, and usually furnished with a tubercular heel. Behind that molar we find one or two small teeth nearly flat*upon the crown. It is with these latter that dogs chew the grass which they so frequently swallow. The great molar just alluded to, and the corresponding tooth of the upper jaw, are what we designate as the carnivorous check-teeth (les carnassières of F. Cuvier); the anterior pointed ones are the false molars, and the flattened posterior ones, the tubercular grinders. The amount of these teeth differs slightly in some of the genera. Thus, for example, in the feline race, or cats, there is no separate tubercular tooth in the lower jaw; but its function is performed by the inner projecting lobe of the under carnivorous cheek-tooth, the rounded point of which, when the jaws are closed, is applied to the flat surface of the upper tubercular grinder. It will be readily conceived that such species as possess - the fewest false molars, and the shortest jaws, have the greatest power in biting, and are likely to prove the most carnivorous.

We subdivide the Carnivora, in the first place, into three principal tribes, in accordance chiefly with certain distinctive peculiarities in the form of the hinder feet. These tribes are named Plantigrada, Digitigrada, and Pinnipedia. Tribe I Plantigrada.

Entire sole of the foot placed upon the ground in walking. Five toes to both the fore and hind extremities. No caceum.

Genus Ursus. Linn. Ineisors 7-, canine ţ √, πίθο ι — ι

, G —G

lar; rz 42. Tail short.

Of the six molars on each side of the upper jaw of this genus there are three which we would denominate false molars; another corresponds to the carnivorous cheek-tooth, and the remaining two are tuberculated grinders. In the under jaw there is generally an additional molar on each side. It must be remembered, however, that the number of teeth in the bears is very variable even in the same species, according to the age of the individual. The false molars especially vary greatly,—for in young animals they have not become apparent,—in aged ones they have disappeared.

Among carnivorous quadrupeds, as we have already hinted, we find many different degrees of ferocity, from the all-subduing and blood-thirsty disposition of the tiger, which so savagely rejoices to imbrue its horrid jaws in the palpitating flesh of a living victim, to the more omnivorous propensities of the Plantigrada, such as the bear, raeoon, or coati-mundi,—species which, though addicted to prey on other animals, are at the same time endowed with a much greater capacity to adapt their constitution to a miscellaneous diet. This accommodating instinct no doubt corresponds with, if it does not proceed from, the less determinate formation of the digestive and prehensile organs; such as the stomach, teeth, and claws. The unequalled strength and activity of the tiger,—its sharp retractile talons, the great development of the canine teeth, and the compressed and cutting character of the molars, combined with the simplicity of the stomach, and the shortness of the intestinal canal, render it, as it were, the type of carnivorous animals. It exhibits no tendency in any of its forms to the herbivorous structure, but is strictly and characteristically a flesh-eating animal, “a most beautiful and cruel beast of prey.” It is otherwise with our present genus, containing the race of bears. Their external forms are massy and inactive, their claws are unretractile, their muzzles more elongated, their jaws consequently weaker, and their teeth, though sufficiently formidable, manifest a decided relation to the herbivorous structure in the breadth of the molars, and their bluntly tuberculated crowns. In accordance with these conditions of their organization, we find that even the polar bear (Ursus maritimus), one of the most carnivorous of its kind, may be sustained for a length of time in captivity, on bread alone. It is known that several species, in the wild state, are remarkably fond of honey (a substance which, though in one sense an animal secretion, is, in another and more essential one, a vegetable product), and have been observed climbing trees to obtain it. Others feed on fruits, reptiles, insects, particularly ants; and Sir Stamford Raffles possessed a tame Malay bear (U. HIalayanus), which gave proof of its refined appetite, by refusing to eat any thing but mangosteens, or to drink any other wine than champagne.^[74. Linn. Trans, vol. xii. ]

Here, then, as among every other group which can occupy the attention of the naturalist, we find the most beautiful and harmonious uniformity to prevail between the special end in view, and the means of its attainment. Of all carnivorous animals, bears are the least qualified either to pursue in open warfare, or to secure by ambuscade, a living prey. Their plantigrade position renders their movements comparatively slow, and the nearly equal length of their fore and hind legs deprives them of the power of leaping. Had, therefore, their natural love of flesh and blood been as insatiable as that of the tiger, and their means of obtaining it so much more restricted, their lives must have passed in misery, and the species would ere long have become extinct.^[75. Wilson s Illustrations of Zoology, vol. i. Genus Ursus. ] But He who “tempers the wind to the shorn lamb,” has drawn strength from this very weakness, and ordained that, with the deterioration of those characters which are essential to the well-being of a strictly carnivorous[7:14:106] animal, should arise a capacity of deriving nourishment from a wider and more miscellaneous range of materials,—and thus the balance is beautifully maintained between the instinctive propensity and the subduing power.

The geographical distribution of the genus Ursus, though formerly believed to be confined to northern countries, is now known to be very extensive. We are acquainted with eight or nine species, several of which occur in the warmer regions of Continental Asia, and the Indian Islands. We cannot here, however, afford room for more than the briefest summary. The white or polar bear (U. maritimus'), which does not occur among the antarctic icebergs, is common to the northern shores of Asia and America. This gigantic prowler among frost-bound regions, attains to a higher latitude than any other known quadruped, and seems indeed to dwell by preference

“In thrilling regions of thick-ribbed ice.”

Its southern limit seems to be somewhere about the 55th parallel. It is a truly ice-haunting and maritime species, occurring along a vast extent of shore, but never entering into wooded countries, except by inadvertence, or during the prevalence of great mists, nor shewing itself, unless accidentally, at any considerable distance from the sea.^[76. The student who desires to complete his knowledge of this interesting animal, is referred to Martin’s Voyage to Spitzbergen, Fabricius’s Fauna Groenlandica, Pennant’s Arctic Zoology, Scoresby’s Account of the Arctic Regions, the Appendix to Parry’s Second Voyage, and Richardson’s Fauna Boreali-Americana, part 1st. The same works may of course be consulted with equal advantage for the history and description of other arctic quadrupeds. ]

It might naturally be supposed, that animals of almost gigantic size, of great strength, and considerable ferocity, would be too formidable and dangerous to the human race, to remain long unknown in any of their distinguishing characteristics. Yet the specific differences, it must be admitted, of the black and brown bears, both of Europe and America, are still insufficiently illustrated. Both continents produce a black bear and a brown one; the white or polar species, just mentioned, is common to the northern latitudes of each, while America alone is inhabited by the grizzly bear, Ursus ferox. This is undoubtedly the most formidable animal of the northern parts of the New World. When full grown it equals in size the great polar species, and is not only of more active habits, but of a fiercer and more vindictive disposition. Its strength is so enormous, that it will drag away the carcass of a buffalo weighing a thousand pounds. Dr Richardson informs us, that a party of voyagers, who had been occupied all day in tracking a canoe up the Saskatchewan, were seated around a fire enjoying the repose of the evening twilight, and partly occupied in the agreeable task of preparing their supper. Suddenly a huge grizzly bear sprung over the canoe, which they had tilted behind them, and seizing one of the party by the shoulder, carried him off. The remainder were scattered in terror, with the sole exception of a metif named Bourasso, who, grasping his gun, followed the bear, whom he saw deliberately retreating with his companion in his mouth. He called out .to his unfortunate comrade that he was afraid to fire lest .he should hit him instead of the bear, but he was answered to fire instantly, as the monster was squeezing him to death. On this he took steady aim, and lodged his ball in the body of the brute, which immediately dropped its original prey, and turned round to revenge itself upon the brave Bourasso. He, however, contrived to effect his escape, and the bear, probably feeling itself severely wounded, disappeared into a neighbouring thicket. The rescued man eventually recovered, although one of his arms was fractured, and he was otherwise severely bitten. Another individual, still living in the neighbourhood of Edmonton House, was attacked by a bear of this species, which suddenly sprung out of a thicket, and scalped him by a single scratch of its tremendous claws, laying bare the skull, and pulling down the skin of the forehead quite over the eyes. Assistance being at hand, he was rescued fron the bear without farther injury, but he was left in a painful and unfortunate predicament, for the scalp not being properly replaced in time, he lost the power of vision (although his eyes remained uninjured), owing to the hardening of that skinny and tenacious veil.^[77. Fauna Boreali-Americana, part 1st, p. 27· ] The grizzly bear inhabits the Rocky Mountains, and their eastern plains, at least as far north as latitude 61°, and its southern range, according to Lieutenant Pike, extends to Mexico^[78. Travels on the Missouri and Arkansaw. ]

Another and much smaller species of the New World is the black bear of North America (Ċ7. Americanus, See Plate CCCXXXI. fig. 3). It is esteemed as food. The only South American species with which we are acquainted, is the Ursus ornatus of Frederick Cuvier (Ibid. figs. 4. and 4«.). It is black, with the throat and muzzle white, and a large fulvous spot upon the brows. The European bears are generally supposed to be two in number, the brown or common bear fU. arctos, Linn.), and the black bear (JU. niger). The latter, however, is by some considered only as a variety. There are at least three bears in India. The long-lipped bear (U. labiatus) is met with occasionally in menageries in this country, under the name of Ursine Sloth (first bestowed upon an individual accidentally deficient in the canine teeth). It dwells in holes and caverns, which it sometimes excavates with its long claws, and feeds on fruit, insects, and honey. It is rather a docile and intelligent animal, and is taught various tricks by the jugglers of Bengal, who frequently exhibit it for the amusement of the people. The Malay bear (U. Malayanus, Raffles), before alluded to, occurs likewise in Sumatra, where it is said to cause great damage by climbing to the summit of the cocoa trees to drink the milk, after devouring the tops of the plant. A third Indian species is the bear of Thibet (JU. Tibetanus, Cuv.), a species intermediate between the two preceding, but more ferocious than either. Its claws are weaker than usual, and some suppose that it cannot climb trees. It was found by Dr Wallich among the mountains of Nepaul, and by Μ. A. Duvaucel in those of Silhet. We may conclude by observing, that bears have never been found in any part of Africa in modern times, although those of Lybia are mentioned by Virgil and other ancients :—

Acestes

Horridus in jaculis et pelle Libystidis ursae.

Genus Procyon, Storr., Cuv. Incisors θ, canine - 1 , 6 i — i molar; = 40. Tail long. Six ventral mammae.

This genus contains the animals commonly called racoons. We have no precise knowledge of more than two species. The first is the common racoon of North America (P. lotor, Cuv. Ursus lotor, Linn.), a fox-like creature, with the gait of a bear. In a state of nature it sleeps throughout the day, prowling during the night in search of fruits, roots, birds, eggs, and insects. At low water it frequents the sea-shore, where it preys on Crustacea and shellfish. It climbs trees with great facility. According to Μ. Desmarest it extends as far south as Paraguay. But it is the second species or crab-eating racoon (P. cancrivorus, Geoff.), which is the more characteristic of the southern portion of the New World.

The genus Ailurus of Fred. Cuvier, maybe here mentioned[7:14:107] as allied to the racoons. It possesses, however, only one false molar instead of three. Its dentition is not distinctly known. One species only has been hitherto recognised, the A. folgens, a native of the mountains of Northern India.^[79. See 7awn. Trans. vol. xv. p. 161. . ] It is an extremely beautiful animal, clothed in a soft dense fur, the upper parts of a bright cinnamon red, the under surface deep black. In size it resembles a large domestic cat, and dwells by preference among trees in the vicinity of streams and torrents, preying on birds and small quadrupeds. It offers in some measure a combination of the characters of the bears, civets, and racoons. See Plate CCCXXXI. figs. 6 and 6 a.

Another recently constructed genus is named Ietides, by Μ. Valenciennes.^[80. Annates des Sciences Fsat. t. iv. ] The three hindermost molars of the upper jaw are much smaller and less tuberculated than those of the racoons, especially the farthest back in each jaw, which is very small and almost simple. Sec Plate CCCXXXI. fig. 5. The tail is long and densely furred, with an involved appearance as if it were prehensile. Two species have been described,— let. albifrons, a native of Sumatra, Malacca, and Java; and let. ater, found chiefly in Malacca. They are not yet distinctly characterized or discriminated, and one or other of them is the Binturong of Raffles.^[81. The species have even been commingled by several recent systematic writers with the genus Paradomrus. ] It was observed to climb trees, with the assistance of its tail, which has uncommon strength. Major Farquhar kept one alive for many years. It fed both on animal and vegetable food, was particularly fond of plantains, but also ate readily of fowl’s heads, eggs, &c. It was most active during the night.^[82. Linn. Trails, vol. xiü. p. 254. ] Genus Nasua, Storr., Cuv. Incisors -, canine r—-L 6 1 — 1

molars -; = 40. Tail long, covered with hair, not

υ — 0°

prehensile. Six ventral mammae. No caecum.

This genus contains the well-known South American animals called coatis, or coati mundis, so frequently seen in our menageries. Individuals vary greatly in colour, and it is the impression of some observers, that the red and brown coatis, N. rufa and fusea ( Viverra nasua and nasica of Linn.), are identical. We have represented the so called Nasua rufa on Plate CCCXXXI. fig. 7. In a state of nature these animals dwell in the woods, preying on such small birds and quadrupeds as they can overcome, and producing occasional devastation in sugar-cane plantations. They are often domesticated in Brazil, Guiana, and Paraguay, but it is necessary to keep them chained, as they climb better than cats, and are always getting into mischief, from their restless activity and habits (otherwise praiseworthy) of general inquiry, which induce them to poke their snouts into every unaccustomed hole and corner. A specimen at present in our possession is extremely domestic, much attached to society, and also very fond of strawberries, earthworms, honey, eggs, chickens (either raw or roasted), young frogs, and green pease.

We may here allude briefly to the genus Poros of Geoffroy (Cercoleptes, Illiger), which contains only a single species of a somewhat anomalous aspect. It is the yellow maucoco of Pennant (P. caudivolvulus, Desm.), frequently called the kinkajou. Its size is nearly that of a domestic cat, and its physiognomy is remarkably like a lemur’s. A tame one kept by F. Cuvier was mild and fond of caresses. It loved obscurity, and slept much during the day. It occasionally ate meat, but preferred a vegetable diet. It was a dexterous climber. According to Humboldt it is very abundant in New Grenada, and was among the number of those animals formerly reduced by the aborigines to a domestic state. It is said to be a great destroyer of the nests of wild bees, and makes use of its long tongue to extract their gathered sweets. On this account it was named the honey bear, by the missionaries.

6 11

Genus Meles, Storr. Incisives —, canine 1 ---, mo-ð ð

lars — 38. Tail very short. Two pectoral and four ventral mammae. An anal pouch.

Here naturalists place the badgers, a small genus, widely distributed over Europe, and occurring both in Asia and America. At the same time we have no precise knowledge of more than two species. Our common badger (Meles vulgaris, Ursus meles, Linn.) is greyish-brown above, beneath black, with a longitudinal black band on each side of the head, passing round the eye and ear. The tuberculous molars at the bottom of each jaw, especially those of the upper, are distinguished by their extent, of which the effect is to limit that of the carnivorous teeth, and consequently to diminish the natural appetite for flesh, or, at all events, the power of exercising it. The tuberculous molar of the upper jaw, occupies a space equal to that of the carnivorous cheek tooth, and of the two false molars, by which it is preceded, and the lower half of the under carnivorous tooth is enlarged, so as to be properly opposed to the larger tuberculous tooth above. It is thus half tuberculous and half carnivorous. The second incisives of each side of the lower jaw are not inserted on the same line as the others, but farther in. Although the badger is undoubtedly a carnivorous animal, it is much less so than many others of the ferine order, and even in a state of nature feeds freely on fruits and roots. We have known it enter a garden to devour strawberries. When domesticated it is omnivorous, like the cat and dog. Its subterranean life, and woodland habits, are well known.

The American badger (Meles Labradoria of Richardson and others), or carcajou of Buffon, is of a mottled or hoary grey colour above, whitish on the under surface. The fur is very soft and fine. This species inhabits the sandy plains or prairies which skirt the Rocky Mountains as far north as the banks of the Peace River. It abounds in the plains of the Missouri, although its southern range has not been hitherto defined. The holes which it perforates in the prairies, in the vicinity of Carlton-house, arc often annoying to horsemen, especially when the ground is covered with snow. The greater number of these burrows, however, are not dug by the badger itself, but are merely enlargements of the sub terranean dwellings of marmots (Arctomys Iloodii and Richardsonii), which it at the same time most ungenerously digs up and devours. It appears indeed to be fully more carnivorous than the European species,—a specimen which Dr Richardson killed, having had a small marmot nearly entire, and several field mice, in its interior. But it had also been feeding on some vegetable matter. It passes the winter, from November to April, in a torpid state.^[83. Fauna Boreali Americana, Part i. p. 39. ]

Although the badgers approach the marten tribe in the characters of their dentition, they are far from resembling those finely formed, light, and lively creatures in other particulars; their bodies, though strong and muscular, being rather heavily formed, and their movements by no means active. Their physiognomy, it has been observed, announces neither quickness of intelligence, nor vivacity of passion. They lead a retired, if not a solitary life. Badgers, though frequently mentioned by Latin writers under the names of taxus and meles, seem to have passed unnoticed by the Greeks. Yet we know that the European species occurs in Calabria.
[7:14:108]

Genus Gulo. Incisives —, canines r τ, molars -

υ 1 — 1 G — G

4 — 4

or 6 ; = 38 or 36. No anal pouch.

The Glutton of the north of Europe (Gulo arcticus, Ursus gulo, Linn.) may be mentioned as an example of our present genus. It is common in Norway, especially in the neighbourhood of Drontheim, and is remarkable for its fierceness and voracity. It is said to climb trees, that it may the more readily pounce upon deer and other large animals which it could not otherwise obtain. It fastens on their necks with teeth and claws, till its astounded prey rolls upon the earth from loss of blood, or terror at such an unexpected and insidious foe. In a domestic state it has been known to eat thirteen pounds of flesh in a single day. It is not larger than a badger. The glutton does not become torpid in the winter season.

The Wolverine of North America ( Gulo luscus, Sabine), though regarded by Baron Cuvier as nothing more than a variety of the preceding, is by others considered as a well distinguished species. Its habits are characteristically described by Dr Richardson: “The Wolverine is a carnivorous animal, which feeds chiefly upon the carcasses of beasts that have been killed by accident. It has great strength, and annoys the natives by destroying their hoards of provision, and demolishing their marten traps. It is so suspicious, that it will rarely enter a trap itself, but, beginning behind, pulls it to pieces, scatters the logs of which it is built, and then carries off the bait. It feeds also on meadow-mice, marmots, and other rodentia, and occasionally on disabled quadrupeds of a larger size. I have seen one chasing an American hare, which was at the same time harassed by a snowy owl. It resembles the bear in its gait, and is not fleet; but it is very industrious, and no doubt feeds well, as it is generally fat. It is much abroad in the winter, and the track of its journey in a single night may be often traced for many miles. From the shortness of its legs, its makes its way through loose snow with difficulty, but when it falls upon the beaten track of a marten trapper, it will pursue it for a long way. Mr Graham observes, ‘ that the Wolverines are extremely mischievous, and do more damage to the small fur trade, than all the other rapacious animals conjointly. They will follow the marten hunter’s path round a line of traps extending forty, fifty, or sixty miles, and render the whole unserviceable, merely to come at the baits, which are generally the head of a partridge, or a bit of dried venison. They are not fond of the martens themselves, but never fail of tearing them in pieces, or of burying them in the snow by the side of the path, at a considerable distance from the trap. Drifts of snow often conceal the repositories thus made of the martens from the hunter, in which case they furnish a regale to the hungry fox, whose sagacious nostril guides him unerringly to the spot. Two or three foxes are often seen following a wolverine for this purpose.’^[84. Graham’s MS'S. p. 13. ] The wolverine is said to be a great destroyer of beavers, but it must be only in the summer, when those industrious animals are at work on land, that it can surprise them. An attempt to break open their house in the winter, even supposing it possible for the claws of a wolverine to penetrate the thick mud walls when frozen as hard as stone, would only have the effect of driving the beavers into the water to seek for shelter in their vaults on the borders of the dam.”^[85. Fauna Boreali Americana, Part î. p. 43. ] Next to the polar bear, the wolverine is one of the most northern of known quadrupeds. Its bones were found in Melville Island, nearly in latitude 75°.

A third species of this genus is the Grison, or banded glutton (G. vittatus), an inhabitant of a warmer clime. It is very common in Paraguay. A fourth is the Taira (G. barbatus, — Mustelus barbatus, Linn.), described by Azara under the name of le grand furet. It is likewise a native of South America.

The Ratel, or cape glutton (G. mellivorus, — Viverra mellivora and capensis, Gmclin), differs from the preceding in having one false molar less in each jaw, and in the upper tubercular teeth being slightly developed, as in cats; but in its external aspect it resembles the grison and badger. It is described by Sparmann as being about the size of the latter,—the fur greyish above, and black below, with an intermediate line of white. It inhabits the Cape of Good Hope, where, with its long claws, it disinters the nests of wild bees, and feeds upon their honey. Though long regarded as exclusively of African origin, it now appears, on the testimony of General Hardwick, to occur in several parts of India, along the courses of the Ganges and the Jumna. Its manners, however, do not at all correspond with those assigned to the African variety. It inhabits the high banks of the great rivers, and seldom issues abroad during the day. At night it prowls about the Mahommedan habitations, and will sometimes even scratch up recently interred human bodies, unless the graves be protected by a covering of thorny shrubs. So rapid indeed are its subterranean operations, that it will work its way beneath the surface in the course of ten minutes. Its favourite food consists of birds and small quadrupeds. There is a specimen of this animal in the London Zoological Gardens, remarkable for its playfulness and good humour. It solicits attention by a great variety of postures, and tumbles head over heels as soon as it has succeeded in attracting the notice of a visitor.^[86. Gardens and Menagerie, vok i. p. 20. ] Tribe II— Digitigrada.

The groups of this tribe derive their name from their peculiar mode of locomotion. The heel does not touch the ground, and the act of walking is performed, as it were, upon the toes. We may name as familiar examples the pole-cats, martens, dogs, hyenas, and the whole of the feline race. Like most of our attempts, however, at a general arrangement, founded on any single attribute, we find this principle imperfect, or at least admitting of exceptions in relation to the character prescribed, in as far as several species might be adduced, which truly agree with their digitigrade congeners in their prevailing character, but approach the plantigrades in their mode of locomotion.

The genuine Digitigrades, however, such as cats, are among the most agile of their tribe, and as activity is an almost indispensable adjunct in the habits of a carnivorous creature, we find that these light-footed kinds are also the most exclusively flesh-eating of all the ferine order. Indeed all the genera of our present tribe may be said to be more strictly carnivorous than those of the preceding.

1st Subdivision. A single tuberculous tooth behind the carnivorous cheektooth of the upper jaw. Body much elongated. Limbs short.

This subdivision corresponds to the old genus Mustela of Linnaeus, and includes all those small and slender bodied animals which, in our own country, are usually designated as vermin, such as weasels, polecats, &c., the Verminium genus of Ray. They are very blood-thirsty, and extremely destructive for their size, destroying great quantities of game, both in woods, fields, and moorish mountains, and [7:14:109]committing ravages in poultry-yards, and other enclosures, especially of remote country dwellings. They are wary, nocturnal, and insidious, and, from their worm-like form, can penetrate minute openings,—thus gaining access to places where their presence was little expected, and less desired. The general dentition may be stated as: incisives- c ∙ 1 ~ 1 ι 4 ~ 4 5 ~ 5 o 1 ' , a -, canine; τ, molars - or z. ; — 34 or 38.

G 1 — 1’ 5 —5 6 —6

We shall now proceed to give a short sketch of the minor genera (increased in number though restricted in extent), into which the musteline group of Linnaeus has been subdivided in recent times.

The polecats (subgenus Putorius, Cuv.^[87. Baron Cuvier has applied the generic name Putorius to the group which contains the polecat and the weasel, and he bestows that of Mustela on the martens. We think the latter should have been given to whatever group contained the true weasel (Μ. vulgans, Linn). as it is otherwise apt to carry false associations. Some recent writers adopt the genus Putorius, as assigned by Cuvier, but give the title of Martes to the martens properly so called. This is very well in its way, but then we lose the term műstela alto, ^. e .. e .j as , a Sθueric appellation. Now we think, that whenever a Linnaean genus is raised to the rank of a family, the original gene nc title should still be retained, as indicative of one of the restricted groups. ]) are among the most sanguinary. Their lower carnivorous cheek-tooth has no interior tubercle, their upper tubercular tooth is broader than long, and they have only two false molars above and three below, on each side. They exhale a strong and disagreeable odour. The species are extremely numerous, and widely spread. We have three well known British kinds,—the foumart, or common polecat (37. putor ius, Linn.), of which the ferret (Μ. furo) is regarded simply as a variety by some,—the weasel (Μ. vulgaris, Linn.), and the ermine or stoat (37. erminea, Linn.). Another species, remarkable for its amphibious habits, and known under the name of Minh (Mustela lutreola, Pallas), is very common in Finland, and in other parts of the north and east of Europe, from the Icy to the Black Sea. Erxleben, however, is in error when he supposes it to be a North American species. The animal of the New World is the vison (Μ. vison, Gmelin) or minx otter of Pennant.^[88. Arctic Zoology, vol. i. p. 87, and Fauna Boreali-Amerìcana, Part i. p. 48. ] Both species prey much on fish, reptiles, and aquatic insects, and the latter is easily tamed. “One,” says Dr Richardson, “which I saw in the possession of a Canadian woman, passed the day in her pocket, looking out occasionally, when its attention was roused by any unusual noise.”^[89. ≡ Ibid. p. 49. ] Other species inhabit the warmer countries of the earth, such as Africa (P. africanus, Desm.), Madagascar (P. striatus, F. Cuvier), and Java (P. nudipes, Id.). The last-named animal, of a yellowish fawn-colour, with the head and termination of the tail white, is figured on Plate CCCXXXII., fig. 1. There is a Cape species (Viverra zorilla, Gmelin) which, in its general aspect, resembles the polecats ; yet the form of its fore-claws is somewhat peculiar, and seems to indicate subterranean habits of life, and a propensity to dig. It has, on this account, been formed by some authors into a separate subgenus under the name of Zorilla, — perhaps an inappropriate title, and apt to mislead the student, in as far as it was first applied by Spanish writers to one of the mephitic species of America.

The Martens properly so called (Mustela of Cuvier, but to which the generic name of Martes would be more appropriately applied), have a small interior tubercle on the lower carnivorous cheek-tooth, and (compared with the preceding) an additional false molar both above and below. Each of these characters is supposed to indicate some diminution of the purely carnivorous propensity. We have two British species, the common or beech marten (Μ. fagorum, Ray, Μ. martes, var. fagorum, Linn.), of which the throat and breast are white, and the pine marten (Μ. abictum, Ray, Μ. martes, var. abictum, Linn.), of which the throat and breast are dingy yellow. The former is the more common in England, and the southern and central parts of Scotland,—the latter prevails in the north.

Though the specific names are derived from their supposed propensities towards particular kinds of forests, it appears that their habits, like those of most other species, are of an accommodating kind. Both sorts, and more especially the first named, are often found in districts “rocky, bare, sublime,” of which the most hopeless attribute is that of forest scenery. The common marten more frequently approaches farm-houses than the other, and was probably, for that reason, distinguished by the name of domestica by the old writers, such as Gesner and Aldrovandus. The pine marten is extremely common over the northern parts of America, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and is particularly abundant where the trees have remained standing after being killed by fire. Its fur is fine, and has long formed an important article of commerce, upwards of a hundred thousand skins being collected annually in the districts devoted to the trade. It is well known that it also formed a lucrative subject of export from Scotland before the Union. Dr Fleming says it builds its nest on the tops of trees. According to Dr Richardson, its habits in America are rather subterraneous. We have seen its young winding their worm-like way amid the trceless corries of the Highland mountains, where not even a sapling wild-ash waved its leaves in the grey solitude.

One of the most famous of the foreign martens is the zibelline or sable (Μ. Zibellina, Linn.), so noted for the beauty of its fur. It is very like our martens both in size and proportions, and is usually of a rich lustrous brown colour, somewhat paler in summer, and marked during that season with grey upon the throat, and whitish on the ears and face. It is spread over a wide extent of northern Asia, where it is held in the highest estimation of all the fur-bearing animals; and its pursuit among the frozen wastes of Siberia and Kamtschatka is probably the most painful as well as perilous of those sacrifices which the human race, either by force or free will, have ever made to the love of riches. The winter robe is by much the most esteemed, being then fuller, darker, softer, and more flexible and lustrous than at any other season. In this state it is equally coveted by Chinese mandarins, Tartarian chiefs, and the noblesse of Europe, and is justly regarded as one of the most precious and magnificent of all the artificial adornments of the human frame. A single skin of the richest quality is worth from twelve to fourteen pounds, and in its attempted acquisition many hardy hunters perish miserably of cold and famine. The Russian dealers, however, are so skilful in the perfect preparation of these furs, that they often succeed in selling the summer skins for those of winter. We may add, that to the pursuit of the sable we owe the discovery of the eastern countries of Siberia.

The pekan or fisher (Μ. canadensis, Linn.) is a well known species of North America. Its habits resemble those of the pine marten, but it is nearly twice the size, and its fur is coarser, and less valuable.

Genus Mephitis, Cuv. Incisives -, canines 1 - ʹ- 1 , G 1 — 1’

4 4

molars ð ; = 34. As in the polecats, there are two false molars above and three below, but the upper tubercular tooth is very large, and as long as broad; the lower carnivorous cheek tooth has two tubercles on Es inner side, a character in which the species approach the badgers. They resemble the latter also in the lengthened claws of [7:14:110]the fore feet, and the almost plantigrade form of the hinder extremities.

The animals of this genus are commonly called skunks or mephitic weasels, and are remarkable for their intense and ineradicable odour. Although several species are described by naturalists, it does not clearly appear that more exists than one, the skunk weasel of Pennant (Mephitis Americana, Rich., Viverra putorius, Gmelin), which is spread over a great extent of territory in the New World, and varies in different localities. Its size is that of a domestic cat, its fur, though rather course, is very ample, of a black colour, marked by longitudinal bands of white, and the tail, which is long and bushy, has generally two broad longitudinal white stripes above upon a black ground. The skunk, as described by Dr Richardson, inhabits rocky and woody regions, spending the winter in a hole, and seldom stirring abroad during the colder seasons. It preys on mice, and in summer feeds much on frogs. Its gait is slow, and it can be easily overtaken by its pursuers, as it makes no great efforts to escape by flight, but trusts the discomfiture of its enemies to the discharge of a most noisome fluid. This fluid, which is of a deep yellow colour, is contained in a small bag placed at the root of the tail, and emits probably the most overpowering stench in the known world. It is so durable, that wherever a skunk has been killed, the place retains a taint for many days. “Mr Graham says that he knew several Indians who had lost their eyesight in consequence of inflammation, produced by this fluid having been thrown into them by the animal, which has the power of ejecting it to the distance of upwards of four feet. I have known,” adds Dr Richardson, “a dead skunk thrown over the stockades of a trading post produce instant nausea in several women in a house with closed doors upwards of a hundred yards distant. The odour has some resemblance to that of garlic, although much more disagreeable. One may, however, soon become familiarized with it; for, notwithstanding the disgust it produces at first, I have managed to skin a couple of recent specimens by recurring to the task at intervals. When care is taken not to soil the carcass with any of the strong smelling fluid, the meat is considered by the natives to be excellent food. It breeds once a-year, and has from six to ten young at a time.”^[90. Fauna Bor call-Americana, p. i. p. 55. ] Not fewer than fifteen varieties of this animal have been described, and many of them under separate names, as distinct species. It is singular that the Hudson’s Bay variety should approach most nearly to the description of the Chindie of Buffon (Viverra mephitis, Grnelin), which, though said to be an inhabitant of Chili, is yet regarded by some observers as identical with the skunk of more northern regions, and to the same or closely related species we may also no doubt refer the so-called glutton of Quito ( Gulo Quitensis}, described by Humboldt.^[91. Recueil d’ Observations sur la Zooloaic. ] Genus Mydaus, Horsfield. Incisives-, canines -,

G’ 1 — 1’

4 4

molars -; = 34. Muzzle truncated, or pig like. Tail very short.

The only known species of this genus is the Teledu of Java (Μ. meliceps, Horsficld), classed as a Mephitis by Desmarest and others. In its dentition it certainly agrees closely with the mephitic weasels of America, but its external character and physiognomy are peculiar, its form being heavy, its neck strong and short, and its mode of progression almost entirely plantigrade. It emits an odour very similar to that of the skunk. « The Mydaus melieeps,” says Dr Horsfield, in his excellent account of this curious animal, “presents a singular fact in its geographical distribution. It is confined exclusively to those mountains which have an elevation of more than 7000 feet above the level of the ocean; on these it occurs with as much regularity as many plants. The long extended surface of Java, abounding with conical points which exceed this elevation, affords many places favourable for its resort. On ascending these mountains, the traveller scarcely fails to meet with our animal, which, from its peculiarities, is universally known to the inhabitants of these elevated tracts; while to those of the plains it is as strange as an animal from a foreign country. A traveller would inquire in vain for the Tcledu at Batavia, Semarang, or Surabaya. In my visits to the mountainous districts I uniformly met with it; and, as far as the information of the natives can be relied on, it is found on all the mountains. It is, however, more abundant on those which, after reaching a certain elevation, consist of numerous connected horizontal ridges, than on those which terminate in a defined conical peak. Of the former description are the mountain Prahu and the Tengger Hills, which are both distinctly indicated in Sir Stamford Raffles’ map of Java: here I observed it in great abundance. It was the less common on mountain Gede, south of Batavia; on the mountain Ungarang, south of Semarang; and on the mountain Ijen, at the farthest eastern extremity; but I traced its range through the whole island.

“Most of these mountains and ridges furnish tracts of considerable extent, fitted for the cultivation of wheat and other European grains. Certain extra-tropical fruits are likewise raised with success. Peaches and strawberries grow in considerable abundance, and the common culinary vegetables of Europe are cultivated to great extent. To most Europeans and Chinese a residence in these elevated regions is extremely desirable; and even the natives, who in general dislike its cold atmosphere, are attracted by the fertility of the soil, and find it an advantage to establish villages, and to clear grounds for culture. Potatoes, cabbages, and many other culinary vegetables are extensively raised, as the entire supply of the plains in these articles depends on these elevated districts. Extensive plantations of wheat and of other European grains, as well as of tobacco, are here found, where rice, the universal product of the plains, refuses to grow. These grounds and plantations are laid out in the deep vegetable mould, where the teledu holds its range as the most ancient inhabitant of the soil. In its rambles in search of food, this animal frequently enters the plantations and destroys the roots of young plants; in this manner it causes extensive injury, and on the Tengger Hills particularly, where these plantations are more extensive than in other elevated tracts, its visits are much dreaded by the inhabitants; it burrows in the earth with its nose, in the same manner as hogs; and, in traversing the hills, its nocturnal toils are observed in the morning, in small ridges of mould recently turned up.

“The Mydaus forms its dwelling at a slight depth beneath the surface, in the black mould, with considerable ingenuity. Having selected a spot, defended above by the roots of a large tree, it constructs a cell or chamber of a globular form, having a diameter of several feet, the sides of which it makes perfectly smooth and regular; this it provides with a subterraneous conduit or avenue, about six feet in length, the external entrance to which it conceals with twigs and dry leaves. During the day it remains concealed like a badger in its hole; at night it proceeds in search of its food, which consists of insects and their larvae. and of worms of every kind; it is particularly fond of the common lumbrici, or earthworms, which abound in the fertile mould. These animals, agreeably to the information of the natives, live in pairs, and the female produces two or three young at a birth.

“The motions of the mydaus are slow, and it is easily taken by the natives, who by no means fear it. During [7:14:111]my abode on the mountain Prahu, I engaged them to procure me individuals for preparation; and as they received a desirable reward, they brought them to me daily in greater numbers than I could employ. Whenever the natives surprise them suddenly, they prepare them for food; the flesh is then scarcely impregnated with the offensive odour, and is described as very delicious. The animals are generally in excellent condition, as their food abounds in fertile mould.”^[92. Zoological Researches. ]

We may add, that the teledu is by no means ferocious in its manners, and, if taken young, might no doubt be easily domesticated. An individual, retained for some time in confinement by Dr Horsfield, afforded him an opportunity of studying its disposition. It soon became gentle and reconciled to its situation, and never emitted its offensive effluvium. In the natural state, however, its odour is so strong and volatile, that the entire neighbourhood of a village may be infected by a single animal in a state of irritation, and in the immediate vicinity of the discharge the smell is so violent as to produce fainting fits. The specimen from which Dr Horsfield made his drawing ate voraciously of earthworms, but as soon as it had devoured ten or twelve it became drowsy, and, making a small groove in the earth, it placed its snout in it and fell asleep.

Genus Lutra, Ray. Mustela, Linn. Incisives -, ca-ļ ļ ð ð ð ð

nines -, molars . or -; = 36 or 38. Head

1 — 1’ 5 — 5 6 — 6

flat. Body long and low. Tail strong and depressed at the base.

. We here place those amphibious fish-eating animals commonly called otters, of which there are many species. The character and aspect of our European kind {Lutra vul-guris, Erxleben, Mustela lutra, Linn.) are well known. It occurs over all Europe and a considerable portion of the north of Asia. It is a fierce creature, tenacious of life, and very injurious to fresh-water fisheries, from its habit of preying very exclusively on the upper parts only of trout and salmon, leaving a large portion of the caudal extremity unconsιιmed. What can be the nature of its objection to this despised portion? In Scotland we find the otter frequently inhabiting the sea-shore as well as the interior, and seeking its food both in salt and fresh water. The female brings forth her young, usually four or five in number, during spring. The fur is valuable, and forms an article of export from our northern isles.

The Canada otter (Z. Canadensis, Sabine),^[93. Zoological Appendix to Franklin’s Journey to the Polar Sea, p. 453. ] resembles the European species, both in food and habits, but it is a much larger animal, with a shorter tail, and is distinguished by the fur of the abdomen being of the same shining brown colour as that of the back. It is found across the whole of the northern parts of North America, where, during the winter season, it haunts the falls and rapids for the sake of open water, and when these are frozen over in one district, it will travel a long way in search of others, which may have resisted the power of frost. If pursued by the hunters during these peregrinations, it will throw itself forward on its belly, and slide through the snow for several yards, leaving behind it a deep furrow, and repeating this peculiar movement with such rapidity, that the swiftest runner on snowshoes with difficulty overtakes it. It also doubles on its track very cunningly, dives occasionally beneath the snow, and at last, when too closely pressed to render flight available, it will turn and defend itself with courageous obstinacy. During the spring season, on the Great Bear Lake, this species frequently robbed the nets of Captain Franklin’s expedition, usually carrying off the heads of the fish, and leaving the bodies sticking in the meshes. It brings forth, in April, from one to three at a birth. Seven or eight thousand skins are annually imported into England.^[94. Fauna Boreali-Americana, part i. p. 58. 4 M nnue ι de Mammalogie, p. 157. ]

Another well known American species is the sea otter ŲLutra marina, Steller), which Dr Fleming, in the supposition that it possesses only four incisives in the lower jaw, desires to constitute a separate genus called Enhydra. It is mentioned, however, in the narrative of Cook’s (third) voyage, that a young sea otter had six of these teeth as usual in the lower jaw, and it may therefore be inferred that two drop out before the attainment of the adult state. The species inhabits the northern parts of the Pacific from Kamschatka to the Yellow Sea on the Asiatic shores, and from Alaska to California on those of America. It seems to have more of the manners of a seal than of the land otter, and is sometimes met with out at sea, at a vast distance from the shore; Pennant says even as far as a hundred leagues. The fur is very handsome, and was much esteemed by the Chinese, who gave extraordinary prices for it in former days. The Canton market, however, has long been overstocked, and the influx has of course reduced the value. It varies in beauty with the age and condition of the animal, and the season of the year. Those obtained in winter are of a finer black, and otherwise more perfect than at any other period, and, according to Meares, the male is much more beautiful than the female. Those in highest estimation have the belly and throat interspersed with brilliant silver hairs, while the other parts consist of a thick black coat, with a silky gloss of extreme fineness.

Besides these northern otters we have a Brazilian species, and one (supposed to be distinct) from Carolina, while several Asiatic kinds have been described by Sir Stamford Raffles, Dr Horsfield, and MM. Diard and Leschenhault. The Cape otter (Lutra inunguis, F. Cuv.), is alleged to be destitute of claws, and on the supposition of the truth of that negative character, has been formed into a separate genus called Aonyx by Μ. Lesson. 4 He bestows on the sole species the name of Delalandii, as it was first brought from the country of the Hottentots, by the French naturalist of that name. It measures about three feet in length exclusive of the tail, which is ten inches. The fur is soft and thick, of a chesnut-brown colour, paler on the flanks, with a mixture of grey about the head. It inhabits the salt pools along the marine shores' of the Cape, and preys on fish and Crustacea.

2d Subdivision. Two tuberculous teeth behind the carnivorous cheek tooth o f the upper jaw. Body proportionally shorter than in the preceding subdivision, and the limbs longer.

Our present group is mainly constituted by the genera Canis and Viverra of Linnaeus, including the dogs, w olves, and foxes, the civets and ichneumons, besides a few minor genera of recent introduction.

θ ] J

Genus Canis, Linn. Cuv. Incisives -, canines -

’ 6 1 — 1

molars, ĵ ’> — 42. The incisive teeth are all placed on the same line, and are usually trilobate, before being worn by use. The upper molars consist of three small single-lobed false molars, one bicuspidate carnivorous cheek-tooth, and two small tuberculous teeth with flattened crowns. The inferior molars consist of four false molars, one carnivorous cheek-tooth, and two tuberculous grinders. The tongue is smooth. The anterior extremities are furnished with five toes, the posterior with four.
[7:14:112]

This genus, of such high importance as containing the numerous and various breeds of our domestic dog, is in one or other of its forms most widely spread over almost all the regions of the habitable globe. We shall not here attempt to give the peculiar characters of the Canis familiaris, by which general specific term, if we may be allow ed the expression, naturalists are in use to distinguish the domesticated races from the wolves, jackals, and foxes, because their characters are so extremely variable in their nature, and admit of such an extended range of modification, that the exceptions to any presupposed peculiarity are almost as numerous as its confirmations. The more curved form of the tail probably distinguishes all domestic dogs from wolves, while the rounded outline of the pupil serves to separate them from the foxes, in which that organ, when exposed to light, assumes a lenticular shape. We shall proceed to a few general observations on the natural history of these animals, without attempting even an enumeration of the principal domestic kinds.^[95. We have given a more extended view of the origin and natural history of domestic dogs in the 5th and 6th numbers of the Quarterly Journal of Agriculture, and in the first volume of our Illustrations of Zoology, genus Ċanis. The reader will find a valuable paper (by another hand) on sporting dogs, under the term Hound, of this Encyclopaedia. See volume xi. p. 697. ]

The real origin of our domestic breeds, whether from a single or complex source, may be said to be now entirely unknown, as a subject either of history or tradition. It is lost in the usual obscurity of a remote antiquity, and can now-only be ascertained (if at alD by the investigations of the naturalist. So infinitely varied is the external aspect of these invaluable creatures, and so much does it seem to depend, not only on the physical conditions of clime and country under which they exist, but on the moral and political state of the particular nations by whom they are held in subjection, that in numerous instances all traces of resemblance to the supposed original, or indeed to any known species of wild animal, have disappeared; and after the lapse of ages, we are in fact at last presented with what may be termed artificial creatures, incapable of subsisting without the aid and companionship of man, and of which assuredly no natural type ever existed in any age or country. It is clear from what we know of the harmonious laws by which a Divine Providence regulates the economy of the animal kingdom, that no such creature as a pug dog could ever have existed as an independent being in a state of nature, or formed one of those “golden links” by which creation is so softly blended. It would have marred the immaculate beauty of the primeval world.

Many varieties, however, of the domestic dog, though originally produced by what may be termed accidents, have now become permanent subspecies, if we may use the term, each of which is signalised by some characteristic peculiarity of either a physical or instinctive nature, and differs from an ordinary variety (as exhibited among unreclaimed animals), in the power which it possesses of reproducing individuals exactly similar to itself. Several of these varieties from their great value to mankind, have been so encouraged and preserved in purity, as to have become impressed with characters not only distinctive, but of so uniform and permanent a nature as to exhibit in certain instances the aspect of a total difference in kind. Making due allowance, however, for the influence of all extraneous or accidental causes, we yet deem it impossible to doubt that the origin of the dog tribe, as it now exists under the extended dominion of mankind, has been rather complex than simple. We do not mean to maintain that every strongly marked variety has had each its own original source, or that even when nature

“Wanton’d as in her prime, and play’d at will

Her virgin fancies,”

there ever existed wild greyhounds, unreclaimed pug dogs, or native pointers and poodles, all alike independent of each other, and of their now acknowledged lord and master, because the question in that case would, from their multiplicity, be speedily set at rest by the occurrence of one or other of these animals in its original and unsubdued condition. But we think it improper to refer the various breeds to one and the same origin, the theory seeming to ourselves more natural which supposes that the characteristic kinds, or great leading varieties of each country or continent, have either directly descended from, or been crossed and remodelled by a union with, such of the native (canine) animals of the same natural genus, as we still find to occur in such country or continent. For example, although we may admit with Guldenstaedt, that the Kalmuc, and some other eastern dogs, may have derived their origin from the jackal, the same cannot be said of those of New Holland, or of North and South America, where the jackal is unknown; and several of our own northern varieties are evidently descended so much more immediately from the wolf, as to render the ancestral aid of the “lion’s provider” altogether superfluous. We also know that in America and New Holland, at the period of (and consequently prior to) the discovery of these countries by Europeans, there existed both wild and domesticated dogs, the former of which were evidently indigenous, and in all probability the origin of the latter.^[96. For Humboldt’s opinion of the indigenous dogs of South America, see Personal Narrative, vol. ii. part 2. ]

We believe that Pallas was among the first to give currency to the opinion that the dog was to be regarded in a great measure as an adventitious animal, that is to say, as a creature produced by the fortuitous and diversified alliances of several natural species. Both the shepherd’s dog and the wolfdog, in his opinion, derive their origin from the jackal, while the mastiff is regarded as more nearly related to the hyena, and the smaller tribes of terriers, &c. to the fox. His ideas, though somewhat fanciful, merit the attention of the naturalist. We object, however, to the hyena, which (though classed with the dogs by Linnaeus) is not in fact a canine animal, but belongs to a distinct and well-defined genus, characterized by having five toes on each foot, and five molar teeth on either side of both jaws; whereas the truly canine race, such as dogs, wolves, and jackals, have only four toes on the hinder extremities, with six molar teeth on each side of the upper jaw, and seven on each side of the under. The general proportions of the hyena, too, are very different, the fore-legs being longer than the hind ones, which has the effect of raising the shoulders and anterior portion of the body; whereas in the other species just named, the hind legs are longer than the fore ones, a character which probably obtains among all swift-footed animals. The immediate relationship of the fox is likewise doubtful. His alliance would be useful as giving the earthy propensities of the terrier tribes, but we cannot overlook the peculiar shape of the pupil, which is what naturalists call nocturnal, that is oblong, and narrowing under the influence of light; whereas in dogs and other canine species, though it decreases in size under that influence, it retains its circular form. The difference in the habitual character and instinctive habits of the fox must also be borne in mind. It is scarcely necessary to say that it is a wary, silent, nocturnal animal, of sly and solitary habits, never congregating, or hunting its prey in packs, but preferring a gradual and unperceived approach, and the exercise of an insidious cunning, to the more open warfare declared by its congeners. This distinction is in truth of greater importance than may at first appear, for we consider the social or gregarious sentiment in animals as [7:14:113]the true basis of a thorough domestication. A solitary species, may, indeed, be tamed, so far as the individual is concerned, but if the social instinct is wanting, its descendants will be only half reclaimed, and the process must be again resorted to. But the love of society, which we call the social instinct, and which is so strongly possessed by sheep, oxen, and other domestic kinds, when once properly directed towards himself by the skill of man, renders these animals forever both attached and subservient to the human race. Another strong objection, though of a more negative kind, to the theories of Pallas and Guldenstaedt, is founded on their slight consideration, if not entire exclusion, of the wolf as the most probable parent, especially in northern countries, of a numerous and important tribe of our domestic dogs. In reference to the point at issue, we indeed regard tins animal, as of all others, the most entitled to our strong attention. Many well known varieties of the dog exhibit so wolfish an aspect, that their descent from that species, at a more or less remote period, can scarcely be doubted; and we incline the more to this opinion, when we consider that the jackal is not a northern animal, that, the wolf is eminently so; and that the remotest tribes of the human race, inhabiting the highest northern latitudes, have never been found unaccompanied by a domesticated breed of dogs, bearing a greater resemblance to the wolf than to the jackal.

All the principal and regulating facts in the natural history of the wolf and dog are identical. The rutting season commences at the same time, and continues for an equal period in each; and both carry their young for nine weeks, —Gilbert’s opinion that the period of the wolf’s gestation extended to three months and a half having since been proved to be erroneous. Then the jackal is a puny and powerless creature, compared with many of its alleged descendants, while the wolf is one of the strongest of European carnivorous animals. Though those of Spain and Italy are not gigantic, the wolves of Lithuania are extremely large, frequently measuring five feet in length from the muzzle to the insertion of the tail; and the same, or even increased dimensions arc maintained by those of still more northern climes. Both their coat and colour vary in accordance with the climate. In high northern latitudes they become white in winter, and a black variety occurs in Spain. This natural variation of the colour of the wolf is a circumstance of some importance in relation to the present inquiry, because the tendency to become white at one extremity of the series, or range of colours, and black at the other, combined with what may be called the central or representative hue of the animal, which is brown, supplies in fact the three elementary colours of the whole tribe of dogs, and thus in a great measure accounts for the variety of markings by which our domestic races are distinguished. In a state of domestication the wolf is capable of assuming and retaining all the docility and gentleness of the dog, and the productive union of the two, though at one time doubted by Bufiòn, was at an after period ascertained and demonstrated by that brilliant historian of the brute creation, and has since been frequently confirmed in recent times. We shall here rest satisfied with a single citation: “Those naturalists,” says Captain Sabine, “who believe that no animal, in a perfectly natural and wild state, will connect itself with one of a different species, will consider the long agitated question of the specific identity of the wolf and dog, as determined by a circumstance of frequent occurrence at Melville Island. In December and January, which are the months in which wolves are in season, a female paid almost daily visits to the neighbourhood of the ships, and remained till she was joined by a setter-dog belonging to one of the officers. They were usually together from two to three hours; and as they did not go far away, unless an endeavour was made to approach them, repeated and decided evidence was obtained of the purpose for which they were thus associated.”^[97. Supplement to the Appendix to Parry’s First Voyage, p. 183. ]

Now the only reasonable objection which, as it appears to us, remained to the experiments of Buffon and the younger Cuvier, was deducible from the fact of these having been made upon animals in confinement, and which were consequently existing under constrained and artificial circumstances. But here such objection ceases. We witness the voluntary cohabiting of two creatures brought up under entirely different circumstances,—the one with as much of wildness as the most forlorn region of the earth could induce upon an originally savage nature, the other so altered in its form and aspect by the immemorial subjection of itself and ancestors to the dominion of man, as to have lost almost all outward resemblance to the stock from whence it sprung; and yet, notwithstanding this disparity of manners, and the different conditions of the social state, they mutually recognise and acknowledge each other, and the immediate representative of the natural and unaltered species, “like the wild envoy of a barbarous clan,” seeks and obtains the affection of the enslaved descendant. Unless all our established notions regarding the legitimate distinctions of species arc essentially false, what more do we require to prove the identity of the animals in question?

It is also of importance to bear in mind the existence of wild dogs of the domestic breed, which live in a fierce and emancipated state in the plains and forests of many different countries, because this fact demonstrates that no changes, either physical or artificial, on the earth’s surface, whether produced by the agency of man or otherwise, can have extinguished the original source, when its descendants, after regaining their liberty, are thus found to breed and prosper in a state of nature. We insist the more upon this observation, because we think it cuts deeply at the base of a theory, or rather hypothesis, maintained by certain naturalists, who, unable in any way to disencumber the subject, give it the slip by asserting that we must now for ever seek in vain for the original type of our domestic races, in consequence of its extinction, either by universal servitude, or actual extermination. Now, it would certainly be surprising if the original source of the plurality of our domestic dogs had ceased to exist in an independent state, when we see the wild species of so many of our other domestic animals still flourishing in their original positions, notwithstanding their more confined limits, the smaller number of their young, and their comparatively defenceless nature. Those troops of wild (emancipated) dogs which we know to exist in the midst of European colonies, in spite of continued efforts to destroy them, prove that in the infancy and early progress of human society, a naturally wild species could neither be entirely subdued, nor utterly exterminated. Nor is there any evidence whatever from history, tradition, or the geological phenomena of nature, of the extinction of any wild animal of the dog kind; and, as ancient writers mention all the actual species of that tribe in the countries where they still exist, it may more reasonably be concluded that one or more of these wild species are the actual source of our various domestic breeds, than that the source itself has been extirpated.

It is proper, while endeavouring to trace the origin of what Baron Cuvier has called “the completest, the most singular, and the most useful conquest ever made by man,”^[98. lìègne Animal t. i. n. 149. ] more especially when we know how ancient that conquest must have been, to refer to the native species of the country usually regarded as the cradle of the human race. From the earliest periods of which we have any detailed records [7:14:114]down to the more minutely authenticated histories of modern times, there has never been any indication given of the existence, in Asia Minor, of more than four wild animals of the dog tribe, viz. the hyena, the wolf, the fox, and the jackal. The first of these species, we have already stated, is not now regarded by naturalists as pertaining to the canine race, and we have also referred to certain strongly marked distinctive peculiarities of the fox; so that we consider the wolf and jackal as alone entitled to our particular regard in relation to the present inquiry. We have already said enough to shew the strong claims of the wolf, so far as the northern races are concerned ,∙ but the multiplicity of size, form, and locality of our domestic dogs, seems to indicate a compound origin, and it cannot be denied that many of the southern dogs present so marked and peculiar a character, that their descent from the jackal is obvious. It is not our province to enter in this place into anatomical details, but we may state generally, that an attentive comparison scarcely exhibits any sensible difference between the internal structure of the jackal and that of the shepherd’s dog. This is the opinion espoused by Pallas and Guldenstaedt, the former of whom maintains that the dogs of the Kalmuks arc in truth neither more nor less than jackals. This animal has always abounded in Asia Minor, where all the théogonies of the west have placed the paradisaical cradle of the human race, and where it must have been easily accessible to the first families of mankind. We willingly coincide in this view, with the reservations before mentioned regarding the great northern dogs, and those of the still remoter countries of the New World, where the jackal is unknown, but where its place is amply filled by gaunt and grizzly wolves. It is, indeed, by no means likely that the dogs mentioned by Pietro Martyro and Oviedo, as living with the inhabitants of the little Antilles and the Caraibs of Terra Firma, were derived from species foreign to America; because the authors first named (both of whom were contemporaneous with and witnesses to the discovery and conquest of America), describe these dogs as being of various colours and kinds of coat, from which we may infer that they had been, even then, for a long period reduced to servitude. They were all mute; that is to say, they never barked: but that faculty seems, in truth, to be neither natural nor innate, but rather acquired by habit, as domestic dogs run wild have no other cry than a sharp or prolonged howl; and the silent species of barbarous nations, when introduced into civilized society, speedily acquire the bark of our domestic kinds.

It may, moreover, be borne in mind, that there are at least two kinds of jackal,—the better known species, commonly called the Indian Jackal ( Canis aureus, Linn·), and that from Senegal, described by Frederick Cuvier under the name of Canis anthus. These animals, though regarded as specifically distinct, have bred together in the Garden of Plants. This is a fact of considerable importance, as shewing the facility with which a mixed breed from the jackal might be procured; and as it was previously known that the wolf manifested the same instinctive inclination towards different varieties of the dog, we thus obtain a more extended knowledge of a feature in the character of the canine race, which throws considerable light upon our inquiries. When we see that both the wolf and jackal thus breed with other species, and that all our domesticated dogs breed with each other, although some are scarcely distinguishable from the wolf, while others seem identical with the jackal, we can scarcely doubt that all such domesticated varieties have in fact arisen primarily from these two animals,—the southern from the jackal, the northern from the wolf; and that the intermediate varieties have sprung from an intermixture of the jackal-dogs on the one hand, and of the wolf-dogs on the other, afterwards crossed and commingled in various conceivable ways, both by accident and design. We confess that the extreme variations are still surprising, if not unaccountable; such as the difference between a lofty limbed and almost gigantic stag-hound of the ancient Irish breed, and the low-legged waddling turnspit, or terrier of the Isle of Skye; but that domestication for many thousand years, and the altered habits of life which ensue from it, have been strongly influential in moulding the form and character of the canine race, is evident from this, that the dogs of all wild and secluded nations, whose domestic animals may be supposed to exist most nearly in a state of nature, are all more strongly allied either to the wolf or the jackall, than those that partake the fortunes of civilized men, who dwell in large cities, or in thickly peopled countries; and this approximation to the aspect of the wild animal in the one case, and departure from it in the other, is in truth the surest index to the primitive types which it is possible to obtain. Thus from two or three original sources or distinct kinds, have been derived about ten times the number of mixed races,—many of which, and chiefly those which lead the most artificial or altered modes of life, have now lost all traces of resemblance to the stock from which they sprung.

The length of the preceding observations will prevent our entering into any detailed account of the infinitely varied dogs of the domestic kind. The subject is, indeed, far too extensive for our present limits, for there is scarcely a nation of the earth, savage or civilized, that does not benefit by their friendly assistance, or derive delight from their affectionate companionship. We doubt not that many tribes of mankind would cease to exist if their dogs were withdrawn from them, and we know of scarcely any which would not suffer severely from such deprivation. Their strength, activity, and courage,—their intelligence, perseverance, and attachment—their exquisite sense of smell—their finely accommodating instincts, and, in many cases, their extreme beauty and grace,—have deservedly rendered the canine tribe the objects of the most unfeigned wonder and admiration to all observers and narrators, whether of ancient or modern days, from Hippocrates to the Ettrick Shepherd.^[99. The reader who desires a knowledge, or at least a notion of domestic dogs of various kinds, will consult with advantage (in addition, of course, to the various sporting Annals of our own country), Mr Griffith’s valuable English edition (with additions) of the Règne Animai —the Menageries (vol. i.) of the Library of Entertaining Knowledge —our essay“On the Origin and Natural History of Dogs” in the Quarterly Journal of Agriculture (5th and Gth Nos.)—and Captain Brown’s Compendium entitled Anecdotes of Dogs. ]

Having figured, as an illustration of the present genus, the Hare Indian, or Mackenzie Fiver dog (Canis familiaris, var. lagopus of Richardson, see Plate CCCXXXII. fig. 4), we shall here conclude with a few lines in explanation of its history and habits. This variety, as far as yet known, is cultivated only by the Hare Indians and other tribes that frequent the borders of the Great Bear Lake, and the banks of the Mackenzie River. It is too small to be used as a beast of burden, and is therefore employed solely in the chase. It has a mild and demure countenance, a small head, slender muzzle, erect thickish ears, somewhat oblique eyes, rather slender legs, broad hairy feet, and a bushy tail. Though it is covered with long hair, intermingled at the roots with a deal of wool, it differs from the American foxes, and agrees with the wolves, in always having callous protuberances, even during winter, on the soles of the feet and at the roots of the toes. Its size is inferior to that of the prairie wolf, but rather greater than that of the red fox of America. Its resemblance, however, to the former is so great, that, on comparing live specimens, Dr Richardson[7:14:115] could detect no decided difference in form (except the smallness of the cranium), nor in the fineness of the fur, nor even in the arrangement of the spots of colour. It bears, in fact, the same relation to the prairie wolf that the Esquimaux dog does to the great grey wolf of the northern parts of the New World, a fact which affords an interesting confirmation of the general views contained in the preceding paragraphs. Ί he Hare Indian dog is very playful and affectionate, and easily attached by kindness. It is, however, not very docile beyond the range of its immediate instincts, and has a great dislike to confinement. Its voice, when injured or afraid, is that of a wolf, but when merely excited or surprised, it makes an attempt to bark, usually ending, however, in a kind of howl. For its size, it is extremely swift and strong. A young one purchased by Dr Richardson from the Hare Indians, became greatly attached to its master, and when not more than seven months old, ran by the side of his sledge upon the snow, for 900 miles, without fatigue. During this long journey, it often carried, of its own accord, a glove in its mouth for a mile or two; but though gentle in its manners, it exhibited but a limited love of learning, and made no progress in fetching and carrying comparable to that of the Newfoundland dog, or many other kinds. It was at last unfortunately killed and eaten by an Indian on the banks of the Saskatchewan, who pretended that he mistook it for a fox, —a reason which, according to our European notions, would not so much have led to as deterred from such a meal.^[100. For an excellent account of this, as well as of the other dogs of North America, see Fauna Boreali-Americana, part i. p. 79. ]

We shall now say a few words regarding wolves. The common wolf (Canis lupus, Linn.) is the fiercest and most carnivorous of the wild animals yet indigenous to Europe. It resembles a large lank-faced, ill-conditioned dog, with a straight tail, a coat of a greyish-fawn colour, and in the adult state, a blackish streak upon the anterior legs. It varies, however, considerably, both in size and colour, according to the nature of the different localities in which it occurs, being larger and fiercer in more northern and unpeopled countries,—feebler and of smaller size when surrounded by enemies, and living in a state of continual fear and precaution. He wanders about in summer during the morning and evening twilight in search of food, which in a sufficing quantity he seldom finds. Frogs, field-mice, and the putrid remains of larger animals, are not despised. The rutting season of the female is in January. She is then followed by numerous males, the strongest or boldest of which having driven away the others, becomes her companion, and seldom quits her till the young have completed their education. When about to bring forth, she prepares her den in some sheltered and secluded spot, which she furnishes with leaves, dried grass, and a portion of wool or hair from her own body. The number of her litter varies from five or six to nine, and the young are born with their eyes closed. For several days the mother never quits them, she herself being carefully fed by the male. She suckles for two months, but about the end of the fifth or sixth week she disgorges half-digested food, and soon after accustoms them to kill and feed upon small animals which she has previously captured. It has been observed that, during this period, the young are never left alone, but are always guarded by one or other of the parents. In about two months they lead them from the covert, and initiate them in the mysteries of the chase. In November or December they begin to wander forth by themselves, but they usually remain more or less united in one family, till the parents are obliged to prepare for another brood.

The wolf in a wild state is a cowardly though cruel animal. He has sometimes been observed so stupified by sudden fear as to be killed or secured alive without danger or difficulty. At the same time, when pressed by hunger, and assembled in troops during the winter season, they become formidable both to man and beast. We know from the ancient chroniclers, and from various legal enactments and feudal tenures, how greatly Britain, especially Yorkshire, was infested by wolves during the days of our Saxon ancestors; and that in the reign of Athelstane it was found necessary to erect a kind of retreat at a place called Flixton, for the protection of passing travellers. Wolves, however, appear to have become almost extinct in England as far back as the termination of the thirteenth century, at least we do not find them recorded as a nuisance after the year 1281. “It is none of the least blessings,” observes Hollinshed, “wherewith God hath indued this island, that it is void of noisome beasts, as lions, bears, tigers, pards, wolfes, and such like, by means whereof our countrymen may trafelle in safetic, and our herds and flocks remain for the most part abroad in the field without anic herdsman or keeper. This is chiefly spoken of the south and south-west parts of the island. For whereas we that dwell on this side of the Tweed, may safelie boast of our securitie in this behalfe: yet cannot the Scots do the like in everie point within their kingdome, sith they have grievous wolfes and cruell foxes, besides some other of like disposition continuallie conversant among them, to the general hindrance of their husbandmen, and no small damage unto the inhabiters of those quarters.”^[101. Chronicles, Vul. i. ρ. 3/8 ] According to the same authority, the extirpation of wolves from England was imposed as a tribute by king Edgar upon the conquered Welsh. Ludwal, prince of Wales, paid yearly a tribute of 300 wolves, so that in four years none were left. The last seen in Scotland was killed by Sir Ewen Cameron in the year 1680. In Ireland the species was not totally extirpated till about thirty years after that period.

In a state of domestication the wolf can be regarded as nothing more than a dog of a somewhat anomalous and unusual aspect. Μ. F. Cuvier has more than once rendered them so tame and docile, that but for their unextinguish-able love of live poultry, they might have been allowed to wander where they chose. They associated freely and fondly with common dogs, and speedily acquired from them the habit of barking. In general, however, and when left free to manifest their natural instinct, dogs exhibit a great aversion to wolves; and the latter, according to Hearne, frequently slay and devour the train dogs of the Esquimaux. Captain Lyon, who describes the wolves of Melville Peninsula as comparatively fearless, states, that one afternoon a fine dog having strayed a short way ahead of its master, five wolves made a sudden and unexpected rush upon it, and devoured it in so incredibly short a time, that before the gentleman who witnessed the attack could reach the scene of action, the dog had totally disappeared with the exception of the lower part of one leg. In those forlorn regions they frequently came alongside the frost-bound ship, and one night broke into a snow-hut, and carried away a brace of Esquimaux dogs, which appeared to have made a vigorous though unavailing resistance, the ceiling being all besprinkled with blood and hair. So strong, as well as ferocious are these blood-thirsty creatures, in spite of what one might suppose the subduing influence of intense cold, that when the alarm was given, and an armed party proceeded to attempt a rescue, one of the wolves above alluded to was observed, when fired at, to take up a dead dog in his mouth, and to set off with it at an easy canter, although the weight of the victim was supposed to be equal to his own.^[102. Private Journal, pp. 151, 339, &c. ] These and similar facts, apparently of a nature[7:14:116] contradictory to the theory of an identity of species which we have previously proponed, is, in truth, in proper accordance with what we know takes place among many other animals, when wild and tame individuals chance to encounter. A strongly marked jealousy, if not positive enmity, seems to exist between the unsubdued members of the same species and such as have passed beneath the yoke. It may be supposed to result, not unnaturally, from that perception of “similitude in dissimilitude” which, according to circumstances, leads alike to the extremes of love or hatred. We have already alluded to the strong instinctive affection which in due season has been seen to exist between them, and we certainly do not conceive that, from a few chance murders rendered almost imperative by the pressure of the times, an argument of any value can be deduced against the natural identity of the wolf and dog.

The black wolf of Europe (Canis Lycaon, Linn, le loup noir, Buff.) differs very slightly from the common brown species except in colour. Its ferocity, however, is said to be greater. It occurs accidentally in France,— more frequently in Spain and the Pyrenean range. There were two of these black wolves some years ago in the menagerie of the King’s Garden in Paris, which every season brought forth young as fierce and mistrustful as themselves, but not like their parents in their colour and external markings. From this circumstance we would hesitate to regard the black wolf as more than an accidental variety. Indeed it has been regarded by some as a mixed race, originally sprung from the common wolf and a black dog run wild among the woods or mountains. The American Indians do not regard the black wolves as distinct from the others, although they abound on the banks of the Missouri, and they report that one or more of that colour are occasionally found in the litter of the common kind.

In regard to the wolves of the New World in general, naturalists do not quite accord in their enumeration of the species. A brown wolf, described as possessing all the characters of the European kind, is said to exist within the limits of the United States; but the more northern American species, though they may possibly approximate those of Siberia and of Lapland, certainly differ greatly in their general physiognomy from the natives of France and the Pyrenees. They are of a more robust and larger form, their hair is longer, finer, and more woolly, their muzzle thicker and blunter, their head larger and rounder, with a sensible depression at the union of the nose and forehead. Except in their superior size and strength, the North American wolves so greatly resembled the sledge dogs of the natives, that our arctic travellers more than once mistook a band of these predaceous animals for the domestic troop of an Indian party. The howl of each is precisely the same.^[103. “The offspring of the wolf and Indian dog are prolific, and are prized by the voyagers as beasts of draught, being stronger than the ordinary dogs.”—Captain Back’s Narrative, Appendix, p. 492. ] When the deep and long enduring snows of winter have entombed the face of nature in their silent shroud, these creatures often suffer dreadfully from famine, and were they not for the most part as fearful as rapacious, they would assuredly prove most unpleasant neighbours. But the simple expedient of tying an inflated bladder to a branch, so as to admit of its waving in the wind, is sufficient to keep a whole herd at a distance. At times, however, they become more venturous; and at Cumberland House, in 1820, a wolf which had been seen prowling around the fort, and was shot at and severely wounded by a musket-ball, returned again in the dark, streaming with blood, and carried off a dog among fifty others,—the latter howling piteously, but unable to summon courage to attack the gaunt intruder. Dr Richardson was even told of a poor Indian woman having been strangled by a wolf, while her husband, who saw the onset of the animal, was hastening to her assistance; but their destruction of human life is most extremely rare. In the spring of 1826, a large grey wolf was driven by hunger to prowl among the huts which had been erected in the vicinity of Fort Franklin, but he attacked no one, and being unsuccessful in obtaining food, he was found a few days afterwards, lying dead upon the snow. This specimen is now in the Edinburgh College Museum, and is exhibited in Plate CCCXXXII, fig. 3. of the present work.^[104. For the other wolves of North America, see Fauna lìoreali-Amerìcana, Part i., and Harlan’s Fauna Americana. Several species occur in the more southern parts of the New World, such as the Mexican Wolf, the Bed Wolf of Paraguay, &c. For these see Desmarest’s Mammalogie, Cuvier’s Ossemens Fossiles, and Azara’s Essai sur les Quadrupedes de Paraguay. ]

We have already alluded briefly to those other canine animals called Jackals, of which there are at least two species. The Asiatic kind ( Canis aureus), commonly called the Lion’s Provider, occurs over a great extent of territory from India to Palestine, and from Egypt and Barbary, along the shores and through the deserts of Africa to the Cape of Good Hope. Its great voracity, gregarious habits, and wild nocturnal cries, are well known to eastern travellers. It hunts in packs, and the king of beasts, when roused from his royal slumbers by the yells of these insatiate creatures in pursuit of prey, probably follows the hue and cry, and ere long coming up with the slaughtered quarry, comes in for more than a monarch’s share of deer or antelope, to the no small chagrin of his so-called providers. The Senegal kind (Canis anthus) is characteristic of the western shores, and the Cape jackal (C. mesome-las, by some regarded rather as a fox), is found more exclusively at the southern portion of the continent.

Our next group of canine animals contains the foxes. These may be distinguished both from dogs and wolves by their longer and more brushy tails, their pointed muzzle, and the vertical pupils of their cunning eyes. They also exhale a much more fetid smell. They are of smaller size, but much more numerous in amount of species. On the well-known aspect and character of our common kind (C½- nis vulpes, Linn.) we need not here enter, but shall briefly notice a few of the foreign species.

The arctic fox (Canis lagopus) inhabits the most northern lands hitherto discovered. It breeds on the sea coasts, chiefly within the arctic circle, forming its burrows in sandy spots, not isolated as with us, but in little villages of twenty or thirty adjoining. It resembles our European fox in form, but is more densely clothed, of smaller size, and changes its colour in winter from bluish-brown to white. Its fur is of small value compared to that of the red fox, but its flesh, when young, is eatable; while, as an article of food, the other species is extremely disagreeable. The sooty dog of Pennant,^[105. History of Quadrupeds, vol. i. p. 257. ] and the blue fox described by Sir George Mackenzie,^[106. Travels in Iceland, p. 337. ] are merely varieties of this arctic species.

The red fox of North America (Canis fulvus, Desm.) inhabits the woody districts of the fur countries. About 8000 skins are imported into England every year. Pennant, and most authors of the last century, regarded this species as identical with our common European kind; but its peculiarities have since been pointed out by Μ. Palisot de Beauvois. It is distinguished by its longer and finer fur, and more brilliant colouring. Its cheeks are rounder,— its nose thicker, shorter, and more truncated,—its eyes are nearer to each other, and its feet generally much more woolly beneath. It has a more copious brush, and is altogether[7:14:117] a larger animal. Yet it does not possess the en- , during speed of the British renard, its strength appearing to be exhausted at tb c first burst, after which it is easily overtaken either by a mounted huntsman, or its enemy the wolf. The red fox preys much on small animals of the rat kind, is fond of fish, and in fact rejects no animal substance of any kind. The American cross fox (Canis decussatus, Geoff.) is probably a variety of the preceding, although it is usually of smaller size. Its fur is much esteemed, a single specimen not many years ago being worth from four to five guineas, while that of the red fox did not bring more than fifteen shillings. A rarer and still more valuable variety is the black or silver fox (Canis argentatus, Desm.), of which never more than four or five individuals are taken at any one post of the fur countries throughout the year, although the hunters leave no device untried. It varies from a mixed or hoary hue to a shining black. La Hontan says, that in his time the skin of a black fox was worth its weight in gold, and it still fetches six times the price of any other fur obtained in North America. Various additional species of the fox tribe have been described by naturalists.

Genus Megalotĭs, liliger. Fennecus, Dcsm. Inci-swes ξ, canines 1 "į > mo ∣ ars ? ÿ ĩ — ∙ Muzzle pointed.

Ears extremely large. Four (?) toes on each foot.

Great contrariety of opinion has existed among systematic naturalists regarding the nature and affinities of the animal described by Bruce, the Abyssinian traveller, under the name of fennce,— the Animal anonyme of Buffon; and we regret to say, that in addition to merely scientific discussion, some not very amiable inferences have been deduced by that spirit of rivalry, which though useful as an exciting motive, and as a disturber of lethargy, is sometimes apt, in acrimonious minds, to overflow the bounds of Christian charity. The discovery of the animal in question, though usually assigned to Bruce, was likewise claimed by a Swedish gentleman, Μ. Shioldebrand, who is asserted by the former to have got the start of him in this matter by some petty artifice. Neither the one nor the other, however, it has been observed, has described the species with such a degree of scientific accuracy as to afford us any aid in determining its true position in the system, and the consequence has been, that each subsequent writer has placed it in a different genus. Some have classed it with the eats, others among the canine tribes. Illiger made it the type of a new genus, under the name of Megalotis (which we here adopt), while it has been occasionally placed with the squirrels in the order Glires, and was even at one period published by the skilful G∙ St Hilaire as a quad-ruitianous animal, belonging to the genus Galago! Although thus known under a sufficient number of appellations, it is nevertheless most commonly called the “Anonymous animal,” as if it had no name at all; and while one writer describes it as inhabiting the desert wastes of the Sahara, where it is alleged to excavate for itself a subterranean dwelling, another assures us that it dwells habitually amid the plumy summits of the loftiest palm-trees. In consequence of these contradictory statements, some recent authors seem inclined to deny its existence altogether, while others allege that the so called anonymous animal constitutes in fact a distinct genus, consisting not of one but of two easily distinguished species.

Buffon is known to have published his figure of the fennce from a drawing transmitted to him by Bruce. As the views of the great French writer were extremely fanciful in relation to arrangement, we need not be surprised that he should have placed it between the squirrel and the hare. It certainly has long ears and a somewhat bushy tail; and we have seen enough of what are called affinities in modern times, to palliate the vagaries of our imaginative predecessors. Blumenbach, from Bruce’s description, refers it to the civets. Sparrman maintains its identity with a species of the south of Africa called Zerda, — in consequence of which it continues to bear that name in many systematic works. Desmarest follows liliger in making it the type of a new genus,—the name of which, however, he changes to Fennecus. We need scarcely say, that by these repeated transpositions but a feeble light was thrown upon its actual nature. A few years ago, however, the Museum of Frankfort was visited almost simultaneously by two intelligent zoologists, Μ. Temminck and Dr Sigismond Leuckart of Heidelberg, both of whom immediately recognised the fennce of Bruce in an animal then recently transmitted from Dongola by the traveller Ríippel. As the result of their investigations, and of those of others since continued, to which we have had private access, there now remains no doubt that the fennce is closely allied to the canine race, being most related to the subdivision which contains the foxes, and approaching particularly to the Canis corsac. The teeth, the feet, the number of toes (?), and the form of the tail, arc said to be the same as those of a fox ;—but the limbs are higher and more slender in proportion. The aspect of the head is rendered peculiar by the extraordinary size of the ears. Our information is still defective regarding the manners of this species, but it appears to be the opinion of those who have studied its character and history, that the fact reported by Brucc of its living on trees is erroneous, and that it is more probably a ground or even a subterranean animal, supporting itself, in a state of nature, on small quadrupeds and birds.^[107. Edinburgh Cabinet Library, No. xii. p. 390. ] Of the individual observed by Bruce the favourite food was dates, or any other sweetish food; yet it was observed to be very fond of the eggs of small birds. When hungry it would eat bread, especially when spread with honey; but when a small bird passed near, it was observed to engross for a time the fennce’s whole attention, and to be followed, while within the range of sight, with eager eye. It became unquiet and restless as soon as night came on, from which we may infer a nocturnal nature. Its body measured about ten inches long, the tail five, the ears three. The pupil of the eye was large and black, and surrounded by a deep blue iris. It had a sly and wily aspect, but as its habits are not gregarious, and for other reasons, Bruce doubts the propriety of this creature being regarded as the Saplian of the Scriptures,—an opinion advocated both by Jewish and Arabian writers.

The genus now consists of two species, the fennce or Bruce, above alluded to (JT. Brucii, Canis zerda of Gmelin), which we have figured in Plate CCCXXXH, fig. 6; and Dclalande’s fennce (A∕. Delalandii, Smith, Canis ιnegalotis, Cuv.), which is native to the Cape of Good Hope.^[108. For figures and descriptions of these animals, see Bruce’s Travels, plate 28; Griffith’s Animal Kingdom, vol. ii. ι p. 3/2; and Ruppel’s Heise im Nördlichen Afrika, pl. 11], The ears in Bruce’s figure are too large. ]

We may notice in this place another singular canine animal from the Cape, which seems to have likewise received a multiplicity of names. It occupies, as it were, a station intermediate to that of the dogs and hyenas, and although long known to the colonists under the designation of wild dog, and alluded to by many travellers, its distinctive peculiarities were first pointed out by Mr Burehell, who describes[7:14:118] it under the name of Ilyaena venatica. ^[109. It is the Ilyaena pieta of Temmiuck, and the Canis pieius of Desm. See also the 2d volume of Burchell’s Travels, and Griffith’s Animal Kingdom, vol. ii. p. 37G. ] In the number of its teeth it agrees with the dogs, but it has only four toes on the anterior feet, and its body is hyaena-like in its form, being considerably higher before than behind, with the joints of the carpus very weak. If classed with the true dogs, its most appropriate title would be Canis hyce-noides, but it is understood that Mr Brooks (in whose splendid museum there existed a skeleton of the animaD regarded it as a distinct genus, and we find it recorded as such under the name of Lycaon tricoor. ^[110. Synopsis of Mammalia, p. 151. One of its previous specific names ought assuredly to have been retained. ] The general colour of this animal is a sandy bay or ochreous yellow, shaded with darker hairs, and the entire body is blotched and brindled with black and white spots. Mr Burchell kept a specimen for thirteen months chained up in a stable-yard, but its nature was ferocious, and although at last it began to gamble occasionally with a common dog, yet its keeper never dared to touch it with his hand. In its native state it hunts in regular packs, both by day and night, and is so rapid in its movements, that none but the swiftest animals can ensure their safety. Sheep fall an easy sacrifice, but the larger cattle arc seldom attacked, except stealthily from behind, for the sake of snapping off their tails,—the want of which, our readers may be assured, in a warm country, swarming with hide-piercing insects, is the source of most serious distress to any quadruped. “In the morning.” says our traveller, “Philip returned with the oxen; but reported that, in consequence of Abram Abram’s neglecting in the night before to secure them as usual in the cattle-pen, the wilde honden (wild dogs) had bitten off the tails of three. One had only lost the brush, but the others were deprived of the whole !” The animal in question is of a more slender form than either the striped or the spotted h y acna ∙ . . G . 1 —1

Genus Viverra, Linn., Cuv. Incisors θ, canines ,

Ġ 6 , 1 — 1 molars -—-; = 40. The lower incisives are placed on the t> —G x same line, and the canines are rather strong. The upper molars consist, on each side, of three false molars, slightly conical and compressed, of a large carnivorous cheek-tooth, sharp, cutting, and tricuspidate, and of two tuberculous grinders. The lower jaw presents four false molars on each side, a strong carnivorous bicuspidate cheek-tooth, and a single very broad tuberculous grinder. The head is long, the muzzle pointed, the pupil narrow when contracted, and the tongue covered by corneous papillae. Each foot is furnished with five toes, and the claws are semi-retractyle. The tail is long and covered with hair.

This genus, as now restricted (the ichneumons no longer forming one of its constituent portions), contains the animals commonly called civets and genets, all remarkable for their musky odour. They are peculiar to the warmer countries of the ancient world, and their habits, in a state of nature, are as yet but slightly known.

The civets properly so called (Viverra, Cuv.), are distinguished by a deep anal pouch divided into two interior sacks, and filled with a musky pomade, of considerable commercial value as an article of perfumery. The species occur both in Asia and Africa. Enfras, a town of Abyssinia, is said to carry on an extensive civet trade, great numbers being there kept in a state of confinement. ∙ The V. civetta and zibetka of Linnaeus are still insufficiently distinguished. They are very closely allied to each other, but the former is said to be characteristic of Africa, the latter of the East Indies. Dr Horsfield has described a third species called hasse by the Javanese. Its appetite is very sanguinary in a state of nature, and leads it to prey on birds and quadrupeds. In confinement it agrees well with a mixed diet of rice and animal food. It yields the odoriferous substance called dcdes in Java, thejïòd’t’ of the Malays. This perfume is a great favourite in Java, where, during festal days and public processions, the air is diffusively fifed with its odour. Salt is said to be a poison to the animal which yields it.

In the group or subgenus called genets (Genetta, Cuv.) the anal bag is reduced to little more than a fold of the skin, and the secretion is very slight, though there is a sensible exhalation of a musky odour. The pupil, when exposed to light, is vertical, and the claws are almost as retractile as those of cats. The common genet (V. genetta, Linn.) is a European species, widely extended in its distribution from the south of France to the Cape of Good Hope. It varies considerably in its markings, and its fur forms an article of commerce. Other species occur both in Africa and the East. The rare Javanese animal the Delundunġ, which seems in some respects intermediate between the viverrae and the cats (it forms the genus Prionodon of Dr HorsfickD, is still ranked by Baron Cuvier with the genets.

We may here briefly notice a peculiar species long known to systematic writers under the name of palm marten and Genette de France. Its dentition and the majority of its other characters agree with those of the genets, but its form is thicker, its toes semi-palmate, and its walk almost plantigrade. Its most peculiar character, however, consists in the form of the tail, which is spirally rolled, though not prehensile. It now forms the genus Paradoxurus of F. Cuvier, of which bis brother the Baron admits of only a single species (the animal just alluded to), under the name of P. typus. See Plate CCCXXXIII, fig. 1. It is called Pougouné in India. If, as is generally supposed, it is also synonymous with the Musanga of Java, then the following particulars, communicated by Dr Horsfield, will apply to both. The ιnusanga is most abundant near villages in the vicinity of the larger forests. It constructs its nest in the fork of a branch, or the hollow of a tree, of dry leaves, small twigs, and grass, and sallies forth at night in search of eggs and chickens. It also robs gardens of various kinds of fruit, is particularly fond of pine-apples, and devours coffee-berries in such quantities as to be very destructive in plantations of that commodity.^[111. Some uncertainty seems to prevail in regard to the affinities which exist between the Bentourong of Baffles and other species (Icτιoκu ?), and the genus above named. ] Genus Herpestl’s, liliger. Ichneumon, Lacepede. Incisors -, canines ļ ļ, molars 7—7; = 36. Body elon-

6 1 — 1 5 — 5’ “

gated, and low upon the legs. Head small and pointed. Eyes susceptible of being covered with a nictitating membrane. Ears short and rounded. Feet with five toes, armed with sharpish semi-retractile claws. Tail long and pointed. Anal pouch large, but simple.

This genus, according to Geoffroy,^[112. Description de l’ Egypte, Hist. Nat. t. ii. p. 140. ‘ ] contains nine species, of which four are from India or the Indian Archipelago, one from Madagascar, two from undetermined regions, one from the Cape, and one from the north-east of Africa. The last is the celebrated ichneumon (Herpestes Pharaonis, Desm.), so noted in the mythology of ancient Egypt. It is larger than a cat, and shaped like a marten, the fur composed of hairs ringed with brown and fawn colour. The paws and muzzle are black, and the tail terminates in a diverging tuft. The ichneumon, “presenting a lively image of a beneficent power perpetually engaged in the destruction of those noisome and dangerous reptiles which propagate with such terrible rapidity in hot and humid climates,” was adored by the Egyptians. It still abounds in the northern parts of the country, that is, between the [7:14:119]Mediterranean and Siout, but it is rare in Upper Egypt. It preys on rats, reptiles, and the eggs both of birds and crocodiles, and is itself attacked by foxes, jackals, and the animal called Tupinambis. It is not bred in confinement by the modern Egyptians (who call it Neins), but being easily domesticated when taken young, and of kindly docile habits, it is often brought up as a kind of pet about their houses. Like cats, these animals acquire a strong attachment to particular dwellings, and readily recognise the voice and person of their master.

The Indian species, commonly called the mangouste (ĨI. mungos, Desm.), is less in size than the preceding, its colour paler and more grey, and its tail pointed. It is celebrated, like its brother of the Nile, for its destruction of poisonous snakes and other reptiles, and is still more deservedly renowned for its strange instinctive discovery of the medicinal virtues of the plant called Ophiorhiza mungos, as an antidote to the otherwise fatal effects of their envenomed fangs. Another nearly allied species is the Ichneumon griseus of Desmarest (Viverra, cafra, x Gmelin). It is easily domesticated, and thrives well on bread and milk. Yet its carnivorous propensities are unsubduable, and it cannot be trusted in the vicinity of caged birds or poultry. It may be rendered useful in the destruction of rats and other vermin. This animal is said to occur both in India and the south of Africa. To it Μ. Geoffroy has (we think erroneously) applied the name of mangouste nems, thus bestowing an Egyptian name upon a species which assuredly occurs not in the country of the Pharaohs.

Genus Ryzaena, liliger. Surikata, Dcsm. Incisives, C ∙ 1 — 1 1 G —G ŋ

-, canines - , molars - = 40. hour toes on

G 1 — 1 G — G

both the anterior and posterior extremities.

This genus is constituted by the Surikate alone (Viverra tetradactyla, Linn.), an animal from the south of Africa, of a nature intermediate between the pole-cats and ichneumons. It is easily tamed, and, like a cat, becomes attached to its own dwelling. Buffon erred in deeming it a native of America.

We shall terminate this subdivision of the Digitigrada by the notice of a singular animal from the southern parts of Africa, which conducts us naturally to the hyenas. We allude to the Proteles Lalandii of Isidore G. St Hilaire,^[113. Mem. du Mus., t. xi. pl. 20. ] formerly regarded as a genet, and named provisionally Viverra hyaenoides by Baron Cuvier. It was originally transmitted from the Cape by Μ. Delalande, and belongs undoubtedly to a distinct genus. Its cranium partakes of the characters of the dogs and civets, and, like the canine tribes, it bears a fifth or rudimentary toe upon the fore feet; but its raised shoulders, sloping back, and all its outer aspect, are precisely those of a hyena, even to the radiated markings of the fur. It is a nocturnal animal, an inhabitant of the banks of the Fish River in Caffraria, and is supposed to have been examined as yet only in an immature condition. Its teeth amount to thirty, of which four are canine, twelve incisives, with eight molars in the upper jaw, and six in the under; but there is reason to believe that our knowledge of its true condition is as yet imperfect. See Plate CCCXXXHI, figs. 2 and 2 a. 3d Subdivision. No tuberculous tooth behind the large carnivorous cheektooth of the lower jaw.

This subdivision consists of the most bloodthirsty and carnivorous of the class, and contains the Linnaean genus Felis, with the addition of the hyaenas, which the great Swedish naturalist placed in the same genus as the dogs and wolves.

Genus Hyaena, Storr, Cuv. Incisives θ, canines 6

ļ ļ ð s

-, molars -; = 34. All the extremities with 1 — I 4 — 4 four toes. There are three false molars above, and four below, all conical, blunt, and singularly large; the upper carnivorous cheek-tooth has a small tubercle within anteriorly, but the inferior presents only a couple of strong cutting points.

The great size of the teeth in this genus, combined with the extraordinary strength of the muscles of the jaws and neck, bestow upon it a tremendous power of mastication, by means of which the species can crush to atoms the bones of the largest and most obdurate prey. Their hold is indeed so strong, and so tenacious, that it is almost impossible to wrest any thing from them when once enclosed within their iron fangs. Hence, among the Arabians, their very name is used as the symbol of obstinacy. Hyaenas generally inhabit caverns and other rocky places, from whence they issue under cover of the night to prowl for food. They are gregarious, not so much we think from any social principle, as from a gluttonous and grasping instinct, which induces many to assemble together even over the most insufficient meal. They are accused of violating the sepulchres of the dead, for the sake of devouring whatever bodies they can disinter, or may chance to find but hastily inhumed. From such notions, however slightly founded, we usually associate a peculiar gloominess and malignity of disposition with the aspect of these creatures, and the name of “laughing hyena,” which one of them bears, seems to render their character still more unnatural and revolting. We fancy them indulging in their horrid mirth, like reckless resurrectionists,—their hilarity increasing as they tear the protecting cerements from the dead man’s grave. Like any other animal, however, the hyaena is perfectly capable of being tamed, and indeed a contradictory feature in regard to diet has been observed even in the manifestation of its natural and unbiassed instincts. About Mount Libanus, Syria, the north of Asia, and the vicinity of Algiers, the hyaenas, according to Bruce, live mostly upon large and succulent bulbous roots, especially those of Fritillarias, &c.; and he informs us that he has known large patches of the fields turned up by them in their search for onions and other plants. He adds, that these were chosen with such care, that after having been peeled, if any small decayed spot became perceptible, they were left uneaten. In Abyssinia, however, and many other countries, their habits are certainly exclusively, or, at least, decidedly carnivorous, although the same courage or rather fierceness which an animal diet usually produces does not so obviously manifest itself. In Barbary, according to the same authority, the Moors, in the daytime, will seize the hyaena by the ears and drag him along, without his resenting such ignominious treatment otherwise than by attempting to draw himself back; and the hunters, when his cave is large enough to give them entrance, take a torch in their hands, and advancing straight towards him, pretend to produce fascination by the utterance of some senseless jargon. The creature in the mean time becomes so astounded by the unaccustomed noise and lurid glare, that he allows a blanket to be cast over him, and unresistingly succumbs to fate. Bruce one day locked up a goat, a kid, and a lamb, with a Barbary hyaena which had fasted, and in the evening he found the intended victims not only alive but quite uninjured. He repeated the experiment, however, on another occasion, during the night, with a young ass, a goat, and a fox, and next morning he was not unreasonably astonished to find the whole of them not only killed, but actually eaten, with [7:14:120]the exception of some of the ass’s bones! This was pretty well for an animal so curious in bulbous roots. Yet the experience of the narrator was undoubtedly great. “I do not think,” says the Abyssinian traveller, “there is any one that hath hitherto written of this animal who ever saw the thousandth part of them that I have. They were a plague in Abyssinia in every situation, both in the city and the field, and I think surpassed the sheep in number. Gondar was full of them from the time it turned dark till the dawn of day, seeking the different pieces of slaughtered carcasses which this cruel and unclean people expose in the streets without burial, and who firmly believe that these animals are Falasha from the neighbouring mountains, transformed by magic, and come down to eat human flesh in the dark in safety.” On entering his tent one night he perceived two large blue eyes glaring at him from the head of his bed. It was a hyaena with several bunches of candles in its mouth, but which immediately paid for its temerity as a tallow-chandler with its life.

Africa is the true country of hyaenas, although the striped species (Hyaena vulgaris, Desm., Canis hyaena, I*'ln.) extends into western Asia. The spotted or Cí.pe hyaena (H. capensis, Desm., Canis crocuta, Linn.) resembles the species just named except in the external markings of the fur. It carries’ the posterior part of the body very low, owing to the articulations of the hind legs being constantly bent. It is apt to feel dazzled by strong light, which gives an appearance of indecision to its movements during the day. It is easily tamed, and, according to Sir John Barrow, is trained in the district of Schneuburg for the service of the chace. The third species (which we here figure as an example of the genus, see Plate CCCXXXIII, fig. 4) is the brown hyaena (H. brunnea, Thunberg,^[114. Mem. de ΐ Acad. de Stock. ]∏20, part i. pl. 2. ] H. villosa, Smith).^[115. Linn. Trans, vol. xv∙ pl. 19. ] It is likewise a native of Southern Africa, and is characterized by the blackish rays upon its legs.^[116. The Canis (Hyaena') ĭlyaenamelas of Bruce is nothing more than a variety of the common striped species. The II. venatica of Burchell (II. picta, Tern.) has been already noticed under another head. The fossil species do not fall within the province of the present article. ] r , V τ ∙ τ∙∙ θ ∙ I — 1 i (jENüs γelis, Linn. Incisives-, canines , molars

G 1—1’

4 4 3 3

-— 3 or -; — 30 or 28. Of the four molars of the up per jaw two are conical or false molars, one is a very large three-lobed carnivorous cheek-tooth, and the fourth (wanting in some of the species) is a small tuberculous tooth, broader than long. The molars of the under jaw consist of two simple compressed false molars, and one bicuspidate carnivorous cheek-tooth. There is no tuberculous tooth in this jaw, but its functions are performed by the inner lobe of the cheek-tooth, the rounded point of which, when the jaws arc closed, is brought into contact with the flattened surface of the upper tubercular grinder. Plead and muzzle short. Anterior feet with five toes, the posterior with four, all strongly armed with sharp curved retractile talons, held backwards in repose. Tongue rough, with horny papillae pointing backwards.

The feline race, containing the most bloodthirsty and ferocious of animals, is characterized by an organic structure admirably adapted to the wants and habits of its numerous species. These differ greatly in size and colour, but resemble each other in shape and general proportions. The genus is distributed over the whole world, with the exception of Australia and the polar circles.

In a state of nature animals of the cat kind arc almost continually in action both by night and day. They either walk, creep, or advance rapidly by prodigious bounds, but they seldom run, owing, it is believed, to the extreme flexibility of their limbs and vertebral column, which do not preserve the rigidity suitable to that species of progression. Their sense of sight, especially during twilight, is acute, their hearing very perfect, their perception of smell less so than among the canine race. Their most obtuse sense is supposed to be that of taste ;—the lingual nerve in the lion, according to Desmoulins, being no larger than that of a middle-sized dog. The tongue of these animals is in truth almost as much an organ of mastication as of taste, the sharp and callous points with which it is covered being used for tearing away the softer parts of the animal substances on which they prey. The perception of touch is said to reside in great perfection in the small bulbs at the base of the whiskers.

We have elsewhere stated our opinion, that all that has been said regarding the noble generosity and superior courage of the lion and other species of the race, is considered by naturalists to be purely fabulous.^[117. Illustrations of Zoology, vol. i. Genus Felis. ] They seize their prey by surprise, lying in treacherous ambuscade, or gliding insidiously through dark ravines; and are constitutionally of a nature so shy and mistrustful, that if they fail in their first attempt upon the life of even an insignificant creature, they rarely renew it again upon the same individual. Neither does their ferocity by any means imply, as so frequently supposed, the fatal necessity of murder; for the instinct to destroy is only the sensation of hunger in animals having a propensity to flesh, and provided with the means of obtaining it. This instinct is itself effaceable by an artificial supply of food, provided continuously and in abundance. No existing animal (we mean of course of the higher classes,—inhabitants of the same element with ourselves) is rendered incapable, by the constitution of its nature, of being ameliorated by the art of man. The bloodthirsty jaguar of America plays with its keeper, as a kitten does with a child; and our menageries of recent years have exhibited many Bengal tigers of very mild and gentle manners.

The females are remarkable for their tender attachment to their young, while the males are distinguished by a peculiar jealousy, as it may be called, which frequently renders them the most formidable enemies of their own offspring. Hence it is, that the former sex usually conceal the places of their “p rocr cantcradle,” orfrequentlyremove their young. They are, upon the whole, a solitary tribe (although young lions sometimes assemble together in small family groups), and, like most animals which feed on living prey, rarely seek each other’s society except during the season of love. Like the “mighty hunters” among the human race, they require an extensive domain for the exercise of their predacious habits, and a near neighbour can therefore be regarded only as a mortal foe. It is the uneradicable nature of this sentiment which causes that peculiar noise in the throat and the mistrustful rolling of the eye, observable even in the most perfectly reclaimed individuals, when they are approached during meal-time. The cry varies greatly in the different species. The lion, when in that mood “of stern disdain at which the desert trembles,” roars with a voice resembling distant thunder, deep, tremulous, and broken; the jaguar barks almost like a dog; the cry of the wilv panther is like the grating of a saw; and most of them, when pleased, appear to purr after the manner of our domestic cat, with an energy proportioned to the size of the species.
[7:14:121]

It would lie inconsistent with the nature and prescribed extent of the present treatise to enter into descriptive details of the numerous and diversified species of which the genus Felis is composed.^[118. Most of these may be found in two works very accessible to all classes of readers,—the Naturalist’s Library, edited by Sir W. Jardine (Mammalia, vol. ii.), and the Miscellany of Natural History, edited by Sir T D. Lauder (vol. ií Feline Species). See also Griffith’s Animal Kingdom, vol. ii, Desmarest’s Mammalogie, p. 216, Tennninck’s Monographie de Mammaioyie, t. i. p. 73, the Atlas to Kuppell’s ∏eiseim Nördlichen Africa, Azara’s Voyage au Paraguay, and his Essai sur l’Hist. Nat. des Quadrupedes of that country, and Wilson’s Illustrations of Zoology as last referred to. ] The following notices must therefore be few and brief.

The lion (Felis leo) king of beasts, is easily distinguished by his uniform tawny hue, his large and flowing mane, and tufted tail. His general aspect is indeed strikingly bold and magnificent. His large and shaggy mane, surrounding his imperial front,—his bright commanding eyes, which upon the least excitement seem to glow with unearthly lustre,—his magnanimous and lofty countenance, symbolical of boldness from remote antiquity,—to say no thing of his muscular limbs, extensile talons, and the irresistible armature of his deadly jaws,—certainly embody our liveliest conceptions of warlike grandeur, and of a power not unbefitting his assumption of regal sway. The southern parts of Africa produce a variety of which the mane is nearly black. Those of Barbary are brown, with a very thick mane covering the neck and shoulders of the male. In Senegal they are of a yellow hue, with thinner manes. The Asiatic lion seldom attains to the dimensions of the South African kind, and his colour is paler and more uniform. Modern naturalists seem inclined to regard some of these animals as of different species, according to their natural localities, but they have as yet failed to point out satisfactory characters for their specific separation; and their general reasoning on the subject is rather hypothetical than conclusive.

The geographical distribution of the lion seems to have become greatly circumscribed within these last two thousand years, for from many districts where it formerly abounded it has now entirely disappeared. According to Herodotus it was once sufficiently common both in Thrace and Macedonia, and it is also known to have abounded in Asia, from the shores of Syria to the banks of the Ganges and the Oxus. The vast numbers fought together by the Homans during the games of the circus have been often recorded.

Inferior to the lion in the majesty of his deportment, but nearly equal in size and strength, and perhaps superior in activity, is the tiger (Felis tigris), a familiarly known, but greatly dreaded feline animal, of which the external characters need not to be here detailed. This “most beautiful and cruel beast of prey” has a more slender body, and a smaller and rounder head than his great congener. His motions, notwithstanding his vast deceptive bulk, are full of graceful ease and lightness; and the rich tawny yellow of the prevailing portion of his coat, contrasted with the numerous sloping lines of black, and the pure white of the under portions of his body, render him one of the most perfect pictures of savage beauty presented by the brute creation. The geographical distribution of this gorgeous tyrant of the East, is much more extended (so far as Asia is concerned, tor he does not occur in Africa) from south to north than that of the lion, as he not only advances far into those desert countries which separate China from Siberia, but is also found between the Irtysch and the Isehim, and even, though rarely, as far as the banks of the Obi. In a longitudinal direction, however, there is a much greater restriction of the one species than of the other, as the tiger appears but rarely to pass to the westward of a line drawn from the mouths of the Indus in a northerly direction to the shores of the Caspian Sea. The species was therefore much less familiarly known to ancient writers than the lion, and Megasthenes alone among the Greeks seems to have been acquainted with it from personal observation. Aristotle mentions it merely as an animal of which he had heard by name; and, even among the Romans, it was long regarded as of extreme rarity. Claudius exhibited four at one time, and it has been reasonably conjectured that the beautiful mosaic picture of four tigers, discovered a good many years ago in Rome, near the Arch of Gallienus, was executed in commemoration of so striking and unprecedented a display.^[119. See ()ssemens Fossiles, t. iv. p. 415. We do not think it necessary to burden our pages with anecdotes of tiger-hunting, &c. as these are to be met with (more than enough) in so many accessible volumes. ]

The panther (Felis pardus, Linn.), the pardalis of ancient writers, is believed to occur over a great portion of Africa, the warmer parts of Asia, and the islands of the Indian Archipelago. It is usually marked along the sides with six or seven rows of black spots, each spot being itself composed of five or six small simple spots ranged in a circle. The leopard (Felis leopardus, Linn.) is a species closely allied to the preceding, but marked with ten rows of smaller spots, and believed to be confined to Africa. The hunting tiger or chittah (Felis jubata, Schreber), one of the most lively and elegant of the genus, is less than the panther, of a more slender form, and proportionally higher in the legs. Its toes are lengthened like those of a dog, and its claws, very slightly retractile, are blunter and less curved than in any other species of the cat kind. It is an Asiatic animal well known in eastern countries as an necessary in the chase of antelopes. The extent of its geographical distribution is still, we think, obscure. According to Thunberg it is common in the south of Africa,—a faet confirmed by Lichtenstein, who saw the chief of a horde of Caffres clothed in its beautiful and sumptuous skins; Temminck has ascertained its existence along the western shores of that division of the world; and several specimens have been lately transmitted from Nubia by Ruppel to the Frankfort Museum. Now the range is so great from the north of Africa to the far forests of Sumatra, where hunting tigers likewise abound, that observers begin to surmise that two species have been probably confounded under one name. Those from eastern countries are said to be more dog-like, to have longer legs, and a scantier mane. The chittah is known in Persia by the name of youze, and naturalists are of opinion that many of the skins received by furriers from Senegal and other parts of Africa, are identical with those of the hunting tiger of Hindostan. Many other feline species occur in Asia, Africa, and the eastern islands.

In the New World animals of this genus are likewise very numerous. Of these one of the most noted is the great panther of the furriers, tigre d ’ Amérique of the French, commonly called the jaguar (Felis onca, Linn.). It is a fierce and dangerous species, of which the habits have been well described by Humboldt, Azara, and other writers. Its general colour and aspect resemble those of the preceding spotted species, but it is of greater size, proportionably lower on the legs, with a larger head, and the circular spots, ranged along the sides in four rows, have usually each a smaller spot in the centre. The jaguar inhabits the forests which skirt the magnificent rivers of South America, and is by far the most formidable animal of the New World, where it is held in great dread by the native tribes, who are impressed with the belief that it prefers their flesh to that of white men. They are probably what [7:14:122]the Highland schoolmaster would call more accessible, being less incumbered with clothing. While travelling, they light great fires during the night, from the notion (we believe well founded), that most wild animals fear the restless glare of that fierce element; yet, of six men stated by Azara as having been devoured by jaguars, two were carried away from the immediate precincts of a blazing fire at which they bivouacked. This animal so greatly abounded in Paraguay before the expulsion of the Jesuits, that 2000 are known to have been slain in a single year. Humboldt mentions, about the same period, that more than 4000 jaguars were killed annually throughout the Spanish colonies, and that 2000 skins were formerly exported every year from Buenos Ayres alone. No wonder that a cheerful fire, amid the damp recesses of the forests, should be there found less pleasant than in colder climes.

Another fierce, but less powerful species of the New World, is the puma or American lion (Felis concolor, Linn.). It is almost the only animal against which the charge of wanton or unnecessary cruelty seems well founded. It has been known to kill fifty sheep at one time, for the sake of sipping a little of the blood of each. Its manners differ considerably from those of the jaguar. It rather inhabits plains than forests, and approaches nearer to the habitations of man. In ascending a tree it is said to spring up at a single leap, and to descend in the same manner; while the jaguar runs up exactly like a common cat. Notwithstanding its ferocity in a state of nature, it is easily tamed when taken young, as we have elsewhere recorded of the specimen brought home in the Diamond frigate, by the late lamented Captain Lord Napier. The puma is more widely distributed than the preceding species, as it occurs not only over a great portion of South America, but extends northwards to the province of Pennsylvania, and even makes occasional inroads into the state of New York. For the history of the beautiful ocelot (Felis pardalis, Linn.), and of the other species of the New World, we must refer the reader to the works mentioned in the preceding note. In illustration of the genus, we have figured (Plate CCCXXXHI, fig. 3) the female of the chati (Felis mitis, F. Cuvier), a rare species, from South America. We have also represented^[120. From Naturalist s Library (Felinae), p. 232, pl. 25. It is figured in the work referred to as the Felis ornata, but it is described under the title of Felis servalma. ] (Plate CCCXXXIH, fig. fi) another small species sent from India to the Edinburgh Museum. It exhibits an alliance to the lynxes in its slightly tufted ears.

In regard to the European feline animals, the only indigenous species (exclusive of the lynxes) is the common wild cat (Felis catus, Linn.), usually, though perhaps erroneously, regarded as the source of our domestic kind. A few lines may not be misbestowed on the subject of this curious inquiry. The opinion generally current amongst us, and even adopted by most naturalists, as to the origin of that useful domestic animal which we find as a reclaimed captive wherever man is in any measure civilized and gregarious, is, that it has sprung from the larger inhabitant of our rocky ravines and forests, a species of a brownish grey colour, paler beneath, marked with some deeper transverse bands, and three bars upon the tail, of which the lower part is blackish. Now several circumstances seem at variance with this supposition. The tail of the domestic cat is longer and tapers to a point,—that of the wild cat being of nearly equal thickness throughout, and thus appearing as if truncated at the extremity. The head, too, in the former is larger in proportion to the body.^[121. Fleming’s British Animals, p. 15. ] All our other domestic creatures are larger than their original races, but the house-cat, supposing it to have sprung from the indigenous woodland species, seems to have reversed the rule; for never even its most pampered and overgrown condition does it in anyway equal the powerful dimensions of its supposed original.

When we seek to ascertain the origin of any anciently domesticated species, the mind naturally reverts to periods of antiquity, and to the history of nations characterized by remote records. It was from within the sacred precincts of the temples of Isis, and under the reign of the Pharoahs or Egyptian kings, that the earliest rays of science dawned upon the nations. There the heroic Greeks “drew golden light,” and from thence were distributed, by more or less direct gradations, the knowledge and civilization which, long waning at the primal source with feeble and uncertain gleam, have burned like an unconsuming fire amid those “barbarian lands” to which they were conveyed. Egypt, so remarkable in the early civilization of the human race, might reasonably be supposed even a priori to have furnished the primitive families of mankind with one or more of its domesticated animals; and in relation more particularly to the present subject, we know that of all the ancient nations of whom we possess records, the Egyptians were the most noted for their appreciation of the useful qualities of the cat. It was even embalmed in their temples, in common with the mystical body of the ibis, and we doubt not it must have become familiar to them from its beneficial qualities as a domestic species; for the reverential regard in which several animals were held in ancient days may be supposed to have sprung either from the beneficial influence which they exercised in the economy of nature, or the more direct benefits which they conferred in the domestic state. That the people in question derived their cats from an indigenous source is more than probable, especially as a wild Egyptian species (Felis maniculata, Tern.) bears, of all others, the closest resemblance to the domestic breed. At all events, it could scarcely be drawn from the wild cat of Europe, as that species, though widely distributed over all the wooded countries of the continent, and ranging through Russia into Siberia, and over a great range of Asiatic territory, is unknown on the banks of the Nile, and seems to hold its centre of dominion rather in the temperate than the warmer regions of the earth. Another argument against the derivation of our domestic cats from the indigenous woodland species, may be drawn from the extreme scarcity of the former in the early ages of our history. It is known that in the time of Hoel the Good, King of Wales, who died in the year 948, laws were enacted to preserve and establish the price of cats and other animals remarkable for being alike rare and useful, and forfeits were exacted from any one who should kill the cat that guarded the prince’s granary. Now, these precautionary regulations would seem to indicate that our domestic cats were not originally natives of our island, but were introduced from some of the warmer countries of the east, and required for a time considerable care and attention to preserve the breed. This would scarcely have been necessary had the original stock been found prowling in every thicket and corrie of the country, which the wild cat undoubtedly was in those distant days. We therefore agree with Μ. Temminck and other naturalists who suppose that the gloved cat of Northern Africa {F. maniculate) is the more P(θbable source of our domestic kind (see Plate CCCXXXIH, fig. 5). Its proportions agree with those of the wild cat of Britain, but it is smaller by about one-third, and its tail is comparatively longer and more slender. The nature of its coat and the distribution of its colours resemble those of the female wild cat, although it is more of a yellowish ash colour,—a hue, we may observe, which prevails in the natural tinting of many of the quadrupeds of northern Africa.^[122. See Temminck’s Monographies, p. 120, note, Edinburgh Cabinet Library (Nubia and Abyssinia, No. xii. p. 401), and Runnel’s work before referred to. 1 ∙ √ 11 ]
[7:14:123]

The last group of the feline genus of which we shall make mention includes the animals known under the name of lynx. They are chiefly characterized by the length of their fur, the comparative shortness of their tails, and their tufted ears. Their skins are of considerable value in commerce, and it appears that several species have been confounded by naturalists under the name of Felis lynx, Linn. The largest and most beautiful is sent to us from Asia by way of Russia. Its fur is of a reddish-grey colour, spotted with black. It equals a wolf in size, and is the Felis cervaria of Temminek. The lynx of the north of Europe (Felis borealis, Temm.) is of an ashy grey, varying to brown and hoary, the fur being extremely full. Naturalists are now inclined to recur to the opinion of Pennant, that the Canada lynx (F. Canadensis, Geoff'.) and this species arc identical. According to Dr Richardson, they are timid creatures, incapable of attacking any of the larger quadrupeds, but well armed for the capture of the American hare, on which they chiefly prey. They make a poor fight when surprised by a hunter on a tree; for though they spit like cats, and set up their hair in anger, they arc easily killed by a blow on the back with a slender stick. They swim well, and will cross the arm of a lake two miles wide. Their flesh, which is white and tender, though rather flavourless, is eaten by the natives.

The lynx of temperate and southern Europe (Felis lynx, Temm.) has a red fur, spotted with brown. It has now almost disappeared from the more densely peopled portions of the continent. A specimen described by Μ. Bory St λ inecnt was, however, killed within eight leagues of Lisbon. It is rather frequent among the central and southern mountains of Spain, where it is said to attain a greater size and a more beautiful aspect than elsewhere. It is likewise well known in the Neapolitan dominions. We presume that this is the species which occurs in Germany, where, however, according to Tiedemann, it is now much rarer than of old. Μ. Sehyntz informs us that it is by no means unusual in Switzerland. Μ. Delarbe mentions one that was killed in Auvergne in 1788. and Cuvier has recorded another destroyed at Barege not many years ago. We are not aware that it exists at present in France, though it may no doubt still descend occasionally in search of prey from the more secure fastnesses of the Pyrenees. The south of Europe produces a distinct species of smaller size, described by Oken under the name of Felis pardina.

The earacal or Barbary lynx (Felis caracal, Linn., see Plate CCCXXXIII, fig. 8) inhabits warmer and more southern climates than the preceding. It is a wild and savage animal, of a uniform wine red colour, about the height of a fox, but much more powerful. It has been known to attack and tear a hound in pieces. The caracal is probably the animal designated by the ancients under the name of lynx, as the species now distinguished by that title has never been found in those countries of which the lynx of the ancients was said to be a native. Pliny assigns Ethiopia as its original country, and according to Ovid,

“Victa racemifero lyncas dedit India Baccho.”

Several other species are described by naturalists. Of these we have here engraved the booted lynx of Bruce (Felis caligata, Temm., see Plate CCCXXXIII, fig. 7), an animal extensively distributed over Africa, and also occurring, it is said, in Southern India.

Tribe HL— Amphibia.

The concluding tribe of the carnivorous Mammalia consists of the seals and morses. Their feet are so short, and so encompassed in the skin, as to render their terrestrial movements very awkward, but as the intervals of their toes are filled by membranes admirably adapted for natation, their swimming powers are nearly inexhaustible, and they pass the greater portion of their lives in water. The form of the body is elongated, the spine extremely flexible, the muscles very powerful, the fur short and close.

The genus Phoca of Linnaeus comprises a great amount, and a considerable diversity of species,—some of which, though still regarded as seals, are separated into minor genera by modern naturalists. The teeth differ considerably both in their nature and number, and when accurately ascertained and distinctly described, will no doubt aid the systematic observer in his arrangement of the species into natural groups. All the species agree in having five toes to both extremities. Those of the fore paws diminish in size from the what we may call the thumb to the exterior or little finger, while on the hind legs the lateral toes are the largest, and the others diminish towards the centre. The form of the head bears some resemblance to that of a dog, and in their natural cunning and intelligence, and their capacity of being tamed and instructed, they present a farther likeness to that sagacious creature. They prey chiefly on fish, and are extremely destructive to salmon and other migratory and gregarious species along our shores, in estuaries, and at the mouths of rivers. They seldom, however, ascend the fresh waters to any considerable distance from the sea, and the alleged occurrence of seals in remote Siberian rivers, and the inland waters of Lake Baikal, is a fact which requires confirmation.^[123. See Krachenninikow’s Voyage en Sibérie et au Kamtschatka, t. ii. p. 421. ]

Although extensively distributed over the waters of the ocean, it is in high latitudes (whether northern or southern) that seals occur in greatest abundance,—such as inhabit tropical regions being as it were insulated from their kind, and occurring in less numerous assemblages. The species are so vaguely described by voyagers, and have been even as yet so indifferently characterized by naturalists, that their geographical boundaries are in no way well defined; but we may rest assured that those authors are in error who describe our northern kinds as occurring equally among the antarctic icebergs. All other animals have limits which they do not pass, and seals are doubtless subject to a corresponding restriction. For example, the gigantic species called the sea elephant (Phoca proboscidea, Desm.) is never found in the northern hemisphere, while such of the smaller southern species as have been examined, are found to differ from those of corresponding size, which are native to the European shores. In regard to the geographical distribution of marine amphibia, the views of Peron are deserving of consideration. He is of opinion that the species, in reference to their natural location, form three great geographical groups, of which two are northern (Atlantic and Pacific) and one southern, and that the specics of each of these regions are proper to itself. He inclines to apply the same principles to the cetaceous tribes. In neither case, however, has he sufficiently considered the numerous species which occur in temperate and equatorial regions. A proper exposition of the species of the Mediterranean and the Euxine, and their comparison on the one hand with those of the north, and on the other with such as are known to occur in the enclosed waters of the Caspian, the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Indian Ocean, and the frozen waters of the extreme south, would prove a subject of deep interest. It is indeed singular that animals so important in the scale of creation, whether we regard their great economic value to mankind, their position in the system of nature, or their peculiar organization and habits of life, should hitherto have attracted so superficial a notice on the part of naturalists.
[7:14:124]

In the restricted genus Phoca (Peron), the external ear is obsolete or rudimentary; the incisives are pointed, with simple edges; the toes possess a certain degree of motion, and the claws by which they are terminated are placed on the margin of the uniting membrane.

Our common seal (Phoca vitulina, Linn., see Plate CCCXXXIV. fig. 1.) possesses, in common with the little group of species with which it is associated (Calocephalus, F. Cuv.), six incisive teeth above, and four below. It varies greatly in colour, and sometimes attains the length of six feet. It is frequent along the northern European shores, and extends into very high latitudes. It is even said to occur in the Caspian Sea, and the great fresh water lakes of Russia and Siberia; but this assertion, as Baron Cuvier t⅛as remarked, requires to be confirmed by an exact comparison of species. Seals were formerly used as food, though their flesh is coarse and dark coloured. Their blood is blackish, and very abundant. At present they arc slain chiefly on account of their skins and oil. Dean Monroe informs us, that on the banks of Lochcgrenord, in Islay, they were formerly killed by means of trained dogs. They seem occasionally subject to epidemic diseases. About fifty years ago numerous carcasses were cast ashore in every bay in the north of Scotland, Orkney, and Shetland, and many were found in a sickly state at sea.^[124. Fleming’s British Animals, p 17∙ ]

Our other British species is called the great seal (Phoca barbata, Fabr.). It attains the length of ten or twelve feet, and seems almost confined with us to the western and northern isles, although it has been occasionally met with off the Fern Isles, and a specimen was shot a few years ago near Stonehaven by the late Lord Cassilis. It spreads, however, far and wide along the icy arctic shores.

Of the antarctic species we may name the small nailed seal, Phoca leptonyx of Blainville (genus Stenorhinchus. F. Cuv.), to which the species brought home by Captain Weddell from the South Orkneys, and now in the Edinburgh Museum, seems nearly allied.^[125. Consult Weddell’s Vcyage to the South Pole, and Lesson’s Manvel de Mamitialo r >ie, p. 200. ] The head of the latter is very small, the neck greatly elongated. Its teeth 4 ļ ļ 5 5

are, incisors—, canines- -, molars; zz 32. The

4 1 — 1 5 — 5

last named teeth are sharp, compressed, trilobate.

One of the most noted of the southern seals is the monstrous species so often mentioned by Dampier, Anson, Cook, and other navigators, under the names of sea lion, sea elephant, &c. It is the Phoca leonina, Linn. Ph pro-boscidca of Peron and Desmarest, and probably also the Ph. Ansonii of the last named author, for its synonyms are almost as numerous as its own oily herds. It constitutes the type of the modern genus Macro rhinus, distinguished by having four incisive teeth in the upper jaw, and only two in the under, the molars obtusely conical, and the muzzle in the form of a short moveable proboscis. The species are widely extended over the southern hemisphere, and furnish the English and American fisheries with an important article of commerce. The sea elephant above alluded to is the largest of the group, attaining sometimes to the length of 30 feet, and measuring from I 5 to 18 feet in circumference. The lower canines are long and projecting, and the male during the rutting season is characterized by the full inflated condition of the muzzle. It inhabits many of the desert isles and sandy shores of the southern hemisphere. According to Peron it migrates every season, with a view to avoid the extremes of heat and cold, moving southwards in summer and northwards in winter. Its favourite food consists of cuttle fish, and it loves to repose itself amid the thick and tangled beds of Laminaria gi(∕antea. It is probable that it also feeds on fuci, as a quantity of marine vegetation has been found in its interior, mingled with the bones of cephalopodous mollusea. These animals keep much at sea during the first four months of the year, after which they pay frequent visits to the land. They move with great ease and some celerity in the water, but their motions on shore are slow and awkward, and they are then easily slain, notwithstanding their great strength and gigantic size. Their dispositions are naturally mild, their habits indolent, and their general character much less wary and mistrustful than that of the smaller tribes of seals. They are thus easily approached by man, and fall a ready victim to the lance of their pursuers. One male has generally several females, and, during the season of love, dreadful conflicts take place with a view to the formation of a seraglio. A certain degree of domestic peace is established in the autumn. Gestation continues about nine months, and the females bring forth one or two young ones in June of the ensuing year. At this period they usually assemble together on sandy flats, at some little distance from the shore, and surrounded by the males. They give suck for two or three months; during which time they are said to reside entirely on shore. They then descend together to the sea, where, after a few weeks’ refreshment, they recommence their contentious courtships.^[126. For ample details see Ferons Voyage aux Terres Australes, 2d Ed. t. iii. pp. 55-103, and the well known narratives of our own illustrious circumnavigators. ]

We cannot here enter into farther details regarding tlfe seal tribe, and shall conclude by observing that the Phoca monachus of Gmehn, a well-known Mediterranean species, common among the islands of the Adriatic, and the shores of Greece, and probably the species best known to ancient writers, belongs to the genus Pelagius of F. Cuvier, characterized by four incisors both above and below,—the molars being like obtuse cones, with a slightly developed heel before and behind.

The preceding groups of amphibious mammalia agree in the absence or rudimentary state of the external ear. It is otherwise, however, with the remaining genus Otaria, Peron, which is distinguished by external ears, and by the singular character of having double cutting edges to the four intermediate incisors of the upper jaw, the external being small and simple. All the molars are simply conical; the toes of the fore paws are almost immoveable; and the swimming membrane is prolonged in advance of the toes of the hinder extremities. All the claws are flat and slender. To this genus belongs the maned seal (Phoca jubata, Gmel.), or sea lion of Steller, Pernetty, and some other authors. It grows to the size of from fifteen to twenty feet, and the neck of the male is clothed with hair longer and more frizzled than that of the rest of the body. The species is usually described as occurring at both extremities of the Pacific Ocean, but the individuals found along the Patagonian coast, at the Malouin Islands, and in the Straits of Magellan, will assuredly be found to differ specifically from those of Behring’s Straits and other northern regions. Forster describes them as living in troops, the old males roaring like lions or enraged bulls, and, except during the breeding season, living together apart from the females. On the Magellanic shores, they couple in December and January, carry eleven months, and bring forth two young. Those of Kamtschatka, according to Steiler,^[127. De Bestiis Marinis, Mem. Acad. l’etersb., t. İŁ ] are of analogous habits; but in each group there are only two or three females, instead of ten or a dozen, and each produces at a [7:14:125] birth only a single young. The flesh is held in some esteem by the natives of the Aleutian Isles and other northern tribes.

To the preceding genus also belongs the Sea Bear, so called (Phoca Ursina, Gmel.). It measures about eight feet, and is destitute of mane. The colour varies with age and season, from brown to grey and white. The young, when newly born, are black. The fur of this species, when cleared of the longer coarser hair, is almost as much esteemed as that of the beaver. It fears the maned seal, but wages a cruel war against most other marine creatures. A corresponding species exists in either hemisphere, that is, the Ursine Seal is described by Steller as a native of Kamtschatka, and by Foster as inhabiting the southern coast of America, and the shores of New Holland, and Van Diemen’s Land. It is probable that two distinct kinds are here confounded.^[128. See, in addition to the works already quoted, the article Phoque of the Diction. Classique d’Hist. Nat., t. xiii. p. 400. ] Various additional species are described by MM. Desmarest, F. Cuvier, Lesson, and other systematic writers.

2 . 1 1

Genus Trichechus, Linn. Incisors —, canines θ -,

5 5

molars -; ≡≡ 24. Body elongated, and conical, like

5 — 5 ; a that of the preceding groups of seals. Head round, muzzle full. No external cars. Tail extremely short.

The absence of canine and incisive teeth from the lower jaw sufficiently distinguishes the present genus, which as yet contains but a single species, commonly called the morse, walrus, or sea-horse,— Trichechus rosmarus, Linn. See Plate CCCXXXIV. fig. 2. It attains to the length of from 18 to 20 feet, and in its general aspect and habits resembles a gigantic seal. It is an animal of gregarious disposition, and occurs abundantly in the Northern Atlantic, and the polar regions of the Pacific Ocean. The walrus is sought for amid those icy solitudes, on account of its oil, skin, and ivory tusks. The latter arc harder and more homogeneous than those of the elephant, and are less apt to be rendered yellow by the hand of time, for which reason they are useful to dentists in the fabrication of false teeth. The capture of this animal isnot, however, an object of such importance as it is known to have been prior to the institution of the Spitzbergen whale-fishery. In fact, it is now allowed to float along its desolate shores, almost without molestation from the British, the Russians being its principal persecutors. Our whale-fishers seldom take more than ha’f a dozen in a voyage, although the elder Scoresby once procured in a single season 130 in Magdalene Bay. But this is nothing to the multitudes obtained in former times. Stephen Bennet, for example, in 1606, along the shores of Cherry Island, killed 700 or 800 in less than six hours; and in the ensuing voyage about 1000 were sla r n in less than seven hours. “When seen at a distance,” says Mr Scoresby junior, “the front part of the young walrus, without tusks, is not unlike the human face. As this animal is in the habit of raising its head above water, to look at ships, and other passing objects, it is not at all improbable but that it may have afforded foundation for some of the stories of mermaids. I have myself seen a sea-horse in such a position and under such circumstances, that it required little stretch of imagination to mistake it for a human being; so like indeed was it, that the surgeon of the ship actually reported to me his having seen a man with his head just appearing above the surface of the water.”^[129. Arctic Regions, vol. i. p. 504. ] The walrus is a fearless animal, paying no regard to a boat, except as an object of curiosity. Its capture in the water is not made without danger, as an attack on one individual generally draws its neighbours around it, and the planks of the boat are sometimes pierced with their tusks, which, from the great weight of the suspended body, become weapons of enormous power. The species is confined to the coldest regions of the northern hemisphere, and its southern boundary is probably more restricted than of old. It is mentioned by some of our ancient native writers, but has been long unknown along the British shores, although the ivory bits described by Strabo as articles of British commerce may be conjectured to have been fabricated from its teeth. In December 1817, a solitary wanderer, who had probably been floated southwards on an iceberg, was shot while reposing on a small rock in the Sound of Stockness, on the east coast of Harris, one of our Outer Hebrides.^[130. Edinburgh Phil. Journ., vol. ii. p. 389. ] Order HI MARSUPIALIA.

The order which contains the marsupial or pouched animals, is composed of such heterogeneous elements, as to be extremely difficult of definition. The most universal, as well as remarkable peculiarity, consists in the premature production of the young, the majority of which are born in a state comparable only to that exhibited by the foetus of other animals not many days after conception. Thus the Virginian Opossum, when first brought forth, does not weigh above a single grain, though its parent is as large as a full-grown cat; and the Gigantic Kangaroo, which sometimes attains the weight of nearly 200 pounds, gives birth to a pair of young ones, each about an inch long. Incapable of voluntary movement, destitute of distinct sensation, and with the external organs in a rudimentary state, the feeble offspring becomes attached (in a manner as yet but indistinctly known) to the mammae of the mother, and adheres to them continuously till such time as it has attained the ordinary conditions of a new born creature, and even long after that period it continues to seek frequent refuge in its parent’s lap, which for that purpose is furnished with an ample pouch, within which the nipples are contained. Two special bones attached to the pubis, .and interposed between the muscles of the abdomen, support the pouch, and occur at the same time not only in the females of certain species in which the pouch is scarcely perceptible, but also in the males, in which it does not exist.^[131. “La matrice des animaux de cette famille n’est point ouverte par un seul orifice dans le fond du vagin, mais elle communique avec ce canal par deux tubes latéraux en forme d’anse. Il parait que la naissance prématurée des petits tient à cette organization singulière. Les mâles ont le scrotum pendant en avant de la verge, au contraire des autres quadrupèdes, et la verge, dans l’état des repos, est dirigée en arrière.” Règne Animal, t. i. p. 173. ] Another peculiarity of the marsupial order consists in this, that in spite of a general resemblance which so strikingly pervades the species, that for a long time they were regarded as forming only a single undivided genus, they differ so greatly in their teeth, and in their organs of digestion and of locomotion, that a rigorous adherence to these characters, would induce their partition into various orders. “On disait, en un mot,” says Baron Cuvier, “que les marsupiaux forment une classe distincte, parallèle à celle des quadrupèdes ordinaires et divisible en ordres semblables; en sorte que si on plaçait ces deux classes sur deux colonnes, lesSariques, lesDasyures, et les Peramèles seraient vis-à-vis des carnassiers insectivores à longues canines, tels que les tenrecs et les taupes; les Phalangers et les Poto-roos, vis-à-vis des hérissons et des Musaraignes; les Kan-guroos proprement dits ne se laisseraient guère comparer à rien, mais les Phascolomes devraient aller vis-à-vis des rongeurs. Enfin, si l’on n’avait égard qu’aux os propres de la bourse, et si l’on regardait comme marsupiaux tous les animaux qui les possèdent, les ornithorinques et les echidnés [7:14:126]y formeraient un groupe parallèle à celui des édentés.”^[132. Loe, cit. p. 174. ] In these views we can scarcely agree, and in truth they have not been proceeded upon by their author, who, in his most recent work, continued to group the marsupial genera under a distinct order, as above named.

Several years have elapsed since (in 1828) we ventured to express our opinion regarding the unnatural constitution of the marsupial order, and we are satisfied to see that similar sentiments have been generally expressed in more immediate times. The present work does not present a proper field on which to enter into a minute detail of the many ingenious, though not always consistent, theories which have been proposed in explanation of the numerous anomalies observable in the structure and habits of this extraordinary assemblage of living creatures. Considered even in regard to their external structure, something remarkable may be presumed to characterize a group of animals regarding the division and arrangement of which scarcely two naturalists of note have expressed the same opinion. Baron Cuvier, as we have seen, made them constitute the fourth family of his Carnivorous Order; MM. Geoffroy St Hilaire and Latreille still regard them as forming of themselves a separate order, while Μ. De Blainville erects them into what he is pleased to call a subclass of the animal kingdom. In fact, as we have already observed, the only principle on which zoological writers have till lately been of one mind in relation to the Marsupialia, is that of holding the genera together in juxtaposition,—certainly an unfortunate principle to proceed upon, if it can be shewn to be inconsistent with the due consideration of those natural and undisputed analogies by which we profess ourselves to be guided in our arrangements of the other tribes. It has been well observed, that the marsupial genera exhibit the types of almost as many separate orders as exist among all the other Mammalia; and no one will doubt of this being in a great measure true, who has ever examined the well armed jaws of a Didelphis or Dasyurus, and compared them with the simple structure of the same parts in the gentle wombat.

According to the principles of the natural system so much (and deservedly) insisted on by the modern school, the group of genera named Marsupialia, whether regarded as a family or an order, includes indeed such heterogeneous elements, as bid defiance to every preconceived form of classification. It is true that they all present some peculiar modifications of the generative and lacteal systems; and if the student has recourse to these alone, and regards them as a sufficient and satisfactory basis for the establishment of a primary character, in conformity with the nature of which the totality of the class Mammalia is to be partitioned into two great subdivisions, then the l ∖ Ionodelphs and Didelphs of Μ. De Blainville may suffice. But if the formation of a class, according to the admitted signification of the term, depends upon the coexistence of certain characters, neither few in number, nor of less than the highest value and importance in their kind, it is difficult to see why the mere existence of an external pouch, or duplication of the abdominal skin, though connected with a very peculiar, and it may be unaccountable mode of foetal production, should suffice for the establishment of one of the greatest divisions of which the animal kingdom is regarded as susceptible. A bird differs in its class from a mammiferous animal or quadruped commonly so called, on the one hand, and from an amphibious animal or reptile on the other; and it is distinguished from both by many essential organic attributes, which involve such a difference in the vital functions and economy of the several subjects of these different classes, as to render their mutual discrimination, as it were, apparent to the most cursory observer. They not only differ in their mode of producing their young, and in their method of rearing it, but also in the structure of the heart, the character of the respiratory and circulating systems, the perfection of the senses, the number of the cervical vertebrae, and consequently in their whole external form and aspect. But the marsupial animals, however dissimilar to each other, do not vary essentially from certain types which occur in one or other of the numerous orders of which the normal mammalia are composed; and with these different genera they may assuredly be combined, in a manner more consistent with the principles of the natural system, than when they are allowed to constitute by themselves a separate and exclusive division, by whatever name it may be called. “Let each of the marsupial genera be classed according to the position pointed out by a careful study of its natural and most influential characters; and if, for example, the structure of its teeth indicate a carnivorous disposition in one genus, an insectivorous one in another, or a herbivorous one in a third, then let each be referred to its appropriate station in the general system, whether as a member of the Carnivora, the Insectivora, or in closer connection with the more harmless Glires. But do not re-establish the worst parts of an artificial method, by following a fanciful analogy in the structure of a secondary and apparently uninfluential organ. That the marsupium or pouch is not a character of a highly influential kind, is evident from its occurrence in tribes and genera which in every other respectare so variously and dissimilarly constituted. It does not, in short, afford a key to the rest of the organization.”^[133. Wilsons Illustrations of Zoology, vol. L Order Marsupialia. ] The preceding observations may suffice to guard the reader from the supposition that the Cuvierian order of marsupial animals is of natural component parts. In this place, however, we adhere to that order, in conformity with our adoption of the general principles of classification laid down in the “Règne Animal.”

In regard to the geographical distribution of these tribes, they appear to be confined entirely to New Holland, America, and one or two islands in the Eastern Seas. They are entirely unknown in Europe, Africa, and continental Asia. We shall now proceed to a brief notice of the genera.

Division I. Long canines and small incisors in both jaws. Abdominal pouch sometimes wanting.

The hind molars of this group are beset with points, and in general all the characters of the teeth are those of the insectivorous tribes, to which they consequently approximate closely in their food and habits.

Genus Didelpiiis, Linn. Incisives—, canines -- ∖

' 8 1 — I

molars?? or - ?; = 50 or 48. Head long and coni cal. Muzzle pointed. Mouth deeply cleft. Eyes placed high, oblique. Ears large, thin, nearly naked, rounded in their outlines. Tongue ciliated on the edges, and beset with horny papillae. Five separate toes to each foot. The thumb of the hinder extremities (which are plantigrade) opposable, and destitute of nail; the nails of the other toes curved. Tail rather long, round, scaly, and without hair throughout the greater part of its extent. Stomach small and simple; coecum of medium size, not pouched.

This genus contains the most anciently known of the marsupial tribes, and is peculiar to America, particularly the southern division. The species are known under the general name of opossums. They are nocturnal animals, resembling martens in their habits, but are less active in their movements. Their intelligence is limited, a fact in curious conformity with the entire absence of all folds or convolutions[7:14:127] of the brain,^[134. See Tiedeman, Icon. Cereb. Simiar. et quer. Mammal, rar. tab. 5. fig· 9. ] and according with the theory of Μ. Desmoulins, that the intellectual faculties are in the direct ratio of the extent of the cerebral surfaces.^[135. See the article Cėrébro-spinal of the Diction. Classique d'∏ist. Nat. t. iii. p. 361. ] They dwell in woods, where they climb the branches of trees, feeding on birds, eggs, reptiles, insects, and fruits. They enter farm-yards, and commit great damage by sucking the blood of poultry.

One of the best known is the Virginian opossum, Plate CCCXXXIV, fig. 3 (D. Virginiana, Penn.). It exists over a great extent of territory from Paraguay to the country of the Illinois, and is well known in the southern United States. This species lives in fields and woods, and often enters houses during the night, in search of domestic birds, or other prey. It brings forth upwards of a dozen young at a time, which at first do not weigh above a grain. They instinctively adhere to the teat, to which they continue fixed till they are as large as mice, and become covered with hair. The first gestation lasts about six-and-twenty days, and the offspring remain in the pouch for nearly twice that period. Azara has seen them carried along by their mother, by means of their little tails twisted round that of their parent.

The crab-eating opossum(Zλ cancrivora, Gmel.) is amore restricted species. See Plate CCCXXXIV. fig. 5. and 5. a. It inhabits the coasts of Guiana and Brazil, and besides the usual prey, is said to feed greedily on crabs, which, according to Laborde, it catches by introducing its tail into their holes. Several other species are described by naturalists.

Genus Thylacinus, Temm. Distinguished from the preceding by the want of thumb on the hinder extremities, the tail covered with hair and not prehensile, and two incisors less in each jaw. The ears are of moderate size, and haired.

This genus has been instituted for the reception of a single species from Van Diemen’s Land, described by Mr Harris, under the name of Dasyurus cynocephalus. ^[136. Linn. Trans, vol. ix. pl. 19. ] It is the Thylacinus Harrisii of Temminck.^[137. Monog. de Mamm. t. ĩ. p. 60. ] This animal is as large as a wolf, though somewhat lower in the legs, and may be regarded as the strongest and largest of all the flesh-eating species of Australia. It is of a greyish colour, with transverse bands of black on the hinder parts of the body. The head is large, and resembles that of a dog. It dwells among rocks and caverns, in the deep and almost inaccessible glens in the vicinity of the highest mountains of its native island, and is said to prey upon the brush kangaroo and other quadrupeds. Some authors allege that it feeds on Ornithorhynchi, Echidnae, and crabs, and that its compressed tail gives it great power and activity as a swimmer But we find nothing of this kind given by its original describer, who does not even mention it as a littoral species, although Μ. Temminck, and in his wake subsequent compilers, make it inhabit rocks by the sea shore. It may do so, but the fact is not stated by Mr Harris.

As we cannot detail the characters of all the minor marsupial groups, we may here note that the Didelphis peni- ,illata of Dr Shaw, and the Dasyurus minimus of Geoffroy, form the genus Phascogale of Temminck.

8 1 - 1

Genus''Dasyurus, Geoff. Incisives -, canines 7 - V^. 4 1 — 1

molars -—7; — 42. Anterior feet with five toes, armed 6 — 0

with curved claws, the posterior with four, and a fifth in a rudimentary state, without nail, and distant from the others.

The Dasyuri approach the opossums (Dideĭphis') in their general organization, but wanting the strong thumb of the hinder extremities, and the tail being not prehensile, they are incapable of climbing trees like their American congeners. They prey chiefly during the night, feeding on small quadrupeds, birds, insects, mollusea, and the remains of seals or other marine animals which they may occasionally find along the shore. The species (at present four in number) are restricted to New Holland and Van Diemen’s Land. We may mention as an example the Das. ursinus of Temminck (Delph. ursina, Harris), an animal of subterranean habits, extremely common at the time of our first settling at Hobart Town, where it proved particularly destructive to poultry. It, however, in return frequently furnished the convicts with a fresh dinner, and its flesh was said in taste to resemble veal. As the settlement increased they retired to the deeper recesses of the forest, where they are still easily procured by traps, baited with any kind of raw meat. Their tracks are often seen on the sea shore.

Genus Perameles, Geoff. Incisors canines 1 ~ 1 molars -—-; = 48. Head elongated, muzzle pointed. Feet with five toes, of which the fore paws have the innermost and outermost merely rudimentary, and without nails, and the middle toe the largest. The hind feet have the thumb or innermost toe rudimentary, and without nail, the second and third united under a common integument as far as the nails, the fourth the largest and most elongate, and the fifth or outer toe next in size to the preceding.

Although systematic writers describe three species of this genus, the only one as yet distinctly known is the long-nosed perameles (Ă. nasuta, Geoff), or pouched badger of New Holland, an insectivorous animal resembling a large brown rat in its external aspect. See Plate CCCXXXIV. figs. 4, 4 a, and 4 b. One of the most remarkable characters detected in a specimen submitted to our examination some years ago by Professor Jameson, consisted in this, that the marsupium, or abdominal pouch for the reception of the foetal young, did not open from above downwards, as in most other marsupial animals, but commenced almost imperceptibly at the distance of half an inch from the anterior margin of the anus, and extended upwards beneath a thick fold of the skin as far as the sternum,—the entrance of the sack being arched upwards, and quite open for more than an inch from its lower or posterior margin. The whole cavity was lined with soft, very short, white, woolly hair, and its parietes were remarkably soft and dilatable.^[138. See the detailed observations with which we were kindly furnished by Dr Grant (of the London University), and published in the first volume of our Illustrations of Zoology. ] Division II. Two long incisives in the lower jaw, projecting forwards. Six incisives in the upper jaw. The upper canines, as usual, long and pointed, but the lower so small as to be frequently hidden in the gums. Thumb of the hinder extremities separate and opposable, the two following toes shorter than the others, and united as far as the toes. The intestines and the coecum long. An abdominal pouch in all the females.

The regime of this division, as might be inferred from the structure of the teeth and intestines, is almost entirely frugivorous.

Genus Phalangista, Cuv. The Phalangers properly so called, exhibit no extension of the skin along the flanks. They have in each jaw four posterior molars presenting a double range of points, besides a large anterior tooth compressed and conical, between which and the upper canine teeth are two others small and pointed. To the latter correspond the very small teeth of the under jaw already [7:14:128]mentioned in the divisional character. The tail is prehensile.

The species inhabit the Moluccas, New Holland, and Van Diemen’s Land. They in some measure represent in the ancient world the opossums of America, but they differ greatly in their teeth. Those of the Moluccas and other eastern islands dwell in trees, and feed on fruits and insects. Their flesh is eaten, though it exhales a disagreeable odour. The tail is naked and scaly. Μ. Temminck distinguishes five species,— Phal. ursina, chrysorrlios, maculata, cavifrons, and Quoy. In the Australian species, the tail is furred. The latter amount to three,— Phal. vulpina, Cookii, and nana, Temm.^[139. The last named species is not inserted in the second edition of the Regne Animal, but another is described under the name of Phal. Bougainvilhi. For the descriptions, see Monograph, de Mammalogie, p. 1. ]

In the genus Petaurus of Shaw, which includes those animals commonly called flying Phalangers, the skin of the sides is more or less extended. By this structure they are partly supported in the air, so that their leaping powers are greatly increased. They are peculiar to New Holland. In some of the species, canine teeth still exist in the lower jaw, but extremely small in size. The upper canines, and the first three molars, both above and below, are very pointed. The posterior molars have each four points. As an example, we may name the pigmy opossum of Shaw {Pet. pygmoea of Desmarest, who of this group forms his subgenus of Voltigeur or Acrabata}, one of the smallest of quadrupeds, scarcely exceeding a mouse in size. The hairs of the tail are beautifully disposed on either side, like the barbs of a pen. See Plate CCCXXXIV. figs. 7 and 7 «. Other species want the lower canine teeth, and the upper ones are very diminutive. The four hinder molars also present four points, but somewhat curved or lunate, in which they approximate those of the ruminants. There are two additional anterior molars above and one below, of a less complicated character,—a structure which, as Cuvier observes, renders the species more frugivorous than the preceding.

Division III. Two long projecting incisors in the lower jaw and six in the upper. Canine teeth in the upper jaw only. Hinder paws long and narrow, without thumb, the first two toes being very small, and united together as far as the base of the nails. An abdominal pouch in the females.

The only genus of this division is that called Hypsiprymnus by liliger, consisting of the kangaroo rat, Hyp. murinus, Desm. {Macropus minor, Shaw). It has on each side of both jaws a long-shaped anterior molar, cutting and dentated, followed by four others beset by four blunt tubercles. There is only a single species known, of a mouse colour, equalling a small rabbit in size. Its regimen is herbivorous, its stomach large, divided into two sacks, and much pursed. The coecum is rather small and rounded. This animal is called potoroo by the natives of New Holland.^[140. White’s Voyage to New South Wales, p. 286. Philip’s Voyage to Botany Bay, p. 277∙ Μ. F. Cuvier is of opinion that the observations of MM. Quoy and Gaymard have established the existence of other species besides the kangaroo∙rat above named. To the latter they give the name of II. Whitei. It is probably identical with Kangurus Gaimardi of Desmarest. ] The great length of its hinder extremities indicates its leaping powers.

Division IV. No canine teeth in either jaw.

Genus Macro pus, Shaw, Cuv. Halmaturus, liliger. Kanqurus, Geoff. Desm. Incisives -, canine - θ , m

* 7 2 0 — 0

5 5 _

Iars r -∙∙- 5 ; ~ 28. Extremities disproportioned, the fore legs being small, short, and furnished with five toes; the hinder legs, much lengthened, and muscular, with only four toes, of which the two inner are very small and united together. Tail lengthened, strong, furnished with powerful muscles, and of great use in locomotion. Hair woolly. An abdominal pouch in the female.

This singular genus, of which nearly a dozen specieshave been described by voyagers and systematic writers, contains the animals commonly called kangaroos. “Buffon, whose only errors were those of genius, clearly perceived that every continent, in its animal productions i presented the appearance of a special creation; but he gave an universality to this proposition, of which it is not altogether susceptible. It is nevertheless true, even at the present day, within certain limits. A great number of the Asiatic animals are not found in Africa, and vice versa. The lemurs seem to exist only in Madagascar. America is peopled with a host of mammalia exclusively peculiar to itself, and there are many more in Europe not to be found in the other quarters of the globe. The discovery of Australia has given an additional support to the opinion of Buffon. The species of animals there discovered have not only no affinity with those of the other continents, but, in fact, belong, for the most part, to genera altogether different. Such are those mammalia which the natives of New Holland call kangaroo, and which offer to the observation of the naturalist organic peculiarities perceivable in no other animal, with the exception of a single species. It is in this tribe that, for the first time, we view the singular phenomenon of an animal using its tail as a third hind leg in standing upright and in walking.”^[141. Griffith’s Animal Kingdom, vol. iii. p. 47∙ ]

Kangaroos in general dwell in small troops of from twelve to thirty, under the guidance of an old male. In a state of repose they rest as it were upon a kind of tripod, composed of the two hinder legs and tail, the body being nearly perpendicular, and the head extended horizontally. In moving leisurely they employ their fore feet like other quadrupeds, but, in more rapid progression, they advance by prodigious bounds, leaping, it is said, nearly thirty feet at a single spring. MM. Q,uoy and Gaymard, however, who have often hunted these animals, inform us, “que lorsqu’ils etaient vivement poursuivis par les chiens, ils couraient toujours sur leurs quatre pieds, et n’execntaient de grands sauts que quand ils rencontraient des obstacles à franchir.” The support which they receive from their tails is also of great advantage in self-defence, by enabling them to inflict severe wounds with their hind feet. In the natural state their habits are herbivorous, but in a domestic condition they eat almost every kind of food. Their own flesh is held in considerable estimation, and as they now breed freely in this country, the time may come when we shall find a joint of kangaroo an acceptable and frequent dish upon our own tables. The females bring forth only one or two at a time.

One of the largest species of the genus is that described in Cook’s first voyage. It is the Macropus major of Shaw {Kangurus labiatus of Desm.), and is distinguished by its fur of an ashy grey colour above, paler below, a transverse band of grey upon the chin, the upper surface of the legs and tail being of a blacker hue. It measures nearly six feet in height, and is well known in the neighbourhood of Botany Bay. Mr Cunningham probably alludes to the hunting of this species in the following passage :—“From the great length of their hind legs and tail, they arc enabled to stand on the firm bottom, while the dogs arc obliged to swim, and in this way a fight between a large kangaroo and [7:14:129]a jack of dogs affords a most amusing spectacle. The kangaroo stands generally upright, with his fore paws spread out before him, wheeling round and round to ward off his assailants; and whenever one arrives within reach, he pounces his paws upon him, and, sousing him suddenly under, holds him fast in this position, gazing all the while around with the most solemn simpleton sort of aspect, heedless of the kicking and sprawling of his victim, whom he quickly puts an end to, if some courageous colleague does not in good time advance to aid, and force the kangaroo to let his half-drowned antagonist bob above water again, who paddles forthwith toward shore, shaking his ears and looking most piteously, with no inclination to venture in a second time, notwithstanding all the halloos and cheerings with which you urge him.”^[142. Two Years in New South Wales, vol. i. 314. ]

The preceding is sometimes confounded with a still larger species, called the sooty kangaroo (Zf. géant of F. Cuvier), which inhabits the south coast of New Holland, and is supposed likewise to occur in the vicinity of Port Jackson. The latter is seen in large troops, which, in the course of their habitual movements, form broad well-beaten footpaths, which a stranger would readily mistake for those occasioned by a numerous and active colony of the human race. Another species, called the banded kangaroo (K. fasciatus, Peron and Lesueu),^[143. Voyage aux Terres Australes, i. 114. ] inhabits the islands (Bernier, &c.) on the west coast of New Holland. Its ears are smaller, and its tail feebler, than the same parts of the other species. It dwells among almost impenetrable thickets of a low growing species of mimosa, through which it forms numerous galleries, communicating with each other, and in which it seeks refuge on the approach of danger. From these and other peculiarities in its form and habits, M∙ Fred. Cuvier regards it as the type of a genus distinct from Ma-cropus, and on which he bestows the name of Halmaturus, originally proposed by liliger for the kangaroos.^[144. We fear he has bestowed this name of Halmaturus (άλμα, saltus, aor l , cauda) on the species which it least befits. ] We think it unnecessary to extend our observations on animals, the general habits of which have of late years been so frequently described, and shall merely name Le Brun’s kangaroo (the Javan opossum of Pennant and Shaw, K. Erunii, Desm.) as a species which occurs somewhat beyond the range of its nearest allies. It inhabits the Aroe Islands, and, according to Le Brun, digs in the earth like a rabbit.^[145. Voyage aux hides, p. 374, pl. 213. ] Division V. Two long incisive teeth in the under jaw, no canines; two long incisives in the middle of the upper jaw, with some smaller lateral ones, and two small canines.

Here naturalists place only a single species, the Phascolarctos fuscus of Blainville, commonly called the Koala. Besides the teeth mentioned in the preceding divisional character, this animal has four molars on each side of both jaws, making twenty-eight teeth in all. Its feet are pen-tadactylous.^[146. In relation to this character authors differ. “Le pouce manque au pieds de derrière,” Cuv. Règne Animal, t. i. p. 188. “Le pouce des extrémités postérieures très gros, séparé, sans ongle,” Desm. Mammalogie, p. 276. We have never ourselves seen a koala. ] Its ears large and pointed, with the conch directed forward. The limbs are short, and the tail wanting. It somewhat resembles a bear in its aspect, and is said both to climb trees with facility and to burrow in the ground. The female carries about her young for a long time upon her back. The koala attains the dimensions of a middle-sized dog, and inhabits the banks of the river Vapaum in New Holland.

Division VI. Two cylindrical truncated incisives in each jaw. No canines.

This division, like the preceding, contains only a single species commonly called the Wombat, which constitutes the genus Phascolomys of Geoffroy and Cuvier. In addition to the teeth above mentioned, there are five molars in each side of both jaws, or twenty-four teeth in all. The wombat is about the size of a badger, and, in its general aspect, resembles a small bear. In its dentition and intestines it is closely allied to the order Rodentia, which we are now about to enter; but the∕ιrticulation of the lower jaw is different. Its habits, however, are herbivorous. Captain Baudin introduced two specimens into the French Menagerie from the south coast of New Holland. Their motions were slow, their dispositions gentle and passive; and though tame, so far as the absence of fear was concerned, they exhibited little sense or discrimination. In their natural state they live in burrows, and the female brings forth three or four young at a birth. Peron reports that the flesh of the wombat is much esteemed by the seal-fishers, and Cuvier has expressed his desire that it should be naturalised in the basse-cours of France, as likely to prove a valuable addition to the table. It is the Phase, wombat (See Plate CCCXXXIV, fig. 6.) of Peron and Lesueur,^[147. Voyage aux Terres Australes, pl. <58. ] the Phase. Bassii of Lesson,^[148. Manuel des Mamm. p. 229. ] and the Wombatus fossor of Geoffroy.^[149. Ann. Mus. t. ii. p. 364. ] Some confusion has arisen in its history in consequence of Bass (and we believe also Flinders) having described under the name of wombat, an animal of corresponding external aspect, but furnished with six incisives, two canines, and sixteen molars in each jaw. The latter has by some been referred to the genus Phascolarctos, with which, however, its dentition is equally discordant. We know, in truth, little of the animals (whether of one or more species) hitherto recorded under the title of wombat, except that they are feeble defenceless creatures, inhabiting certain islands in Bass’s Straits.^[150. Naturalists differ even in their simple observation of the form of the intestines. The coecum, according to Geoffroy, is very small and slender, while Cuvier describes it “gros et court,” It is furnished with an appendix vermiformis. ] They seem to have been first noticed by Dr Shaw, in his crude compendium, under the name of ursine opossum, ^[151. General Zoology, voh i. p. 534. ] and a good deal has been since written about them to very little purpose. Mr Bennet, however, informs us, that a wombat was kept alive, and in a tame state, at Been, in the Jumal country. It usually remained in its habitation till dark, and then came out in search of the keelers or milk vessels, from which it would contrive to get off the covers, and would then bathe itself in the milk, drinking at the same time. It would also enter the little vegetable garden attached to the station, in search of lettuces, to which it evinced great partiality; and when none could be found, it would gnaw the cabbage stalks without touching the leaves.^[152. Wanderings, vol. i. p. 330. ] Order IV.—GLIRES or RODENTIA. GNAWERS.

The following are the principal characters of this extensive order. Two large incisive teeth in each jaw, separated by an empty space from the molars. No canine teeth.
[7:14:130]

Molar teeth either with flat crowns, or with more or less of a tuberculated surface. The four extremities terminated by unguiculated toes, which vary in number according to the species. Thumb sometimes rudimentary or obsolete; never opposable to the other toes. Number of mammae various. Orbits not separated from the temporal fossae. Lower jaw articulated by a longitudinal condyle. Hinder extremities exceeding the anterior in length. Stomach simple; intestines very long; coecum large, but sometimes wanting.^[153. As in the dormice, Genus Myoxis. ]

The genera of this order confine themselves chiefly to a vegetable diet, by which we mean not only leguminous plants, but grain, grasses, fruit, nuts, and other productions of the earth. They derive their name of gnawers from their mode of eating, which consists in reducing their food by a continuous action of the front teeth, into very small particles, instead of tearing it like the carnivorous tribes, or grinding it by a lateral motion, like the ruminating ones. In the Rodentia, the lower jaw is so articulated as to admit, in addition to the vertical movement which must necessarily obtain in all the higher animals, of a motion backwards and forwards, but not lateral; and in fine adaptation to this structure, the raised plates of the molar teeth are placed transversely, so as to act in more direct opposition to the confined horizontal movement of the jaw, thus aiding the power of triturition. A few of the species (such, for example, as the carless marmot, Μ. citillus, Linn.), are somewhat carnivorously inclined, and in natural accordance with this propensity, their molar teeth are jagged, or more sharply tuberculated than in other genera. Several of the murine species may be said to be omnivorous, and have become colonized in many foreign regions, through the unintentional agency of man. Most of the hybernating quadrupeds belong to this order. The Rodentia seem to inhabit all parts of the known world, with the exception of the numerous islands which compose the different central archipelagoes of the South Seas, where they do not occur as aboriginal. They are creatures of a timid disposition,— their habits for the most part nocturnal.

Division I. With clavicles. 2 o 0

Genus Sciurus. Linn. Cuv. Incisors -, canine ’

ð 5

molars 4 ; — 22.^[154. The fifth molar of the upper jaw seems to occur only in the young, and disappears in the adult state. ] Anterior paws with four toes, fur nished with curved compressed claws, thumb tubercular; posterior paws with five toes, which, as well as the tarsus, are elongated. Tail long, usually furnished with an ample fur of considerable length. Two pectoral and six ventral mammae.

The species of this genus, commonly called Squirrels, are with few exceptions essentially arboreal in their habits, and pass their lives among the umbrageous branches of forest trees, where they construct a spherical nest, composed of twigs, leaves, and moss, intermingled occasionally with a portion of Tur apparently plucked from their own bodies. Certain species, however, inhabit burrows at the base of trees. Squirrels are extensively distributed over the whole earth, with the exception of New Holland, where as yet none has been discovered. Buffon was in error when he supposed the species in general to be characteristic of the colder and temperate regions of the earth; for we now receive many fine kinds from the warmest countries of Asia, and the sultry forests of Africa are by no means unproductive of these agile tribes. The species, however, are much more abundant in North America than in Europe.

The distichous or divergent character of the fur upon the tail, and the absence or existence of cheek pouches, furnish characters by which the genus is divided into minor groups.

Of those with distichous tails, but unprovided with cheek pouches, our common squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris), affords a familiar example. This beautiful and active creature is widely dispersed over the cold and temperate zones of the ancient continent, and its external colour and aspect vary with the diversified climates under which it occurs. Several imaginary species have been described by travellers not conversant with the modifications which it undergoes. In Britain, France, and Southern Germany, the fur is always of a reddish-brown above, more or less lively according to the season, and of a pure white below. In the northern parts of Europe and Asia, it assumes a much grayer hue in winter, owing to the hairs becoming encircled with whitish rings. A black variety is described by Pallas and Gmelin as native to the rugged and mountainous regions which surround Lake Baikal; but it is more than probable that it will be found to constitute a distinct species. The common squirrel does not hybernate or become torpid during winter, but stores up in the trunk of a tree a supply of nuts, acorns, pine seeds, &c., to which it has recourse, when the ordinary supplies of the forest have fallen or been exhausted. Its graceful and varied postures, with its beautifully flowing tail, its sparkling eyes and tufted ears, its activity and cunning in a state of nature, and familiar petulance in confinement, are all too generally known to need description. It never breeds in captivity. The only other European species with which we are acquainted is the Sciurus alpinus of Μ. F. Cuvier, a native of the Alps and Pyrenees. In its general size and proportions it resembles the common kind, but its head is somewhat less. Its colour is deep brown, speckled with yellowish-white above, the under parts being pure white. The inner surface of the limbs is grey; the edges of the lips are white. A fulvous band separates the white and grey of the under parts from the brown of the upper. A male and female lived for a long time in the Menagerie of the French Museum, and the colours of their coat underwent no change, further than that the brown became somewhat blacker in winter, and that the tail, during the latter season, assumed a greyer aspect.^[155. See Desmarest’s Mammalogie, p. 332, and the article Ecureuil of the Diction. Class, d’llist. Nat. t. vi. p. 67∙ ] For the numerous foreign species we must refer the reader to the works of systematic authors. We have figured as an example of the genus, the Sciurus cincreus of America. See Plate CCCXXXV, fig. 1.

The flying squirrels belong to the genus Pteromys of Cuvier, and are characterized by an extension of the lateral skin, which spreads out from the fore to the hind legs, and, by acting as a parachute, greatly aids them in the act of leaping. A species (Sciurus volans, Linn. Pt. Sibinens, Desm.), occurs in Poland, Russia, and Siberia. It feeds chiefly on the young shoots of pine trees, and, according to Pallas, its excrements thus acquire so resinous a quality, that they burn with a pure bright flame. It springs from branch to branch and from tree to tree with the most surprising agility. It is not readily tamed, and bites severely when in a state of irritation. Another flying squirrel (Pt. volucella, Desm.), erroneously named polatouche by Buffon, from the Russian name polatucka (which applies to the preceding species), inhabits the United States. (See Plate CCCXXXV, figs. 4 and 2.) It lives well in captivity; and it even appears that a pair bred at Malmaison in 1809∙ This animal is frequently brought alive to Europe. Several other species inhabit the Eastern Islands.^[156. Horsfield’s Zoological Researches, liv. 4 and ö. ] Genus Cheiromys. Cuv. Geoff. Incisors ∣-, canineθ—θ 4 4

molars 5; — 18. Five toes to all the feet,—those of

ð — 0 [7:14:131]the anterior extremities very long and slender. The hind feet resemble hands, and are furnished with a short opposable thumb. Two inguinal mammae.

This singular genus, regarding the true position of which in the system a great diversity of opinion exists among naturalists, contains only one species, the aye-aye of Madagascar or long-fingered Lemur of Shaw (Lemur psylodac-tylus, Schreber, Sciurus Madag oscar iensis, Gmelin). This animal is of the size of a hare, its colour brown mingled with yellow, its ears large and almost bare, its tail very Jong, and rather densely clothed with long blackish hair. (See Plate CCCXXXV, figs. 3 and 6.) The aye-aye is slow in its movements, of timid disposition and nocturnal habits. It was discovered by Sonnerat on the eastern coast of Madagascar. Little is known of its natural history; but a pair, kept alive for some months by the French traveller, fed on boiled rice, in the eating of which they made use of their long fingers, pretty much in the way in which the Chinese employ their chop-sticks. In a state of freedom it is said to pick out larvae and other insects from beneath the bark of trees. In its distinct orbits, the form of the hind feet, and other characters, it seems allied to the quad-rurnanous order (at the termination of which it is placed by Μ. Desmarcst), but its teeth are those of the Rodential tribes.

2

Genus Arctomys, Gmel. Mus, Linn. Incisors —, ca-

0 — 0 .5—5 . . , „

nines χ λ , molars - ~; = 22. Anterior paws with four

0 — 0 5 — 5 i fingers, and the rudiments of a thumb; posterior with five. Tail of medium length, or short.

The marmots are subterranean dwellers, living together gregariously, and subject to the torpid state in winter. Although they feed on roots and other vegetation, the somewhat pointed tubercles of the molar teeth indicate a departure from the strictly herbivorous character, and they are easily induced to eat both flesh and insects. They are usually extremely fat, prior to the assumption of the torpid state, and the epiploon is then furnished with numerous adipose leaflets; when they awake again on the return of spring, they are very thin, and their weight has become sensibly diminished, a proof that the fatty substance with which they are so amply furnished, supports the system not only in hybernation, but also during those trying periods when they are roused by any accidental alternation of temperature.^[157. Mangili’s Mémoire sur le Lethargie des Marmottes. ] It is seldom, however, that they are exposed to sudden changes in those deep burrows, in which they take their winter sleep. The genus is at present composed of a great amount of species, the majority of which inhabit the temperate and colder regions of both continents., Above a dozen occur in North America, and (including the three species brought from Buckharia by Μ. Eversham), about eight are found in Europe.^[158. For the species see Pallas’s Nov. sp. Quadrup. e Glir. Ord. and the Fauna Boreali-Americana, part i> ]

The most generally known species is the marmot of the Alps (Ard. marmotta, Gmel., Mus alpinus, Linn.), an animal somewhat larger than a rabbit, of a yellowish-grey colour, ashy towards the head, the upper part of which, and the end of the tail, are black. It inhabits high mountains immediately beneath the line of perpetual snow. Though of a stupid aspect it is a creature not only of great instinctive intelligence, but also susceptible of education, while its habits, in a state of nature, are in every way worthy of attention. Several individuals combine in forming a subterranean retreat, contrived with great art, and consisting of an oval cavity or general receptacle, with a large canal or passage, divaricating so as to present a couple of outlets. These recesses are generally made on declivities, and are supplied during autumn with an ample store of moss and hay. During the joyous summer season the alpine marmots are often seen sporting near their holes, or sitting upright in the enjoyment of the genial sunshine; but it is said that a sentinel is usually placed on the summit of a neighbouring crag, to give warning of approaching danger. Certain it is that they are very wary, and not easily surprised at any distance from their subterranean retreats. When the increasing cold of autumn betokens the approach of their long continued winter sleep, they betake themselves to their chambers, which they have previously furnished with the sweet summer hay. With the same, or some similar material, they also close up the opening to their dwelling, and soon fall into a torpid state, which continues till the spring. When they first enter their winter quarters they are extremely fat, but become emaciated after the lapse of a few months. If carefully dug up they may be carried away without awakening; but the heat of a warm chamber speedily restores them to active life. In like manner, if well cared for in confinement, they do not assume the torpid state. From these, and other facts well known to naturalists, it would appear that hybernating animals are not condemned to torpidity by any inherent quality of their nature, but that it is rather a provisional faculty, dependent on external circumstances, and may consequently be interrupted, postponed, or altogether prevented, by regulating the conditions under which the individual is placed.^[159. See the article Animal Kingdom of this work, vol. iii. p. 167. ] The Alpine marmot is less productive than most of its order. It brings forth only once a year, and produces four or five young at a birth. These increase rapidly, and are not only easy to tame, but may be taught to perform various tricks and gesticulations. In a domestic state they are almost omnivorous, and in eating they sit upright, and use their paws like a squirrel.

Another noted species is the bobac or Polish marmot (Arctomys bobac, Gmelin). It is found in Poland, in the basins of the Dnieper and Borysthenes, and spreads through the north of Asia into Kamtschatka. It lives in groups of from twenty to forty, digging deep excavations on the southern sides of hills of no great elevation, and resembles the preceding species in its general habits. The souslik or variegated marmot (Arctomys citillus, Gmel.) differs in not being gregarious. It is of a more irascible disposition, and exhibits a tendency to prey on animal food. In addition to the supply of hay, chiefly used for bedding by the other species, this kind stores up roots, nuts, grain, &c. from which its winter sleep may be inferred to be less profound. Pallas, indeed, informs us, that such as are occasionally found in granaries are observed in motion even during the winter season.^[160. It may be here noted, however, that under the title of Mus citillus, Pallas is supposed to have described three distinct species of marmot, two of which he regarded as varieties of the other. The actual distribution of each is therefore probably more circumscribed. See Novoe species Quadrupedum e Glirium Ordine ; and for the recent species, Voyage à Boukhara, par Μ. le Baron Meyendorfl, in 1820, in which the animals collected by Μ. Eversman are described by Lichtenstein. ] The so-called variegated or Siberian marmot has a widely extended distribution, occurring in Austria, Bohemia, and European Russia, and spreading northwards into Siberia, Kamtschatka, and the Aleutian islands, and southwards to Persia and Hindustan. The species of this genus are likewise numerous in North America;^[161. For the Marmots of the New World, see Godman’s American Natural History, vol. it, Dr Harlan’s Fauna Americana, the Travels of Lewis and Clarke, and Dr Richardson’s work already so frequently referred to. ] of these, however, we shall here notice only the [7:14:132]Quebec marmot (Arctomys empetra, Plate CCCXXXV, figs. 5 and 8) of Pennant.^[162. Arctic Zoology, vol. i. p. 111. The Quebec marmot of Forster (Phil. Trans, lxii. p. 378), is, however, another species the Arc- iomys Parryi of Richardson. ] It inhabits woody districts, at least as far north as lat. 61°. Although it is a subterranean species, it also climbs trees and bushes, probably in search of buds or other vegetation. The natives capture it by pouring water into the hole which it inhabits. They consider its flesh as a delicacy when in good condition. Its fur, however, is of no value.

2

Genus Myoxis, Gmelin. Mus, Linn. Incisives -, ca-θ o 4 4

nines -, molars; = 20. No cheek pouches.

0 — 0 4 — 4

Anterior paavs with four toes and a rudimentary thumb; posterior with five. Tail long, sometimes round and bushy, sometimes depressed and distichous, occasionally tufted only at the extremity. Hair very fine and soft. No caecum.

The beautiful species, commonly called dormice, which constitute this genus, seem characteristic of Europe. They resemble squirrels in many of their habits, live in woods, and store up provisions for their winter store, although they pass most of that season in torpidity.^[163. The only exotic species with which we are acquainted (Μ. Coupeii, F. Cuvier, Μ. murinus, Desm., an animal imported from the Cape of Good Hope by Delalande), although probably in its native country active throughout the year, was found to become lethargic when exposed to the cold of Europe. ] Their food consists chiefly of nuts and fruits, but they are said to attack occasionally the eggs and young of small birds. They pair in spring, and bring forth usually about five young in summer. Many curious observations have been made upon the nature of their hybernal sleep by Mangili, Saissy, Edwards, and others. Respiration is suspended and renewed at regular intervals, which vary, however, with the temperature. Thus, at 3° an individual observed by Mangili respired twenty-four or twenty-five times consecutively in a minute, after four minutes of repose. Their bodily temperature also falls. A lerot or garden dormouse, which in summer shewed a heat of 36° 5', exhibited in December only21°. Edwards has shewn that hybernating animals habitually produce less heat than other warm-blooded species, and that in that respect they continue permanently under the same conditions as the young of ordinary animals.

The fat dormouse (Myoxis glis, see Plate CCCXXXV. fig. 7) is the most nearly allied to the squirrels. It dwells in forests, climbs trees, and leaps from branch to branch with considerable agility. It builds its bed in hollow trees, or in rocky clefts, dislikes moisture, and rarely descends to the ground. It is confined to the warmer and temperate parts of Europe, and was used by the Romans (as it still is in Italy) as food. That luxurious people fattened it for the table in receptacles called Gliraria ; and Martial was of opinion, that in spite of long continued abstinence it became fattened by its winter sleep:

‘ Tota mihi dormitur hiems; et pinguior illo Tempore sum quo me nil nisi somnus alit.”

The flavour of its flesh resembles that of the guinea-pig. The lerot or garden dormouse (Μ. nitela) is more numerous and widely spread than the preceding. It inhabits temperate Europe as far north as Poland, and frequently occurs in gardens and cuthouses. It inhabits holes in walls and hollow trees, and is injurious from its habit of climbing espalier trees, and eating the best and ripest fruit, especially peaches. It is itself uneatable. The muscardine (our English dormouse, Myoxus museardinus, Gmelin, Mus avellanarius, Linn.) is scarcely larger than a common mouse. It never enters houses, but inhabits woods, where it makes a nest like that of the squirrel, composed of interlaced herbage opening from above, and usually placed on a hazel bush, or some low growing tree. It hy-bernates in hollow trees, occurs over Europe from Italy to Sweden, and is the only British species. Although extremely lethargic it is easily roused from torpidity, by either a diminution or increase of temperature. Μ. Mangili exposed a dormouse in a lethargic state to an artificial cold of 10°, and it died in twenty minutes. When opened a great quantity of blood was found in the ventricles of the heart and in the principal vessels connected with the lungs, while the lungs themselves, as well as the veins of the neck, head, and brain, were much distended.

Genus Echimys, Geoff. Incisives canines θ-~ θ, 4 4

molars -; = 20. No cheek pouches. Four toes and the vestige of a thumb on the anterior feet; the posterior with five toes. Tail long, scaly, slightly haired. Fur coarse, and intermingled with flattened spines.

This genus consists of several South American species usually designated spiny rats, although in some the hair is of the usual kind. We know little of their history or habits. The red species (Ech. spinosus) is described by Azara as digging burrows in dry and sandy soils, four or five feet long, about eight inches beneath the surface, and sometimes so numerous and close together, as to render precaution necessary on the part of the pedestrian. It measures about eight inches in length.

2 2 2

Genus Hydromys, Geoff. Incisives -, molars;

> ’ 2 2 — 2

= 12. Feet with five toes, the thumb almost enveloped in the skin, the anterior toes free, those of the hinder extremities connected by a swimming membrane. Tail nearly as long as the body, cylindrical, pointed at the extremity, and covered with coarse hair.

Two Australasian animals (H. leucogaster and ckryso-gaster, Geoff.^[164. Ann. du Mus. t. vi. pl. 36. ]), by some regarded as varieties of each other, constitute this obscurely known genus. The yellow-bellied species was described from a single individual killed by a sailor on an island in the straits of Entrecasteaux, while it was endeavouring to hide itself beneath a heap of stones. (See Plate CCCXXXV. figs. 9 and 12.) Its fur is softer and finer than that of the white-bellied species. Both kinds measure about a foot in length, besides the tail, which extends eleven inches. In the first edition of the Règne Animal, they were erroneously regarded as natives of Guiana, and their supposed attributes are still commingled with those of a South American animal of amphibious habits, called the Coypou (genus Myopotamus of Commerson). Setting aside, then, the generalities which apply to the latter animal, we believe that nothing is known of the habits of the Hydromys. They are, in the mean time, inferred to resemble those of our water rats.^[165. Diction. Class, d’Hist. Nat. t. viii. p. 427∙ ]

We shall here merely name the Genus Capromys of Desmarest, which contains two species native to the island of Cuba, where they are known to have been used as food by the natives. They resemble enormous rats.^[166. See Mem. de la Soc. d’Hist. Nat. de Paris, t. i. p. 43; and Règne Animal, t. i. p. 200. ] o 3 3

Genus Mus, Cuv. Desm. Incisives -, molars ~—
[7:14:133]

= 16. Anterior feet with four toes and a rudimentary thumb, the posterior with five. Tail long, naked, and scaly.

This genus, still of great extent, is now restricted to the rats and mice properly so called, an omnivorous race, some of which have followed man throughout his almost universal migrations. Wherever European nations have colonised, these small but adventurous creatures have accompanied the merchant or the mariner; and from the forlorn settlements of the fur traders of North America to the populous cities of Southern Asia, their sly and furtive habits are the source of equal annoyance.

The common brown rat of this country (3Z. decumanus) is believed to be an eastern animal, a native of Persia and Hindustan, which made its appearance in the western countries of Europe only during the earlier half of last century. It is a bolder and more powerful species than its predecessor the black rat, which it is said to have nearly extirpated.^[167. We find the above observation recorded in all modern books of natural history,—Pennant’s opinion having been followed by our English compilers; and the same sentiment prevails in most foreign works. “Il est vorace,” says Μ. Desmarest, “fait la guerre la plus achame'e au rat noir,” &c. Mammalogie, p. 299. Neverthless, we have sought in vain for the evidence on which such supposition has been founded. “On the contrary,” says Dr Fleming, “I know that they have lived for years unde'r the same roof, the brown rat chiefly residing in holes of the floor, the other chiefly in holes of the roof.” British Animals, p. 20. ] It burrows under the foundations of walls and houses, makes its way into drains of foul water, swims with great facility, abounds in sea-port towns, and frequently establishes itself on board of ship. It is extremely prolific. This species is now well known in America and the colonies. It was unknown, even in the maritime towns of France, prior to 1750; and according to Pallas, was unobserved in Siberia and Russia before 1766. About that period they were seen to arrive in great troops towards the embouchure of the Wolga, and in the towns of Astraean and Jaitzkoi-Gorodok, appearing to come from the western desert, that is, from the European side.

The black rat (Mus rattus) is a smaller animal, of a darker colour, a more elongated head, and sharper muzzle than the preceding. It is equally omnivorous, but less productive. Its original country is extremely doubtful. Ancient authors make no mention of it, and the prevailing belief is that it made its way into Europe during the middle ages. It is still the prevailing species in some parts of the continent, but is now comparatively rare in Britain. Dr Fleming, however, observes, that lι the period of their extirpation is far distant. They still infest the older houses of London and Edinburgh, and in many districts of the country they are common.”^[168. Ibid. ] It was observed during the great fires which occurred in the ancient quarter of the last named city in the year 1824, that such rats as were dislodged from garrets and other lofty places, were all of the black kind.

Foreign countries produce various species of the rat tribe unknown to Europe. Of these we shall briefly describe the Malabar rat of Dr Shaw,— Mus giganteus of General Hardwicke,—a species of enormous size.^[169. Linn. Trans, vol. vii. p. 30G. ] The nose is rounded, the under jaw much shorter than the upper, the cutting teeth broad, ineurved, compressed. The body is thick, and greatly arched, the upper portion black, the under inclining to grey. The legs and toes are black, and the tail, thinly covered with hair, measures two and a half inches in circumference at the root. The specimen just noticed was a female, arid weighed two pounds eleven ounces and a half. The male weighs above three pounds, and, including the tail, which is above a foot long, measures nearly thirty inches in length. This huge rat is found in many places on the Coromandel coast, in Mysore, and in several parts of Bengal, between Calcutta and Hurdwar. It is partial to dry situations, and scarcely ever occurs at a distance from human dwellings. According to General Hardwicke, the lowest caste of Hindoos eat the flesh of this rat in preference to that of any other species. It is extremely mischievous, and will burrow to a great depth, passing beneath the foundations of stores and granaries, unless these are very deeply laid; and it perforates with ease the walls of such buildings as are formed of mud or unburnt bricks. It is also destructive in gardens, from its habit of turning up the seeds of all kinds of leguminous plants. Fruits likewise suffer from its depredations, and it will even attack poultry when at all stinted in its vegetable diet. The bite of this species is considered dangerous; and a European serving in the Honourable Company’s artillery is known to have died in the Doub of confirmed hydrophobia, in consequence of having been bit by it. One of the largest and most destructive rats with which we are acquainted is the pilori, or musk-rat of the Antilles (Μ. pilorides, Pallas and Gmelin), which measures fifteen inches in length, exclusive of the tail.^[170. Règne Animal, t. i. p. 201. ]

Several foreign rats (not to be confounded, however, with the genus Echimys, already noticed) have a portion of their hair so strong and stiff as to be almost spiny. Sueh is the Perehal rat (Mus Perchai, Shaw), a species which measures above a foot in length, exclusive of the tail. It inhabits houses in the town and neighbourhood of Pondicherry, where it serves as food. Another spiny species occurs in Egypt, and is described by Geoffroy under the name of Mus Cahirinus.

Of the smaller species, or mice, we need scarcely describe the external aspect. The common domestic species (Mus musculus) was well known to ancient writers, and now occurs in most countries of the known world. It is amazingly prolific, sometimes producing seventeen at a birth. Aristotle’s experiment in relation to this point has been often quoted. He placed a pregnant female in a vessel of grain, and after the lapse of a short period he examined his store, and found the grain greatly diminished, but the mice increased to 120. To the same genus belongs a somewhat larger species, called the long-tailed field mouse (Μ. sylvaticus), which resembles the preceding in the colour of its upper parts, but has the sides more rufous, the ears larger, the head longer, and the eyes more prominent. It dwells in fields, woods, and gardens, stores up seeds and roots in autumn, and is said to become torpid in very cold weather. This species is extremely abundant in certain seasons, and is often very destructive in plantations, by gnawing asunder the seedling trees or devouring the seeds. Buffon was of opinion that it did more damage in these respects than all other quadrupeds and birds together. They are killed abroad by fastening a roasted walnut to a stick, the latter supporting a large stone. In this manner above 2000 have been killed between the 15th November and the 8th of December, in a piece of ground not exceeding forty French arpents. The harvest mouse of White (Μ. messorius) is the smallest of British quadrupeds, the length of its body measuring only about two inches and a quarter. It builds its nest above ground. The one described by Mr White was composed of the blades of wheat, was perfectly round in its form, of the size of a cricket ball, with an aperture so ingeniously contrived, as to be discovered with difficulty. It contained eight young ones, all blind and naked, and was suspended in the head of a thistle. It is also often hung amid the blades of standing corn. The harvest-mouse, like most of the field species, is more frequently met with in the autumn than during any other season. It seeks protection from the winter’s cold in hay or corn rieks, or in burrows beneath the earth. We have found it several times of late [7:14:134]years in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh. It does not appear to have been as yet generally recognised on the continent of Europe, though well known in some of the provinces of France, where of late a still smaller species has been discovered, the mulot nain, Μ. pumilus of F. Cuvier.

The American field-mouse (Mus leucopus, Rafinesque) inhabits the northern districts of the New World, and extends across the whole country from the shores of Hudson’s Bay to the mouth of the Columbia. It becomes an inmate of the dwelling-houses as soon as any have been erected at a trading post. “The gait and prying actions of this little creature,” says Dr Richardson, “when it ventures from its hole in the dusk of the evening, are so much like those of the English domestic mouse, that most of the European residents at Hudson’s Bay have considered it to be the same animal, altogether overlooking the obvious differences of their tails and other peculiarities. The American field-mouse, however, has a habit of making hoards of grain or little pieces of fat, which I believe is unknown of the European domestic mouse; and what is most singular, these hoards are not formed in the animal’s retreats, but generally in a shoe left at the bedside, the pocket of a coat, a nightcap, a bag hung against a wall, or some similar place.”^[171. Fauna B oreali-Americana, part i. p. 142. ] This species may be regarded as the representative of the Mus sylvaticus of Europe. In the stoat or ermine it finds a most inveterate and deadly foe, being frequently pursued by that greedy bloodsucker even into the sleeping apartments of the settlers.

Genus Gerbillus, Desm. Meriones, Illig. Incisives 2 3 3

-, molars; = 16. Anterior feet short, furnished with four toes, and a rudimentary thumb; the posterior long, with five toes. Tail long, and covered with hair.

The species of this genus are peculiar to the warmer portions of the ancient continent. They may be described as long-footed rats, allied in many respects to the gerboas, with which indeed they have been frequently confounded. As an example we may mention the Mus tamaricinus of Pallas, a subterranean animal, inhabiting the southern shores and deserts of the Caspian Sea. An Indian species ( G. Indicus) was discovered by General Hardwicke;^[172. Linn. Trans, vol. viií. pl. vii. ] and several others inhabit Africa, from Nubia to the Cape. They are great leapers.

Genus Meriones, F. Cuv. Separated from the preceding on account of the greater length of the hind legs, the nakedness of the tail, and the existence of a very small tooth in front of the molars of the upper jaw.

The species are American, and the best known is that called the jumping mouse of Canada, described as a gerboa by General Davies.^[173. Ibid. vol. iv. pl. viii. ] It is an animal of extreme agility, of the size of a mouse, with a very long tail. “The first I was so fortunate to catch,” says the gentleman just named, “was taken in a large field near the falls of Montmorenci, and by its having strayed too far from the skirts of a wood, allowed myself, assisted by three other gentlemen, to surround it, and after an hour’s hard chase to get it unhurt, though not before it was thoroughly fatigued, which might accelerate its death. During the time the animal remained in its usual vigour, its agility was incredible for so small a creature. It always took progressive leaps of from three to four, and sometimes of five yards, although seldom above twelve or fourteen inches from the surface of the grass; but I have frequently observed others in shrubby places, and in the woods, among plants, where they chiefly reside, leap considerably higher. When found in such places it is impossible to take them, from their wonderful agility, and their evading all pursuit, by bounding into the thickest part of the cover they can find.” On the approach of cold weather it descends into the earth, and passes the winter in a state of torpidity. Another species has been recently described under the name of Labrador jumping mouse.^[174. Godman’s American Nat. History, vol. ii. p. 97∙ ] It is a very common animal in the fur countries as far north as Great Slave Lake, but Dr Richardson did not obtain any precise information regarding its habits.^[175. Fauna Boreali-Americana, part i. p. 144. ] Genus Cricetus, Cuv. Teeth as in the genus Mus, but the tail is short, and clothed with hair, and the mouth is provided with cheek pouches, in which the species transport grain and other provisions into their subterranean chambers.

The most noted is the hamster (Cricetus vulgaris, Desm., Mus cricetus, Pallas; see Plate CCCXXXV, fig. 10), an animal of variable colour, somewhat larger than a rat, of a thicker form, with a shorter tail. Although it occurs in Lower Alsace, it is rare in Europe to the west of the Rhine, but is widely spread from that river to the Danube on the south-west, and north-easterly through a vast extent of country into Siberia. It lives on roots, fruits, herbs, and other vegetable produce, and is said to be much attached to the grain of the liquorice plant. Some authors allege that it also preys occasionally on small birds, mice, &c. Though easily tamed, it is a fierce, resentful, pugnacious creature, and has been known to spring upon the muzzle of a horse, and hold on with its teeth till killed. When preparing for defence or attack, it empties its cheek pouches, and then so inflates them with air that its head and neck seem larger than the whole body. It then rises on its hind legs, and making a sudden spring, seizes on its adversary with the most obdurate tenacity. It will even spitefully grasp, and perseveringly maintain its hold of a piece of hot iron. Though the hamster occurs in great numbers, it is so far a solitary animal, that each inhabits a separate hole. It lays up during the summer season an ample and varied store, and is extremely injurious in many countries, from the quantity of grain which it conveys from time to time, in its cheek pouches, to its subterranean dwelling. These vary in depth and the number of their divarications with the age of the animal,—a young individual making them hardly a foot in depth, while the elders sink them four or five. The principal chamber is lined with hay, and serves as a sleeping room, while the other apartments contain the provisions.^[176. In the history of the hamster, as in that of other foreign species, the habits of which we have no means of ascertaining from personal observation, we are necessarily dependent for our information on the published works of authors of repute. We are sometimes, however, rather at a loss by which statement to be led, where there is a contrariety of evidence; as, for example, in regard to the species in question. “Il est commun,” says Cuvier, “dans toutes les contrées sablonneuses qui s’étendent depuis le nord d’Allemagne, jusqu’en Sibérie” (Règne Animal, t. i. p. 205); “Il évité,” observes Μ. Desmoulins, “les terrains sablonneux, et ceux qui sont trop arrosés” (Diction. Classique d’Hist. Nat. t. viii. p. 34.). So in like manner regarding the entrances to their subterranean stores, there is a disparity of opinion. “Les cavités,” according to Μ. Desmarest, “où elles (diverses semences, &c.) sont situées à deux pieds et demi ou trois pieds sous terre, et elles communiquent au dehors par deux galeries, dont une, oblique, est le chemin d’usage ordinaire, et l’autre, perpendiculaire, ne sert que dans les cas d’alerte” (Mammalogie, p. 310); while Dr Shaw observes, that “each hole has two apertures, the one descending obliquely, and the other in a perpendicular direction, and it is through this latter that the animal goes in and out” (General Zoology, vol. ii. p. 97·)· We adduce these discrepancies to shew the difficulties which sometimes be-set even the humble labours of a conscientious compiler. How almost insuperable they become in the way of original observation, may be inferred from the few precise additions to actual knowledge which we find amid the multiplied channels of modern information. ] These, it is said, will amount, for a single individual, to the weight of a hundred pounds. “On the [7:14:135]approach of winter,” says Dr Shaw, “the hamster retires into his subterraneous abode, the entry of which he shuts up with great care; and thus remaining in a state of tranquillity, feeds on his collected provision till the frost becomes severe; at which period he falls into a profound slumber, which soon grows into a confirmed torpidity, so that the animal continues rolled up, with all its limbs inflexible, its body perfectly cold, and without the least appearance of life. In this state it may be even opened, when the heart is seen contracting and dilating, but with a motion so slow as to be scarce perceptible, not exceeding fifteen pulsations in a minute, though in the waking state of the animal it beats a hundred and fifty pulsations in the same time. It is added, that the fat of the creature has the appearance of being coagulated, that its intestines do not exhibit the smallest symptoms of irritability on the application of the strongest stimulants, and the electric shock may be passed through it without effect. This lethargy of the hamster has been generally ascribed to the effect of cold alone; but late observations have proved, that unless at a certain depth below the surface, so as to be beyond the access of the external air, the animal does not fall into its state of torpidity, and that the severest cold on the surface does not affect it. On the contrary, when dug up out of its burrow, and exposed to the air, it infallibly awakes in a few hours. The waking of the hamster is a gradual operation: he first loses the rigidity of his limbs, then makes profound inspirations, at long intervals; after this he begins to move his limbs, opens his mouth, and utters a sort of unpleasant rattling sound. After continuing these operations for some time, he at length opens his eyes, and endeavours to rise, but reels about for some time, as if in a state of intoxication, till at length, after resting a small space, he perfectly recovers his usual powers. This transition from torpidity to activity requires more or less time, according to the temperature of the air, and other circumstances. When exposed to a cold air, he is sometimes two hours in waking; but in a warmer air the change is effected in half the time.”^[177. General Zoology, vol. ii. p. 97∙ ]

Numerous other species of this genus are described by naturalists, and the beautiful little South American animal called chinchilla (C. laniger, Geoff, and Desm.), so remarkable for the softness of its fur, has been usually classed with the hamsters.^[178. The chinchilla is now regarded as generically distinct. We shall notice it at the conclusion of our present order. ] New genera have been formed by Μ. Rafinesque Smaltz, and other recent writers, for the reception of several of the reputed hamsters of North America, such as the sand rat, camas rat, pouched rat of Canada, &c.; but into the history of these we cannot enter.^[179. See Fauna lìorealì-Americana, part i., and Lesson’s Manuel de Mammalogie. ]

2 3 3

Genus Fiber, Cuv., Desm. Incisives -, molars -;

= 16. Hind feet with a marginal row of long hairs, but not webbed.^[180. “Pieds de derrière demi palmés.” Cuvier. “There is no vestige of a web.” Richardson. ] Tail long, laterally compressed, sealyor granular, and thinly haired.

Of this genus the only species as yet distinctly characterized is Fiber zibethecus, or musk rat of Canada, commonly called the musquash. It is an animal of amphibious habits, measuring above a foot in length, with a thick flatfish body, a short head, indistinct neck, thighs hid in the body, very short legs, and large hind feet. The fur greatly resembles that of the beaver, but is shorter, with the down coarser and of less value. Although it resists the water when alive, it is easily wetted after death. The musqiìash is peculiar to North America, where it extends from about north latitude 30°, almost to the mouth of the Mackenzie River in latitude 69° ∙ They feed, for the most part, on vegetable substances (in summer they are said to devour the fresh water mussels), and their favourite abodes are small grassy lakes or swamps, or the grassy borders of slow-flowing streams which possess a muddy bottom. They are very prolific, bringing forth sometimes three broods in a season, but their numbers are often checked by a great mortality which attacks them at uncertain intervals, from some unknown cause. The districts in which they abound are also subject to frequent inundations, which, covering all the lower grounds, occasion the death of many by drowning, and in severe winters they are almost extirpated from certain districts by their swampy dwellings being frozen over. In such cases, Dr Richardson informs us, they are driven by famine to devour each other. In a state of nature they are rather watchful than shy, that is, they will approach close to a canoe, but will dive the instant they perceive the flash of a gun. According to Hearne they are easily tamed. Their fur is extensively used in the fabrication of hats,—between four and five hundred thousand skins being annually imported to Great Britain. The Indian hunters spear these animals through the walls of their mud houses.

2 3 3

Genus Arvicoa, Cuv. Incisives -, molars -—= 16.

Hind feet neither palmated nor ciliated. Tail round, haired.

This genus contains, among many other species, two small British quadrupeds,—the water rat (A. aquatied) and the short-tailed field mouse (A. agrestis). The former inhabits holes by the banks of lakes and rivers. In this country, its disposition, so far as yet observed, is herbivorous, but French and Italian naturalists state that it preys also on insects, reptiles, and the spawn of fishes. The latter is very common in fields, gardens, and the outskirts of woods, in all of which it sometimes occasions no small damage. Although Μ. Desmarest assigns “l’ancien continent” as the geographical range of the genus Arvicoa, yet several species inhabit North America. Indeed the French author has himself described A. xanthognathus as native to the shores of Hudson’s Bay. Of the species of Northern Asia, one of the most singular is the economic rat (A. economus, Desm.), so called from the great skill and sagacity which it displays in providing the supplies of winter. This 4abour rests chiefly with the female,—the male during summer leading a solitary life, dwelling in old deserted holes, and feeding on berries and other produce of the season. When cold weather approaches, both sexes wisely betake themselves to the same hole. The occasional migrations of this species are scarcely less remarkable than those of the lemming. The cause of these movements is quite unknown, although Pallas imagines (and every one is entitled to indulge that poetical and pleasing attribute) that they are occasioned, at least in Kamtschatka, by some uneasy sensation produced by the subterranean fire of that volcanic region. Μ. Bose is of opinion that he has found this species in the forest of Montmorency, and we have also been informed of its supposed occurrence in Switzerland. Although those localities are somewhat doubtful, we must at the same time bear in mind, that several of the species are very extensively distributed,— Arvicoa pennsylυanicus of Ord (commonly called Wilson’s meadow· mouse) being by some regarded as identical with our A. agrestis. Genus Georychus, Illig. Lemmus, Desm. Scarcely differs from the preceding, except in the shortness of the ears and tail, and the larger and stronger claws, more fit for digging.

We here place the celebrated lemming (Mus lemmus, Linn., Lem. Norvégiens, Desm.), of the migratory movements[7:14:136] of which we have such singular records. It is a northern animal, an inhabitant of the mountains of Norway and Lapland, of the size of a rat, and clothed with fur varied by black and tawny. The specimens from different localities do not altogether accord either in size or colour. The lemming differs from many of its congeners, and indeed from several species of its own genus, in having five well developed toes to the anterior feet, instead of four toes and a rudimentary thumb. We have heard less of late of this animal than might have been anticipated from the extraordinary accounts which the preceding century furnished of its history. The lemmings were described as natives of the mountains of Kolen, in Lapland, and were said to apI>ear once or twice in a quarter of a century “in numbers numberless,” advancing in a straight line, unchecked by hill or dale, by lake or river, and devouring in their onward journey “every green thing.” Even the anxieties of maternity do not slacken their march, for they have been known to produce their offspring while journeying, and to proceed as if nothing had happened, with a young one between their teeth, and another on their back.^[181. Mammalogie, p. 288. ] Innumerable bands were seen tomarch from the Kolen, through Nordland and Finmark, to the Western Ocean, which, nothing daunted, they immediately entered, and after swimming about for some time, as might be expected, perished. Other bands were observed to take their route through Swedish Lapland to the Bothnian Gulf, where they were drowned in the same manner. When opposed by the peasants, they stood still and barked at them; and they themselves were not only barked at in return, but were swallowed in great quantities by the lean and hungry dogs of Lapland. The advent of these vermin is regarded as the omen of a bad harvest. They are followed in their journeys by bears, wolves, and foxes, which prey upon them incessantly, and regard them as the most delicious food.^[182. See Quarterly Review, vol. xlviì. p. 338, and Dodsley’s Annual Register, for 1769. ] These excursions seem to augur a rigorous winter, of which the lemmings in some way appear forewarned. For example, the season of 1742, remarkable for its severity throughout the circle of Umea, was comparatively mild in that of Lula, although situate further to the north; the lemmings migrated from the former, but remained stationary in the latter district. Whatever may be the motive of these journeys, they are certainly executed with surprising perseverance, and with the universal accord of the whole nation,—the officina murium pouring forth its entire hordes, and leaving scarce a remnant in their ancient habitation. The greater proportion perish before they reach the sea, and of course few survive to return to their ancestral homes. They do, however, endeavour to return; for the object of their travel to a far country, whatever it may be, is not to found a multiplied or more extended empire. This indeed is evident from the comparatively local restriction of the species; for the true lemming of the Scandinavian Alps does not appear to occur even in Russian Lapland; and the kind which inhabits the countries in the vicinity of the White and Polar Seas, as far as the mouths of the Obi, is a species or strongly marked variety, smaller by at least one-third, and of a different aspect and colour.^[183. Sehreber, pl. 195, B. ] Their migratory propensities are, however, entirely the same in different countries; for the species which dwells among the northern extremities of the Ural Mountains, emigrates sometimes towards Pet-zora, at other times towards the banks of the Obi, and is followed, as usual, by troops of carnivorous and insatiate foes.^[184. Pallas, Nova Species Quadrupedum e glirium ordine. ] The domestic manners of the species are said to present this discrepancy, that the Norwegian lemmings lay up no provisions, and have only a single chamber in their subterranean dwelling-places, whereas the lesser kind excavate numerous apartments, and are provident of the winter season, by storing up ample magazines of that species of rein-deer moss called Lichen rangiferinus.^[185. Diet. Class. d’Hist. Nat., article Campagnol. ]

Many other lemmings occur in Siberia and the Tartarian deserts, and several in North America. Of the latter we may mention that from Hudson’s Bay, G. Hudsonius, one of the most northern of known quadrupeds. It does not appear to have been met with as yet in the interior of America, but inhabits Labrador, Hudson’s Straits, the coast from Church-hill to the extremity of Melville Peninsula, and the desolate islands of the Polar Sea. Its manners are imperfectly known, but Hearne states that it is so easily tamed, that if taken even when full grown, it will in a day or two become reconciled to captivity, and will voluntarily creep into its master’s bosom. This species has no external ears, and scarcely any tail, “Les deux doigts du milieu,” says Cuvier, “aux pieds de devant du male, ont l’air d’avoir les ongles doubles parceque la peau du bout du doigt est calleuse, et fait une saillie sous la pointe de l’ongle,—conformation qui ne s’est encore rencontrée que dans cet animal.”^[186. Règne Animal, t. i. p. 208. ] Dr Richardson, however, informs us, that the lower layer of the claw appeared to him to be not an enlargement of the callus, but rather of the same substance as the superior portion or nail proper.

2 3 - 3

Genus Dipus, Gmel. Incisors —, molars -, or

2 o — 3

3 3

——-; = 16 or 18. Head broad. Eyes large. Ears long and pointed. Anterior feet with four toes, and a nailed wart in place of thumb. The posterior extremities of great length, and terminated by three or five toes. Tail very long, cylindrical, covered throughout with short hair, and terminated by a tuft.

The jerboas, called two-footed rats by ancient writers, are nocturnal animals, of subterranean habits, native to the central countries of the Old World. They feed on fruits and roots. One of their most remarkable characters consists in this, that the three middle toes are all supported by a single metatarsal bone, which thus resembles the canon bone of the ruminating tribes, an osteological feature unique, we believe, in the rodential order. Such of the species as have only three toes, have but a single metatarsal bone to the whole. The Dipus jerboa (Mus sagitta, Pall.) is abundant in Barbary, in Upper and Lower Egypt, and Syria, and makes its appearance again in more northern countries between the Tanais and the Volga. It feeds chiefly on bulbous plants, and is remarkable for the extreme celerity of its course, which it effects by a series of long and rapid bounds. Though its tail, from the cruel experiments of Μ. Lepechin, appears to be of great use in locomotion, it is not by any means thick and muscular like that of the kangaroo. The jerboa usually walks on all fours, but when alarmed it seeks its safety by prodigious leaps, executed with great force and rapidity. When about to spring, it raises its body by means of the hinder extremities, and supports itself at the same time upon its tail, while the fore feet are so closely pressed to'the breast, as to be scarcely visible. Hence, probably, its ancient name of dipus, or two-footed. It then leaps into the air, and alights upon its four feet, but instantaneously erecting itself, it makes another spring, and so on in such rapid succession, as to appear as if rather flying than running. The experiments above alluded to consisted in maiming or cutting off the tails of these poor creatures. In proportion as that organ was reduced in length, their power of leaping diminished; and, when it was entirely lopped away, they not only could not run at all, but fell backwards whenever [7:14:137] they attempted to raise themselves with a view to their accustomed spring. “The jerboa,” says Bruce, “is a small "harmless animal of the desert, nearly the size of a common rat, the skin very smooth, and the ends of the hairs tipt with black. It lives in the smoothest plains or places of the desert, especially where the soil is fixed gravel, for in that chiefly it burrows, dividing its hole below into many mansions. It seems to be apprehensive of the falling in of the ground; it therefore generally digs its hole under the root of some spurge, thyme, or absynthium, upon whose root it seems to depend for its roof not falling in and burying it in the ruins of its subterranean habitation. It seems to delight most in those places that are haunted by the cerastis, or horned viper. Nature has certainly imposed this dangerous neighbourhood upon the one for the good and advantage of the other, and that of mankind in general. Of the many trials I made, I never found a jerboa in the body of a viper, excepting one in that of a female big with young, and the jerboa itself was then nearly consumed.”^[187. Travels, vol. v. p. 121. ] This species is used as food, and its flesh, in taste, is scarcely distinguishable from that of a young rabbit. It is described at a remote period by ancient authors, and is represented in some of the earliest medals of the Cyrenaicum, sitting beneath an umbellated plant (supposed the Silphium), the figure of which is likewise preserved on the silver medals of Cyrene. The Dipus jaculus inhabits the Tartarian deserts, and other species occur in different regions, from the shores of the Caspian Sea to the banks of the rivers of Siberia. We here figure an African species, the Dipus hirtipes of Lichtenstein. See Pl. CCCXXXV.fig. 11.

The largest species of the genus, as formerly constructed, is the Cape jerboa, Dipus caffcr, Gmel. It differs from the others in having four molar teeth on each side of both jaws, five toes to the anterior feet, and only four to the posterior, the latter armed with broad claws almost resembling hoofs. It measures about a foot in length, exclusive of the tail, which extends fifteen inches. This species is remarkable for its great strength and activity, which enable it to spring from twenty to thirty feet at a single bound. It dwells in deep burrows in the mountainous regions to the north of the Cape of Good Hope, and is known to the Dutch colonists under the name of springen huas, or jumping hare. In consequence of the peculiarities of structure just referred to, it has been formed by liliger into a separate genus, under the name of Pedetes (Relamys, F. Cuvier). See Plate CCCXXXVI. fig. 1.

Genus Spalanx, Guldenstaedt. Aspalax, Olivier, Desm. Teeth as in the rats and hamsters, but the incisives more projecting and exposed. Legs very short; all the feet furnished with five toes, with flat thin nails. External ears and tail scarcely perceptible.

The singular animal (Mus typhlus of Pallas) which forms the type of this genus, resembles the mole in its habits,— throwing up the earth from its burrows in the same manner, though furnished with much less powerful limbs. It measures nearly ten inches long, has a thick cylindrical body, a large triangular head, and no apparent eyes. Beneath the skin, however, there are small black points resembling eyes, although their functions, as organs of vision, are difficult to understand, in as far as they are covered over by skin and hair. “Whether the spalax be absolutely blind, or whether it receives any perception of light through the medium of the eye as an organ, does not sufficiently appear by what has hitherto been said by its describers. The presence of what may be called the vestige of an organ, seems perfectly consistent with other instances in which the application of such imperfect organ is not at all to be traced. On the contrary, it accords with that apparent unwillingness in nature to depart from prescribed laws. The total absence of an accustomed organ is much more anomalous in nature than the complete inutility of an imperfect one.”^[188. Griffith’s Edition of the Animal Kingdom, vol. iii. ρ. 1G2. ] It has been generally assumed that the Greeks described our common mole as blind, under the name of r⅛<rτr⅛λα∣, and modern authors, knowing that the sleek inhabitant of our pastures is possessed of eyes, though small ones, have prided themselves on their supposed correction of an ancient error; but the observations of Olivier go to prove that the mole of the Greeks was not the species of western Europe, but the animal in question, which spreads through Asia Minor into Persia and the south of Russia, between the Tanais and the Wolga. The original error probably lay with the Latin writers, who translated the word as-τrαλ≈∣ into talpa, and then applied the term to the mole of Europe. We may add, however, that Professor Savi of Pisa is of opinion that the aspalax is to be regarded as identical with the species of mole (Talpa caeca) which he discovered in the Apennines,^[189. Memorie Scientifiche, Decade prima. ] and which Baron Cuvier says is “tout à fait aveugle,”^[190. lìègne Animal, t. i. p. 131. Since the above was written, we have happened to cast our eyes on a supplementary note by Baron Cuvier, in which he states as follows: “La taupe appelée aveugle par Μ. Savi, ne l’est pas entièrement; ses paupières ont aussi one ouverture, mais encore plus petite que dans la taupe commune. On a nie' l’existence du nerf optique de la taupe commune ;—-je me crois en état de le démontrer et dans tout son trajet.” Ibid. p. 580. ] by which we presume he merely means that its eyes are covered by the skin. Μ. Charles Lucien Bonaparte likewise regards these species as synonymous.^[191. Iconographia, della Fauna Italica. ]

We may here briefly notice the genus Bathiergus of liliger, which, with several attributes of the preceding genus, is distinguished by four molars on each side both above and below, by a small though perceptible eye, and a short tail. The sand mole (Ä maritimus, Plate CCCXXXVI. fig. 2.), as the larger species is usually called, is an animal of the size of a rabbit, which occurs abundantly along the sandy shores of the Cape of Good Hope, where it sometimes excavates the ground in such a manner as to produce inconvenience, if not danger, to horsemen. Another species, called the Cape rat (B. capensis), is destructive in gardens and pleasure grounds. A third has been of late years described under the title of B. hottentotus, by MM. Lesson and Garnot.^[192. Voyage de la Coquille, PI. 2. ]

For the genera Geomys and Diplostoma of Μ. Rafinesque, and a few other groups of the Rodential Order, the characters of which we cannot here detail, we must refer the reader to the works quoted below.^[193. Desmarest’s Mammaloqie, and Richardson’s Fauna lìoreali∙Americana. ]

2 4 4

Genus Castor, Linn. Incisives-, molars - = 20.

2 4 — 4

Eyes small. Ears short and rounded. Five toes to each foot, those of the hinder extremities united by a web or membrane. Tail broad, depressed, ovular, naked, and scaly. Two pouches (in the male) on each side of the genitals, containing an unctuous matter called castoreum.

As the description of the beaver, which alone constitutes our present genus, is recorded in almost every book of natural history, we shall here confine ourselves to a few particulars regarding its general habits, and as its history, as given by the traveller Hearne, has been characterized by competent authority as the most accurate which has been yet presented to the public, we shall here abridge it for the benefit of the same. We may, however, premise by observing, that naturalists have not yet been able to establish any distinctive characters between the gregarious beavers of North America, and the few that still survive in isolated pairs along the banks of a few great European rivers, such [7:14:138] as the Rhone, the Rhine, and the Danube.^[194. Nous n’avons pu encore constater, malgré des comparaisons scrupuleuses, si les castors ou bièvres qui vivent dans des terriers le long du Rhône, du Danube, du Weser et d’autres rivières, sont differents par l’espèce de celui d’Amerique; ou si le voisinage des hommes est ce qui les empêche de bâtir ”— Règne Animal, t. i. p. 214. “Nous avons cru devoir réunir, d’après MM. Cuvier, le castor d’Europe à celui du Canada, surtout d’ap.’ès l’observation récente de ses moeurs en captivité, qui prouve évidemment que ce castor a, comme l’autre, un penchant inné à const uire.” Mammalogie, p. 278. ] Those of Europe seem of somewhat larger dimensions, and of a paler coloured fur. See Plate CCCXXXVI. fig. 3.

The situation of the beaver houses in America is found to be various. Where the animals are numerous, they inhabit lakes, ponds, and rivers, as well as those narrow creeks which connect the lakes together. They generally, however, prefer flowing waters, probably on account of the advantages afforded by the current for transporting the materials of their dwellings. They also prefer deepish water, no doubt because it yields a better protection from the frost. But it is when they build in small creeks or rivers, the waters of which are liable to dry or be drained off, that they manifest that beautiful instinct with which Providence has gifted them,—the formation of dams. These differ in shape according to the nature of particular localities. Where the water has little motion the dam is almost straight; where the current is considerable it is curved, with its convexity towards the stream. The materials made use of are drift wood, green willows, birch, and poplars; also mud and stones intermixed in such a manner as must evidently contribute to the strength of the dam; but there is no particular method observed, except that the work is carried on with a regular sweep, and that all the parts are made of equal strength, “In places,” says Hearne, “which have been long frequented by beavers undisturbed, their dams, by frequent repairing, become a solid bank, capable of resisting a great force both of ice and water; and as the willow, poplar, and birch generally take root and shoot up, they by degrees form a kind of regular planted hedge, which I have seen in some places so tall, that birds have built their nests among the branches.”^[195. Journey to the Northern Ocean. ] Their houses are formed of the same materials as the dams, with little order or regularity of structure, and seldom contain more than four old, and six or eight young beavers. It not unfrequently happens that some of the larger houses have one or more partitions, but these are only posts of the main building left by the sagacity of the beaver to support the roof, for the apartments, as some are pleased to call them, have usually no communication with each other except by water. Those travellers who assert that the beavers have two doors to their dwellings, one on the land side, and the other next the water, manifest, according to Hearne, even a greater ignorance of their habits than do those who assign to them an elegant suite of apartments, for such a construction would render their houses of little use either as a protection from their enemies, or as a covering from the winter’s cold. Neither is it true that these animals drive stakes into the ground when building; they lay the pieces crosswise and horizontal. It is equally inaccurate to state that the wood work is first finished, and then plastered, for both houses and dams consist from the foundation of a mingled mass of mud and wood, mixed with stones, when such can be obtained. They carry the mud and stones with their fore-paws, and the timber between their teeth. They always work in the night, and with great expedition. They cover their houses late every autumn with fresh mud, which freezing when the frost sets in, becomes almost as hard as stone; and thus neither wolves nor wolverines can disturb their well-earned repose. When walking over their work, and especially when about to plunge into the water, they sometimes give a peculiar flap with their broad heavy tails; but they do not use these parts exactly as a mason uses his trowel, for a tame beaver will flap by the fireside, where there is nothing but dust and ashes.

The favourite food of beavers is the plant called Nuphar luteum, which bears a resemblance to a cabbage stalk, and grows at the bottom of lakes and rivers. They also gnaw the bark of birch, poplar, and willow trees. But during the bright summer days which clothe even the far northern regions with a luxuriant vegetation (the more beautiful as contrasted with the rigorous and long enduring winter) a more varied herbage, with the addition of berries, is consumed. When the ice breaks up in spring they always leave their embankments, and rove about until a little before the fall of the leaf, when they return again to their old habitations, and lay in their winter stock of wood. They seldom begin to repair the houses till the frost sets in, and never finish the outer coating till the cold becomes pretty severe. When they erect a new habitation, they fell the wood early in summer, but seldom begin building till towards the latter end of August. Some tame beavers kept by Hearne became extremely attached to human society, and were also remarkably fond of rice and plumpudding. They would even eat freely of partridges and fresh venison. Kalm mentions a tame beaver which belonged to a gentleman of New York, and was in the habit of going about the house like a dog. A cat which inhabited the same dwelling, on producing kittens took possession of the beaver’s bed without any opposition being offered; and ere long, when the cat went out, the beaver used to take a kitten between his paws, and hold it to his breast, as if to keep it warm, till the return of the proper parent.^[196. Travels in North America. ]

Dr Richardson informs us that the flesh of these animals is much prized by the Indians and Canadian voyagers, especially when roasted in the skin, after the hair has been singed off. This of course makes it an expensive luxury, the enjoyment of which it requires all the influence of the fur traders to restrain. Beavers arc said to pair in February, to carry their young about ten weeks, and to bring forth from four to eight cubs by the middle or end of May. In regard to the geographical distribution of these highly interesting creatures, Pennant fixes their southern range in Louisiana, about latitude 30°, not far from the Gulf of Mexico while Mr Say assigns as their limit the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi, about seven degrees farther north. In the higher latitudes, their extension seems restricted by the absence or deficiency of wood, the districts called the Barren Grounds not yielding enough even of willows for their subsistence. Many are known to occur as high as latitude 68°, on the banks of the Mackenzie, the largest and best wooded of the American rivers that discharge themselves into the icy basin of the Polar Sea. The Iroquois are the greatest beaver catchers in Canada. There is no doubt that great injury has resulted from the indiscriminate capture of old and young, and the too frequent trenching of the same dams,—evils which the Hudson’s Bay Company are at last endeavouring to remedy by the adoption of more prudent measures. “In the year 1743, the imports of beaver skins into the ports of London and Rochelle, amounted to upwards of 150,000; and there is reason to suppose that a considerable additional quantity was at that period introduced illicitly into Great Britain. In 1827, the importation of beaver skins into London, from more than four times the extent of fur country than that which was occupied in 1743, did not much exceed 50,000.”^[197. Fauna Boreali- Americana, part 1st, p. 108. ]

There is an amphibious animal called the Coipu (frlus coipus, Molina), which dwells by the rivers of South America, [7:14:139]and is allied to the beaver in many of its characters, except that its tail is narrow and elongated. Its fur, much used in the manufacture of hats, is known to merchants under the name of racoonda, and is imported in great quantities to Europe. This animal inhabits Chili, is very abundant in the provinces of Buenos Ayres and Tucuman, but rare in Paraguay. It is described by Desmarest as a hydromys (H. coypus ^[198. Mammalogie, p. 2ÖG. ] l ), and is mentioned by Azara under the name of Quouiya. ^[199. Essai sur l’llist. Nat. de Paraguay, t. ii. p. 5. See also Annal. du Mus. t. vi. pl. 35. ] It is now regarded as forming a distinct genus under the title of Myopotamus, as first proposed, we believe, by Μ. Commerson.

Division II. Clavicles incomplete or nonexistent.

Genus Hystrix, Linn. Incisives -, molars - Â — 20. Muzzle broad and blunt. Ears short and rounded. Tongue beset with prickly scales. Anterior feet with four toes and a rudimentary thumb, the posterior with five, the whole armed (except the small anterior thumb) with strong claws. Body protected by strong sharp-pointed spines of different length, intermingled with the hairs.

This genus is composed of four or five animals of very extraordinary aspect, known under the name of porcupines. They occur in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, and have recently been formed into several minor generic groups, of which we shall give a brief sketch. All the species feed on fruits, roots, and grain, and either dig themselves subterranean dwellings, or seek retirement in the secure hollows of ancient trees.

The restricted genus Hystrix, Cuv., characterized by the dilatation of the muzzle and nasal bones, contains the European porcupine {H. cristata, Linn.), an animal which occurs in the south of Italy, Spain, Sicily, and Barbary. (See Plate CCCXXXVI, fig. 4.) Indeed the same species, or one closely allied, extends to the Cape of Good Hope, and spreads from Persia into Hindustan. It measures above two feet in length. Its quills are very long, ringed with brownish-black and white. There is a kind of crest or mane of long bristles on the head and nape. The tail is short, and furnished with truncated hollow quills, suspended by a narrow pedicle, so that they rattle when the creature walks, like a half-filled quiver. Mr Brydone mentions that the porcupine is frequent in Sicily, in the district of Baiae, and that he killed several during a shooting excursion in the Monte Barbaro. He dined upon his game, but found it luscious, and soon palling upon the appetite.^[200. Tour in Sicily. ] The singular aspect of this animal seems to have attracted the attention of the lovers of natural history at a very early period, and many fabulous attributes were added to the character of a creature in itself sufficiently curious. It was said to possess the power of darting its quills at pleasure with great force, and to a considerable distance, against its enemies; and Claudian observes, that it is itself at once the quiver, the arrow, and the bow:

“Ecce, brevis propriis munitur bestia telis, Externam nec quaerit opem, fert omnia secum Se pharetra, sese jaculo, sese utitur arcu !”

We may add, that Agricoa states the Italian porcupine to be not indigenous to the south of Europe, but imported from India or Africa.

In the genus Atherura, Cuv., the head and muzzle are not dilated, and the tail is long, though not prehensile. It contains the Hystrix fasciculata, Linn., Mus fasciculatus, Desm., a native of India and the peninsula of Malacca.

The genus Eretison, F. Cuvier, of which the cranium is fiat, and the muzzle not dilated, the tail of medium length, and the quills short and half concealed by long hair, contains the well-known Canada porcupine {H. dor- sata, Linn.). This species is distributed over a considerable extent of North America, from the 37° to the 67°. According to Dr Harlan, it makes its dwelling-place beneath the roots of hollow trees. It dislikes water, is cleanly in its habits, sleeps much, and feeds chiefly on the bark and leaves of Pinus canadensis and Tilia glabra. It is also fond of sweet apples and Indian corn. In the fur countries it is most numerous in sandy districts, covered with Pinus Banksiana, on the bark of which it delights to feed. Its spines arc detachable by the slightest touch (some say by an act of volition on the part of the animaD, and not unfrequently occasion the death both of dogs and wolves. Its flesh tastes like flabby pork, and, though relished by the Indians, is nauseous to the palate of a European.

The genus Synetheres of F. Cuvier (Couendu, Lacepede), contains certain South American species with prehensile tails, such as H. prehensilis, Linn., and H. insidiosa, Lichtenstein. (See Plate CCCXXXVI. fig. 5.) The feet have only four claws, armed with nails, and they differ from the preceding species in their habit of climbing trees. Other generic groups have been proposed in relation to the genus Hystrix, but without having met with general reception on the part of naturalists.^[201. See Mémoires du Museum, t. ix. p. 413. ] Genus Lepus, Linn. Incisives —, molars θ θ: = 28.

2 - ö — a

Anterior feet with five toes, posterior with four. Tail short. Coecum very large, pouched, and divided by a spiral valve.

The species of this genus, familiarly known under the name of hares and rabbits, are spread over almost all the regions of the earth, from the tropical regions of Africa and America, to the islands of the Polar Sea. Their most distinctive character consists in their upper incisives being double, that is, each has a smaller one behind it. The soles of the feet, and the inside of the mouth (a character remarked by Aristotle), are covered with hair. The genus is not only one of considerable extent, but extremely natural,—the species of which it is composed corresponding both to the principal characters, and also to several others which are secondary and unessential, such as the colour of the fur, which is usually of a reddish-grey, with the eye placed in a spot of paler hue. The abdomen and under side of the tail seem almost always white, and the tips of the cars black. They are all of a timid disposition, extremely swift in their movements, and valuable to the human race, not more on account of the value of their furs, than of their nutritive and pleasant flavoured flesh. Several of the species resemble each other so closely as to be with difficulty distinguished.

The common hare {Lepus timidus') is known all over Europe, and a great part of Russia, Asia Minor, Syria, &c. The varying hare {Lepus variabilis) is somewhat larger in the body, with rather shorter ears and tail, its fur in summer being of a bluish-grey, and changing to white in winter. This remarkable alteration is said to take place in the following manner :—About the middle of September the grey feet become whitish, and before the end of the month all the four feet are white, and the ears and muzzle of a brighter aspect. The white colour gradually ascends the legs and thighs, and beneath the grey hair whitish spots may be observed, which continue to increase till the end of October; but still the back continues grey, while the eye-brows and ears are nearly white. From this period the change is rapid, and by the middle of November the whole fur is white, excepting the tips of the ears, of which the black is permanent. The back becomes white within eight days, and during the whole of this singular mutation no hair is shed. Hence it appears that the fur itself, though [7:14:140]altered in aspect, remains unchanged. It continues white till the month of March, or later, according to the season, after which it again becomes grey. But the spring change differs in this respect from that of the early winter, that the hair is then completely shed.^[202. Edin. Phil. Journal, vol. ii. p. 15. ] This animal inhabits the alpine parts of Europe, but does not extend to the extreme north, as supposed by Pennant, the species of that locality being now distinguished by the name of Polar hare, Lepus glacialis, Leach. The size of the latter is equal to that of the largest English hare. It does not burrow, but seeks shelter among large stones and the crevices of rocks. Its flesh is more juicy than that of our own alpine or varying hare. The polar species is common in North America, but does not seem to advance southwards beyond the 58th parallel, and does not occur in wooded countries, though often seen in the vicinity of thin clumps of spruce fir. It extends to Melville Island. Several other species occur in America. The American hare, commonly so called (Lepus Americanus), bears a great resemblance to a rabbit, and seldom weighs more than four pounds. It is common in all the woody districts, and 25,000 have been taken at a single trading post in one season. They are imported into Britain under the name of rabbit-skins. The prairie hare (Lepus Virginianus) is a much larger animal, weighing from seven to eleven pounds. It can leap above twenty feet at a single bound. We cannot here allude to the species of southern latitudes.^[203. See the article Liewe of Diet. Class. d’Hist. Nat. t. ix. p. 378. ]

The rabbit (Lepus cuniculus), now so common throughout the temperate and southern parts of Europe, is supposed to have been of African origin, and first imported into Spain. It differs greatly from the hare in its gregarious habits, its subterranean life, the whiter colour of its flesh, and less perfect state of the young when first produced. It is also much more prolific.^[204. It is curious that naturalists should differ in several important points in the history of a creature so common. “They are born covered with hair, and with their eyes open.” Griffith’s Animal Kingdom, vol. iii. p. 21Ĵ. “The eyes and ears, at birth, are imperfect, the skin is destitute of hair, and the limos unfit for locomotion.” He ning’s British Animals, p. 21. ]

A few species of the old genus Lepus, of which the ears are shorter, the limbs of more equal length, the clavicles almost perfect, and the tail wanting, form the generic group now called Lagomys. We shall here mention as an example the Pika of Northern Asia (L,ag. alpinus, Plate CCCXXXVI. fig. 6.), a species of the size of a guinea pig, which inhabits the tops of high mountains, such as those of the Altaic range, and the cold heights of Siberia. It dwells in burrows, the clefts of rocks, and even (when it can get them) in the trunks of trees, and is sometimes gregarious, sometimes solitary. Towards the middle of August it collects and prepares a great mass of hay and other herbage for winter use, and in this labour several join together. These heaps sometimes measure more than eight feet in diameter, and equal or exceed the height of a tall man. This admirable instinct has rendered these little animals celebrated throughout the countries they inhabit. Their precious stores, however, are often discovered by the Siberian hunters of the sable, who convert them from their intended uses into fodder for their hungry horses.

In immediate succession to the porcupines, hares, and pikas, Baron Cuvier places those groups of the Rodential Order, which Linnaeus and Pallas combined under the generic name of Cavia, and of which the well known guinea-pig affords a familiar example. They are all natives of the New World, and, except in the imperfect condition of their clavicles, offer such disparity of structure as have induced, in comparatively recent times, the formation of the following genera.

2

Genus Hydrochaerus, Erxleben. Incisives -, molars 2

4 4

. -.; — 20. Muzzle deep and blunt. Ears rather small

4 — 4 1 and rounded. Anterior feet furnished with four toes, the posterior with three, all webbed, and terminated by strong blunt claws. No tail. Maramae twelve. Fur coarse and thin.

The only known species of this genus is the capybara or water hog of South America (H. capybara, Erx., Sus hydrochaerus, Linn.). It sometimes measures upwards of four feet in length, and is the largest of all the Rodentia. Its habits are aquatic and gregarious. It abounds in the rivers of the Oroonoko, the Apure, and the Cassiquiare, and is much preyed on by jaguars while on shore, and by crocodiles in the water. Its flesh is excellent, and was eaten by the missionary monks during Lent along with their turtle, on the score, we presume, of its amphibious habits. Precise views of the exact nature of all mammalia are sometimes inconvenient. These animals are so numerous in many of the marshes and moist savannahs of the Llanos as greatly to injure the adjoining pastures. They browse chiefly on that kind of grass which serves best for fattening horses, called clnguirero or chiquiré’s grass, so designated from one of the native names of the capybara. Their flesh is made into hams, and would be less disagreeable if free from the strong odour of musk with which it is impregnated. These creatures are of gentle disposition, capable of considerable attachment in a state of domestication, and not greatly fearing the human race even in their natural and unreclaimed condition. When attacked they endeavour to escape by flight; and, when overtaken, they can scarcely be said to stand upon the defensive, but as they possess great natural strength both in their incisive teeth and grinders, they have been known, in their dying agonies, or when pushed to a desperate extremity, to inflict so severe a wound as to tear the flesh from the paw of a jaguar or the leg of a horse. They were observed by Humboldt in all the great rivers, either swimming about like dogs, with the head and neck above water, or diving from the surface to escape their pursuers. They possess the power of remaining submerged for seven or eight minutes.

Genus Cavia, liliger. Teeth the same in number as in the preceding genus. Feet not palmated. Only two ventral mammae.

This genus is also believed to contain only a single species, well known throughout Europe in a domestic state under the name of guinea-pig (Cavia cobaja, Pallas, Mus porcellus, Linn., Plate CCCXXXVI, fig. 7∙ «)· Like most reclaimed animals, it varies in its markings, the usual colours being a mixture of white, black, and reddish-brown. It is of an amazingly prolific nature, being capable of bringing forth when not more than two months old, and that same period only elapsing between the production of each brood. The number of young at a birth varies with the age of the parent, from four to twelve. It has been calculated that a single pair may prove the parent stock of a thousand in a year. The wild or native guinea-pig is supposed to be an animal of corresponding size and structure, but of a uniform reddish-grey or brown colour, paler on the under surface. It is called aperea, and is indigenous to the countries between the Plata and the Amazon. (See Plate CCCXXXVI, fig. 7∙ b). It abounds in Paraguay, and also occurs at Buenos Ayres, inhabiting brushwood by the banks of rivers, and feeding chiefly during the evening and morning twilight. A singular disparity exists in the productive powers of these animals in the natural and domestic state, the aperea being said to bring forth only one or two at a birth, and to breed not more than once a year. Some regard this as a strong fact against their probable identity: but when we consider that the teats are onlv two [7:14:141]in number in each variety, we ought rather to consider the extreme fertility of the domestic kind as in a great measure the result of high and careful keeping. w Nous avons compare,” says Ant. Desmoulins, “des cranes du cobaic domestique à ceux du cobaic sauvage, et nous n’y avons pas trouve de différence entre eux. Par-là se trouve péremptoirement réfuté tout ce qu’a dit Gall sur la cause organique de cette activité génitale dont les extrêmes ne sont nulle part plus tranchés qu’entre les deux états sauvage et domestique de cette espèce.”^[205. Diet. Class, d’Hist. Nat. t. iv. p. 248. ] In speaking of the domestic breed Μ. Desmarest observes, “qu’il ne boive jamais.” Perhaps this means that they do not like water, but we can vouch for their drinking a great deal of milk. The French author adds: — “C’est un animal d’un naturel doux et docile, mais il est sans aucune intelligence, et incapable de s’attacher à son maitre.”^[206. ï Mammalogie, p. 3Ĵ7. ] Now, in contradiction to the last part of the indictment, we have seen this animal exhibit great discrimination in singling out and creeping kindly into the protecting arms of a favourite and well-known individual of a pet-loving community. It is rather remarkable that the guinea-pig is never used as food in European countries, when we know that the aperea is esteemed for that purpose, and is pursued as game in its native regions.

The animals called agoutis in some measure represent our hares and rabbits in the Antilles and South America. They form the genus Dasyprocta of liliger. The common species (Cavia agouti, Linn.) is gregarious, living in troops of about twenty individuals. It inhabits woods, resembles a rabbit in its gait and aspect, but equals a hare in size. Its flesh is good, partaking of the qualities of these two animals combined. The agouti occurs in Guiana, Brazil, Paraguay, and some of the West Indian islands. It is said to be extremely voracious, devouring all kinds of vegetable substances, and is much attached to nuts. In a state of confinement, it will speedily gnaw its way through a door. The Patagonian cavy of Pennant and Shaw (Das. Patachonica}, called by Azara the pampa hare, likewise belongs to this genus. It inhabits the pampas or great plains, and usually occurs in pairs. Azara was informed that this species produces its young in the burrows dug by the vis-cache. It extends far southwards into the colder countries of the New' World, and was observed by Narborough and other voyagers to be very abundant in the vicinity of Port Desire, in the 47° south latitude, as well as at Port Saint Julian, some degrees farther south.

The pacas (genus Coelogenys, F. Cuvier) resemble the agoutis in their teeth, but they have a small additional inner toe on the fore feet, and one (equally smalD on either side of the hinder ones, making five toes to each extremity. There seem to be two species, the brown and the yellow paca (Cel. subniger and fulvus), both natives of Brazil and Guyana. They are excellent as articles of food, and Buffon and later writers have advised their importation into Europe for the uses of the table.

We shall here close our sketch of the Order Rodentia with a short notice of an animal, the exact position of which in the order has not yet been rigorously determined. We allude to the chinchilla, a South American species, greatly esteemed for the fineness and beauty of its fur, which forms a frequent adornment of the fair sex in Europe. Mr Bennet has remarked that, notwithstanding the extensive trade carried on of the skins of this animal, it might have been regarded till of late as almost unknown, as no modern naturalist, with the exception of Molina, had seen an entire specimen, either living or dead.^[207. Gardens and Menagerie of the Zoological Society, vol. i. p. 1. ] That author describes it as a species <{ of field-rat, in great estimation for the extreme fineness of its wool, if a rich fur as delicate as the silken webs of the garden spiders may be so termed. It is of an ash-grey, and sufficiently long for spinning. The little animal which produces it is six inches long from the nose to the root of the tail, with small pointed ears, a short muzzle, teeth like the house rat, and a tail of moderate length, clothed with delicate fur. It lives in burrows under ground in the open country of the northern provinces of Chili, and is very fond of being in company with others of its species. It feeds upon the roots of various bulbous plants, which grow abundantly in those parts, and produces twice a year five or six young ones. It is so docile and mild in temper, that, if taken into the hands, it neither bites nor tries to escape, but seems to take a pleasure in being caressed. If placed in the bosom, it remains there as still and quiet as if it were in its own nest. The ancient Peruvians, who were far more industrious than the moderns, made of this wool coverlets for beds and valuable stuffs.”^[208. Essay on the Natural History of Chili. Not having either the French or Italian edition at hand, we here use Mr Bennet’s quotations from a work which Baron Cuvier has characterized as “fait de mémoire en Italie (the author was a native of Chili) et fort suspect en plusieurs endroits. ] A more recent observer, Schmidtmeyer, also describes it as “a woolly field-mouse, which lives under ground, and chiefly feeds on wild onions. Its fine fur is well known in Europe; that which comes from Upper Peru is rougher and larger than the chinchilla of Chile, but not always so beautiful in its colour. Great numbers of these animals are caught in the neighbourhood of Coquimbo and Copíapo generally by boys with dogs, and sold to traders, who bring them to Santiago and Valparaiso, from whence they are exported. The Peruvian skins are either brought to Buenos Ayres from the eastern parts of the Andes, or sent to Lima.”^[209. Travels into Chile over the Andes. ]

A living specimen of the chinchilla was brought to England by Captain Beechy, and presented to the Zoological Society, while, at the same time, an entire skin, rendered valuable by the preservation of the skull (which never exists in the skins of commerce) was presented by Mr Collie, surgeon, to the British Museum. According to Mr Bennet, the slightest inspection of the teeth was sufficient to prove that the species could no longer be associated with the groups in which it had been previously placed, and that it was distinct in character from every other known genus of Rodentia. Geoffroy and Desmarest had previously ranged it with the hamsters (genus Cricetus), and Baron Cuvier having never seen its teeth, was uncertain whether it was most allied to the guinea-pigs, the lagomys, or the rats. But the inspection of the specimens above alluded to has shewn that it possesses two incisives and eight molars in each jaw, or twenty teeth in all. The form of the head resembles that of a rabbit; the eyes are full, large, and black; and the ears (in this differing from Molina’s description, already quoted) are broad, naked, rounded at the tips, and nearly as long as the head. There are four short toes, with a distinct rudiment of a thumb on the anterior feet; and the posterior are furnished with the same number, three of them long, the middle more produced than the two lateral ones, and the fourth external to the others, and placed far behind. A second specimen has been since added to the collection of the Zoological Society of somewhat larger size and rougher fur.^[210. Gardens and Menagerie, vol. i∙ p. 9. ] Order V—EDENTATA, Cuv.

The term edentate, or toothless, must not be construed literally in relation to the truly singular groups which constitute the present order. The front teeth are absent, but [7:14:142]the armadillos have both canines and molars,—the latter, indeed, so numerous as to be surpassed only by those of the cetaceous genus Delphinus. The osteology of this order is the only portion of their structure with which we are well acquainted, and we owe that knowledge to the beautiful memoir of Baron Cuvier.^[211. Ossemerts Fossiles, t. v. ] But we know with what singular fidelity the skeleton, though itself essentially inert, represents, by the form and amalgamation of its parts, the supervening modifications of the more active organs, that is, those of the nervous, sensitive, and digestive systems. In relation to almost all the actions which result from those systems, our present order is not only one of the most widely separate from other Mammalia, but also presents the greatest disparity between several of its own genera, as compared with each other. These genera, it has been observed, though connected together in spite of obvious differences, by several heteroclyte characters, and appearing to be, as it were, the work of a particular conception, are by no means the products of one common country, but almost each group is characteristic of some separate great division of the globe, such as the southern parts of Africa and America, the Indian Archipelago, or New Holland. It is difficult to state any character belonging to the entire order, although the great size of their claws, embracing all the extremity of the toes, and more or less approaching the nature of hoofs, is perhaps among the most prevalent. Their movements may be characterized as slow and inactive. Some climb trees, others dig burrows, while the habits of a few are amphibious. Their food varies in the different genera. None are strictly or fiercely carnivorous, but several devour insects, and shew no distaste for flesh. Many indulge in a herbivorous diet. Baron Cuvier divides the order into three tribes, as follows.

Tribe 1st, Tardigrada.

We here place those singlar animals of the New World, commonly called sloths,—genus Bradypus, Linn. They are distinguished by the shortness of the face, by the cylindrical form of the molars (four on each side above, and three below), and the sharp and lengthened shape of the canines. See Plate CCCXXXVII, fig. 3. The toes, varying as to amount in different species, are incased within the skin as far as the base of the claws, which are long and arched, and in a state of repose are kept bent beneath the palm of the hand, or sole of the foot. The hind feet are articulated obliquely on the leg, and thus act as supports, chiefly by their external margins. “ Les phalanges des doigts,” says Cuvier, “sont articulées par des ginglymes serrés, et les premières se soudent à un certain âge aux os du métacarpe on du métatarse: ceux-ci finissent par se souder ensemble faute d’usage^[212. Règne Animal, t. i. p. 224. ] and to this inconvenient (or we should rather say peculiar) structure of the extremities, may be added that of their disproportionate respective lengths. The arm and fore-arm are much longer than the thigh and leg, so that when they walk they are obliged to draw themselves along upon their elbows. The pelvis is so broad, and the thighs are so directed laterally, that the knees cannot approximate. “Ils se tiennent sur les arbres,” says Cuvier rightly, for their structure is entirely suited to ar-ooreal habits ;—but when he adds, “et n’en quittent un qu’après l’avoir dépouillé de ses feuilles, tant il leur et penible d’en gagner un autre,” we must correct the sentiments of the European philosopher by the experience of a practical observer. Mr Waterton states, that as he was one day crossing the river Essequibo, he saw a large twotoed sloth upon the ground. How it came there nobody could tell. Although the trees were not twenty yards from him, he could not make his way even that short distance before the party landed and overtook him. He immediately threw himself upon his back, and gallantly defended himself with his fore-legs. Mr Waterton humanely allowed him to hook himself to a long stick, by which he conveyed him to a high and stately mora tree. This he ascended with great rapidity, and then went off in a lateral direction, by catching hold of the branches of another tree, and so he proceeded towards the heart of the forest, and was soon lost to view. The sloth, in truth, is the most sylvan of quadrupeds. It is produced, it lives, and it dies among trees, and though unequal to cope with John Gilpin in speed, it yields not to his namesake in love of forest scenery. “The sloth,” says our author, “is the only known quadruped which spends its whole life from the branches of trees, suspended by his feet. I have paid uncommon attention to him in his native haunts. The monkey and squirrel will seize a branch with their fore feet, and pull themselves up, and rest or run upon it; but the sloth, after seizing it, still remains suspended, and suspended moves along under the branch, till he can lay hold of another. Where-ever I have seen him in his native woods, whether at rest, or asleep, or on his travels, I have always observed that he was suspended from the branch of a tree; and when his form and anatomy are considered, it will appear evident that he cannot be at ease in any situation where his body is higher or above his feet.”^[213. Wanderings in South America. ] One of the great objects of the creation seems to be to multiply the enjoyments of animal life,—an object which can only be attained by a vast diversity in structure and instinct. In the case of the sloth, as in all other cases, structure and instinct accord, and we may therefore fairly infer, notwithstanding what Buffon and others have composed regarding his miserable and degraded existence, that his peculiar mode of life is accompanied by a corresponding share of pleasure and advantage. No animal is organized for wretchedness.

Few species of the genus are as yet distinctly known, and these few offer among themselves a considerable disparity of structure in several important particulars, such as the number of the ribs, and the form of the cranium. The three-toed species, which are furnished with a short tail, form the genus Acheus of F. Cuvier. Of these the aι, or three-toed sloth (Zk tridactylus, Linn., Plate CCCXXXVII, fig. 2.), is the only animal hitherto supposed to possess nine cervical vertebrae. We have already alluded to the more recent opinion, that in this respect it forms no exception to the usual rule.^[214. See our present article, p. 73. ] The Unau, or two-toed species (D. didactylus, Linn., Ibid., fig. 4.), is, according to Cuvier, “un peu moins malheureusement organisé que l’Ai,” in other words, something different in its habits of life, renders necessary a less anomalous form. All these animals are believed to be very tenacious of life. They will hang long to the branch of a tree after being mortally wounded. “Delalande aidé de son domestique, a inutilement essayé pendant une demi-heure d’étrangler un Aï avec une corde de la grosseur du doigts; l’animal ne cessait d’étendre et de ramener ses bras en crochets sur la poitrine par intervalles, ce qu’il fit encore pendant plusieurs heures au fond d’un tonneau d’alcohol où on le tint ensuite submergé. Pison avait disséqué vivante one femelle pleine d’unau. Elle se remuait encore en totalité et contractait ses pieds longtemps après l’arrachement du coeur et des viscères.”^[215. Did. Class. d’Hist. Nat. t. ii. p. 483. ] We conclude by observing that sloths arc entirely herbivorous, feeding chiefly on leaves, especially those of Cecropia peltata. Tribe 2d, Effodentia.

In this tribe the muzzle is elongated. The teeth are of the molar kind only (and in some even these are wanting).
[7:14:143]

The first generic group is that called Das y pus by Linnaeus, which we name armadillo. Their teeth are feeble, simple, and cylindrical, and range in different species from 28 to 68. Their most remarkable character consists in their being covered by a defensive armour, or kind of osseous shell, divided into polygonal scales arranged in numerous transverse bands, covering head, body, and oftentimes the tail. The ears are large, the claws strong, and varying in number with the species. The tongue is smooth, and but slightly extensile. A few scattered hairs occur between the sealyplates, but these creatures can scarcely be said to have any fur. They dig burrows, and live partly on a vegetable regimen, partly on insects, reptiles, worms, and animal remains. Their stomach is simple, and the caecum is absent. They are all natives of the warmer and temperate parts of America. The females are very prolific.

As we cannot here describe the species, nor even indicate the minor groups into which recent naturalists have divided the original genus, we shall here give a short extract in illustration of their general habits.^[216. See the Règne Animal, t. i. p. 226; Griffith’s Animal Kingdom, vol. iii. p. 283; F. Cuvier’s Mam. Lithog., Azara’s Essai sur fllist. Nat. du Paraguay, t. ii.; Desmarest’s Mammalogie. p. 366; and the article Tatou in the French Dictionnaires d’Hist. Nat. ] We quote from Mr Waterton, to whom naturalists are greatly indebted for many interesting elucidations of the history of the rarer animals of South America. “The armadillo burrows in the sand like a rabbit. As it often takes a considerable time to dig him out of his hole, it would be a long and laborious business to attack each hole indiscriminately, without knowing whether the animal were there or not. To prevent disappointment, the Indians carefully examine the mouth of the hole, and put a short stick down it. Now if, on introducing the stick, a number of musquitos come out, the Indian knows to a certainty that the armadillo is in it; and vice versa, wherever there arc no musquitos in the hole, there is no armadillo. The Indian, having satisfied himself that the armadillo is there, by the musquitos which come out, immediately cuts a long and slender stick, and introduces it into the hole; he carefully observes the line the stick takes, and then sinks a pit in the sand to catch the end of it; this done, he puts it farther into the hole, and digs another pit; and so on, until at last he comes up with the armadillo, which had been making itself a passage in the sand till it had exhausted all its strength through pure exertion. I have been sometimes three quarters of a day in digging out one armadillo, and obliged to sink half a dozen pits, seven feet deep, before I got up to it. The Indians and negroes are very fond of the flesh, but I consider it strong and rank. On laying hold of the armadillo, you must be cautious not to come in contact with his feet; they are armed with sharp claws, and will inflict severe wounds: when not molested, he is harmless and innocent. The armadillo swims well in time of need, but does not go into the water by choice. He is very seldom seen abroad during the day; and when surprised, he is sure to be near the mouth of his hole. Every part of him is well protected by his shell, except his ears. In life, this shell is very limber, so that the animal is enabled to go at full stretch, or roll himself up into a ball, as occasion may require.”^[217. Wanderings, p. 183. ]

We knew little of the actual history of the armadillos, or of their amount of species, till the time of Azara, who describes eight different kinds, one of which {Das. giganteus') measures above three feet in length. They were supposed to feed exclusively on vegetable substances, till the Spanish author observed that they were both insectivorous and carnivorous. The direction of their burrows shew that they pursue the ant-heaps, and these laborious insects quickly diminish in their neighbourhood. The great species just named (which belongs to the genus Priodontes of F. Cuvier, distinguished by the great size of its claws, and the enormous number of its teeth,—about 90 in alD feeds on carcasses, and when a human being happens to be buried beyond the usual precincts of the sepulture, and in a district where this animal occurs, the grave is covered by strong double boards, to prevent the disinterment of the body. They also prey on birds and their eggs, as well as on lizards and other reptiles. They are themselves eaten both by native Indians and by Spanish tribes. As an example of the genus we have figured the Encoubert, or six-banded armadillo {D. sexcinctus, Linn., Plate CCCXXXVII, fig. 9∙), a species distinguished from all the others by possessing a pair of small teeth upon the incisive bone. It measures about a foot and a half in length from the snout to the insertion of the tail. The latter part is round, about half the length of the body, and is ringed only at its base. The cuirass is composed of six or seven moveable bands, formed of large, smooth, rectangular pieces, longer than broad.^[218. A different mode of counting the bands of this and other species has led to some confusion in their synonymy. D. sexcinctus and octodecimcinctus, Linn, are one and the same, and correspond to the Tatou poyou of Azara. ] This ι animal runs swiftly, and burrows with great ease. It possesses, in spite of its sealyarmour, the singular faculty of so pressing and expanding itself upon the surface of the ground, as to become three times broader than high. It is extremely common in Paraguay.

We may here notice a very singular animal of recent discovery, of the natural habits of which our information is as yet extremely scanty, but which partakes of many of the characters of the armadillos. We allude to the Chlamyphorus truncatus of Dr Harlan (see Plate CCCXXXVII, fig. 1.), a subterranean species from Mendoza, in the interior of Chili, so well represented on the plate referred to, as to save us the necessity of descriptive details. The animal was obtained in a living state, but survived in confinement only a few days. Its habits arc said to resemble those of The mole, and it is reputed to carry its young beneath the sealycovering of its body. Baron Cuvier states that it has “dix dents partout,”^[219. ‘ Règne Animal, t. i. p. 229. ] ’ while its original describer mentions only eight on each side (all molars), that is, sixteen in each jaw.^[220. See Annals of the New York Lyceum of Natural History, vol i., and Zoological Journal, No. vi. ] Genus Orycteeopus, Geoff. The only known species of this genus is an animal peculiar to Africa, called the Cape ant-eater {Or. Capensis'). It is of large dimensions, measuring between three and four feet in length, exclusive of the tail, which is nearly two feet long. Its grinders amount to six on each side of both jaws, or twenty-four in all, and are distinguished by a peculiar structure, being in the form of solid cylinders, traversed throughout their length by an infinity of little canals resembling the interior pores of canes. Its habits are nocturnal and subterranean, and its food consists of ants and termites, which it seizes with its long glutinous tongue, after having disarranged their dwellings with its paws. The ant-eaters properly so called, belong to the following genus, and are peculiar to America, so that the species just noticed may be regarded merely as their African representative. Its flesh is used as food, and is indeed held in considerable estimation both by European and Hottentot, notwithstanding the strong odour of formic acid with which it is infected.

Genus Myrmecophaga, Linn. Teeth entirely wanting. Head more or less elongated, and terminated by a slender muzzle and a narrow mouth. Eyes and ears small, the latter rounded. Tongue very long, cylindrical, and capable of extension. Toes (varying in number with the spccies[7:14:144]) always united as far as the base of the claws, which are large and strong. Tail very long, sometimes prehensile and comparatively bare, sometimes covered with lax depending hairs.

This genus consists of the true ant-eaters, all of which are natives of South America, and occur chiefly in the countries bounded on the south-east by the Rio de la Plata, and on the north by the Oroonoko. Naturalists are tolerably well acquainted with at least three species. They prey almost exclusively on ants and termites, which they take by means of their long, extensile, gluey tongues, aided, as excavating implements, by their vigorous claws. Like the sloths, there exists among themselves a considerable disparity of structure,—the small two-toed species being provided with strong clavicles, attached to the sternum, while in the larger species these parts are entirely wanting. One of the most notable features of the ant-eaters consists in the lengthened, cylindrical, tunnel-shaped character of the head, which almost resembles that of the long-billed birds, such as snipes and woodcocks. This is caused chiefly by the great prolongation of the jaws, of which the upper (in the species called Tamandud) is more than twice the length of the cranium. If these long jaws were to open at the same angle as in most mammiferous animals, the gape or separation of the terminal portions would be proportionally greater than in any other species; but, as it happens, the opening of the mouth is in fact the most restricted with which we are acquainted. This is owing to the jaws being surrounded throughout their entire extent by the skin, there being only a very small terminal mouth, measuring scarcely a fifteenth part of the length of the maxillae. The muscles of the lower jaw are, moreover, so extremely feeble, as to be almost unable to produce any compression. They seem to collect their food entirely with their tongue, and may be presumed to swallow it without mastication, like the majority of birds and fishes. The ant-eaters, of all the Mammalia, are those of which the temporal fossae and zygomatic arches are the most effaced. The bones of the nose occupy almost the half of the length of the upper portion of the head. The ribs of these animals are so broad, as to leave scarcely any intermediate space between them.

The great ant-eater (Myr. jubate), though low of stature, is an animal of almost gigantic extent, sometimes measuring seven feet from the muzzle to the end of the tail. It has four toes to the anterior feet, and five to the posterior. Its tail is garnished, from base to tip, with very long hair. It seems singular that so large and robust a creature should support itself solely on ants; but we must bear in mind the multitudes of those minute insects which occur in South America. In captivity it may be fed on crumbs of bread, meal, flour and water, &c. A living specimen, brought a good many years ago into Spain, ate readily of raw meat minced, and was said to swallow from four to five pounds a-day.^[221. Shaw’s General Zoology, vol. i. p. 1G8. ] How many ants would be required to equal that amount? This species possesses great strength in its legs and paws, and is said to defend itself successfully against the attacks of the largest feline animals, such as the jaguar and other beasts of prey. It is even held in great dread by the Indians, who however much they may have disabled it, never approach it closely till it is entirely dead. When it seizes an animal with its fore-paws, it hugs it tightly to its body, and retains its grasp so tenaciously as to kill its enemy either by pressure or starvation. It does not climb trees.

The species known under the name of Tamandua (Myr. tamandua, Cuv., Μ. tetradactyla and trìdactyla, Linn.), is not more than half the size of the preceding, and differs in its prehensile and almost naked tail, by which it is assisted in climbing trees. Azara is of opinion that, in addition to the usual insect food, this species eats wild bees and honey. It smells strongly of musk. The little ant-eater (Μ. didac-tyla, Linn., Plate CCCXXXVII. figs. 5 and 8.), is rather an elegant animal. Its body measures little more in length than six inches, and, besides the great disparity of size, it is distinguished from the two preceding species by having only two claws to the fore feet and four to the hinder ones. It is covered by a beautiful soft fur, of a very pale yellowish-brown colour. It inhabits the woods of Guyana and Brazil, dwelling habitually on trees, and preying on ants and other insects.

Genus Manis, Linn. In this genus also the teeth are entirely wanting. The body is extremely elongated, low upon the legs, and covered by strong corneous scales. The muzzle is very long, the mouth small and terminal, the tongue of remarkable length, round and extensile. All the feet have five toes, armed with strong talons. The tail is very long, covered with scales, and as broad at its base as the termination of the body.

The entire range of the animal, kingdom scarcely presents us with species of a more marked and peculiar aspect than the manis tribe or pangolins. Instead of hair they are covered by a sealyarmour, composed of triangular plates, placed upon each other like slates or tiles; and this remarkable character, combined with their attenuated form, gives them so much the appearance of reptiles, that they are often designated as sealylizards. (See Plate CCCXXXVII. figs. 6 and 7 ) We possess no very detailed knowledge of their natural history. They seem to be inoffensive creatures, feeding, like the ant-eater, on insects, especially ants, which they collect by thrusting their long insidious tongue into the dwellings of these industrious labourers. Three species are described by systematic writers, and of these one inhabits continental India, another occurs in Java, and a third is native to Senegal and the coast of Guinea.

Tribe 3d, Monotrema.

The term by which this tribe is designated was first bestowed by Geoffroy St Hilaire, and is now very generally adopted by naturalists. It applies to a small number of species discovered in New Holland in comparatively recent times, and characterized by a general organization, certainly conformable to that of other mammalia, but with modifications so remarkable and anomalous, that their true position in the animal kingdom (the very class to which they belong), is still a disputed point. The apparent absence of mammae, and their supposed oviparous nature, were these two circumstances satisfactorily ascertained, would either remove them from the ordinary class of quadrupeds, or render necessary an alteration in the technical definition of that class. In our present tribe only two genera are as yet included, viz. Echidna and Ornithorhynchus. Latreille is of opinion that these should form two distinct orders, an arrangement which has not been adopted, but which possesses the advantage of shewing that they greatly differ from each other,—an inference not deducible from Sir Everard Home’s mode of combining them in a single genus. Shaw placed Echidna with the anteaters, and as connecting these with the porcupines; while he expressed his opinion that Ornithorynchus (his genus Platypus'), should follow Myrmecophaga. This arrangement, in fact, approaches very close to that adopted by Baron Cuvier.

The monotremous tribes exhibit several peculiarities in [7:14:145]their osteological structure, by which they are further allied to the class of birds. Such, for example, is a kind of clavicle common to both shoulders, placed in front of the ordinary clavicle, and analogous to the furcula of the feathered tribes. Besides the five claws on each foot, the males bear a spur on their hind legs, resembling that of a cock, but pierced by a canal capable of transmitting a liquid of a venomous or inflammatory quality, secreted by a peculiar gland.^[222. “I cannot,” says Sir John Jamison, w avoid relating to you an extraordinary peculiarity which I have lately discovered in the Ornithorhynchus paradoxus. The male of this wonderful animal is provided with spurs on the hind feet or legs, like a cock. The spur is situated over a cyst of venomous fluid, and has a tube or cannula up its centre, through which the animal can, like a serpent, force the poison when it inflicts its wound. I wounded one with small shot; and, on my overseer’s taking it out of the water, it struck its spurs into the palm and back of his right hand with such force, and retained them in with such strength, that they could not be withdrawn until it was killed. The hand instantly swelled to a prodigious bulk; and the inflammation having rapidly extended to the shoulder, he was in a few minutes threatened with locked jaw, and exhibited all the symptoms of a person bitten by a venomous snake. The pain from the first was insupportable, and cold sweats and sickness of stomach took place so alarmingly, that I found it necessary, besides the external application of oil and vinegar, to administer large quantities of the volatile alkali with opium, which I really think preserved his life.”—Extract from letter dated Kegentville, New South Wales, September 10. 1816, published in Linn. Trans., vol. xii. p. 584. See also Dr Knox’s Observations on the Anatomy of the Ornithorhynchus paradoxus, in Memoirs of the Wernerian Society (for 1823-4), vol. v. p. 26 and p. 144. ] But however anomalous these and other characters may be, when we consider their quadrupedal form, their hairy covering, their lungs freely suspended, the existence of a diaphragm, the rudiments of teeth, and the general agreement of the skeleton with that of other mammiferous animals, we can scarcely hesitate as to the class to which they belong.^[223. See De Blainville’s Dissertation stir la place que la famille des Ornithorhynches et des Echidnis doit occuper dans les series naturelles. ] Their agreements with the Mammalia are numerous and striking, and deduced from the most important organs, while their disagreements are few, and deduced for the most part from characters not of the highest value. We shall conclude these meagre generalities with the words of Baron Cuvier: “Avec les formes extérieures et le poil des mammifères; avec leur, circulation, leur cerveau, leurs organes des sens, et une grande partie de leurs organes du mouvement; avec le bassin des Didelphes, les Monotremes ressemblent à beaucoup d’égards, aux oiseaux et aux reptiles par leur épaules et par les organes de la generation; ils manquent de mamelles et paraissent assez vraisemblablement produire des ocufs ou quelque chose d’equivalent, au lieu de mettre au jour des petits vivans. Ils semblent vouloir échapper à nos classifications par leur ostéologie comme par leurs autres rapports. On ne peut comparer celle de leur tête à celle d’aucun des ordres de Mammifères; cependant c’est une vraie tête de Mammifère et non d’ovipare d’aucune classe.”^[224. Ossemens fossiles, t. v. ] Genus Echidna, Cuv. Teeth entirely wanting, but their functions partly supplied by several rows of small spines upon the palate, directed backwards. Muzzle long, slender, terminated by a small mouth, containing an extensile tongue. Body short and rounded, covered by many strong sharp spines. Legs short, each foot furnished with five strong claws, fit for digging. Tail very short.

Only two species of this genus have been as yet discovered,—the Ľ. hystrix, which occurs in the vicinity of Port Jackson, and is almost entirely covered by strong spines, and the E. setosa, a native of Van Diemen’s Land and the islands in Bass’s Straits, characterized by fewer species, and a more ample coat of hair. See Plate CCCXXXVIII. fig. 1. Some observers incline to consider them as varieties of the same species, resulting from a difference in age.^[225. “I/e'chidné, dont on fait deux espèces, suivant que les piquans sont plus ou moins garnis de poils, est vraiment unique.”—Lesson’s Manuel de Mammalogie, p. 318. ] Both animals arc nearly of the size, and somewhat of the aspect, of a hedgehog. They feed on insects, and burrow under ground with great strength and celerity, their feet and claws being admirably adapted to subterranean purposes. It is even said that they will make their way beneath a wall, or under a pretty strong pavement. During these exertions their bodies become greatly lengthened, so as to present a very different appearance from that of their ordinary state. They keep much under ground during dry weather, and move about chiefly during the rains. They are capable of supporting a long continued abstinence, and seem subject to a kind of numbness or peculiar stiffness (engottrdissement’), which will sometimes continue for upwards of eighty hours, and is frequently renewed when they arc retained in captivity.^[226. See Zoologie de la Coquille, p. 134, et seq. ] Genus Ornithorhynchus, Blumenbach. Platypus, Shaw. This genus differs from the preceding, in having two fibrous molar teeth placed in the gums on each side of both jaws. The muzzle is prolonged into a broadish flattened beak, greatly resembling that of a duck. The head is small and round, with minute eyes, and no external ears. The nostrils are round, close to each other, and placed near the extrefħity of the upper mandible or jaw. The tongue is in some measure double,—there being one within the beak, beset with villosities, and bearing another at its base, of a thicker form, with two small fleshy anterior points. The legs are very short, directed laterally, the anterior and posterior very distant from each other, owing to the comparatively lengthened form of the body. Each foot has five toes, those of the anterior extremities of nearly equal size, slender, separate, furnished with flattened nails, united by a peculiar membrane which projects beneath them; the posterior toes united as far as the nails. Tail rather short, broad at the base. The body is covered with hair.

Of this very singular genus it does not appear that more than a single species has as yet been ascertained,^[227. In this opinion we coincide with Oken, Meckel, and Geoffroy St Hilaire. Desmarest, Macgillivray, Vander Hoeven, Peron and Lesueur, and other writers, have described what they regard as one or more species distinct from the common kind. We apprehend that these authors, in the absence of an extensive series of specimens, have attached too much importance to certain individual variations. ] —the Ornithorliynchus paradoxus of modern writers, first de scribed by Dr Shaw under the name of Duck-billed Platypus ^[228. Naturalist’s Miscellany, pl. 385. ] d It is an animal of a very peculiar aspect (see Plate CCCXXXVIII. fig. 2), of amphibious habits, and a native of New Holland, where it inhabits marshes, and the banks of rivers, especially in the neighbourhood of Port Jackson. The general belief is, that it lays eggs. We think, however, that that fact has as yet been rather inferred than demonstrated; and it is certainly singular that it should not have been proved ïn those districts where the species is so often met with, and where so extraordinary a circumstance must have excited a corresponding degree of curiosity and attention. The following detailed particulars were published a few years ago in an Italian periodical, but without any indication of the source from which they were derived: “The ornithorhynchus inhabits the marshes of New Holland. It forms, among beds of reeds by the water-side, ĩ [7:14:146]nest composed of hair or wool, and intermingled roots, in which it deposits two white eggs, smaller than those of our domestic poultry; on these it sits a long time, hatching them like a bird, and refusing to leave them unless threatened by a very formidable foe. It appears that during all this time it eats neither seeds nor herbs, but contents itself with slime or mud; at least nothing more is found within it. When the ornithorhynchus plunges under water, it remains but a short time submerged, and comes soon to the surface, shaking its head like a duck. It walks, or rather creeps, along the margins of the marshes with considerable quickness; its movements are prompt, and its sight so excellent as to render its capture difficult. It usually employs only one nostril in respiration. It scratches its head and neck, like a dog, with one of its hind legs. It attempts to bite when taken, but can inflict no injury, owing to its soft and feeble beak. The male alone is armed with a spur upon the hinder legs, and he employs that weapon against his aggressors. The wound which he inflicts produces inflammation and a violent pain, but there is no instance of its having ever occasioned death.”^[229. Anthologia (di Firenze), t. xxiv. p. 305. ] There is an appearance of truth in the circumstantial mode in which the preceding details are narrated, and we therefore regret the more that they should have appeared anonymously. The testimony borne to the oviparous nature of the animal in question accords with the reported belief of the natives, and with the researches of Hill and Jamison. “The female,” says the last named observer, “is oviparous, and lives in burrows in the ground, so that it is seldom seen either on shore or in the water. The males are seen in numbers throughout our winter months only, floating and diving in all our large rivers; but they cannot continue long under water. I had one drowned by having been left during the night in a large tub of water. I have found no other substance in their stomachs than small fish and fry. They are very shy, and avoid the shot by diving, and afterwards rising at a considerable distance.”^[230. Linn. Trans, vol. xii. p. 385. An interesting account of a living ornithorhynchus, in captivity, was recently published by Mr George Bennet, in one of the “Annuals.” ] Order VI.—PACHYDERMATA.

In entering upon the consideration of this interesting order, we may remind the reader that all the terrestrial Mammalia are divisible into two great secondary groups, the unguicιιlated or nailed quadrupeds, and the ungulated or hoofed quadrupeds. The former series may be said to terminate with the Edentata, which themselves approach the ungulated tribes in the great size of their claws, and the hoof-like fashion in which these embrace the extremities of the toes. They still, however, possess the faculty of being bent, or otherwise varied in their motion, for the purposes of seizure, excavation, &c. It is the absence of that faculty which characterizes the hoofed animals properly so called; they want the clavicle, and their anterior extremities are always in a state of pronation, being available only for the purposes of support and of locomotion, but not for collecting their food, or for any other kind of manipulation. They all browse on vegetable substances, and their bodily forms, as well as their modes of life, are less varied than those of the unguiculated orders.

The great ungulated or hoofed division is itself partitioned into two groups, one of which consists of the ruminating tribes (order Pecora or Ruminantia), and the other of certain thick-skinned genera, called Pachydermata, —our present order. Of these two orders it will be readily perceived that the former is established upon organic 'peculiarities of the highest importance, and is therefore in a great degree natural and well composed, while the constituents of the latter agree principally in the negative character of not being ruminant, and exhibit among themselves so great a range and diversity of structure and character, as to present a much less natural combination. We find, accordingly, in examining the different genera, that their toes vary (externally) from one to three, four, and five; that their teeth are sometimes of three kinds, sometimes of only two; that their skin, generally bare, is occasionally covered by close or even shaggy hair; that their stomach, in some cases simple, is in others divided into several pouches; that the size of certain species is small, while that of others attains to the most gigantic dimensions; and that while certain minor groups seem nearly allied to the ruminants, others are broadly distinguished by numerous anomalies of organization, some of which point them out as among the most remarkable species of the animal kingdom. In a word, the pachydermatous order consists of the small sized living Daman, and the gigantic and now extinguished Mastodon,—of the swift and slender limbed horse, and the short-legged sluggish rhinoceros,—of the savage boar, and mild-eyed elephant. The great differences which exist in the genera now named have occasioned the grouping of this order into several families, which some authors are inclined to view rather in the light of distinct orders.^[231. See Diet. Class. d’Hist. Nat. t. xii. p. 579. ] We certainly think that the removal of the genus Equus (which liliger and others have classed as a separate order under the title of Solidungula) would enable us to simplify our definition of the pachydermous tribes.

Family 1st PROBOSCΓDEA.

This family includes of living creatures (and with the fossil species we are not concerned) the genus Elephas alone. The skeleton exhibits five complete toes, but so encrusted in a callous skin which surrounds the foot, that only the nails are visible, attached, as it were, to the margins of a seeming hoof. The canine teeth, and incisives, properly so called, are wanting, but in the incisive bones arc implanted a pair of tusks, projecting much beyond the mouth, and sometimes attaining an enormous size. The necessary dimensions of the alveoli of these peculiar teeth, as Baron Cuvier has remarked, render the upper jaw so high, and so shorten the bones of the nose, that the nostrils, in the skeleton, occur towards the upper portion of the face, although in the living animal they are prolonged under the form of a long, gradually attenuated, cylindrical, trunk or proboscis, composed of several thousand small muscles, so variously interlaced as to produce a great diversity of motion, endowed with an exquisite sense of touch, and terminated by a small finger-formed appendage. By means of this admirable organ the elephant is possessed of almost as much address as the ape receives from the human-like structure of its hand. Its exquisite uses are so frequently exhibited in menageries, that we need scarcely expatiate upon the subject. The head, though of enormous size, is rendered comparatively light by the cellular structure of a large portion of the cranium. There are no incisive teeth in the lower jaw; the grinders are two on both sides of each jaw; making the total number ten, including the tusks. The stomach is simple, the coecum enormous, the mammae only two, their position pectoral.^[232. Règne Animal, t« i. p. 238. ]

As the Genus Elefhas contains all the living species of the family, the preceding characteristics may be regarded [7:14:147]as generic. The distinctive character of the teeth consists in the molars being composed of a certain number of vertical plates, each formed of an osseous substance, enveloped by enamel, and connected together by a third or cortical matter. These teeth succeed each other not vertically, as the second molars of the human race succeed the milk-teeth, but from behind forwards, in such a manner that in proportion as one grinder becomes used it is pushed forward by its successor; and thus there is sometimes two, sometimes only one on each side. The first teeth have few plates, the succeeding ones a greater number; and the molars are said to be sometimes changed as often as eight times, while the tusks or great incisives are only once renewed. There are only two species known to naturalists of these gigantic creatures.

The African elephant (G i . Africanus) is easily distinguished from the Asiatic species by his rounder head, more convex forehead, much larger ears, and the lozenge-marked surface of his grinders. His tusks are also longer, and those of his female are described as equally great with his own, whereas the female of the Asiatic elephant has very small tusks. He inhabits a wide extent of Africa from Senegal to the Cape, and abounds in the forests of the interior. That the African elephant has not in modern times been rendered serviceable to man, we cannot think arises from any defect in the wisdom or docility of his disposition, but rather from a différence in the social and political conditions of the human tribes of Africa, and their inferior civilization. It is known that the ancient Carthaginians made use of elephants, which, so far as our information extends, there is no reason to believe were otherwise than of African origin; in like manner as the Asiatic variety was used by Porus and the Indian kings. It is not yet clearly ascertained whether the individuals of the eastern shores of Africa arc specifically the same as those of the interior and western districts, or whether they do not exhibit a closer approximation to the Asiatic species. We may observe, that the size of both the African and eastern elephant has been much exaggerated. Dr Hill, for example, asserts that when full grown they will measure from seventeen to twenty feet in height. One-half of the latter dimension is probably nearer the truth, even for an individual of more than usual size, and twelve feet may be stated as an extreme height. The African, however, are alleged (by travellers though not by systematic writers) to be larger than those of Asia. Major Denham, for example, while journeying to the Schad, saw elephants so enormous that he calculated their height at sixteen feet. These, however, he had no opportunity of measuring; but another which was killed in his presence was found to be nine feet six inches from the foot to the hip-bone, and three feet from the latter to the back; that is, twelve feet and a half in all, or more than twice the height of the tallest races of mankind. When we consider, that even in proportion to its height, the elephant is an animal of enormous bulk, and of the most massive proportions, we may conceive what an enormous mass of flesh and bone its rugous coat must usually contain. A large individual weighs from six to seven thousand pounds, and it may easily be imagined that when travelling through the forest with any special object in view, he must force his way through all intervening obstacles more after the manner of a modern locomotive engine, than of any mere animal force of which we have an accustomed conception.

“Trampling his path through wood and brake, And canes which crackling tall before his way,

And tassel-grass, whose silvery feathers play, O’ertopping the young trees,

On comes the elephant to slake

His thirst at noon in yon pellucid springs.

Lo! from his trunk upturn’d, aloft he flings

The grateful shower; and now, Plucking the broad-leav’d bough

Of yonder plume, with waving motion slow, Fanning the languid air,

∏e waves it to and fro.”^[233. Southey’s Curse of Kehama. ]

Of the Asiatic elephants {E. Indicus, Plate CCCXXXVIII, fig. 3) those of Ceylon are among the most celebrated. Indeed, the torrid zone seems the most favourable for the production of the largest races; for although elephants occur along the coast of Malabar as far north as the territories of Coorgah Rajah, these, according to Mr Corse (Scott) are inferior to the breed from Ceylon. Those of China, where they seem to be used rather as an appendage of imperial greatness than as beasts of burden, are described as smaller than those of more southern regions, and of a lighter hue. A few are, however, said to have bred to the north- - ward of the tropic; and we may add, that elephants appear to have been very anciently known even in remote parts of the Chinese empire.^[234. See various passages in Marsden’s edition of the Travels of Marco Polo. ] As Kublai Khan, one of the conquering heroes of the thirteenth century, subdued Ava and other southern provinces, where elephants are known to have abounded, and where they were opposed to his armies in battle, it is probable that he then added those gigantic and imposing animals to his establishment, and conveyed them to the more northern parts of his great Tartarian empire, which included a large portion of what we now designate by the name of China. A few are still kept by the emperors of the reigning dynasty.^[235. Bell’s Travels, vol. ii. p. 25; Van Braam’s Voyage en Chine, t. i. p. 280. ]

It is to the Asiatic species that most of the anecdotes apply, as recorded in our systematic works and books of travels.^[236. As our restricted space prohibits an ampler exposition, we beg to refer the reader to a very accessible volume (in the Library of Entertaining Knowledge) entitled The t Menag cries, vol. ii, where a complete account is given of the ancient and modern history of elephants. ] Although generally regarded as the “wisest of beasts,” it is alleged by some to owe much of its apparent sagacity to that admirable instrument its proboscis, by which it is enabled to perform many actions which the canine race, though probably equal in wisdom, cannot achieve in consequence of their different, if not more defective, organization. “Après,” says Baron Cuvier, “les avoir étudiés long-temps, nous n’avons pas trouvé qu’elle (l’intelligence) surpassât celle du chien ni de plusieurs autres carnassiers.”^[237. δ Règne Animăl, t. i. p. 239. ] Still we think it is demonstrable both from ancient record and modern observation, that the elephant is most highly gifted for an irrational being, and that it generally retains its finer natural instincts even in conjunction with those artificial acquirements which in several other sagacious species seem to deaden or destroy the influence of pure instinctive feeling.

We have already stated our opinion that the size of the elephant is usually exaggerated. Mr Scott of Sinton, whose authority is frequently quoted, and deservedly valued on such points, has stated, in relation to the Asiatic species, that he never heard of more than a single instance of its exceeding the height of ten feet. The following are the proportions which he gives of a fine male belonging to the Vizier of Oude :—
[table]
[7:14:148]

Nothing, indeed, is more deceptive than the dimensions of an animal which, obviously exceeding in size whatever living creature we have been previously accustomed to, has yet been unsubjected to actual measurement, for our astonishment magnifies the real size. Thus a celebrated elephant belonging to the Nabob of Dacca, which was generally reported to be fourteen feet high, and which even Mr Scott’s practised eye estimated at twelve, was found by measurement not to exceed ten feet. Those from Pegu and Ava (as well as the Ceylonese) are, however, of greater size than those of Hindostan. There is the skeleton of an elephant in the museum of St Petersburgh, presented by the King of Persia to the Czar Peter, which measures above sixteen feet in height, but we have no doubt that some portion of this prodigious stature is owing to the mode in which the bones have been articulated in the setting up, and the more or less natural curvature of the spine. A new born elephant usually measures about thirty-five inches high, and he is said to grow eleven inches the first year, eight the second, five the fifth, three and a half the sixth, and two and a half in the seventh year. He takes from twenty to thirty years to attain his full growth, and has been alleged to live for a couple of centuries. There are authentic instances of elephants having been kept in a domestic state for a hundred and thirty years. The female is capable of breeding after her fifteenth year. She produces a single young one at a birth, after a gestation of from twenty-two to twenty-three months.

Elephants in this country are usually fed on hay and carrots, and the quantity of food which they consume is enormous. Those of the Emperor Akbar had each a daily allowance of 200 pounds in weight, with an additional supply of ten pounds of sugar, besides rice, milk, and pepper; and during the sugar-cane season each was provided daily with 300 canes. The Mogul princes are known to have kept up their stud of elephants at a vast expense; and according to Pliny, even the Romans, a people so addicted to extravagance, found the sustaining of the Carthaginian elephants captured by Metellus so costly, that they were afterwards slain in the circus. Yet, according to Aelian’s account? less rigid economy prevailed in the days of Germanicus. His elephants were exhibited in the arena, reposing on splendid couches, adorned with the richest tapestry. Tables of ivory and cedar-wood were placed before them, and on these their viands were presented in vessels of gold and silver. They danced to the sound of “flutes and soft recorders,” or moved about the theatre in measured and harmonious steps, scattering around them the freshest and the choicest flowers. Arrian mentions an elephant which played on symbols, one being fastened to each knee, and another held by his proboscis, while his unwieldy companions danced in a circle, keeping time with the greatest exactness.

The general use of gunpowder in the practice of war, and the application of steam to machinery, have greatly superseded the employment of this gigantic living engine for the purposes of the human race, although it is still extensively used as a beast of burden in the East. In regard to the pecuniary value of the elephant, Mr Forbes informs us that a common price is from 5000 to 6000 rupees, but that he has seen one valued at 20,000.^[238. Oriental Memoirs. ] We must now terminate our miscellaneous notices of this interesting genus.^[239. ' i In addition to the works already quoted, ŵe have in this as in some other parts of our present treatise, availed ourselves of the natural history sketches contained in various volumes of the Edinburgh Cabinet Library. ] Family II.—PACHYDERMATA PROPER. . .

In the majority of this family the three sorts of teeth exist together, and the number of toes ranges from two to four. Those in which the toes are of an even number have their feet in a measure cloven, and approach the ruminants both in the structure of the skeleton, and the complicated form of die stomach.

Genus Hippopotamus, Linn. Incisives ↑ , canines y-—·, molars ~ ð; — 36.^[240. An additional molar is sometimes found on each side of the upper jaiv, but it seems of a temporary nature. ] Body very bulky, legs proportion ally short, the feet with four toes terminated by small hoofs. Lower incisives cylindrical, and directed obliquely forwards. Skin extremely thick, and hairless.

Only one species of this genus is distinctly known to naturalists, the Hippopotamus amphibius of systematic writers.^[241. Μ. Desmoulins regards the species of Senegal as distinct from that of the southern extremity of Africa. ] Next to die elephant and rhinoceros this is probably the most bulky land animal with which we are acquainted. It is peculiar to Africa, where it inhabits the fresh waters of the central and southern portions of that sultry continent. It appears to have formerly existed in Lower Egypt, but has long since disappeared from that district. It is, however, well known in Abyssinia. Mr Salt had no sooner reached the banks of the Tacazze, a tributary of the Nile, than his attention was roused by the cry of his attendants of “Gomari! Gomari !” the native title of the hippopotamus; but he at that time succeeded in obtaining only a momentary glance, which sufficed to shew that its action somewhat resembled the rolling of a grampus in the sea. The river was about fifty yards across, and between its fords, at the place alluded to, there are pools of almost immeasurable depth, resembling the wild and beautiful mountain tarns of the nortiι of England, and in these the amphibious giants love to dwell. Mr Salt and his party stationed themselves on a high overhanging rock which commanded a deep translucent pool, and they did not remain long before a hippopotamus rose to the surface at a distance of twenty yards. He came up very confidently, raising his enormous head above" the water with a violent snort. The muskets were instantly discharged, their contents seemed to strike directly on the forehead, on which he turned round his head with an angry scowl, and making a sudden plunge, descended to the bottom, with a peculiar noise between a grunt and a roar. The sportsmen for a time entertained the hope that he was killed, but he ere long rose again close to the same spot, apparently not much concerned at what had happened, but with somewhat greater caution than before. The guns were again discharged, but as ineffectually as before; and although some of the party continued firing at every one that made his appearance, they were by no means certain that the slightest impression was produced. This they attributed to their having used leaden balls, which are too soft for such almost impenetrable skulls. One of the most interesting parts of the amusement consisted in witnessing the perfect ease with which these huge creatures quietly descended to the bottom, for the water being exceedingly clear, they were distinctly perceptible at least twenty feet beneath the surface. They are able to remain five or six minutes at a time under the water.^[242. Salt’s Voyage to Abyssinia, p. 345. ] The flesh of the hippopotamus is used as food by many of [7:14:149]the African tribes; its skin is also employed for a variety of purposes, and its teeth yield an ivory of great value.

Genus Sus, Linn. Incisives or ς∙, canines, 1 -- * 6 6 1 — 1

7 7

molars, - -; = 42 or 44. All the icet furnished with

7 — 7

four toes, of which two are anterior or intermediate, and of larger size, and two are lateral or posterior, and so short as scarcely to touch the ground. The lower incisives always project forwards, and the canine teeth, even those of the upper jaw, likewise project and curve upwards. The snout is lengthened, and truncated at the point.

The wild boar (Sus aper), the supposed origin of our domestic breeds of swine, occurs in many parts of Europe, Asia, Africa, and the islands of the Indian Sea. Its body is of a brownish-black colour, covered with bristles, which are hard and stiff, especially along the spine. It is an animal of great strength, and considerable activity; but its dimensions though large, probably never exceed those of an overgrown individual of the domestic breed. Wherever the boar occurs in a state of nature, he is found in moist and shady situations, generally well wooded, and for the most part not far distant from streams and marshes. He prefers even cultivated grounds, with all the dangerous consequences likely to result from such localities, to dry or open tracts of weather-beaten barrenness. However fierce in self-defence, when attacked in some favourite place of strength, or irritated during the rutting season, when his passions are inflamed, his natural tastes are almost entirely herbivorous. Buffon, however, states that they have been seen eating horse flesh; and the skin of deer, and the claws of birds, have been sometimes found within them. Desmarest asserts that they devour the smaller kinds of game, such as leverets and partridges, and are very fond of eggs. Their habits are rather nocturnal, at least they are frequently observed to quit their coverts during the evening twilight, and when they hold their lair in the vicinity of human cultivation, they often do great damage by turning up the soil in long straight deep furrows, in search of roots or grain. By means of their delicate perception of the sense of touch and smell, they discover and disinter many low growing plants, half sunk beneath the soil, and hence probably their desire to dwell in moist and sombre places where, amid “a boundless contiguity of shade,” their natural powers are more easily and efficiently exerted. They continue to increase in size and strength for four or five years, and are said to live for about thirty years. It is when they have nearly attained maturity, that they afford the most exciting and dangerous occupation to the sportsman. A strong boar will then continue to run for a long time, and finally make the most vigorous and determined self-defence. An experienced boar exhibits considerable intelligence in avoiding his enemies, although the strong scent which emanates from him, especially in a state of irritation, renders his eventual escape from the dogs extremely doubtful. In his revenge also, there is said to be less of blind and indiscriminate fury than might, be expected from his coarsely savage aspect; for even when harassed beyond the hope of life, and about to be torn to pieces by the insatiate hounds, should he receive a ball from the huntsman’s rifle, he has been known to turn upon his dread pursuers, to break through the bellowing pack, and to single out and assault with savage ire his human persecutor.^[243. Quarterly Journal of Agriculture, vol. ii. p. 875. An account is given of the different domestic breeds in vol. iii. p. 35, of the same· work. ]

The wild boar is among the fiercest of the animals of India. It there inhabits chiefly the woods and jungles; but when the grain is nearly ripe, it occasions great damage in corn fields, and still greater among sugar plantations. In eastern countries it is spread over a vast extent of territory, and exists in great abundance in the Archipelago of the Papuas, to the north of the Moluccas, and the westward of New Guinea. It would even appear that there are two wild species in the Celebes (besides Sus Babyrussd), and some writers are of opinion that there exists in the Indian and Chinese dominions a species distinct from the wild boar of Europe, and the more probable source from which the Siamese breed, and that of China, have been derived.

We cannot here enter into a detailed history of our numerous cultivated breeds. With a repulsive aspect, an ungraceful form, the most sensual habits, and a ferocity of disposition not seldom approaching to that of the carnivorous tribes, the domestic hog is nevertheless one of the most useful of quadrupeds. If the value of a benefit depends in a great measure on its universality, this despised animal may indeed claim a higher rank than many of a loftier nature; for one of the most singular circumstances in its history is the immense extent of its distribution, more specially in far removed and isolated spots, inhabited by semi-barbarian people, to whom the wild species is utterly unknown. The South Sea Islands, for example, on their discovery by Europeans, were found to be well stocked with a small, black, short-legged hog; and the traditionary belief of the human natives, bore that they were as anciently descended as themselves. The hog, in fact, is in these islands the principal quadruped, and is of all others the most carefully cultivated. The bread-fruit tree, either in form of a sour paste, or in its natural condition, constitutes its favourite food, and its additional choice of yams, eddoes, and other nutritive vegetables, rendersits flesh most juicy and delicious,—its fat, though rich, being at the same time (so says Foster) not less delicate and agreeable than the finest butter. Before our missionary labours had proved so signally successful in those once forlorn and benighted regions, by substituting the mild spirit of Christianity for the sanguinary forms of a delusive and degrading worship, the Otaheitans, and other South Sea islanders, were in the habit of presenting roasted pigs at the marais, as the most savoury and acceptible offering to their deities which they could bestow. Hogs are now abundant in America. They were not, however, indigenous to the New World, but were transported thither by the Spaniards, soon after the discovery and conquest by that nation of the western regions. China is famous for its pigs, and throughout most of the provinces is much more abundant than mutton. Indeed the powerful and prevailing love of the former viand has even been assigned by a philosophical historian as a principal reason for the rejection by the subjects of the celestial empire, of the laws and religion of Mahomet.^[244. Ibid. vol. ii. p. 877∙ ]

Of animals allied to the boar we may name the Sus larvatus, a species which occurs in Madagascar and Southern Africa, and the Sus Babyrussa (Plate CCCXXX VIII. fig. 4.) a native of the Indian Archipelago, distinguished by its longer and more slender limbs, and the extraordinary length of its upturned and greatly curved tusks. The genus Pha-cochoerus, F. Cuvier, has only two incisives in the upper jaw, and even these are often wanting, though their vestiges are sometimes found beneath the gums. It is also characterized by a large and fleshy lobe on either cheek. The species (supposed to be two in number, if that described by Ruppel is really distinct) are fierce and savage animals, which, when attacked, become extremely furious, and rushing on their enemies with great force and swiftness, occasionally inflict the most desperate and sometimes fatal wounds. The genus Dycoteles of Cuvier, has four incisives above, six below, with two canines and six molars in each jaw. The species differ from all the preceding porcine groups in the canines being directed in the ordinary [7:14:150]manner, in there being only three toes to the hinder feet, and in the tail being tubercular. These animals, commonly called peccaries, are native to South America, where there are two species, the collared peccary (Z). torquatus'), and the white-lipped peccary (Z>. labiatus). The former inhabits the Atlantic coasts of the New World from Guyana to Paraguay, the latter occurs in parts of the same extensive range, and is sometimes met with in vast flocks. It is easily tamed, and its flesh is good to eat. Prior to the practical researches of Azara, both species seem to have been confounded under the title of Sus Tajassu, Linn.

Genus Rhinoceros, Linn. The number of teeth in this genus differs according to the species. Each foot is divided into three toes. The bones of the nose, which are very thick, and united into a hollow arch, bear one or more horns, which adhere to the skin, and are composed of a fibrous substance, resembling a mass of agglutinated hairs.

The species, of which four or five are known to naturalists, are of a dull and heavy aspect, and of much more restricted capacity than the elephant. Though inferior also in size to that sagacious creature, they are yet of sufficiently gigantic dimensions to form a very imposing feature in zoology. Their senses of sight, and touch are said to be rather defective; those of smell and hearing more acute. A young rhinoceros, kept in the Garden of Plants, in Paris, was habitually gentle, obedient to his keepers, and extremely sensible of kindness. He exhibited, however, at times the most violent paroxysms of rage, during which it was necessary to keep beyond “the pale of such contention,” as it would have been but poor comfort to those whom he might have gored, to be informed that his ordinary proceedings were entirely innocuous. He was usually mitigated by a liberal supply of bread and fruit, and as soon as he saw those who were in the habit of feeding him, he would stretch his muzzle towards them, open his mouth, and extend his tongue.

The preceding observations apply to the species of continental India (A ’ A. Indicus, Cuv. Plate CCCXXXVIII. fig. 8), which, besides twenty-eight molars, has two strong incisive teeth in each jaw, two others of a smaller size between the lower incisives, and one still smaller on each incisor of the upper jaw. It has only one horn, and its skin forms deep folds behind and across the shoulders, and before and across the thighs, “The power of this species is frequently displayed to a surprising degree when hunting it A few years ago, a party of Europeans, with their native attendants and elephants, when out on the dangerous sport of hunting these animals, met with a herd of seven of them, led, as it appeared, by one larger and stronger than the rest. When the large rhinoceros charged the hunters, the leading elephants, instead of using their tusks or weapons, which, in ordinary cases, they are ready enough to do, wheeled round, and received the blow of the rhinoceros on the posteriors. The blow brought them immediately to the ground with their riders, and as soon as they had risen, the brute was again ready, and again brought them down, and in this manner did the combat continue until four of the seven were killed, when the rest made good their retreat.^[245. Grifliths’s Animal Kingdom, vol. iii. p. 426. ]

The rhinoceros of Java (Rh. Javanus, Cuv.) is possessed of the large incisives and single horn of the Indian species, but its skin has fewer folds, and is entirely covered with small close-set angular tubercles. A third eastern species occurs in Sumatra (Rh. Sondaicus, Cuv.). Its skin is more hairy, with scarcely any folds, and there is a small horn behind the ordinary one.^[246. For a description of its habits of life, see Dr Horsfield’s Zoological Researches in Java. ]

The African species have two horns, no folds on the skin, and want the incisive teeth. The best known is the Rhinoceros Africanus of modern writers,— Rħ. bicois, Linn. Its name was changed on the discovery of the two-horned Sumatran species, and the title of African was bestowed upon it, in the erroneous belief that it was the only species found upon that continent. But the discovery of a distinct species in the interior of southern Africa by Mr Burchell (and which that traveller names Rh. simas'), affords a proof, among many others which might be adduced, of the impropriety of naming any species from the continent which it inhabits. Few creatures stand so “alone in their glory” as to exist over a vast tract of country without claiming kindred with any other, and it may almost be inferred a priori that when one of a genus is discovered, a second or a third will ere long be ascertained. When this happens, such names as Africanus, Americanus, &c. cease to be discriminating, and consequently lose their value. In the mean time, we have no means of ascertaining the difference in the geographical distribution of the two species of African rhinoceros, or how far their history and description may not have been confounded by travellers. Mr Burchell’s species is chiefly distinguished by the truncated form of the lips and nose, and by its general dimensions being much larger. It was first met with amid immense plains near the 26° of south latitude, and was described by the natives as feeding on nothing but grass, while the other is said to browse on shrubs and branches. One or other of the species extends over a great expanse of Africa, where they are much esteemed as food, the tongue especially being regarded as a great delicacy. The hunters of the rhinoceros are called agageer in Abyssinia, from agaro to kill, by cutting the hams or tendon of Achilles, with a sword. The eyes of the animal being extremely small, his neck stiff, and his head very ponderous,^[247. A head, when disjoined from the vertebra?, is described by Mr Burchell as being of such enormous weight that four men could morelv raise it from the ground, and eight were required to place it on a carriage. ] he seldom turns round so as to see any thing that is not directly before him. To this, according to Bruce, he owes his death, as he never escapes if there is as much plain ground as to enable a horse to get in advance, for his pride and fury then induce him to lay aside all thoughts of escaping but by the victorious overthrow of his enemy. He stands For a moment at bay, then starting forward, he suddenly charges the horse, after the manner of a wild boar,—an animal which he greatly resembles in his general mode of action. The horse, however, easily avoids this heavy though impetuous onset, by turning short aside,—and now is the fatal instant,— for a naked warrior, armed with a ruthless sword, drops from behind the principal hunter, and, unperceived by the huge rhinoceros, who seeks only to wreak his vengeance on his more open enemy, he smites him with a tremendous blow across the tendon of the heel, and thus renders him incapable of further flight. It may be easily conceived that his rage is great, and his resistance vain.

A rhinoceros in confinement will consume towards two hundred pounds of vegetable substances in a day. They are usually fed on moistened beans, hay, carrots, and a certain allowance of grain. In speaking of the supply of vegetable matter essential to the support of so gigantic a living mass, we must likewise bear in mind the vast quantity of water which it consumes. No country, according to Bruce, but such as that of the Shangalla, deluged with six months’ rain, full of large and deep basins hewn by nature in the living rock, and shaded from evaporation by dark umbrageous woods, or one watered by extensive and never-failing rivers, can supply the enormous draughts of his capacious maw.^[248. We may here note an opinion entertained both by Mr Salt and Baron Cuvier, that the figure of the African rhinoceros given by Bruce must have been copied, for convenience, from the one-horned species of Buffon, with the addition of a second horn, as the two-horned rhinoceros wants the folds in the skin, which are nevertheless represented by the Abyssinian traveller. ]
[7:14:151]

We shall here briefly notice the Genus Hyrax of Hermann, which seems to contain only a single well authenticated species (ĩī. capensis and syriacus, Plate CCCXXXVIII, fig. 5), described under a variety of names, such as daman, Cape marmot, Cape çavy, &c. It is an animal of the dimensions of a rabbit, with a greyish-coloured fur. It was long classed among the Rodentia, probably on account of the smallness of its size; but, as Cuvier has remarked, with the exception of the horn, which is here wanting, the hyrax may be said to represent the rhinoceros in miniature. It has exactly the same molars, but there are two strong incisives curved downwards in the upper jaw, and, in the young state, a pair of small canines; there arc four incisives in the lower jaw. The fore feet have four toes, the hinder three, all furnished with very small rounded hoofs (or rather nails, for in this respect our present genus seems to form an exception to its order), except the inner toe of the hinder extremities, which bears a curved oblique nail. The tail is tubercular. This animal has twenty-one pair of ribs, being exceeded in that number, we believe, by only a single quadruped, the unau or two-toed sloth, which has twenty-three. In this character, as in many others, it agrees with the pachydermous tribes in general, all of which have numerous ribs; whereas the majority of the Rodentia have only twelve or thirteen pair of ribs, those of the beaver alone amounting to fifteen. The hyrax is spread over a vast portion of Africa from the Cape of Good Hope to the north of Abyssinia. It dwells in clefts of the rocks, feeding on herbs and roots. Bruce describes it as “found in Ethiopia, in the caverns of the rocks, or under the great stones in the Mountains of the Sun, behind the queen’s palace at Koscam. It is also frequent in the deep caverns in the rock in many other parts of Abyssinia.” It is there called ashkoko, and several dozens arc frequently seen sitting together upon great stones at the mouths of caves, enjoying the warmth of the mid-day sun, or the freshness of a fine summer evening. They are gentle and easily tamed, though at first, if roughly handled, they are apt to bite. “In Arabia and Syria he is called Israel’s sheep or gannim Israel, for what reason I know not, unless it is chiefly from his frequenting the rocks of Horcb and Sinai, where the children of Israel made their forty years’ peregrination; perhaps this name obtains only among the Arabians. I apprehend he is known by that of saphan in the Hebrew, and is the animal commonly called by our translators cuniculus, the rabbit or coney.”^[249. Bruce’s Travels, Appendix, p. 136, pl. 23. See also the late Dr Scott’s Essay in Wernerian Memoirs, vol. vi. ]

β ļ ]

Genus Tapir, Linn. Incisives θ, canines ¶ p mo-

7—7

lars ^ uzz ^ c prolonged into a small fleshy trunk, but not prehensile. Anterior feet with four toes, posterior with three. Tail very short.

The most anciently known of this genus is the Tapir Americanus, supposed to be the largest quadruped native to the southern division of the New World, where it is very generally distributed from the Isthmus of Panama to the neighbourhood of the Straits of Magellan, being, however, more abundant in Guyana than in Paraguay. Its prevailing colour is deep brown, and there is a small mane on the upper portion of the neck of the male. This species measures nearly six feet in length, with a height of about three feet six inches. It is hunted by means of dogs, on account both of its flesh and hide, the former being held in some esteem by the Indians, whose taste is not distinguished for delicacy. When pursued, it seeks its safety by bursting through close and thorny thickets, where it is with difficulty followed by its thinner skinned enemies. It is also sometimes shot by those who lie in ambush during the night among the water melons, its accustomed food. It is tenacious of life, if we may judge from the account given by Azara, who saw one run for some time after it had received two balls through the heart. It is a solitary animal, of nocturnal habits, easily tamed if taken young. See its cranium on Plate CCCXXXVIII, fig. 6.

A second American species has been discovered of late years by Μ. Roulin,^[250. Annales des Sciences Nat. 1829, t. i. p. 26. ] and described under the title of Tapir us pinchaque. It is nearly equal in size to the preceding, and resembles it in its general form and aspect, but its osteological structure exhibits a considerable difference, and it is said to occur only at a great height among the mountains.

The only other described species is the Malay tapir of Raffles and Horsficld (Tapir indicus, Cuv., Plate CCCXXXVIII, fig. 7), a native of Sumatra and the Peninsula of Malacca. It exceeds the American kinds in size, and is further distinguished by a peculiar and contrasted colouring, the head, shoulders, and fore and hind legs being of a blackish-brown, while the intermediate portion of the body is of a dingy white. Though a common animal in the east, its habits in a state of nature are but little known. The specimen described by Sir T. S. Raffles was young and tractable. It roamed about the park at Barrackpore, and was frequently observed to enter a pond and walk along the bottom under water, but without any exercise of the ordinary mode of swimming.^[251. See Linn. Trans, vol. xiii, part 2d, and Horsfield’s Zoological Researches. ] Family III.—SOLIDUNGULA.

We here place the different species of the horse tribe, technically characterized by possessing only one external toe to each foot, covered by a single undivided hoof. But, beneath the skin on each side of the metacarpal and metatarsal bones, are two small protuberances or styles, which represent the lateral toes. The three kinds of teeth exist in the males; the canines are almost always wanting in the females.

Genus Equus, Linn. Incisives ∙^, canines ~ ;, mo-

G ι — ι

6 — G

lars θ-- ß; = 40. Upper lip developed and flexible. Eyes lateral. Ears large, pointed, moveable. Limbs long and slender. Tail of medium length, and either furnished throughout its whole extent with long hair, or terminated by a somewhat lengthened tuft. Stomach simple, and of medium size; intestines very long; coecum enormous.

According to the views of modern naturalists, this important genus consists of six distinct, though nearly allied species, namely, the horse (Equus caballus), the dziggithai (E. hemionus), the ass (E. asinus), the quagga (E. quagga), the zebra or mountain zebra (E. zebra), and the zebra of the plains (E. Eurchellii). It has been remarked that the characters which distinguish these animals from each other, though sufficient for the purposes of the naturalist, are not, anatomically considered, of an essential nature. They are rather superficial, consisting chiefly in the comparative size of the ears, the length and texture of the hair, and the distribution of the external colours. As the size varies remarkably in several of the species, the difference of dimension can scarcely be assumed as a specific character. Hence the most accomplished comparative anatomist can with difficulty distinguish a species merely from the inspection of a few isolated bones, although such inspection is amply sufficient[7:14:152] for the determination of species in the case of almost all other groups of which we possess an osteological knowledge. We shall devote a few sentences to each of the animals above enumerated.

Equus caballus. The Horse. Our cultivated breeds of this invaluable creature are now so numerous, that a volume would scarcely suffice for their record. We shall here confine ourselves to the few facts within our knowledge which illustrate its natural history, properly so called,—for one great effort of the zoologist should consist in the distinguishing those facts which depend on instinct, and are therefore natural to an animal, from those which result artificially from education and an altered mode of life,—in ascertaining what really appertains to it as a natural inheritance, as well as what it may have derived through the intervention of man,—and in avoiding to confound “the animal with the slave, the beast of burden with the creature of God.”^[252. Buffon. ] In the present case, however, it must be admitted, that the domestic breeds are improved not more in usefulness than in beauty and grandeur of aspect, whatever poets may fancy to the contrary in a wild horse of the Tartarian deserts. The following are the characters which distinguish this animal in a state of nature. The head is large in proportion to the body; the front, above the eyes, bulging or convex; the forehead straight; the ears long, carried habitually low, and pointing backwards, thus producing a somewhat vicious aspect; the circumference of the mouth and nostrils is garnished with long hairs; the mane is very thick, and prolonged beyond the withers; the back is less vaulted than in the domestic varieties; the legs are proportionally longer and thicker; the hair, sometimes long and waving, is never smooth; its colour, usually dun or brown, sometimes varies to a kind of cream-colour, but is never either black or pied. These are the characters of the tar^ pan or wild horse of the Tartarian deserts; and similar features seem to have been reproduced in the Spanish or Andalusian race, now wild in the pampas of the New World to the south of Buenos Ayres. There the size has decreased, the limbs become thicker, the neck and ears longer, and the varied colouring has, in a great measure, disappeared,—there being usually about ninety chestnut bays in the hundred, while black is so rare that there is scarcely one out of two thousand of that colour. Now, as all emancipated animals exhibit a tendency to recover after a certain lapse of time, and as a consequence of liberty, not merely the manners and instinctive inclinations, but also the form and colour of their primitive types, Μ. Azara concludes that this chestnut bay is the original hue of the horse. According to Foster there are neither pied nor black horses among the wild troops of central Asia, among which the dun and greyish-brown prevail, and one or other of these is therefore by some regarded as the natural colour. The hair of the South American troops has scarcely increased in length; but this is probably owing to the greater mildness and equality of temperature which prevail in their adopted country, than in the climate of the north of Asia. One remarkable distinction, however, is said to exist between the disposition or temper of the South American and Asiatic wild horses. It is this. At whatever age the former are caught, they may be rendered, in a measure, fit for the service of man almost in a few days, whereas the latter can only be tamed when taken young, and frequently shew themselves in after life to have been but half subdued. Does not this go far to prove that the one is the genuine original,—the other but a rebel race?

The native country of the horse is believed to be those desert regions which environ Lake Aral and the Caspian Sea. Although no doubt exists as to the occurrence of wild, or at least of what may be called independent horses in those countries, as well as in the southern parts of Siberia, in the great Mongolian deserts, and among the kalkas, to the northwest of China; yet it ought not to be concealed that some thoughtful inquirers are of opinion that these also, as well as those of America just mentioned, are merely emancipated tribes, descended at some remote period from an enslaved stock, and that the real wild horse, using the expression as we apply it to other animals existing entirely (and ab initio) in a state of nature, is extinct. The wild horses, for example, mentioned by Pallas as pasturing in the deserts on each side of the river Don, in the vicinity of the Pains Maeotis, are now believed, if not ascertained, to be the offspring of the Russian horses employed in the siege of Asoph in the year 1697, and which, for want of forage, were at that time intentionally turned adrift. Their descendants have now assumed an aspect of great natural wildness.

In Asia each congregated troop seldom exceeds twenty individuals; but, in America, many thousands are sometimes seen together. In both these distant regions a peculiar variety has sprung up with crisped or frizzled hair; but those of Asia are always white, while the American (frizzled) variety is of every colour except white and pied. When we consider the almost constant relation which may be traced between the length and abundance of hair, and an increased degree of cold, we might have expected to discover this frizzled variety of the New World rather towards the colder country of Patagonia, than in Paraguay, just as the corresponding variety of Asia is found beneath the varying climate of the Baskir nation. According to Azara those magnificent troops of insurgent horses (Alza-dos is the Spanish term) which have become wild in the plains of America, to the south of the Rio de la Plata, sometimes amount to 10,000 individuals. Preceded by videttes and detached skirmishers, they advance in a close column so broad and dense that nothing can break through it. If a travelling caravan, or a body of cavalry, is seen approaching, the leaders of the wild horses advance upon a recon-noisance, and then, in accordance with the movements of the chief, the entire body passes at a gallop to the left or right, inviting, at the same time, by a deep prolonged neighing, the domestic horses to desertion. These often join the “rebel host,” and are said never voluntarily to submit themselves again to man’s dominion. Each of these great squadrons is composed of a re-union of smaller companies, themselves consisting of as many mares as a single horse can keep under a loving subjection. Descended, as we have said, from the ancient breed of Andalusia, these animals are, however, inferior to their noble ancestry in beauty, strength, and swiftness. Their heads are thicker, their limbs coarser and less symmetrical, their necks and ears longer; and, in all these qualities, it has been remarked, they approach again to the supposed primitive model which still exists in a state of freedom, amid the illimitable wilds of the Tartarian deserts. Domestication, therefore, is not, as Buffon has so eloquently maintained, in all cases prejudicial to the nature of an animal; for the beau ideal of a horse is undoubtedly to be found, not among the desert tribes, as the French Pliny supposes, but rather in one of the cultivated races of Spanish or Arabian birth.^[253. For a detailed account of the domestic breeds see Culley’s Observations on Live Stock, Marshall’s Economy of Yorkshire and the Midland Counties, the works of Buffon, Bewick, &c.: also the volume entitled “The Horse,” in the farmer’s series of the Library of Useful Knowledge. Our own sketch of the Genus Equus coincides with, and is indeed chiefly compiled from, materials which we had some time ago occasion to collect from various sources for the formation of an essay “On the Origin and Natural History of the Horse and its allied Species,” published in the Edinburgh Journal of Agriculture, No. vii. ] Equus hemionus, Pallas. The Dziggithai. This species [7:14:153]bears a considerable resemblance to a mule in size and figure, but is much more elegant. It is called Hemionos (literally half-ass) by Aristotle, and is mentioned by that philosopher as occurring in ancient times. It is of a greyish Isabella colour. The coat, during winter, is tufted like that of a camel, but in summer it is scarcely three lines in length, and is distinguished by radiated marks like ears of corn, scattered here and there upon the flanks. The existence of this animal in Syria was known to ancient writers. Aelian describes it as a native of India. The first of the moderns by whom it was recognised appears to have been Messerschmidt; but it is to Pallas that we arc indebted for its genuine history. It is confined at the present day to the steppes of Central Asia, and is found especially in the desert of Cobi. There is certainly no modern proof of its existence to the west of Lake Aral, and the mountains of Belur. It neither penetrates into forests, nor ascends mountains. Its neighing is more grave and sonorous than that of a horse; and it is described as bearing its head and neck loftily like a stag. It can travel fifty or sixty leagues across the desert without drinking, and its congregated bands do not consist of more than about twenty females and foals, under a single male chief. Sometimes several males are observed together, followed only by four or five females. The rutting season takes place towards the end of August, and the young are produced in spring. There is usually only one brought forth at a time, which attains the adult state in three years. The chase of this animal affords a favourite pastime both to the Monguls and Tanguts; but its prodigious and proverbial swiftness, aided by a piercing sight, and an acute sense of smell, generally baffles the exertions of the most experienced and best mounted huntsmen.

Equus asinus. The Ass. As in our preceding notice of the nobler horse we dwelt chiefly upon its natural attributes, so in this humble species we may distinguish between the indigenous and subdued kinds. The Onager, or wild ass, called koulan by many of the tribes of Asia, differs from the domestic breed in its shorter cars, the greater length and finer form of its limbs, its straighter chest, and more compressed body. In its general aspect, it is said to resemble a young foal. The males alone are characterized by the transverse bar across the shoulders, observable in the domestic ass, and, in the wild species, it is sometimes double. The onager was well known to the ancients, although it appears to have been lost sight of during the dark ages, and to have been but obscurely known for several centuries after the revival of learning. Indeed we possessed no good modern elucidation of its history till the time of Pallas.^[254. Ada l>etropolitana, t. ii. ] The Turkish name of this animal, Eagh ais-chaki, or mountain ass, points out its natural locality, elsewhere beautifully indicated,—“Whose house I have made the wilderness, and the barren land his dwelling. The range of the mountains is his pasture, and he seeketh after every green thing.”^[255. Job, ch. xxix, ver. G-8. ] Even tĥc choice which the domestic ass may be often seen to make of the narrow and uneven paths by the wayside, is probably a remnant of this natural instinct. The native country of the wild ass is the same as that of the horse; but, while the latter extends as far north as the 56°, the former does not voluntarily pass beyond the 45°. In its southern migrations, however, it descends to the Persian Gulf, and even towards the southern extremity of Hindostan. It was seen by Odoar Barboza among the mountains of Golconda; and those troops of wild horses mentioned by Turner as frequenting the upland countries of Boutan, where they are called Gourk-haws, were, in fact, onagers or wild asses. Eye-witnesses have also assured Pallas of their having frequently observed in the Tartarian deserts, and those of Persia, the route of congregated wild asses, forming a path of 300 toises (above 600 yards) broad. The food of the wild ass, according to Dr Shaw, consists chiefly of saline, or bitter and lactescent plants. It is also fond of salt or brackish water. Its flesh is highly esteemed by several oriental nations, and its skin is known in commerce under the name of chagrin, so called from the Turkish term sagri. The engrained aspect which it bears is not, however, natural to it, but is produced by a chemical process described by Pallas. In regard to the domestic ass, its manners and appearance, as it exists in this country, are so familiar as to render description needless. The races of eastern origin are much more beautiful, with glossy skins, carrying their heads loftily, and moving their limbs in a very graceful manner. They accordingly fetch a high price. Some contrariety of opinion exists regarding the progress of their introduction westward, and their great uniformity of aspect, compared with the multiplied varieties of the horse, has induced some to suppose that asses have not been so long nor so generally under the dominion of the human race. In the time of Aristotle they were not found in Thrace, nor even in Gaul; but, on the other hand, we know, from the sacred writings, that they were used as beasts of burden in the remotest ages of the Jewish history, and were, therefore, in all probability reduced to servitude by the eastern nations fully more early than any other animal not essential to the existence of a pastoral people. Buffon is of opinion that the domesticated breed of asses used in Europe came originally from Arabia; that they first passed into Egypt, and thence to Greece, Italy, France, Germany, England, &c. Those used in more northern countries have been introduced at a comparatively recent period. Indeed, even in England, according to Hollinshed, so late as the days of Elizabeth, “our lande did yeclde no asses.” If it were so, they must have become extinct, for there is no doubt of their existence in this country during a period long prior to the golden days of “good Queen Bess.” They are mentioned in the reign of Athelred, and again in the time of Henry III. They may, however, have been reintroduced to Britain in the time of Elizabeth’s successor, upon the renewal of our intercourse with Spain, a country famous for the production of both ass and mule, “The relation of Lucilius,” says Sir Thomas Browne, “now become common concerning Crassus, the grandfather of Marcus, the wealthy Roman, that he never laughed but once in all his life, and that was at an ass eating thistles, is something strange. For, if an indifferent and unridiculous object could draw his habitual austereness into a smile, it will be hard to believe he could with perpetuity resist the proper motion thereof.”^[256. Pseudõdoxia Epidemica. ] Equus quagga. The Quagga. This animal measures about four feet in height at the withers. The head and neck are deep blackish-brown, striped with greyish-white lines, transverse upon the cheeks, but longitudinal on the temples and forehead, and forming triangles between the mouth and eyes; the other parts are of a clearer brown, paler beneath, and almost white upon the belly. The mane is blackish, and resembles that of a horse which has been dressed. A black line runs along the spine to the tail. The quagga inhabits the karoos or flats of southern Africa, and frequently pastures in company with the zebra, of which it was for a long time regarded as the female. The existence of two so nearly allied species within the same geographical boundaries, and subject to constant association, without any third or intermediate variety having sprung up, may be regarded as a proof that animals of distinct kinds, in a state of freedom, have no sexual intercourse with each other; while the entire similarity, or rather identity of climatic influences, under which these two species co-exist, also demonstrates that neither is derived from the other, but that [7:14:154]each has descended from a separate type, and forms a primitive species. The quagga is of a much more docile and pliant disposition than the zebra, and is consequently more easily rendered subservient to domestic uses. A curricle drawn by a pair of these animals has been often seen during the gay season in Hyde Park. The late Lord Morton succeeded in raising mules between the quagga and mare, and, in the course of his experiments, a rather singular circumstance occurred. The mare which had produced the hybrid or mule, gave birth several seasons afterwards to a foal which exhibited decidedly the markings of the quagga coat, although the mother had not, in the mean time, associated except with her natural mate, the horse. Indeed her former friend, the quagga, had been dead for more than a year.

Equus zebra, Linn. E. montanus, Burchell. The Zebra, or mountain zebra. This species resembles the mule in shape. Its head is rather large, its ears long, it limbs elegantly small, its body well formed, round, and fleshy. But its most remarkable character consists in the extraordinary regularity of its stripes, or markings of alternate colours, which seem rather an effect of art than the genuine production of nature. The head is striped with delicate bands of black and white, which form a centre in the forehead; the neck is adorned with stripes of the same colour running round it; the body is beautifully variegated with bands running across the back, and ending in points at the belly; and its thighs, legs, ears, and tail, arc all beautifully streaked in the same manner.^[257. Bewick’s Quadrupeds. ] The sexes nearly resemble each other. In the young the dark coloured bands of black or brown are paler. The female carries for twelve months. She has been known to breed in confinement with both the horse and ass. Μ. F. Cuvier has figured and described a mule produced between a female zebra and a Spanish ass. See Plate CCCXXXIX., fig. 2. It sucked for a year, was at first of a peaceable nature, but as it increased in size it lost its resemblance to its mother, and also became very stubborn and mischievous.^[258. azn . Lithog., 15th livrais. ] Its coat, when we last heard of it, was of a deep grey, varied on the withers, legs, and tail, by transverse bands. It never neighs, loves to roll itself on the moist ground, attacks all and sundry both with hoofs and teeth, and is indeed a most unamiable creature. The inhabitants of the Cape have never succeeded in their attempts to reduce the zebra to subjection, although Sparmann records an instance of a rich citizen who, to a certain extent, had managed to subdue them. On attempting, however, on one occasion to yoke them to his chariot, he nearly forfeited his life, for, without warning, they rushed back to their stalls, with every symptom of fury and indignation. Buffon was misinformed when he reported a statement (corrected in one of his supplementary volumes), that zebras were used in Holland. Mr Barrow, however, seems to think, that if judicious means were perseveringly made use of, these gay and fantastic creatures might still be reduced to an available servitude, notwithstanding their naturally wild and vicious disposition; and Μ. F. Cuvier mentions an instance of a zebra which was so tame as to suffer itself to be handled and mounted without difficulty. This species was known to the ancients under the name of hippotiger, a term by which it is well designated, as possessing the form of a horse, with the striped hide of the great feline destroyer.^[259. Dion. Cassius, lib. 75, cap. 14. ] Equus Eurehellii, Gray. Equus zebra, Burchell. The Zebra of the plains. Although our knowledge of this beautiful animal is originally due to Mr Burchell, who was the first to perceive that South Africa produced two species (besides the quagga), we seem to owe the more precise settlement of its distinctive characters to Mr W. E. Gray. It appears, in fact, that the traveller above named, after ascertaining that there really were two different kinds of this animal, fell into the error of describing the one previously known as the new species, while he overlooked, or did not sufficiently illustrate, the specific distinctions of the zebra of the plains, regarding it as the kind already well known, although it had, in reality, hitherto escaped the notice of naturalists. “The hoofs of animals,” Mr Burchell observes, “destined by nature to inhabit rocky mountains, are, as far as I have observed, of a form very different from those intended for sandy plains; and this form is in itself sufficient to point out the dauw^[260. The Dauw or wild Paarde of the Hottentots {Equus Zebra, Linn.) erroneously regarded by Mr Burchell as the newly discovered species. ] as a separate species. The stripes of the skin will answer that purpose equally well, and shew, at the same time, the great affinity and specific distinction of the ass, which may be characterized by a single stripe across the shoulders. The quagga has many similar marks on the hind and fore part of the body; the zebra is covered with stripes over the head and whole of the body, but the legs are white; and the wild paarde is striped over every part, even down to the feet. The zebra and wild paarde may be further distinguished from each other, by the stripes of the former being double; that is, having a paler stripe within it, while the latter, which maybe termed Equus montanus, is most regularly and beautifully covered with single black and white stripes: added to this, the former is never to be found on the mountains, nor the latter on the plains.”^[261. Travels in Africa. ] It is evident from the preceding descriptions (especially from the line which we have marked in Italics, and which applies exclusively to the old species), and from the comparison instituted by Mr Burchell himself, that although he is entitled to the merit of discovering that there were two distinct kinds, he has applied his new name to the old species, and confounded the new species under an old name. It therefore became imperative that his designations should be changed, because the well known zebra is, in fact, the mountain horse, and Mr Burchell’s new species is the zebra of the plains. Hence the propriety of the emendations suggested by Mr Gray, who retains the name of zebra, as applying specifically to the animal so called by Linnaeus and Buffon; and applies the epithet Eurehellii to the other species, in deserved honour of the enterprising and intelligent traveller by whom it was discovered.^[262. See a paper entitled “a Revision of the Equidae,” in Zoological Journal, vol. i. p. 241. ] The student will not fail to perceive that the term montanus, though retained by Baron Cuvier^[263. Règne Animal, t. i. p. 253. ] to distinguish the new species, is inapplicable to an animal which its first describer informs us “is never to be found on the mountains,” and which was, in truth, originally applied by inadvertence to another species. We here exhibit a portraiture of the young of Burchell’s zebra. See Plate CCCXXXIX. fig. 1.

Order VII.—PECORA; RUMINATING ANIMALS.

This order is deemed by Baron Cuvier to be the most natural and best determined of the class of quadrupeds, as all the species seem constructed on the same model, although the camels present some slight exceptions to the prevailing characters. At all events, it includes species of the highest and most essential value to the human race. The characters of the order are somewhat negative. There are seldom any incisive teeth in the upper jaw, and those of the lower are usually eight in number. Between the incisive[7:14:155] teeth and the molars there is an empty space, in which, in certain genera, are implanted the canines. The molars, almost always six on each side of both jaws, have their crowns marked by two double crosses, of which the convexity is turned inwards in the upper, and outwards in the lower teeth. The four limbs are terminated by two toes (hence the title of Bisulca, bestowed by liliger), each covered by a hoof, and behind these hoofs there are sometimes two small spur-like projections,—the vestiges of lateral toes. The tw0 bones of the metacarpus and metatarsus are united into one, commonly named the canon bone; but in certain species the vestiges of lateral bones are observable.

The most singular functional character in the natural economy of the tribes of our present order, consists of that ruminating faculty from which they derive their most familiar appellation. They possess the power of re-chewing their aliments, by bringing back the food for a second time into the mouth after it has been swallowed; and this power results from the peculiar structure of the stomach, which is in a measure quadruple,—the first three being so disposed in relation to the oesophagus, as to admit of either of them receiving the food. The first and largest is the paunch, which receives the mass of vegetable matter grossly bruised by a first and hasty mastication. It then proceeds into the second called the bonnet, the sides of which have laminae resembling the combs of the honey-bee. This stomach is small and globular; it soaks the herbage, and compresses it into little pellets, which successively remount to the mouth, to undergo a second mastication. During this process the creature remains quiescent, “bedward ruminating,” until all the food previously taken into the paunch has been subjected to it. When thus re-chewed, the aliments descend directly into the third stomach, and from thence into the fourth, the sides of which are plaited or wrinkled. This last is the true organ of digestion, and is analogous to the simple stomach of ordinary animals. As long as the young remain in the condition of sucklings, and are supported only upon milk, the fourth stomach is the largest of the whole, but, as soon as the herbivorous habit commences, and large supplies of bulky food become indispensable, the paunch acquires an enormous development. The intestinal canal is very long in all ruminants, but the larger intestines are but slightly pursed. The coecum is likewise long and smooth. The fat of these animals hardens more in cooling than that of others, and even becomes brittle. The mammae are placed between the hinder limbs.

With the exception of the horse and dog, all the most truly valuable species which have yet been subjected to the dominion of man, belong to the ruminating order; for example, sheep, rein-deer, camels, and “the cattle on a thousand hills.” These either directly yield us the most important articles of human diet, or afford us the kindly protection of their woolly covering, or provide us with many indispensable articles from their strong tenacious hides; to say nothing of their uses as beasts of burden. They are al] provided with antlers or horns, at least in the males,—with the exception of the two genera which contain the camels and musk deer, both of which are hornless. It may be as well to devote a few paragraphs in this place to a brief consideration of the nature of these important parts.

The organs of defence and attack with which the heads of ruminating herbivorous animals are furnished, are called, according to their structure and composition, either antlers or horns. With the former the stag, roe-buck, rein-deer, elk, are armed; antelopes, goats, sheep, bulls, are provided with the latter. Although both these kinds of defensive organs follow the same mode of formation, in so far as they are prolongations of the frontal bone, and have their materials supplied by bloodvessels, yet there exists between them a considerable distinction in relation to the different distribution of these vessels,—a distinction which occasions the periodical fall of antlers, and the permanence of horns. The bloodvessels of horns are internal, those of antlers external; the former are covered by a corneous substance, and increase from their bases, the latter are, for a time, invested by a prolongation of the skin, and, in growing, ap pear to sprout from their superior extremities.

Antlers, in their perfect state, according to Cuvier, are true bones, both in their texture and elements. Their external part is hard, compact, and fibrous; their internal spongy but solid. They have no large cells, no medullary cavity, and no sinuses. The bases of antlers adhere to, and form one body with the os frontis, in such a manner that at certain ages it is impossible, from their internal texture, to determine the limits between them; but the skin which covers the forehead does not extend further,—an irregularly toothed bony substance called the burr surrounding the base, w∙hile on the antlers themselves are only to be seen furrows more or less deep,—the vestiges of vessels formerly distributed along their surfaces when in a softer state. These hard and naked organs remain only for one year, the period of their fall varying according to the species; but, when that period approaches, there appears, on sawing them longitudinally, a reddish mark of separation between their bases and the eminence of the frontal bone, by which they are supported. This mark becomes more and more apparent till the osseous particles of that portion at last lose their cohesion. At this period a very slight shock frequently makes the antlers drop oft’,—two or three days commonly intervening between the fall of the one, and that of the other.

The eminence of the frontal bone, after this period, resembles a bone broken or sawed transversely, and its spongy texture is laid open. The skin of the forehead soon covers it, and, ere s long, the new horns make their appearance in the form of tubercles, which continue covered by an extension of the skin, until they acquire their perfect shape and size. During the whole of this time the tubercles are soft and cartilaginous, and under the skin is a true periosteum, in which vessels, sometimes as thick as the little finger, are distributed, and penetrate the mass of cartilage in every direction. This cartilage ossifies gradually as other bones, and finishes by becoming a perfect bone. The burr at the base of the horn now penetrates the indentations through which the vessels pass, and, by its further development, first confines, and finally obstructs their flow.^[264. See Cuvier’s Comparative Anatomy, Leet, it p. 115. ] The skin and periosteum being thus deprived of nourishment wither and fall away, and the antlers, now hard, and sharp, and bare, exist for a time in their most “palmy state,” ere long, however, to shed their glory either amid the forest’s gloom, or on the heathy side of sun-lit mountains. For several years successively, at each renewal, they increase in size and majesty.

It is usually in the months of March and April, when a great increase of vigour and activity is observable in these animals, that the renewal of the antlers takes place, and three weeks, or a month, are said to be sufficient for their total growth. Antlers are the characteristic marks of the male sex, the female of the rein-deer, however, forming an exception to the general rule; for, in that species, the heads of both sexes are armed.

Buffon considered the grow th of antlers as a species of animal vegetation, and referred the phenomena of their production, and those attending the budding and expansion of plants, to one and the same law. This view of the matter[7:14:156], so much more fanciful than correct, was no doubt founded upon a limited knowledge of facts. The antlers of the stag certainly begin to shoot in the spring season, when an abundant nourishment (and, according to Buffon, so much the more reparatory in its nature, as being composed of buds containing the most active elements of vegetation 1) begins to renovate the strength which the rutting season of the preceding autumn had exhausted; but, that no connection exists between the two classes of phenomena alluded to, is evident from this, that, in species of the same climate, browsing on the same kinds of herbage, the periods of the frontal accession may differ from four to five months. Besides, if the production of antlers depended on the ligneous quality of their nourishment, there would be no assignable reason for the unarmed condition of the females, none of which are provided with antlers, with the exception of that of the rein-deer,—the very species, by the bye, which is the least nourished by ligneous food. Neither can the casting of the antlers be attributed in any way, as some have imagined, to the influence of cold on the circulating system; for those of the roe arc reproduced in the middle of winter, while the moulting of the stag is actually retarded by the continuance of cold. On the other hand, certain species of the South American continent lose their antlers about the period of the summer solstice. These, according to the relation of Azara, are not subject to annual loss and renewal, for he observed on the same day, three males, two of which had the antlers old and complete, while those of the other were only half grown. He adds, that not more than one-third of the males renew their antlers in each year A more philosophical and better established relation has been demonstrated to exist between the growth and decay of the antlers, and the active or passive state of the generative system. The period of love in this tribe of quadrupeds so well known under the name of rutting season, produces a series of remarkable changes in their physical state. The reflux of the animal fluids in a direction contrary to that of the antlers, has so obvious an influence on their fall, that, in climates where the rutting season does not attain to so violent a crisis, the antlers are borne for more than a year, and castration is said to render them permanent, by extinguishing the cause of this counter flow.^[265. See the article Cerf in the Diction. Classique d'∏ist. Nat., t. iii. p. 371; consult also the words Lois and Cornes of the same work. ] We shall now notice the horns properly so called, which are formed upon processes of bone, and which grow at their root or base, and chemically considered, bear a great resemblance to the hair, nails, and other external parts of animals. In the third month of conception, while the foetus of the cow is still enclosed in the membrane, the cartilaginous os frontis presents no vestige of the horns. Towards the seventh month, however, įt becomes in part ossified, and exhibits on either side a small tubercle, apparently produced by the elevation of the osseous laminae. These bony tumours soon after appear externally. They raise the skin, which becomes callous at that part, in proportion as the tumour grows. It becomes at last horny as it elongates, and forms a kind of sheath, which covers externally the process of the frontal bone. Within this sheath there are numerous branches of blood-vessels, which serve to nourish the osseous portion. The horns, therefore, are only solid, hard, elastic, and insensible sheaths, which protect the osseous prolongation of the frontal bone. These sheaths are generally of a conical figure, and broadest at the base, the extremity from which they grow. They also present different channels or transverse furrows, which depend on the age of the animal, and denote the number of years it has lived in a very certain manner according to the species.The texture of the horns appears to be much the same in the goat, sheep, antelope, and ox. They consist of fibres of a substance analogous to hair, which appear agglutinated in a very solid manner. In the first two genera these fibres are short, and covered by superincumbent layers like tiles. In the last two they are longer, more compact, and form elongated horns incased in each other.

The horns of the Rhinoceros already briefly alluded to, seem to differ somewhat from those of ruminating animals. They have no bony part, and are not situated on the os frontis, but on the lines of the nose. They are formed, however, of the same substance, and we even observe more distinctly in the horns of this animal the fibres analogous to hair. The base of the horn, indeed, presents externally an infinite number of rigid hairs, which seem to separate from the mass, and render that part rough to the touch. When sawed transversely, and examined with a glass, we perceive a multitude of pores that seem to indicate the intervals resulting from the union of the agglutinated hairs. When divided lengthways, numerous longitudinal and parallel furrows also demonstrate the same structure. This kind of horn is attached to the skin only. Those of the two-horned rhinoceros appear always in some degree movable. When fixed, as in the one-horned species, there is a thick mucus interposed between its base and the bone on which it rests.^[266. Comp. dnat. Leet. xiv. p. C23. ]

In the Giraffe or Cameleopard the horns are short and cylindrical, and even in their completed state, are covered with hair, except at the points, which are more bare and callous. Their bases are dilated by very large cells, which are continuous with the frontal sinuses. These horns differ from those of the bull, antelope, &c. in this, that they are not continuations of the frontal bone, but are separated from it and the parietal, by a membranous space; at least such is the structure observable in the young giraffe which was transported to Paris by Delalande. These horns are permanent, and in relation to several of their anatomical and physiological characters, may be regarded as intermediate between the antlers of stags, and the horns properly so called, of the other tribes.

We may observe, in conclusion, that ruminating animals occur in almost all parts of Europe, Asia, Africa, and America. None are native to New Holland.

2 1 1

Genus Camelus, Linn. Incisives -, canines y-—p false 1 —— 1 5 ——« 5

molars , molars - -; = 36. The upper lateral in-

1 — l 5 — 5 1 cisors assume the form of canine teeth, and the canines themselves are straight and strong. The head is lengthened, the upper lip cloven, the nostrils consist of two clefts capable of being opened and closed. The eyes are projecting; the ears rather small. The neck and limbs extremely long. The feet are not cloven, but are furnished beneath with a very broad horny sole, and the two toes are each terminated by a small short somewhat curved nail. There are one or more fatty humps along the dorsal region. The mammae are four in number.

Of this remarkable genus there are two species, or at least two well marked races, usually regarded as distinct. The Bactrian species, or Camel properly so called (C. Bactrianus, Linn.), is distinguished by its pair of humps, one above the shoulders, and another near the rump. It is an animal of Asiatic origin, and is said still to occur in the wild state in the desert of Shamo, on the frontiers of the Celestial Empire. It is used as a beast of burden in Türkistan and Thibet, and even as far north as the shores of Lake Baikal. It is consequently capable of being acclimated without much difficulty in any temperate region, and was introduced into Tuscany by the Grand Duke Leopold, where it still breeds in the maremmas of the Pisan district [7:14:157]Though useful as a beast of burden, it is not there employed at all extensively for the general purposes of rural labour, being chiefly occupied in carrying stores of firewood to the city. This animal is more restricted in a southern direction than the single humped species.

The other species of camel usually called the dromedary (C. dromedarius, Linn.), has only a single hump upon its back (see Plate CCCXXXIX, fig. 3J. It is now the better known and more abundant of the two, and has spread from Arabia into Syria, Persia, and all over the northern parts of Africa. The name of dromedary (from the Greek ^β i uευς), was originally applied to a swift running variety, but has in the course of time been applied to the species itself. Colonel Hamilton Smith informs us that it is the dromedary that is used in India to precede the nabobs on state occasions, and that a corps of these animals was formerly maintained by the Honourable Company, each being mounted by two men, and armed with musketoons or swivels. At particular seasons they are very savage. If we may judge from the ample covering of woolly hair by which, except towards the termination of the rutting season, both the species are clothed, we should infer that each was originally derived from a comparatively temperate clime. The southern base of the Caucasus has been by some assigned to the dromedary or Arabian species; while the arid plains beneath the northern confines of the Paropamisaden range, with the wilderness of Gasnak and Chorasmia, east of the Caspian Sea, are regarded as the native abodes of the two humped or Bactrian camel. This, it is said, may be inferred from scattered hints in the Zend, the poems of Schah Ferdusi, and from the Arabian Epic, the Romance of Antar.^[267. Griffith’s Animal Kingdom, vol. iv. p. 48. See al-ο Μ. Desmoulins’ Mémoire sur la Patrie du Chameau, &c. in Mem. du Mus. t. ix. ] l The articles used in manufactures, and known by the names of mohair and camlets, are the produce of the fur of these animals.

Ancient authors do not seem to allude to the camel as an inhabitant of Africa. It is mentioned however in Genesis (chap. xii. V. 16) as among the gifts bestowed by Pharaoh on Abram, and it must therefore have been well known on the banks of the mysterious Nile, at a period prior to that of the most ancient of the Greek or Roman writers. It has indeed been remarked as a singular circumstance, that the Romans who waged such frequent wars mi Africa, should not have thought of mentioning these animals, till Procopius noticed camel-riding Moors in arms against Solomon, the Lieutenant of Belisarius.

Genus Auchenia, Illig. Incisives -∣, canines θ ~ θ, 1 _ 1 5 5

false molars - -, molars - =32. Feet more do ∙

0 — 0 o— 5

ven than in the camels, but supported behind by a small callous sole. No fatty humps upon the back. Mammae two.

The species of this genus are peculiar to South America, where they may be said to represent the camels of the Old World. Various species have been described by Molina^[268. Storia Naturale del Chili. For the various species, real or supposed, see also the Synopsis of Mammalia (in Griffith’s Animal Kingdom, vol. v.), and the article Chameau in Diction. Classique d’Hist. Nat. t. iii. p. 447. ] and other writers, but naturalists seem to have failed in establishing the distinctive characters of more than two, the lama or guanaco (Camelus Racma, Linn.), and the Vigogna (Camelus vicugna, Linn.). Of these the former is as large as a stag. It is covered with long coarse chestnut coloured hair, of varying hue, in the domestic state. It lives in troops upon the cold and lofty ranges of the Andes, and was the only native beast of burden in Peru at the time of the discovery of that country by Europeans. The animal known as the Alpaca (sec Plate CCCXXXIX, fig. 4 and 5) is now regarded as a woolly-haired variety of the lama. The vigogna is of smaller size, and is characterized by a woolly fawn-coloured coat, of a texture so admirably soft and fine as to be highly prized for the fabrication of various stuffs. This species inhabits a vast extent of the Andes in the neighbourhood of the region of perpetual snow. When transported to the lower plains of Chili and Peru it becomes unhealthy, and does not long survive. It is of a more savage nature than the preceding species, and has not yet been effectively reduced to a domestic state. It is alleged never to drink. The vigogna is of a very fearful disposition, and is easily deterred from its accustomed paths of safety by a stretched cord, from which pieces of coloured rags are here and there suspended. In this state of uncertainty and terror it is not only easily shot, but will even allow itself to be approached and seized by the hind legs. Eighty thousand are said to be killed every season in the higher countries of Chili and Peru. As it is for the wool alone that they are massacred, it would probably be more politic rather to sheer than slay them.

Genus Moschus, Linn. (Male) incisives-,canines v ' 8 0—0

1 θ — G 1 ∕ τ . 1 X . . . o . 0— o molars -; = 34. (l· emale) incisives —, canines ,

0 — 6 v ' 8 0—0

molars -; = 32. The canine teeth in the upper jaw of the males of this genus are long, vertical, compressed, and slightly curved backwards. They protrude considerably from the mouth (see Plate CCCXXXIX, fig. 6). The feet are hoofed and cloven, like those of the ordinary ruminants. The mammae are two or four in number.

The musk deer seem confined to the temperate and southern parts of Asia, and the great eastern islands. They are remarkable for their elegant and graceful forms. Although the substance called musk has been known throughout Central Asia from time immemorial, it does not appear that the species which produced it was described by the ancients, or in any way identified till the days of Abuzeid Serassi, an Arabian author, who mentions it as a deer without horns. A knowledge of it seems to have been first introduced into Western Europe by Serapion, a writer of the eighth century. The musk deer, properly so called (Moschus moschiferus, Linn.) is nearly as large as a roebuck, and occurs over a vast extent of Central Asia, from Thibet to the vicinity of Lake Baikal. It is also frequent in many parts of India, and the mountainous provinces of the Chinese empire. The prized perfume is obtained from a small bag-placed in the lower region of the abdomen of the males. There are various modes of capturing the musk deer or che-kiang, as it is called in the East. It is frequently shot. The sportsman, however, must climb among the mountain fastnesses like a chamois hunter, and ascend towards the most inaccessible places. It is also taken by nets and gins, or by encumbering the sides of some deep and lonesome defile by a kind of palisade of thick and prickly bushes. Several other species of this genus have been described by naturalists, such as the napu or Java musk (Μ.javanicus, Raffles,^[269. ’ Linn. Trans, vol. xiii. ] see Plate CCCXXXIX, fig. 7), and the beautiful Chevotrain (Μ. pygmoeus), one of the smallest of the ruminating order. The body of the latter does not measure more than eight inches long. The minima is a Ceylonese species first described by Knox.^[270. In his Historical Deletion of Ceylon. ]

In all the ensuing genera of the ruminating tribes, the head (at least of the males) is furnished with antlers or horns.

Genus Cervus, Linn. Teeth of the same amount as in the preceding genus; the canines of the males, however, being shorter. Branched antlers, solid and deciduous, and of greater or less extent, according to age, and the constitution of each particular kind. Mammae four.

This genus contains those magnificent and diversified species commonly called Deer. These animals are, with [7:14:158]few exceptions, characterized by extremely graceful forms, by light but strong proportions, and by the energy and activity of their general movements. As constituting the noblest objects of the chase, as well as affording the choicest subjects for the larder, they have long been regarded with great interest by the human race. The genus is distributed over all the greater divisions of the earth, with the exception of New Holland, and its numerous species have been formed in modern times into many minor groups, an exposition of the detailed complexities of which would be incompatible with the compendious nature of the present treatise.^[271. For an ample account and classification of the antlered ruminants, see Griffith’s Animal Kingdom, vols. iv. and v. ]

Two species (the rein-deer and the elk) seem common to the northern parts of Europe and America; five or six are peculiar to North America; about an equal number occur in the New World, south of the equator; and a much greater variety inhabit India, China, and the great islands of the south-east of Asia. The generality of deer vary in colour according to age and season, and are subject to those constitutional changes which physiologists distinguish by the names of albinism and melanism, — the former applied to the white, the latter to the black varieties of colour. Μ. Desmoulins has remarked the singular circumstance, that the white varieties occur more frequently in equatorial regions than· in the colder countries of the north; a proof, perhaps, that the intensity of light and heat are but secondary causes in the production of animal colours. We shall proceed to a brief notice of a few of the more remarkable species.

The elk (Cervus alces, Linn., see Plate CCCXXXIX, fig. 9), called moose-deer in America, is the most gigantic of the genus, and is easily recognised by the great height of its limbs, the shortness of its neck, its lengthened head, projecting muzzle, and short upright mane. Its general aspect seems rather disproportioned and ungraceful. When full grown it measures about six feet in height. The fur is long, thick, extremely coarse, of a hoary brown colour, but varying considerably in hue with age and season. The antlers are of great breadth and solidity, plain along their inner or backward margins, but armed externally with numerous sharp pointed snags or shoots, which sometimes amount to nearly thirty in number.^[272. The antlers as represented by the figure last referred to are immature. ] A single antler has been known to weigh about sixty pounds. Although the muzzle of the elk is long and flexible, yet, owing to the shortness of its neck, it gathers its food with difficulty, or at least in a constrained and awkward posture, from the surface of the ground. Hence its propensity to browse upon the tender twigs and leaves of various shrubs and trees; a mode of feeding frequently exhibited by the individual in the gardens of the Paris Museum. In the northern parts of America elks live in small troops, and are fond of swampy places. The old ones lose their horns in January and February, the young in April and May. They were formerly found as far south as the Ohio, but at present they occur only in the more northern portions of the United States, and beyond the great lakes. Although they form small herds in Canada, they are very solitary in all the more northern districts, where two are seldom seen together except during the rutting season, or when the female is accompanied by her fawns. Sir John Franklin met with several during his last expedition feeding on willows at the mouth of the Mackenzie River, in lat. 69° ∙

This great species is one of the shyest and most wary of the deer tribe. It is an inoffensive animal, unless when irritated by a wound, or under the influence of the rutting season. When provoked, by whatever cause, its prodigious strength renders it almost irresistible, and it will kill the largest dog or the fiercest wolf in a moment by a single blow of its fore foot. It is much sought after by the American Indians on account of its flesh, which, though coarse grained, and tougher than most other kinds of venison, has a palatable flavour, somewhat resembling that of beef. The nose and tongue are particularly esteemed. The hide is of value in the making of canoes, and of several articles of dress. A fine male elk will weigh twelve hundred pounds. This animal occurs (as far as yet known, specifically the same) in several of the northern countries of Europe, especially Scandinavia, between 53° and 63°. It is also found in Asia, where it is said to advance (in Tartary) as far south as the 4ő°. The ancient history of the elk consists of but little else than a series of absurd fables. Neither the Greek nor Roman writers knew any thing of its actual existence in any of those territories which .they overran, although the former received exaggerated accounts from the Scythians, the latter from the Germans, of its extraordinary aspect and character. It was said to have no joints to its legs, to have antlers growing from its eye-lids, to be incapable of browsing except when walking backwards, while its origin was traced to a productive union between the stag and camel.

Another noted species, likewise extensively distributed over the northern parts of both the Old and New World, is the rein-deer (Cervus tarandu t s, Linn., Plate CCCXXXIX, fig. 8). It has long been domesticated in the Scandinavian peninsula, and is an animal of indispensable importance to the forlorn families of the Lapland race. We are less acquainted with the domestic manners of the American variety, which indeed has never been rendered subservient to man. There appears to be two distinct or well marked races of the reindeer in the fur countries of the New World. One of these is confined to the woody and more southern districts, while the other retires to the woods only during the winter season, and passes the bright but fleeting summer either in what is called the barren grounds, or along the shores of the Arctic Ocean. Those of the barren grounds are small of stature, and so light that a hunter can carry a full grown doe across his shoulders. Dr Richardson is of opinion that when in prime condition the flavour of its flesh is superior to that of the finest English mutton. He was probably hungrier in America than he has ever been at home. The other variety is much larger, and is usually called theVood-land caribou. It is, however, much inferior as an article of diet. One of the most remarkable peculiarities of this animal is that it travels southwards in the spring, crossing the Nelson and the Severn Rivers in vast herds during the month of May, with a view to spend the summer on the low marshy shores of James’s Bay, and returning inland, in a northerly direction, in September. The provision called pemmican, so essential to the subsistence of our Arctic travellers, is formed by pouring one-third part of melted fat over the flesh of the rein-deer, after it is dried and pounded. We may add, that of all the cervine animals of America, this species is the most easily approached, and immense numbers are annually slain by the Indian hunters. Indeed, the very existence of several of the native northern tribes may be said to be linked to that of the animal in question.

The European rein-deer, in its domestic state, is of infinite advantage to the Laplanders, serving at once as a substitute for the horse, die cow, the sheep, and the goat. Several attempts have been made to introduce it into Britain, but without any permanent success. It would probably succeed better among the rocky hills of the Hebrides than in the more luxuriant pastures of the south. Those introduced by Sir H. G. Liddell, in 1786, although some of them produced young, and gave promise of a healthy [7:14:159]life, died of a complaint similar to the rot in sheep. This was attributed to the richness of the grass on which they fed. A buck rein-deer lived nearly three years not far from Hackney. He was kept in a close of about an acre, the grass of which was rich, and he fed constantly on it throughout the year, though much fonder of a small supply of lichen which was sent over from Norway, and which, extremely abundant on almost all the rocky grounds of Scandinavia, constitutes his natural food. He would fondly follow any one who held even a sĥred of it in his hand. When put into a garden where there existed a considerable variety both of flowering shrubs and forest-trees, the individual in question was observed to browse upon them all except the elder. He drank a great quantity of water. This animal cast his antlers in winter for two successive seasons, and renewed them in the spring. During one of these years they continued in the state of stumps till the 30th of January, when they began to shoot; on the 24th of February they were five or six inches high, and covered by a deep pile of velvet hair. It may possibly be unsafe to reason generally from one individual in a state of confinement; but this account does certainly not agree with that of Leems, who, in his ninth chapter, states that the rein-deer loses his horns in spring. Both Hoffberg and Buffon indeed assert the contrary, yet, as Leems lived ten years in Lapland, his opportunities of personal observation must have exceeded those of all other naturalists; and we may add, that his account is more consistent with the fact mentioned by so many travellers, that the rein-deer makes use of its brow antlers to remove the snow from the ground in winter; a circumstance also recorded by several of those very compilers who at the same time, with characteristic inconsistency, deny the animal its antlers during that inclement season. Leems, however, expressly says that the rein-deer procures the lichen by means of its feet. He adds, that it also kills a great quantity of mice, of which it devours the heads with great avidity,—a most singular propensity in a ruminating animal.^[273. See Leems’s Account of Finmark and Lapland, and Barrington’s Miscellanies. ]

Contrary to the usual rule, the female rein-deer is provided with horns, as well as the male,—a fact mentioned by Julius Caesar, who records the species as an inhabitant of the Hercynian forest, that “boundless contiguity of shade” which is supposed to have extended as far as the Uralian Mountains. In truth, a vast quantity of rein-deer horns are still found in the sandy banks of the Olenia, a stream which flows into the Wolga, about forty wersts below Sarepta. Pallas observes that the steppes to the east of the Wolga were of old clothed with forests; and herds of wild rein-deer are still found among the pine woods which stretch from the banks of the Oufa, under the fiftyfifth degree, to those of the Kama. ’They proceed even farther south, along the woody summits of that prolongation of the Uralian Mountains which stretches between the Don and the Wolga, as far as the forty-sixth degree. The species thus advances almost to the base of the Caucasian Mountains, along the banks of the Kouma, where scarcely a winter passes without a few being shot by the Kalmucks, under a latitude two degrees to the south of Astracan. This remarkable inequality of the polar distances in the geographical positions of this species, according to the difference of meridian, is of course dependent on the laws which regulate the distribution of heat over the earth’s surface, as explained by Humboldt.^[274. In the Mémoires d’Arcueil, t. iii. ] It is well known that physical climates do not lie, as it were, in bands parallel to the equator, but that the isothermal lines recede from the pole in the interior of continents, and advance towards it as we approach the shores. It follows that the farther any northern animal is naturally removed from the ameliorating climatic influence of the ocean, the more extended may be its range in a southerly direction.^[275. Although we have already assigned a greater space to our notice of the rein-deer than our limits can well afford, we yet cannot refrain from here alluding to a curious point in what may be called the literary history of the species, which, till it was cleared up by the sagacity of Baron Cuvier, had greatly perplexed the naturalist. It was an opinion very generally received, that the reindeer had existed in France, at least in the Pyrenees, as late as the fourteenth century; which opinion brought along with, it several others regarding the changes of temperature which had taken place in Europe, and the origin of many fossil bones. It was first broached by Buffon, however contrary it may seem to his own system, which maintains the gradually increasing coldness of our globe. “Quinze siede,” says Buffon (xii. 83), “après Jules-Cesar, Gaston Phoebus semble parler du renne sous le nom de rangier, comme d’un animal qui auroit existé de son temps dans nos forets de France,” &c. This Gaston Phaebus was Gaston III. Count of Foix and Lord of Bearn, born in the year 1331, and author of a book entitled, Le Miroir de Phebus des déduits de la Chasse, in which the rein-deer is described with tolerable accuracy. As Gaston de Foix’s territories lay at the foot of the Pyrenees, it was hence inferred that he had there seen the animal in question; and on this erroneous supposition the Count de Mellin, Šchreber, and others, have proceeded in their history of the species. It first occurred to Cuvier to compare the different early editions of the work, to see if any thing could be thereby elicited; but the most beautiful, that of Antoine Verard, led him farther from the truth than ever. He there found the following passage: J'en ai veu en Morienne et Pueudeve oultre mer, mais en Romain pays en ay je plus υeu. Of course, the existence of the rein-deer in Mauritania would have been still more extraordinary than at Béarn. He next had recourse to a search among the manuscripts of the royal library, where he fortunately found the original of the work in question, as presented by Gaston himself to Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy '; and on referring to the particular passage, he found all obscurity at once removed. It is there clearly written: “J’en ai veu en Nourυegue et Xuedene et en ha oultre mer, mes en Romain pays en ay je peu vus.*’ Now, Norway and Sweden were the very countries of which the rein-deer had been described as an inhabitant by Albertus Magnus, about a century before the time of Gaston, and where, we need scarcely say, they still exist in great abundance. The interest which this inquiry excited induced an examination of Froissart and other ancient chroniclers, from whom it appeared that Gaston de Foix, as was usual for the cavaliers of the fourteenth century, had at an early age joined a crusade in favour of the distressed Teutonic knights against the Paynims of Lithuania; that he was passionately fond of hunting, usually entertained 1600 dogs, and at last died of fatigue in consequence of his exertions in pursuing a bear. Hence Cuvier naturally inferred, that after his journey into Prussia, he had been induced, by curiosity or the love of sport, to cross the Baltic Sea and traverse Scandinavia, where the numerous troops of reindeer could not have failed to attract the notice of “a mighty hunter.” There is therefore no reason whatever for supposing that this species ever inhabited the mountains of the Pyrenees, or any of the southern countries of Europe. See Cuvier’s Note sur la prétendue existence du Renne en France dans le moyen age, read to the Institute, and published in the Ossemens Fossiles, t. vi. p. 119 (of the 4th edition, 1835). ]

We can here scarcely do more than name the wapiti or Canadian stag (Cerυus canadensis, Gmelin, C. strongylo-ceros, Schreber), described under the name of red-deer by Mr Warden. It is not, however, specifically the same as the animal so called in Britain, being about a fourth larger, and farther distinguished by the extreme shortness of its tail. According to Hearne, it is the most stupid of all the deer tribe.

The fallow-deer (Cervus dama, Linn.) of our enclosed parks, is now scarcely known except in the domestic state. Some incline to regard it as originally an African species, in consequence of an individual having been shot some years ago, apparently wild, in a wood to the south of Tunis. It is easily distinguished from our native red-deer, by its smaller size, its longer tail, and the palmation or breadth of its antlers, a character which induced its ancient name of platyceros. It is very common in the southern countries of Europe, but rare in Sweden and other northern regions. According to Linnaeus it does not occur in the latter country except in the parks of the king and the nobility[7:14:160], although it sometimes escapes by chance into the forests. It is said to be now frequent in the forests of Lithuania, from whence, according to Raczinsky, the parks of the Polish nobles were in use to be supplied. But it is not included by Pallas in his Catalogue of Russian Animals.^[276. See the Ossemens Fossiles, t. iv. p. 29. ] In Livonia it requires to be sheltered during the winter season. It abounds in Sardinia, and in several of the Greek and other islands of the Mediterranean. The evidence of its existence in the higher countries of Asia, and onwards through the Chinese dominions, is too obscure to be depended on as truly applicable to this particular species. If not indigenous to France and Spain, the period of its introduction to these countries must have been remote. Two permanent varieties seem to exist in Britain, viz. a spotted kind supposed by Pennant to have been transmitted from Bengal, and a kind of a dark brown colour alleged to have been introduced by James I. from Norway into Scotland, and thence transported to the chaces of Enfield and Epping. It is possible that the existence of the spotted species called Axis in India, may have led to the first idea,—presumed to be erroneous from the fact of the spotted buck being noticed in Gwillims’ Heraldry (4th edition, 1660), where it is quoted as being borne on ancient coats of arms, at least anterior to British intercourse with the east; and it may perhaps militate against the introduction from Norway of our darker brown variety, that Pontoppidan, in his natural history of that country, makes no mention of fallow-deer of any hue whatever.

The stag or red-deer (Cervus elephas, Linn.) is the most stately and magnificent of all the wild animals still indigenous to Britain. Vast herds continue to range the mountains in various parts of Scotland, and the species is not unfrequent in the larger of our western islands, such as Mull and Jura. In the southern quarters of the island, the breed is almost extinct in the wild state. It is a shy and wary creature, finely endowed with the sense of smell, not easily approached by the hunter, even from the leeward, and extremely dangerous to encounter closely, from its great strength and occasional courage. Many instances are recorded of its having killed both men and dogs, and one is known of its having beat off a tiger which was let loose upon it in an inclosed area, at the instance of William duke of Cumberland. Its flesh, though lauded by Dr Johnston, and by no means to be despised by a hungry sportsman in the wilds of Scotland, is in our opinion poorer and less highly flavoured than that of the fallow-deer. Of course it is not so easily selected, or in any other way obtained in prime condition, and the necessity of eating it occasionally when lean and tough may possibly have proved injurious to its culinary character. Both sexes of the red-deer have obtuse canine teeth in the upper jaw. The age of a stag may be pretty easily determined by the branches of the antlers till its seventh or eighth year; but after that period the increase of those parts is not subjected to any fixed rule. The oldest have seldom more than ten or twelve branches, though an instance has occurred of there being thirty-three on each antler.^[277. We allude to the animal killed by the king of Prussia in 1GG9, and presented to Augustus I. Elector of Saxony and King of Poland. According to Bechstein, the head is still preserved at Moritzburg. ] According to Cuvier, the older the individual, the deeper are the furrows of the antlers.

The only other British species of the deer tribe is the roe (Cervus capreolus, Linn·). This beautiful animal, so well known to the Scottish sportsmen, is believed to be now extinct in the southern portions of the kingdom.^[278. “The particular periods, therefore, when the wolf and wild boar became extinct in this country cannot with precision be accurately ascertained ,∙ but the history and fall of the roebuck are better known. It continued to be an inhabitant of England till within the last century, and was not unfrequently met with on the wastes, a small distance from Hexham, in Northumberland. As the breed, however, became gradually more scarce, it was sought for with greater eagerness; so that after enduring the united attacks of the dog and gun for a few seasons, it at length dwindled away into one solitary animal, which about forty years since is said to have been destroyed by Whitfield, Esq. of Whitfield, in Northumberland.”— The Sportsman’s Cabinet, vol. ii. p. I72. ] It differs from the generality of the deer kind in not being gregarious, seldom more than a single family being found together. The roe rarely measures above two feet in height, with a length of about three feet four inches. The antlers are about eight inches long, and are usually divided at the top into three branches. The colours of the fur vary with the season, being bright tawny-brown in summer, in winter more grizzled and obscure. The hair is long, and when inspected minutely, is found to be generally ash-colour at the base, black towards the point, with the point itself yellow. The rump and lower parts are white. This species is certainly confined to the Ancient World, although by a misapplication of the name, it has been believed by many to occur in America. It is common in Scotland, and is found pretty generally, though not in great abundance, in what may be called the Central Zone of Europe. It is rare in France, and is known to have been almost entirely extirpated from Burgundy during the cold winter of 1709. The places where it loves to dwell are woody districts, varied by open glades, and broken in upon by land capable of cultivation. It does not ascend those sterile mountain tracts where the red-deer is so often found. According to Captain Williamson, the roe occurs on the borders of Bengal, particularly among the crags and ravines of the western frontier.

We shall now notice a very few of the more southern foreign species. It has been observed in general, that few of these change their colours with the season. Several magnificent examples of this tribe of animals are to be found on the southern sides of the Nepaul Mountains. Of these we have here exhibited the Nepaul stag (Cervus Wallichii, Plate CCCXI., fig. 1), a species which in many respects exhibits a resemblance to the red-deer of our native heath-clad mountains. We scarcely know, as yet, of any other individual than that brought clown by Dr Wallich to Calcutta. A drawing was made of it in the living state, by a native artist, and transmitted by Μ. Duvaucel to Paris, where it was published by Μ. F. Cuvier. The horns are shorter and less magnificently branched than in the Scottish species, but they have been supposed to have been dwarfed, in the individual in question, by the decrepitude of age. Each has a pair of small brow antlers at the base, and somewhat more than half way up the beam, a small snag turns forwards.

The Rusa group of stags is entirely Asiatic, and is distinguished by rounded horns, with a brow antler, but without any median or besantler, and the beam terminates in a single perch, with a snag more or less elongated, placed midway or higher on its anterior or posterior edge. The great Rusa (Cervus liippelaphus, Cuv.) almost equals the height of a horse. It has trifurcated horns, and very coarse fulvous brown hair, which changes to a greyer hue in winter. The tail is rather long, and there is no disk on the buttock. This species seems to correspond to the great axis of Pennant. It occurs in several of the Asiatic islands, and in Continental India is found chiefly in the Jungleterry district of Bengal. The exact nature of the animal described by Aristotle under the name of ⅛τriaci^oς, has been a subject of some controversy. The term was formerly applied to a species which occurs in the forests of Germany; but, according to the researches of Μ. Duvaucel, it is undoubtedly the black deer or black rusa of Bengal (Cervus Aristotelis, Cuv.). Its horns are forked at the extremity, and bear only a single branch at the base, similar, as Aristotle expressed it, to those of a roe. It inhabits the Prauss jungles, and is known by the name of Saunter.
[7:14:161]

The male is nearly as large as an elk (which name, indeed, is erroneously applied to it by many Anglo-Indians), and is represented by British sportsmen in the east as extremely vicious as well as strong. Its prevailing colour in summer is dark brown, in winter nearly black. The abdomen, and a ring around the mouth and nostrils, are whitish, the insides of the legs fawn colour. Captain Williamson describes it as attaining to the dimensions of a Lincolnshire cart-horse (fifteen dr sixteen hands high), of a shining black colour, with tan points; the female mouse-coloured.

The spotted axis of India (Cervus axis) resembles the fallow-deer, but is easily distinguished by the roundness of its horns, and the want of a terminal palm. The female, however, greatly resembles the doe of our domesticated species. This kind is most frequent in Bengal, and on the banks of the Ganges, although it occurs throughout India, as well in the Eastern Archipelago. It has been frequently imported into Europe, and breeds freely both in France and England. The sense of smell is extremely refined in the spotted axis,—so much so, that although extremely fond of bread, it refuses to eat a piece that has been previously blown upon,—so at least states Μ. F. Cuvier, regarding the individual observed in the Paris garden. Its disposition in the captive state is otherwise remarkably mild and accommodating.

Passing over the Muntjaks, which are numerous in India and the Eastern Islands, we come to a very peculiar animal, the Giraffe, constituting the Genus Camelopardalis, Linn. Incisives ~, canines wanting molars -— β ; = 32. Head lengthened, with a bony tubercle on the middle of the face, and two bony projections on the forehead, covered by the fur, and terminated by a tuft of longer hairs. The fore-quarters are very high in comparison with the hinder, and the dorsal line is consequently oblique. The neck is of extraordinary length, and the limbs are slender, and terminated by cloven hoofs, resembling those of the ordinary ruminants. There is a callosity on the sternum. The mammae are four in number.

The giraffe or camelopard, the tallest, and in many other respects one of the most remarkable of quadrupeds, is entirely peculiar to the African continent. Its appearance is too familiar in books of natural history to require a detailed description. (See Plate CCCXL. fig. 4.) We shall merely mention that it measures from fifteen to twenty feet in height, including the lengthened neck. It is a timid and gentle animal, browsing habitually on the foliage of trees, especially those of the Acacia and Mimosa tribes. Its gait or mode of progression is thus described by Mr Lichtenstein: “We had hardly travelled an hour when the Hottentots called our attention to some object on a hill not far off on the left hand, which seemed to move. The head of something appeared almost immediately after, feeding on the other side of the hill, and it was concluded that it must be that of a very large animal. This was confirmed, when, after going scarcely a hundred steps further, two tall swan-necked giraffes stood almost directly before us. Our transports were indescribable, particularly as the creatures themselves did not perceive ns, and therefore gave us full time to examine them, and to prepare for an earnest and serious chase. The one was smaller, and of a paler colour than the other, which Vischer immediately pronounced to be a colt, the child of the larger. Our horses were saddled, and our guns loaded in an instant, when the chace commenced. Since all the wild animals of Africa run against the wind, so that we were pretty well assured which way the course of these objects of our ardent wishes would be directed, Vischer, as the most experienced hunter, separated himself from us, and by a circuit took the animals in front, that he might stop their way, while I was to attack them in the rear. I had almost got within shot of them when they perceived me, and began to fly in the direction we expected. But their flight was beyond all idea so extraordinary, that between laughter, astonishment, and delight, I almost forgot my designs upon the harmless creatures’ lives. From the extravagant disproportion between the height of the fore to that of the hinder parts, and of the height to the length of the animal, great obstacles are presented to its moving with any degree of swiftness. When Le Vaillant asserts that he has seen the giraffe trot, he spares me any farther trouble in proving that this animal never presented itself alive before him.^[279. We have elseavhere observed, that it would have been more becoming and equally logical in Mr Lichtenstein to have inferred rather that Le Vaillant misapplied the term which he made use of to designate the movements of the cameleopard, than that he imagined himself to have seen an animal alive which had never presented itself to him in that condition. ] How in the world should an animal so disproportioned in height before and behind trot? The giraffe can only gallop, as I can affirm from my own experience, having seen between forty and fifty at different times, both in their slow and hasty movements, for they only stop when they are feeding quietly. But this gallop is so heavy and unwieldy, and seems performed with so much labour, that in a distance of more than a hundred paces, comparing the ground cleared with the size of the animal and of the surrounding objects, it might almost be said that a man goes faster on foot. The heaviness of the movement is only compensated by the length of the steps, each one of which clears, on a moderate computation, from twelve to sixteen feet.”^[280. Voyage au Cap de Bonne Espérance. ] A tolerably good horse overtakes the giraffe without difficulty, especially over rising ground.

That there is more than a single species of camelopard, is a point rather surmised than demonstrated by our modern naturalists. Some are inclined to infer, chiefly we presume from the difference in their geographical position, that the southern kind, so frequently alluded to in the travels of Le Vaillant, Burchell, and others, are probably distinct from those seen during the expedition of Denham and Clapperton, and more recently described by Ruppel. Camelopards were well known to the ancients, and were shewn ’in the Circaean Games by Caesar the Dictator. The Emperor Gordian afterwards exhibited ten at a single shew; and tolerably accurate figures of these extraordinary creatures, both in a browzing and grazing position, have been handed down by the Praenestine pavement. During the darker ages, and indeed· for some centuries after the revival of learning, they seem to have been unknown to Europeans; but about the middle of the sixteenth century, the Emperor of Germany, Fredericus Aenobarbus, received one from the Sultan of Babylon. Lorenzo de Medicis was also presented with a live specimen by the Bey of Tunis. Nearer our own times, the camelopard is described in a letter from Captain Carteret to Dr Maty, as having been killed in a journey from the Cape, in 1761;^[281. See Phil. Trans. 177θ∙ ] yet the first statements of the unfortunate but accurate Vaillant were almost discredited till he transmitted the giant spoils to Europe. Very recently several live specimens have been transmitted from Kordofan to the gardens of the Zoological Society of London.

Genus Antilope, Cuv. Incisives -, canines wanting, molars -; ≡≡ 32. Bony nucleus of the horns solid like

6 — υ

those of deer. Form light, and well adapted for great swiftness.

This numerous and varied genus has been recently divided into many minor groups, chiefly in accordance with the form of the horns. Of the far greater number Africa is the native country. These creatures are by many regarded as the most lively, graceful, and beautifully proportioned[7:14:162] of the brute creation. They have indeed attracted the admiration of mankind from the earliest ages, and the beauty of their dark lustrous liquid eyes has afforded a constant theme for the imagination of the eastern poets. 1 heir names are of frequent occurrence in the most ancient mythologies, and their figures are represented among the oldest of the astronomical symbols. Naturalists are more or less acquainted with about sixty species,—a few of which we shall here-briefly notice.^[282. For a summary of the species, with indications of the various sub-generic groups, by Colonel Hamilton Smith, see the Synopsis of Mammalia, forming the fifth volume of Griffith’s Animal Kingdom, so frequently before referred to. For numerous important observations, and a great deal of general information regarding the antelopes, consult also the fifth volume of the same work. ]

The antelope, commonly' so called {Antilope cervicapra, Pallas, Plate CCCXL, fig. 5), is an eastern species, distinguished by the triple curve of its annulated horns. These parts are extremely sharp pointed, and in India offensive weapons of great power are made, by joining two pair together at their bases. “Thus are they doubly armed.” The female is hornless.

The gazelle, or Barbary antelope (A. dorcas, Linn.), is somewhat less than our own roebuck. The horns are black, round, lyrate, with numerous rings, and measure about a foot in length. It is widely spread over northern Africa, and occurs in Persia and the southern parts of Syria. ∙ It is a gregarious species of great beauty, much esteemed by lions and· other beasts of prey, and although in many respects well known to naturalists, it is yet difficult to draw a precise distinctive line between it and several other closely allied kinds, such as the hevel, the korin, and the tzeiran of the Persians. The gazelle is accurately described by Aelian under the title of dorcas, a name bestowed by other ancient writers on the roe. This is the species which, by reason of its exquisite grace and beauty, affords so continued a subject of comparison, and is so often used as a poetical image by eastern writers.

“Her eyes dark charms ’ twere vain to tell, But look on those of the gazelle, They will assist thy fancy well.”

We have figured the head (Plate CCCXL. fig. 3), of a closely allied species called the Corinne (Ant. corinna, Gmelin). It differs from the gazelle chiefly in having more slender horns. “Ce n’est peut être,” says Cuvier, “qu’une variété de sexe.”

The Chinese antelope, or Dzerin, of the Mongolian Tartars (A. gutturosa, Pallas), is of a heavier form than the preceding, with short thick horns, reclining backwards, divergent, wavy, and the points turned inwards. One of its chief characteristics is a large moveable protuberance on the throat, occasioned by a dilatation of the larynx,—particularly observable in the old males. This is the species known in China by the name of Hoang-yang, or the yellow goat. It occurs also in the deserts between the celestial empire and Thibet, and extends eastward into Siberia, and over that vast expansion so vaguely known under the name of the Desert of Cobi. It is said to avoid woody places, and to prefer open plains and barren mountains. It is an animal of great swiftness, and long endurance of fatigue.

The oryx or algazel (A. leucoryx, Lieh.? A. gazella, Linn. Plate CCCXL. fig. 2.) measures above three feet and a half in height at the shoulder. The body is rather bulky, the limbs slender, the horns of the male horizontal, bent backwards, obliquely annulated, with smooth tips, and nearly three feet long. It inhabits sandy districts in Persia and Arabia, and has been shot on the western side of the Indus, in the deserts of the Mekran. We may here notice a remarkable species called the chiru (A. kemas ? Smith), an inhabitant of those inaccessible and piny regions of Chandang which verge on the eternal snows of the Himmaleh Mountains. It sometimes occurs with only a single horn, and in that accidental or imperfect condition is supposed to have given rise to the belief in monocerotes or unicons,—animals which all who are conversant with the structure of skulls, and the position of the frontal sutures, are well aware cannot exist in any accordance with the general laws of organic form. This species is remarkable also for an abundant coating of wool,—a provision bountifully connected with its position as a mountain dweller in a cold and icy clime. The Caftrarian oryx (A. oryx') is not more remarkable for beauty of form than for its great strength and vigour. It dwells in elevated forests, and among rocky regions in Southern Africa, and is exceedingly fierce during the rutting season, especially when wounded. A friend of Colonel Smith’s having fired at an individual of this species, it immediately turned upon his dogs, and transfixed one of them upon the spot. They are said to afford the best venison of any of the antelopes of Southern Africa.

Ί he blue antelope (A. leucophaea') though formerly an inhabitant of the Cape colony, is now so rare in Southern Africa, that it is said no specimen has been killed there for more than thirty years. A very large species called the roan antelope sA. equina) was found by Mr Burchell among the mountainous plains in the vicinity of Lattakoo. The springer antelope (A. euchore) is called spring-bock by the Dutch. It inhabits the plains of Southern and Central Africa, and, during its migratory movements, congregates in such vast flocks as for a time utterly to destroy vegetation. The lion has been observed to accompany their onward journey, walking like a grizzly tyrant in the midst of a dense phalanx of these beautiful but fearful creatures, and with only as much space between him and his victims as the irrepressible terror of those immediately around him could obtain by pressing outwards. Mr Pringle calculates that he had sometimes within view not less than 20,000 at a time.

Among the more remarkable of the African antelopes are those called guevei sA. pygmcea,) -which seem to consist of two well-marked varieties, if two distinct species have not been confounded under a single name. Of the smaller variety we remember a female in Mr Bullock’s museum which scarcely exceeded the dimensions of a large rat, and its legs were no thicker than a goose’s quill. The gueveis are generally brought from the coast of Guinea, although they have sometimes been observed to occur in the vicinity of the Cape of Good Hope. In illustration of another beautiful form of this varied genus, we have represented the species commonly called, from its peculiar markings, the harnessed antelope (A. scripta, Pallas, Plate CCCXLI, fig. 1.) It was seen by Μ. Adanson in the interior of Senegal, and few additions have been made to its subsequent history.

In the forests of Hindostan we find the chickara or fourhorned antelope (A. chickara, see Plate CCCXLI. fig. 4). General Hardwicke informs us that this species inhabits woody and hilly tracts along the western provinces of Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa. It is described as a wild and agile creature, incapable of being tamed unless when taken young. It is about twenty inches in height, and two feet nine inches in length. The larger pair of horns are smooth, erect, slightly inclined forwards, somewhat divergent, and about three inches long. About an inch and a half in front of these arise a short stumpy pair, about an inch and a half in circumference, and scarcely an inch high.^[283. ĪÂnn. Trans, vol. xiv. ] A nearly allied, if not identical species, has been described by Μ. de Blainville under the title of A. ĳuadriconis ^[284. Journal de Phys. Août, 1818. ] ?

The nyl-ghau (Ant. picta and tragocamelus, Gmel., Plate CCCXLI, fig. 3.) departs greatly from the form of the true [7:14:163]antelopes, and merges on that of the bovine tribes. Its eastern name signifies blue ox, and it is in fact never considered as an antelope by native observers, though so classed by European naturalists. This species was unknown to the ancients, and one of the first authentic notices of it is that by Dr Parsons.^[285. In the Phil. Trans, vol. xliii. ] Lord Clive transmitted a pair to England from Bombay in 1767, and these bred regularly for several years. The nylghau is not generally distributed over the Peninsula of Hindostan, but it occurs in the districts of Kamaghur in Central India, and is known to spread from thence to the foot of the Himmaleh Mountains. Bemicr describes it as one of the objects of the chace which delighted the Mogul Emperor Aurengzebc, during his progress from Delhi to Cashmere. It is a treacherous animal, vicious, and full of vigour, and apt to prove a dangerous neighbour even in the domestic state. It may, however, be completely tamed.

An antelope of a still more anomalous form is the gnu (Ant. gnu, Gmel., Plate CCCXLI, fig. 5). It appears as if it were compounded of various other species, being maned like a horse, with the limbs of a stag, and the horns of a buffalo. It forms, with the brindled gnu and another nearly related species, the genus Catobeplas of Colonel Smith, by whom it is arranged among the bovine tribes. It assembles in large herds in the southern deserts of Africa, but is not now found nearer the Cape than the Great Karoo district. The other species spread into the country of the Caffres, and the interior deserts.

We shall conclude our meagre notice of this great genus with the only species indigenous to the central countries of the European continent, the celebrated chamois, Ant. rupicapra, Linn. (See Plate CCCXLI. fig. 2). This animal measures rather more than three feet in length, with a height of about two feet and a few inches. It is distinguishable from all the other species by its short smooth black horns, rising perpendicularly from the forehead, and suddenly hooked backwards at their extremities. It inhabits the lofty mountains of Switzerland, Piedmont, and Savoy, the Pyrenees, various parts of Germany, Greece, and some of the Mediterranean islands. The sterile valleys and broken rocky grounds in the vicinity of regions of perpetual snow, form the chamois’ favourite places of abode. It is much sought after for the sake of its excellent flesh, and occasionally by amateur sportsmen on account of the exciting nature of its pursuit, carried on amid scenes of great wildness and sublimity, and not unattended by danger, from the rugged or precipitous character of the ground, the deceptive ravines of ice, and the falling masses of mountain snow.

As intermediate between the antelopes and the ensuing genus, we shall here place a species which has been dignified by a great variety of names, -we mean the Rocky Mountain goat (Aplocerus lanigera, Smith, Capra Americana, Richardson), by some called the wool-bearing antelope. It inhabits the highest and least accessible summits of that great range of North American mountains from which it has derived its best known name. It is equal in size to a large sheep, its colour white, and its whole body, particularly the back and hinder quarters, covered by an ample coating of long fine wool, but greatly intermixed with coarser hair. The importation of this species into the alpine or insular districts of Scotland has been recommended as an interesting experiment, not likely to be attended by much difficulty, and which might probably lead to valuable results.^[286. Wernerian Memoirs, vol. iii. p. 306. ] The precise extent of its territorial range has not yet been ascertained, but it is known to occur from the 40° to the 64° or 65° of north latitude. It is scarcely ever seen at any distance from the mountains, and is said to be less numerous on the eastern than the western slopes of its native range. Its flesh is rather hard and dry, and somewhat unsavoury from its musky odour.

Genus Capra, Linn. Incisives θ, canines wanting, mo- 6—6

^ ars 6 6 ’ — H° rns directed upwards and backwards, compressed, transversely furrowed, their nucleus communicating by means of cells with the frontal sinus. No lachrymal sinus, nor inguinal pores. Chin generally bearded. Outline of the face straight, or rarely convex. Two inguinal mammae.

The species which constitute the goat genus, although of less elegant form than-many of the antelope tribe, are yet not undistinguished by considerable ease and gracefulness of movement; and the rocky heights on which they are so often seen no doubt add to their picturesque and imposing aspect. Although extremely docile, and fond of being caressed by human associates, they yet cease not to retain a certain degree of independence not observable in other cattle. Considered intellectually, they hold a high station in the animal kingdom. Buffon has greatly embroiled the history of these and the allied genera, by supposing that the species called the boquetin (Capra ibex) was the origin not only of all our domesticated sheep and goats, but of the chamois and several other antelopes. His paradoxes were first exposed by Pallas,^[287. Spicilegia Zoologica, fascic. xi. ] who traced the separation of the goats from the antelopes on the one hand, and from the sheep on the other, and pointing out the various species of the first named genus, shewed that our domesticated kind was derived not from the ibex, but from another wild species called oegagrus, an inhabitant of the Caucasian Mountains. He admits, however, in relation to certain varieties, the probability of a cross with the ibex.

Tĥe wild goat (Capra oegagrus, Gmelin, Plate CCCXLII, fig. 2), the admitted source of our domestic kinds, although believed by some to inhabit the Alps of Europe, is more distinctly known as a native of the mountains of Persia and the Caucasus, where it is known by the name of paseng, and from whence it spreads through a great extent of northern Asia to the frontiers of the celestial empire. It is also the bezoar goat of the oriental nations, so called from a peculiar concretion sometimes found in the intestines. The male is larger than the usual size of our domestic species, and his horns, which form an acute angle in front, with a rounded back, and transverse ribs, are nearly three feet long. The head is black in front, the beard brown, and the general colour of the body brown and grey, but varyingwith the season.

The semi-domesticated varieties are too numerous to be here described. Of these the most famous is the Cashmere breed, from the coat of which the celebrated shawls and other articles are manufactured. The fleece is long and of a silky texture, straight and white. The most esteemed is the produce of Thibet, from which country it is exported to Cashmere, where 16,000 looms are constantly employed, each affording occupation to three men, and yielding together about 30,000 shawls per annum. A single fine shawl, of a rich pattern, requires for itself about a year in making.^[288. Tour in the Upper Provinces of Hindostan. By A. P. p. 187∙ ] The Thibet variety is chiefly remarkable for the excessive length of its silky covering, which falls in ample clusters from each side of the back, with a dorsal line of separation, and measures above a foot and a half. Its general colour is brown, with the points of a golden fulvous hue. The males of both these eastern breeds have very large flattened wavy horns. They have been introduced alive to France and England.

A beautiful dwarf variety, originally from western Africa, and commonly called the Guinea goat, is also well known in this country. The goat of Angora resembles the Cashmere kind in its flowing fleece, the locks of which, however, instead of being straight, assume the form of beautiful spiral ringlets. The Jemlah goat, an inhabitant of the highest [7:14:164]range of central Asia, and that called Jdhral in the Nepaul country, seem to present the characters of distinct species. The latter is bold, capricious, and irascible, but it is easily tamed, and thrives well when transported to other countries.^[289. Proceedings of Zoological Society, part ii. p. 106. ]

The bouquetin of the European Alps (the stein-bock of the Germans, Capra ibex, Linn.), is a large, powerful, and extremely active animal, almost five feet in length, and nearly three feet high. The colour is greyish fawn-colour above, whitish below, with a deep brown line along the dorsal region. The female resembles the male, except in the diminished size of her horns. This species dwells among the highest and most precipitous peaks of the Alps of Switzerland, Spain, and other lofty ranges, far surpassing the chamois in the boldness with which it bounds from crag to crag, and ascending to perilous heights where even that alpine species is never seen. It is said, when springing from a great height, to bend its head between its fore-legs, in such a manner as to break its fall by alighting on its horns as well as hoofs. It is easily tamed when taken young, and breeds freely with the domesticated goats. It is alleged to do so, indeed, even in a state of nature,—for it is the general opinion of the shepherds of the Alps and the Pyrenees, that all the great he-goats which act as leaders to the flocks are either genuine bouquetins, or immediately descended from that powerful species. We believe that all that has been stated as to the occurrence of the paseng or oegagrus (we mean the true wild-goat) in Europe, owes its origin to the existence of a cross breed between the goat and bouquetin. The latter is likewise an Asiatic animal, and was seen by Pallas in the mountains of Siberia,^[290. Spicilegia Zoologica, fascic. xii. p. 31. ] but the Caucasian ibex, described by Guldenstaedt is a distinct species.^[291. Acta Petropolitana, 1779 ] The maned bouquetin of Africa, erroneously so called, is undoubtedly an antelope, figured by Mr Daniel under the title of Takliaitze ^[292. African Scenery, plate 24. ] Genus Ovis, Linn. Teeth as in the preceding genus. Horns thick, angular, transversely furrowed, spirally twisted in a lateral direction, the points more or less recurving forwards. Chin seldom bearded. Outline of the face arched or convex.

The leading fact in the geographical history of this genus is, that it occurs both in the New and the Old World, whereas the goat tribe are naturally unknown in America.

We cannot here enter into any detailed, history of the numerous varieties of the domestic sheep which have resulted from the almost immemorial subservience of this animal to the human race, but must confine ourselves to a slight sketch of the . features and characteristic habits of the several wild races which inhabit the different regions of the earth. Although this invaluable species is usually regarded by naturalists as being not only specifically but generically distinguished from the goat, we incline to think that the latter, or generic separation, is founded chiefly upon characters which have arisen from the influential power of man. In a state of nature, the sheep is scarcely less active or energetic than the goat,—its dimensions are fully greater,—its muscular strength at least equal, both in force and duration. It is also an alpine animal, fearless of crag and cliff, and dwells indeed by preference among the steepest and most inaccessible summits of lofty mountains. Among its native fastnesses it is seen to bound from rock to rock with inconceivable swiftness and agility.

We need scarcely remind the reader of the very ancient subservience of this species to the domestic uses of mankind. It is the first recorded creature in the Holy Scriptures, of such as owned the dominion of the human race. “And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.”^[293. Genesis, ch. iv. v. 2. ] Sheep-shearing is also mentioned during very early times: “And it was told Tamar, saying, Behold thy father-in-law goeth up to Timnath to shear his sheep^[294. Ibid, ch. xxxviii. v. 13. ] while, at a later period, the festivities of the season were taken advantage of by Absalom to slay his brother Amnon: “And it came to pass, after two full years, that Absalom had sheep-shearers in Baal-hazor, which is beside Ephraim; and Absalom invited all the king’s sons.”^[295. Samuel, ch. xiii. 23. ] The domestication of the sheep thus appears to have been almost coeval with the creation of our own species, and continuous with its progressive descent. We may here mention that the goat appears to be the next in succession, as applied to the purposes of the human race; then oxen, asses, camels, and lastly horses. The first mention of the mule, though prior to that of the horse, is of too casual a kind to lead to any precise conclusion, as to its being then known as a beast of burden: “And these are the children of Zibeon; both Ajah and Anah: this was that Anah that found the mules in the wilderness, as he fed the asses of Zibeon his father.”^[296. enesis, ch. xxxvi. v. 24. ]

The most remarkable external change which domestication has produced on sheep, is the conversion, as it is commonly called, of hair into wool, or, to state the fact more accurately, the prodigious development of one of the constituent portions of the coat, and the decrease or disappearance of the other. All animals inhabiting a cool or temperate climate seem supplied with both a woolly and a hairy covering,—the former being usually short and close, and entirely concealed by the latter, on the length, colour, and texture of which the external appearance of most animals in a great measure depends. These two kinds of covering are very observable in bears and wolves, and also in the more peaceful races of wild sheep; and nothing like either a metamorphosis or a new creation is necessary to produce the remarkable alteration in the domestic breeds. Of these we here figure as an example the long-legged sheep of Africa. (See Plate CCCXLII. fig. 1.)

The principal unsubdued races of the sheep are the following: the Mouflon or Musmon of Sardinia, Crete, and Corsica (Ovis musimon, Pall., 0. amnion, Gmelin, 0. aries, Desm.),—the bearded sheep of Africa (Oris tragelaphus, Cuv., Desm.),—the Argali, or wild sheep of Asia (Oris amnion, Linn., Desm.), and the Rocky Mountain sheep of America (Ovis montana, Richardson). These four quadrupeds differ greatly, in the first place, in their geographical position; and, secondly, in several of their external characters. The distinctive attributes of all the species have not been detailed with sufficient fulness and precision to enable us to say with certainty whether each differs specifically from the other, or is rather its natural representative under a different modification of climatic influences. However this may be, it is probable that from one or other of these unsubdued races our own domestic tribes have been derived, and we shall therefore present the reader with a brief sketch of their natural history.

Oris musimon, Pallas. The Musmon.^[297. Mouflon 01 Button and F. Cuvier,— Oris aries (race sauvage considérée comme le type primatif) of Desm. ] (See Plate CCCXLII. fig. 4.) This species measures about three feet and a half in length, and its height, at the highest part of the back, is about two feet six inches. The neck is large, the body thick, muscular, and of a rounded form. The limbs are robust, and the hoofs short. The horns of the male are nearly two feet long. The body is protected by a short, fine, grey-coloured wool, of which the filaments are spirally twisted, and by a stiffish silky hair of no great length, yet sufficient to conceal the wool beneath. The Musmon (under which name it was known to the ancients) inhabits the loftiest parts of Crete, Corsica, and Sardinia, the western mountains of European Turkey, the isle of Cyprus, and probably other islands of the Grecian Archipelago. It is not, however, supposed to occur in more northern countries, unless [7:14:165]the identity of the species with the Siberian Argali should in time be demonstrated. It is mentioned as an inhabitant of Spain by Pliny, and according to Bory St Vincent, it still occurs among the mountainous provinces of the ancient kingdom of Murcia. It is gregarious in a state of nature, and seldom descends from the highly elevated portions of its insular mountains, of which the elevation and latitude, however, do not admit perpetual snow. About the month of December or January, the larger troops divide into less numerous bands, each consisting of a male and a few females. For a short time after this period, when the males encounter each other, fierce battle ensues, and one of the combatants is not unfrequently slain. The females carry their young for five months, and usually produce twins in April.

We have said that the question is still undetermined regarding the origin of our domestic breeds. The prevailing sentiment, however, is certainly in favour of the species just named. We know that the Corsican musmon brought to Britain by General Paoli, became the parent of a mixed progeny; and if Pliny is to be regarded in the light of an authority, the wild sheep of Spain frequently intermingled with the domestic race. The produce were known by the name of umbri. We may observe that all wild sheep have the chaffron greatly arched, and this peculiar form of the nasal bones is found to increase with the degeneracy of the domestic breeds.^[298. Griffith’s Animal Kingdom, vol. iv. p. 323. ] Colonel Hamilton Smith seems to suspect that even the musmon itself may not be a genuine wild animal, but an African domestic breed once imported, and partially restored to its primitive characters, by the security afforded by its insular situation after it had accidentally escaped from the influence of man.

Ovis tragelaphus, Cuv. The bearded sheep of Africa.^[299. Mouflon d’ Afrique, Geof. St Hilaire. Bearded sheep, Pennant and Shaw. Bearded argali, Ham. Smith. ] The hair on the lower part of the cheeks and upper jaws of this species is extremely long, and forms a double or divided beard. The hairs on the sides and body are short, those on the top of the neck somewhat longer, and rather erect. The whole under parts of the neck and shoulders are covered by coarse hair, not less than fourteen inches long; and beneath the hairs on every part there is a short genuine wool,—the rudiments of a fleecy clothing. The tail is very short. The horns approach each other at their base, and are above two feet long, about eleven inches in circumference at the thickest part, and diverge outwards, the extremities being nineteen inches from each other. The size of this animal is differently stated by different authors, and some confusion has arisen in its history and synonymy from the want of accordance between figures and descriptions. It inhabits the desert steeps of Barbary, and the mountainous parts of Egypt. The specimen in the Paris Museum was shot near Cairo.

Oυis ammon, Linn., Desm. The Argali or wild sheep of Asia. The general colour of this species is fulvous grey, and white beneath, with a whitish disk upon the buttock. The wool lies as it were concealed beneath a close set hair. The adult male measures about three feet in height at the shoulder, and five feet in length. His horns are nearly four feet long, and fourteen inches in circumference at the base. They are placed on the summit of the head, so as to cover the occiput, and nearly touch each other in front, bending backwards and laterally, then forwards and outwards, their base being triangular, and their surface wrinkled. The female is of smaller size, and her horns are nearly straight. This species seems to have been confounded by most writers of the earlier portion of last century with the mouflon, a European species already noticed; and even Pennant and Shaw, in compiling its history, have amalgamated the accounts of two distinct kinds. Gmelin (the traveller^[300. Voyage en Sibérie, t. i. p. 368. ]) and Pallas^[301. Spicilegia Zoologica, fascic. xi. p. 3. tab. 1. ] have furnished us with the most accurate as well as ample details of its actual characters. It inhabits the mountains of Central Asia, and the elevated Steppes of Siberia, from the banks of the Irtisch to Kamtschatka. In the last named country, its flesh and fat are much esteemed. The horns are sometimes so large as to admit of young foxes taking shelter in their decaying cavities. The name of Argali applied by Pallas to this species, is the Mongolie title of the female. The male is called Guldschah. It is the Weissarsch of the ancient Germans, and in more modern times appears to have been first noticed by Father Rubraquis in the thirteenth century. He calls it Artak, most likely an erroneous reading for Kirtaka, which, according to Hamilton Smith, is one of its Tartaric names.

Ovis montana, Desm., Rich. The Rocky Mountain sheep, or American Argali. See Plate CCCXXXII, fig. 6. This animal exceeds the Asiatic kind in size, and is larger than the largest varieties of our domestic breeds. The horns of the male are of great dimensions, arising a short way above the eyes, and occupying almost the entire space between the ears, but without touching each other at their bases. The horns of the female are much smaller, and but slightly curved. The hair in this species resembles that of a deer. It is short, fine, and flexible, in its autumn growth, but becomes coarse, dry, and brittle, as the winter advances. The colours reside in the ends of the hair, and as these are rubbed off during the progress of winter, the tints become paler. The old rams are almost entirely white in spring. The Rocky Mountain sheep inhabits that lofty and extended chain of North America from which it derives its name,—from its most northern point in latitude 68°, to at least the 40th degree. Its flesh is delicious, exceeding, it is said, in flavour that of the finest English mutton.

Genus Bos, Linn. Incisives canines wanting, mo-G — G

lars —_ β ; = 32. Body large, limbs robust, muzzle broad, the facial outline nearly straight. Horns simple, conical, lunate, directed laterally, the points raised. Tail rather long, and terminated by a tuft of lengthened hair. Four mammae.

Buffon appears to have admitted of only two kinds of cattle—the bull and the buffalo. A wild bull, the source of our domestic breeds, the aurochs of Europe, the bison of America, and the zebu of Africa and Asia, were all regarded by him as varieties of one and the same species, produced by climate, food, and domestication. The humped backs of the bison and the zebu, according to the imaginative views of the eloquent Frenchman, were signs of slavery produced by grossness and excess of feeding; and he sought to escape the dilemma presented by the existence of wild cattle with humped backs, by at once asserting that these were either an emancipated tribe, originally descended from an enslaved and deteriorated race, or constituted in themselves a natural variety, of which the hump was characteristic. According to the same authority, it was a humped variety, which, passing from the north of Europe to the American continent, gave rise to the bison breed of that country,—a theory which he deems strongly confirmed by the fact, that both the aurochs of the Old World, and its representative in the New, smell strongly of musk '^[302. Bernard’s Buffon, t. v. p. 100. ] So confused, indeed, were his notions regarding these animals, that he appears to have confounded the bison and the musk ox, although Charlevoix, and other travellers to whom he had access, had previously described[7:14:166] the difference in their external characters, as well as in their haunts and habits. He advances the northern boundaries of the bison almost to the Pole itself; whereas, in reality, it is only the musk ox that is found there: and then, forgetting what he had just before stated, he locates the race of aurochs in the Frigid Zone, and restricts the bison to the temperate,—while he draws the general conclusion that all domestic cattle without humps are descended from the former, and all humped cattle from the latter.^[303. Bernard’s Buffon, t. v. p. 89. ]

Though Pallas^[304. Acta Petropolitana, t. ii. ] refutes the mistake committed by Buffon in supposing that the aurochs of Europe consisted of two varieties—the urus and the bison—he himself falls into the equally gross error of confounding as identical the American and European species. He maintains the probability of the latter having passed from the Old World to the New, when the great northern continents were connected together by vast and continuous tracts of land, of which the shattered and sunken debris are still represented by the snow-covered mountains of Iceland, and the isles of Shetland and Feroe. He regards the aurochs as the original source of'our domestic cattle, and both as synonymous with the bison of America,—while the musk ox of the New World, the grunting ox of the East, and the buffaloes of Asia and of Africa, are viewed as distinct from those just named, and from each other.

It thus appears that prior to the time of Cuvier the larger kinds of horned cattle were considered as amounting to five in number, so far as living species were concerned. But the great French anatomist speedily distinguished eight species.^[305. Diction, des Sciences Nat. article Boeuf. The same amount of species (including the musk ox, Oυibos moechatus) is given in the last edition of the Règne Animal, but the Arnće of Asia is not there admitted as distinct. ] He separated the aurochs from the bison, and established two additional kinds, the amée of Asia, and the domestic bull, the source of which he traced not to the aurochs, of which the number of the ribs, the occipital arch, and the inter-orbital distances of the forehead, are dissimilar, but to a fossil species (probably by this time extinct in the living state), of which the bones occur in various alluvial soils of Europe. We shall here briefly notice the principal species of taurine animals.

Bos taurus, Plin. Bos taurus, domesticus, Linn. The domestic bull and cow. The most permanent and essential specific characters of this animal are the following: Forehead flat, higher than broad; horns round, placed at the two extremities of a projecting line, which separates the front from the occiput; ribs amounting to thirteen pair; teats disposed in the form of a square; hair of the anterior parts of the body not more bushy than that of the other portions. The original of this invaluable species is supposed to have been the Urus of ancient writers,—the Thur of the Polish nation, an animal which, from various accounts, appears to have borne a much closer resemblance to our domestic breeds, than do either the modern aurochs (commonly called the European bison) or the buffalo. It seems to have become almost extinct during the middle ages, in consequence of the progress of civilization among the western nations, and probably ceased to exist in a living state about the fifteenth century, except in a few of the royal forests of Poland. Herberstein and Martin Cromer state that the thur was to be found only in Massovia, near Warsaw, where it appears to have been kept as a curiosity, just as (according to Gilibert) the zubr or modern aurochs continues to be to this day. In the fossil skulls which seem to represent the urus, the horns arc curved forwards and downwards; but in the countless varieties which constitute the domestic breed, these parts assume a great diversity of form and direction, and are sometimes altogether wanting. The ordinary races of the torrid zone (supposing the so called zebus to be descended from the same root) arc generally distinguished by a hump or large excrescence of fat and flesh upon the shoulders.

We cannot here inquire, however briefly, into the history of our British cattle. The original introduction of “homed bestial” to our island, is neither known in history, nor asserted by tradition. Whether they were derived from abroad, or were descended from wild individuals of the urus race, native to Britain in former ages, are questions which the lapse of time will never solve, but rather tend to shroud in deeper darkness. The climate of the British Isles is, beyond most others, productive of a great variety in the nature of our pastures, and of a corresponding variety in the character and condition of such animals as depend on those pastures for support. Caesar mentions the abundance of the British cattle, and adds, that we (that is the then inhabitants, for the present races, like the descendants of the animals in question, are a mingled breed) lived much on milk and flesh, to the neglect of tillage. Strabo praises our bountiful supply of milk, but denies to us the art of making cheese. This preference of a pastoral life over one of agriculture, was handed down to much more modern times, and prevailed throughout the continuance of our feudal government, the warlike services of which would have proved in a great measure incompatible with the prolonged and steady labours of tillage. In regard to the wild white cattle, commonly so called, which still exist at Chillingham Castle in Northumberland, at Wollaton in Nottingham, at Gisburne in Craven, at Chartly in Staffordshire, and at Hamilton in the county of Lanark, we shall merely mention that no sufficient evidence has ever been brought forward to prove that these are entitled to the character of an aboriginal breed. Fitz-Stephen, who lived in the twelfth century, speaks of the uτi sylvestres, which in his time inhabited great forests in the neighbourhood of London, and at a later period (fourteenth century) King Robert Bruce was nearly slain by a wild bull, which attacked him “in the Great Caledon Wood,” but from which he was rescued by an attendant, “whom he endowed,” says Hollinshed, “with great possessions, and his lineage is to this day called of the Turnbulls, because he overturned the beast, and saved the King’s life by such great prowess and manhood.”^[306. See a more detailed account in the Cosmographe and Description of Albion, prefixed to Bellenden’s Translation of Boethius’s His-iθry and Chronicles of Scotland. Tait’s reprint, chap. x. p. 39. ] There is, however, a link wanting to connect these fierce creatures with the small and often hornless breed of white cattle still existing in the parks alluded to; and although the straightness in the backs of the latter animals, the fierceness of their dispositions, and their agreement in some particulars with the ancient unreclaimed breed of Britain, may afford a reasonable ground for conjecturing that they are identical with the primitive source of our domestic cattle; yet we are rather inclined to regard them as descended from the same source, than as constituting that source itself.

Bos urus, Gmelin, Bos taurus, var. urus, Linn. European Bison, or Aurochs of the Germans.^[307. s This is the bison of the ancients, the Boeuf aurochs of Desmarest, called Zubτ by the Poles. ] This species is frequently, though erroneously, regarded as the origin of our domestic cattle. “There is, I believe, no doubt,” says Mr Bingley, “that the ox is a descendant of the bison, a large and powerful animal which inhabits the marshy forests and vales of Poland and Lithuania. In the lapse of many centuries, however, its general appearance, as well as its temperament and disposition, have undergone a radical [7:14:167]change. The enormous strength of the body, the great depth of chest and shoulders, the shagginess and length of hair which covers the head, neck, and other fore-parts of the bison, as well as his savage and gloomy disposition, are in the present animal so altered that the mere variety would almost seem to constitute a distinct species.”^[308. British Quadruped*, p. 391. ] l This mistaken view of the subject has arisen from ignorance of the leading distinctive characters. The aurochs is distinguished by its bulged or convex forehead, which is, moreover, broader than high, by the attachment of the horns below the line of the occipital ridge, by an additional pair of ribs (fourteen instead of thirteen) by a sort of frizzled wool, which covers the head and neck, and forms a kind of beard or small mane upon the throat. The tone and utterance of its voice is also quite peculiar. It is a wild and independent animal, now confined to the marshy forests of Lithuania, of Carpathia, and the Caucasus, though formerly an inhabitant of the temperate parts of Europe. It is the largest of all the quadrupeds native to the European continent, measuring six feet in height at the shoulder, and betwixt ten and eleven feet in length, from the nose to the insertion of the tail. According to Gilibert, it far surpasses the largest of the Hungarian oxen. The horns are black, and thicker and more compact than those of the domestic bull. In both sexes the lips, gums, palate, and tongue, are blue, and the last named part is very rough and tuberculated. Certain portions of the hide have decidedly a musky smell, especially during the winter season; and the name of Bison is supposed to have been bestowed upon it in consequence of that peculiar odour,—from the German word wisen or bisem, which signifies musk. The name of Aurochs is probably synonymous with that of Urus, originally applied to another species.

Bos bison, Linn. Bos Americanus, Gmelin. (Plate CCCXLII. fig. 3.) The Bison of the New World, or buffalo of the Anglo-Americans. The head of this species resembles that of the preceding, and the anterior portions of its body are in like manner covered by a curled woolly hair, which becomes excessively long during the winter season; but its legs are shorter, its hinder extremities corn ∙ paratively weaker, and its tail not nearly so long. It is said to have fifteen pair of ribs. It inhabits a great extent of territory throughout the temperate and northern parts of North America, and its history is so fully described by many modern authors, that we need not here dilate upon it.

Bos bubalus, Linn. The Buffalo properly so called. (Plate CCCXLII. fig. 5.) The forehead of this animal is convex or bulging, higher than broad, the direction of the horns is lateral, and they are marked in front by a longitudinal projecting line. It is originally a native of India, from whence it was brought into Egypt and Greece. It was introduced into Italy about the close of the sixth century, and now grazes in numerous herds among the Pontine Marshes. Its milk is excellent, its hide extremely, strong, its flesh but slightly esteemed.

Bosgavoeus, Ham. Smith. Bos frontalis, Lambert. The Gayal of the Hindoos. Nearly of the size and form of the English bull, with a dull and heavy aspect, but in reality almost equalling the wild buffalo in activity and strength. Its horns arc short, slightly compressed, thick though distant at the base, and rise directly outwards and upwards in a gentle curve. From the upper angles of the forehead proceed two thick, short, horizontal processes of bone, covered by a tuft of light coloured hair. There is no hump upon the back, but a sharp ridge runs along the hinder part of the neck and shoulders, and anterior portion of the dorsal region. This species inhabits the mountain forests to the east of Burrampootra, Silhet, and Chatgoon. The milk, though rich, is neither lasting nor abundant. The gayal has been domesticated in India, and is venerated by the Hindoos. The female has been known to produce with a common zebu bull of the Deswali breed.

Bos grunniens, Pallas. The Yack, or grunting ox,— Soora Goy of the Hindostanese. Occiput convex, and covered with frizzled hair; horns round, smooth, pointed, lateral, bending forwards and upwards; withers very high, but not so decidedly hunched as in the zebus; mammae four, placed transversely; fourteen pair of ribs; hair on the neck and back woolly,—very long upon the tail. This species dwells among the mountainous regions of Central Asia, and produces the horse-tails (commonly so called), used as standards by the Turks and Persians. The chow- ries, or fly-drivers, made use of in India, are likewise formed from the tail of the grunting-οχ. It is dyed red by the Chinese, and worn as a tuft to their summer bonnets.^[309. Turner’s Account of an Embassy to Thibet, p. 8G, pl. 10. ] The animal is domesticated by the Mongolians and by the Tartar tribes. Though not large boned, it looks bulky, owing to its long and ample coat of hair. It has a downcast heavy look, is sullen and suspicious, and usually exhibits considerable impatience on the near approach of strangers. It is sure-footed, and capable of carrying a great load as a beast of burden, but is not employed in agriculture.^[310. This species is no doubt the Poephagus of Aelian. It is curiously described in the old English translation of Conrad Gesner. See The History of Four-footed Beasts and Serpents, collected by Edward Topsel, 1658. ] Bos Caff er, Sparmann. The Cape Buffalo,— Qu'Araho of the Hottentots. This species is characterized by dark rufous horns, spreading horizontally over the summit of the head, with the beams bent down laterally, and the points turned upwards. They measure from eight to ten inches broad at the base, and are divided from each other only by a slight groove. They are extremely heavy, cellular near the root, and measure five feet in extent, following the curved line from tip to tip. The hide of the Cape buffalo is black, and, especially in old animals, almost naked. Its tail bears a tuft of bristles at the end. It is a gregarious animal, dwelling in small herds in the brushwood and open forests of Caffraria, and striking accounts of its strength and ferocity are recorded in the writings of Sparmann and Thunberg. Like most of the genus, it is sometimes capable of being excited almost to madness by any thing of a red colour. It swims with surprising force and agility.

Bos moschatus, Gm. The Musk Ox,— Ovibos moschatus, De Blainville. This singular animal inhabits many districts of America to the north of the sixtieth parallel. We owe our first systematic knowledge of it to Pennant, who received a specimen of the skin from the traveller Hearne;^[311. Arctic Zoology, vol. i. p. 11. ] but it had been previously mentioned, though vaguely, by several of the early English voyagers, and Μ. Jeremie had imported a portion of its woolly covering into France, from which stockings more beautiful than those of silk were manufactured. When full-grown, the musk ox is about the size of our small Highland breed of cattle. Its carcass, exclusive of the offal, weighs about 300 pounds. Its flesh, when in good condition, is well flavoured, resembling that of the rein-deer, but coarser grained, and smelling strongly of musk. The horns are remarkably broad at their bases, and cover the brow and crown of the head, where they come in contact with each other. The nose is blunt, the muzzle not naked as usual, but covered with short closeset hairs, and the head is large and broad. The legs are naturally rather short, and this dumpy character is increased by the great length of the hair upon the body, which [7:14:168]hangs down almost to the ground. The horns of the cow are smaller than those of the male, and do not touch each other at their bases, and the hair on her throat and chest is shorter. The musk ox spreads over a great extent of the barren arctic regions. It visits Melville Island (north lat. 75°) in the month of May, but does not, like the reindeer, extend to Greenland and Spitzbergen.

Besides the eight species now enumerated, the Asiatic arnee (Bos arnée), and several other animals, either distinct in kind, or constituting well marked varieties of horned cattle, have been described both by travellers and systematic writers.^[312. See particularly the Memoir by Col. H. Smith in Griffith’s Animal Kingdom, vol. iv. ]

The following is a summary of the geographical distribution of the principal species. Two are proper to North America,—the musk ox (B. moschatus), which dwells within the polar circle, and the bison (B. Americanus), which inhabits from that circle southwards, till between the 40° and 35° of north latitude. A like number is characteristic of Europe, viz. the aurochs or European bison (B. bison'), called zubr by the Poles, and the genuine bull (B. taurus), the thur of the middle ages, and urus of the ancients, now extinct in the natural state. There are at least four species found in Asia,—the yak or grunting ox (B. grunni-· ens), the common buffalo (B. bubalus), the arnce (B. arnée), and the gayal (B. gavaeus). Only a single well-determined species inhabits Africa, the Cape buffalo (B. coffer). In relation, then, to the localities of species, it thus appears that the zone inhabited by the genus Bos stretches obliquely across all climates; and that each species, with the exception of the bull and buffalo, now reduced to universal slavery, and widely extended from their original centres through the dominating influence of man, is confined within certain circumscribed limits, in which it is retained as well by natural barriers as by instinctive inclination. The difference in the habits of life observable between the American and European bisons would of itself have sufficed to establish the specific distinction of these animals. Had they been identical, the aurochs or European species would have preserved in America that love of retirement which induces it to dwell in the central solitudes of forests, where (in that of Hercynia; it was found in the days of Caesar, as it now is in those of Lithuania, or amid the loftier gloom of the Carpathian Mountains. The American bison, on the contrary, congregates in large troops, and delights to dwell in those open plains or prairies which produce a thick and abundant pasture. The musk ox, without avoiding such stinted forests as the sterile regions to which it is native are capable of producing, yet dwells for the greater portion of the year among the rocky and almost ice-covered mountains of the extremest north, “creating an appetite under the ribs of death,” with, we fear, but little wherewithal to appease that appetite after it has been created. The buffalo (of Asiatic origin) is an animal of almost amphibious habits, fond of the long, coarse, rank pasture which springs up so speedily in moist and undrained lands. Hence its love of the Pontine marshes, where, according to Scaliger, it will lie for hours submerged almost to the muzzle,—an instinctive propensity which it is seen equally to exhibit in the Island of Timor. The yak inhabits elevated ranges, and the cool and lofty table lands of central Asia, while the buffalo of the Cape delights to dwell in the dense forests of Southern Africa. All these species, with the exception before named, may be regarded as the aboriginals of the countries where they now occur.^[313. Consult Μ. Desmoulins’ Mémoire sur Įa Distribution géographique des Animaux Vertebris, moins les Oiseaux, in Journal de Physique, Fevr. 1822; Baron Cuvier’s Ossemens Fossiles, t. iv. the article Boeuf, m the Diction. Classique d’Hist. Nat. ; and Mr Wilson’s third Essay on Domestic Animals in the Quarterly Journal of Agriculture, No. viii. The author of the present treatise has to acknowledge, in reference to the ensuing portion, the assistance afforded by Dr Robert Hamilton, F.R.S.E., a gentleman who has recently devoted his attention to the history of the Cetaceous tribes. ] Order VIII.-CETACEA, Cuv.

We now come, finally, to the Cetacea, or whale tribe, which has usually been placed as the last in our systematic works; and very naturally, as these animals differ greatly from those of the preceding orders, in being inhabitants not of the land, but solely of the water; and though formed internally on the same general plan as quadrupeds, they have yet been adapted alike admirably and wonderfully, to all their exigencies as dwellers in the “great deep.” The naturalist knows that their structure distinguishes them widely from the whole of the finny race (or fishes properly so called), and allies them closely to quadrupeds, and with these last, therefore, he associates them; whilst mankind in general, judging from their external appearance, allies, or rather identifies them with the class of fishes. Their marked peculiarities, then, arising chiefly from the adaptation of tĥeir structure to the watery element they inhabit, might well require from us more ample details than our nearly exhausted space will nowallow. The great interest, however, as well as importance, of this branch of the subject, and the acquisition of materials recently derived from foreign sources, not yet available to the English reader, induce us to enter into some details. The scientific naturalist need scarcely be reminded of the extremely superficial manner in which this extraordinary order has hitherto been treated in all our compendiums of general knowledge.

The Cetacea are characterized as Mammalia without posterior extremities,—even the bones of the pelvis being scarcely represented by two small rudimentary ones, which hang suspended in the softer parts; the body is pisciform, with the tail cartilaginous and horizontal. The anterior extremities assume the appearance of fins, or swimming paws (as they have been more appropriately designated), having the bones flattened and short. They reside constantly in the water; but, as they breathe by lungs, they are obliged to ascend to the surface at frequent intervals for the purpose of respiration. Their blood is warm; they are viviparous; their mammaeare in some pectoral, though in most abdominal.

The Cetacea are arranged in two great divisions, viz. the Herbivorous and the Ordinary Cetacea. 3

DIVISION I.—CETACEA HERBIVORA.

The Herbivorous Cetacea of Cuvier; also known as the Sirenia, — and popularly as Tritons, Mermaids, Sea-cows, &c.

The characters of this division are as follows :—Head not distinguished from the body by a neck; no blowholes on the head, but nostrils on the snout; body pisciform; no dorsal fin; tail horizontal; pectoral fins resembling swimming paws; mammae pectoral; skin nearly destitute of hairs; teeth very peculiar, but adapted only to a herbivorous regimen.

Until the present century the herbivorous Cetacea were intermingled with the seals or sea-dogs, and the walrus or sea-horse; but from these they are very decidedly distinguished by the total absence of every vestige of posterior extremities, so that the inferior half of the body is but little different from the ordinary Cetacea. From these latter again they differ in having no blow-holes on the summit of [7:14:169]the head, but nostrils much resembling those of several quadrupeds. Although wholly aquatic, they do not, like the majority of the other Cete, feed upon fish, and hunt them through the wide ocean, but they live solely upon vegetables, and these such as are supplied by the shallows of the sea, its estuaries, and the banks of rivers. Hence it is, and also from a general resemblance in the upper parts of the body, that they have so generally received the names of sea-calves and sea-cows.

There can be no doubt that these Cete, in most instances, formed the type of those ideal objects of ancient poetry, the tritons, half men and half fish, who had power to calm the stormy surge; and probably too of the sirens, those sea nymphs whose melody charmed the entranced voyager to his destruction and death. Without, however, dwelling on these well known figments, we shall, in a few words, state the more modern fancies, especially those of the northern races, regarding this peculiar group. “Beneath the depths of the ocean, an atmosphere exists adapted to the respiring organs of certain beings resembling, in form, the human race, who are possessed of surpassing beauty, of limited supernatural powers, and liable to the incident of death. They dwell in a wide territory of the globe far below the region of fishes, over which the sea, like the cloudy canopy of our sky, loftily rolls, and there they possess habitations constructed of the pearly and coralline productions of the ocean. Having lungs not adapted to a watery medium, but to the nature of atmospheric air, it would be impossible for them to pass through the volume of waters that intervenes between the submarine and the supramarine world, if it were not for the extraordinary power of entering the skin of some animal capable of existing in the sea. One shape that they put on, is that of an animal human above the waist, yet terminating below in the tail of a fish; and thus possessing an amphibious nature, they are enabled not only to exist in the ocean, but to land on the shores, where they frequently lighten themselves of their sea dress, resume their proper shape, and with much curiosity examine the nature of the upper world that belongs to the human race.”^[314. Hibbert’s Shetland Islands, 4to, p. 56'6. ]

A knowledge of the existence of such legends is almost necessary to account for the effects which have been usually produced by an encounter with these far-famed, but slightly known animals. We shall here adduce only a single relation of the supposed appearance of a merman, and another of lűs fair companion. Three sailors being in a boat, about a mile from the coast of Denmark, near Landscrone, observed “something like a dead body floating in the water, and rowed towards it. When they came within seven or eight fathoms, it still appeared as at first, for it had not stirred; but at that instant it sunk, and came up again almost immediately in the same place. Upon this, out of fear, they lay still, and then let the boat float, that they might the better examine the monster, which, by the help of the current, came nearer and nearer to them. He turned his face, and stared at the men, which gave them a good opportunity of examining him narrowly. He stood in the same place for seven or eight minutes, and was seen above the water breast-high: at last they grew apprehensive of some danger, and began to retire; upon which the monster blew up his cheeks, made a kind of roaring noise, and then dived from their view. In regard to his form they declare, in their affidavits, that he appeared like an old man, strong-limbed, and with broad shoulders; but his arms they could not see. His head was small in proportion to his body, and had short curled black hair, which did not reach below his ears; his eyes lay deep in his head. About the body, and downwards, the merman was quite pointed like a fish.”^[315. Pontoppidan’s Nat. Hist. of Norway, p. 154. ] Again, in 1823, “The crew of a fishing-boat, when at the deep-sea fishing, above thirty miles from land, upon drawing their lines, were not a little surprised to find that they had hooked by the back of the neck, and brought alongside, an animal of a singular aspect. They mustered resolution enough to take it into the boat, and keep it for some time: but on perceiving its pectoral mammae, and on seeing it gasp, certain superstitious fears as to its being unlucky to kill a mermaid prevailed, and in an evil moment they slipped it overboard. On hearing of the circumstance, Sir Arthur Nicoson of Lochend, a most intelligènt Shetland proprietor, and justice of the peace, called the men, three in number, put them on oath, and took down their description of the animal. The animal seems to have been a female, the mammae being described as prominent and full. The skin was smooth and slimy; light grey on the back, and pure white on the belly. The swimming-paws terminated in webbed fingers. The eyes were small and of a blue colour; the neck remarkably short. The length was estimated at more than three feet, the largest circumference about two feet and a half. From the middle, the body tapered rapidly towards the tail, which was horizontal, and of a semicircular shape.”^[316. Edin. New Phil. Journal, vol. vi. p. 57. ]

Some of these animals have a voice, which, in certain circumstances at least, is interesting. In proof of this we shall allude to an incident mentioned by Captain Colnett as having occurred in his voyage to the Pacific, off the coast of Chili. “When in latitude 24° south,” he says, “a very singular circumstance happened, which, as it spread some alarm among my people, and awakened their superstitious apprehensions, I shall mention. About eight o’clock in the evening, an animal rose alongside the ship, and uttered such shrieks and tones of lamentation, so like those produced by the female human voice when expressing the deepest distress, as to occasion no small degree of alarm among those who first heard it. These cries continued for upwards of three hours, and seemed to increase as the ship sailed from it. I never heard any noise whatever that approached so near those sounds which proceed from the organs of utterance in the human species.”^[317. A Voyage to the South Atlantic, ⅛c. Lond. 1792. ] It is, of course, such occurrences as these that have given origin to the many poetical effusions which we so often hear conjoined with all the charms of song.

“What fairy-like music steals over the sea, Entrancing the senses with charm’d melody, ’ Tis the voice of the mermaid that floats o’er the main, As she mingles her song with the gondolier’s strain.”

But it is now time to leave the regions of fiction and of superstitious exaggeration, and to present a sober, and, so far as ascertained, a correct view of this interesting group. It is now divided into three genera, and about twice as many species. There is first the genus Manatus, — the manatee of the West Indies; then the Halicore, or Dugong of the East Indies; and, thirdly, the Stellerus, an inhabitant of the polar regions. Of each of these genera it is on good ground supposed, that there are several species, which, however, still remain to be demonstrated. Of the Manatus there are not above two or three living species accurately ascertained, and as many which belonged to a former era of the world’s history. Of the Dugong, so highly prized in the Eastern World, only one species is correctly known, and this chiefly through the zeal and energy of the late Sir T. S. Raffles when Governor of Batavia. For our knowledge of the manatus we arc mainly indebted to the Duke of Manchester, who held the corresponding station in Jamaica. Of the Stellerus also, a name derived from the indefatigable naturalist of the expedition of the celebrated[7:14:170] Behring, only one a^scertained species is known. But let us proceed to the details.

Genus Manatus, Cuv. Trichećhus, Linn. The manatus, as its name implies, derives its principal generic character from its swimming paws. These, as in the other genera, are formed of soft parts and a membrane, which envelope the bones of the hands and fingers; but in the manatus four flat nails are also seen, which are attached to the edge of the fin. The tail is no less characteristic; it is long, extending to about one-fourth of the body, and oval-shaped, which gives the animal some resemblance to an otter.

The first species we notice is the Man. Americanus of Cuvier, Desmarest, &c. Plate CCCXLIIΓ, fig. 1. Head conical; no neck; muzzle large and fleshy, semicircular at its upper part, where are the nostrils; upper lip full and cleft in the middle; two tufts of stiff bristles are situated at its sides; lower lip much shorter; mouth not very large; skin of a greyish colour, with a few slender hairs scattered here and there; pectorals long, large, and oval, terminated by four flat nails. Length twenty feet. Vertebrae, according to Baron Cuvier, six (cervicaD, sixteen (dorsaD, twenty-four (lumbar and caudaD, in all forty-six. According to the late Sir E. Home, seven, seventeen, twenty-four, in all forty-eight. There is a corresponding difference between these authors as to the number of the ribs, which are peculiar, being almost round, and very large and thick. So also with the teeth, which, according to Cuvier, are <Į q fí f,

- = 36; and to Home - = 24. Two incisives 9 — 9 6 — 6

appear in the very young, but speedily drop out.^[318. See Ossemens Fossiles, t. v, and Phil. Trans, for 1821. ]

Their manners and dispositions are stated by voyagers to be inoffensive, mild, and even amiable. Buffon states that they are both intelligent and sociable, not naturally afraid of man, but rather free to approach him, and to foliowhim with confidence and promptitude. But they have especially a kindly feeling for their fellows. They usually associate in troops, and crowd together with the young in the centre, as if to preserve them from all harm; and, when danger besets them, each is willing to bear his share in mutual defence or attack. When one has been struck with the harpoon, it has been noticed that the others will attempt to tear the dreadful weapon from the wounded flesh. When the cubs are captured, the mother becomes careless of her own preservation; and, should the mother be the victim, the young follow her fondly to the shore, where they are speedily secured and slain. Buffon also tells us that Gomara reared one in a lake in St Domingo, and preserved it for the long period of twenty-six years. It became so tame and familiar as to answer to its name, and took pleasantly whatever nourishment was offered.

The manatus is not found in deep waters. It frequents the shallow bays among the West Indian islands, and the sheltered creeks of the South American continent, particularly of Guiana and the Brazils. It was chiefly at the mouths of those vast rivers the Oronooko and the Amazons, “where ocean trembles for her green domain,” that innumerable flocks of these cetacea were in use to dwell. They also ascended the fresh-waters for many hundred miles, entered many of their tributary streams, and peopled the interior lakes with their fantastic forms. The historian Binet has remarked, that, in his time, there were certain places within ten or twelve leagues of Cayenne where these creatures so abounded that a large boatful could be procured in a day; and, according to Barbot, the inhabitants of Cayenne were in the habit of sending brigantines to various localities to buy them from the Indians, who, for beads and toys, and iron tools, would fill their vessels. But the high estimation in which their flesh was generally held, and the avidity with which they were pursued, led ere long to a vast thinning of their numbers, in those countries which are thickly inhabited. They have retreated before the tide of population; and, wherever men arc numerous, there they become scarce and shy, and, it is alleged, more fierce and vindictive in their disposition.

Μ. Senegalensis, Adanson, Cuv., Desm. This species, which frequents the rivers and shores of Western Africa, so much resembles the former in general appearance, and so little is explicitly known about its habits, that we shall merely adduce its characters. The bony cranium is somewhat shorter, in proportion to its breadth, than that of the preceding. Breadth of nasal foramina three-fourths of their length; the inferior margin of the lower jaw is curved, while it is straight in the Americanus. Length seldom more than eight feet. Dr Harlan has published an account of what he considers another Manatus (he names it latirostris), the bones of which were fourni in great numbers on the banks of the rivers of the Floridas.^[319. γ See Philad. Journal of Nat. Sciences, vol. iii. 390, Lesson’s Manuel de Mammal., and Fr. Cuvier’s recent work entitled De l’llisloire Naturelle des Cetucés. Pariá, 183G. ] Cuvier has discovered several fossil bones belonging to this genus, on which we do not now insist; and shall only further add, that the best informed naturalists suppose that several other living species still remain to be described.

Genus Halicore, liliger, Cuvier, Desm. Dugungus, Lacép. There seems little doubt that of this genus also several species, inhabitants of the Eastern Seas, exist. It is a popular belief of the Malays that two species frequent their coasts; and Μ. Fr. Cuvier states, that there are considerable differences between the Malay varieties, and one which had been procured from the Philipines. It would appear also that an analogous animal is known on the coast of New Holland, which is supposed by MM. Quo y and Gaimard to differ from those of the Indian Archipelago;^[320. Zoologie du Voyage de l’ Uranic. ] and finally, a species which has been recently observed by Dr Ruppel in the Red Sea, does not agree with any of the preceding. But concerning all these species (with one exception), we have little, or rather no accurate information.

II. Indicus or Dugong, Desm.; Trichechus Dugong, Linn.; Halicore dugong, Cuv. As late as the year 1820, it was stated by Sir E. Home in the Royal Society, and correctly, that no specimen of the Dugong of full size had ever been seen by any one who was conversant with comparative anatomy. In the year above named Sir Evcrard read two papers upon it, and Sir Thomas S. Raffles transmitted an interesting memoir from Sumatra. About the same time Messrs Diard and Duvaucel sent both accounts and specimens to France, which brought it under the inspection of Baron Cuvier, who gave the result of his observations in his Oss. Dossil, t. v. p. 261. From these sources we supply the following description.

The head is small; the nostrils are situated in the summit of the upper jaw, where it makes a curvature downwards, and they penetrate in such a manner that the upper semilunar edge, pressing upon the lower surface, forms a perfect valve, which is shut when the animal is feeding at the bottom of the sea. The eye is very small, and is supplied with a third eyelid; the aperture of the ear is so minute that it is with difficulty perceived. The upper lip is large, forming a vertical kind of snout, like a short proboscis, which is studded over with a few bristles; the lower lip is much smaller, and the interior of the cheeks is covered with coarse hair. The skin is smooth and thick, and yields no oil, the colour bluish above and white underneath. The swimming-paws present no appearance of nails, but are somewhat verrucose on their anterior margin. The tail is broad, horizontal and crescent-shaped. The total length is twelve feet reaching to twenty when fully grown. The [7:14:171]skull is remarkable for the very peculiar manner in which the anterior part of the upper jaw is bent downwards, almost at a right angle, so as to form a kind of beak; the lower jaw is truncated so as to correspond with the upper. These peculiarities are well seen in the skeleton, which on this and other accounts is worthy of examination (see Plate CCCXLIÍI, fig. 2). The dental apparatus is very peculiar. Besides the incisors and molars, there are two great tusks in the upper jaw, which are scarcely covered by the lip. Concerning the true history of the teeth, there is still considerable discrepancy. It would appear that the first incisors soon fall out, and that the second set remain rudimentary, having their place supplied by an extremely firm horny-looking substance in both jaws. The number of molars varies from five or six in the young, to two in the old, and these do not drop out and disappear as in most other animals, but, on the contrary, those nearest the front are necessarily pushed forward, and when nearly worn away, are pushed out by those behind, as occurs in the elephant. The vertebrae are seven cervical, eighteen dorsal, and twenty-seven caudal, in all fifty-two; ribs eighteen pair.

“The greatest peculiarity,” says Sir E. Home, “in the structure of this animal, is that of the ventricles of the heart being completely detached from one another. This is not met with in any other animal·”^[321. Phil. Trans. 1820, p. 319. ] Though this last statement is not strictly true, yet the structure is so peculiar that we have copied the excellent representation of it which Sir E. supplied to the Royal Society (see Plate CCCXLIII, fig. 4). This sketch will represent the foriu which is common to the Dugong and the Stellerus, as will presently be seen; and which, so far as we know, has not been observed in any other animals. The following considerations, supplied by Sir E∙, are also interesting. “The skeleton may be compared to a boat without a keel, with the bottom uppermost, so that in the sea the middle part of the back is the highest point in the water; and as the lungs are extended to a great length close to the spine, they make the animal buoyant, so that when no mnscular exertion is made the body will naturally float in a horizontal position. When we consider that this is the only animal yet known (with its congeners) that browses at the bottom of the sea unsupported by four legs, we must admit it wiH require a particular mode of balancing its body over the weeds on which it feeds; and in this way the centre of the back forms a point of suspension, similar to the fulcrum of a pair of scales, and the jaws are bent to correspond with this formation.”^[322. Ibid. 1821, p. 2G9. ]

The food of the Dugong appears to consist exclusively of the fuci and submarine algae, which it finds at the bottom of the inlets of the sea. It browses on these vegetables precisely as a cow in a meadow, rising every now and then to respire. Its flesh resembles young beef, and is very delicate and palatable.

The Ikan Dugong is considered by the Malays as a royal fish, and the king is entitled to all that are taken. The flesh is by them considered as superior to that of the buffalo or ox. They distinguish two varieties. The breasts of the adult females are said to be large. The affection of the mother for its young is strongly marked; and the Malays make frequent allusion to this animal as an example of maternal affection. When they succeed in taking the offspring they feel themselves certain of the mother. The young have a short sharp cry, which they frequently repeat, and it is said that they shed tears. These tears are carefully preserved by the common people as a charm, the possession of which is supposed to secure the affections of those to whom they are attached, in the same manner as they attract the mother to her young. This idea, says Sir T. S. Raffles, is at least as poetical, and certainly more natural, than the fable of the Siren’s Song.^[323. The Dugong of the Red Sea was observed by Μ. Μ. Hemprich and Ehrenberg, but we owe its more detailed description to Edward Ruppel— {Museum Senckenbergianum, ι. i. tab. G). He deems it diíľerent from that of the Indian Seas, and has named it Halicore tabernaculus, in consequence of his historical researches having led him to the conclusion, that it was with the skin of this species that the Jews of old were compelled by the Mosaic law to veil their tabernacle. The Hebrews named it Thaachasch. The Arabians still esteem it for its flesh, its teeth, and skin, and name it Naqua cl baher. There can be little doubt that the strange fish described by Forskal under the name of Naqua, was in truth this very dugong.— (Descrip. Animalium, ^c. quoe in itincre orientali observavit). Ruppel observed it swimming among the coral banks which border the Dalac Isles on the coast of Abyssinia, between the 15and 16° South Lat. The fishermen call it Dauila. They harpooned a female ten feet long, which our traveller dissected and described. He was further informed by the Arabs, that these Dugongs live in pairs or small families; that their voices are very feeble; that they feed on algae; and that, in the months of February and March, bloody combats take place among the males. The females produce in November and December. The former sex attains to the length of eighteen feet, the latter never equals that extent. We may add that Μ. Sommering (merely, however, from a comparison of the writings of Home with those of RuppeD, doubts the fact that the supposed species of the Red Sea is specifically distinct from that of the Indian Archipelago. ]

The last genus of the Herbivorous Cetacea is that called Stellerus. The only known species was met with in the Northern Pacific, and being regarded by Steller as a species of Manatus, it received the appellation of Trichechus Manatus borealis. Cuvier, however, soon perceived that it was necessary to distinguish it as a distinct and peculiar form.

Stellerus borealis, Cuv., Desm.; Manatus, Steller, Pennant; Trichechus Manatus borealis, Linn.; Rytina, liliger. This is a huge animal, reaching to the length of 26 or 28 feet. The skin is black, like the bark of an old oak; the head is small, and of an elongated form, with white moustaches, four or five inches long; the nostrils are situate at the end of the snout; the swimming-paws are beneath the neck, and serve for grasping as well as locomotion; they are terminated by a callosity, and have no nails; the tail is very broad but not long; the eyes are small, and can be covered by a cartilaginous membrane, which forms a third eyelid; the mouth is small, and has no proper teeth, but is furnished with two considerable bony-looking, but really horny masses, in their nature approximating to whalebone, one in the upper, the other in the lower jaw, not implanted into the maxillaries, but adhering to them. The vertebrae are 6, 19, 35, = in all 60.

The skin of this extraordinary creature is ragged and knotty. In fact, according to Cuvier, the searf-skin is a kind of bark composed of fibres or tubes closely packed, perpendicular to the skin. These fibres are implanted into the true skin by small bulbs, so that when the epidermis is pulled off, the skin is remarkably rough and almost shaggy. As may be supposed, it has no hairs upon it, for the fibres themselves are nothing less than the hairs soldered together, forming a kind of cuirass. In a word, the animal is completely clad in a substance similar to the hoof of cattle. This hide is an inch thick, and so hard as scarcely to be cut with an Axe; and when cut, it appears in the inside like ebony. This skin is of singular use to the animal during the winter, in protecting it against the ice, among which it feeds, and the sharp-pointed rocks, against which it is often dashed by the dreary tempest; and, during summer, in screening it from the rays of the never setting sun. The lips are double, that is to say, there are external and internal lips; and when approximated the space they circumscribe is filled by a thick mass of strong bristles, which are white, and an inch and a half lone. These bristles in their nature, and still more in their [7:14:172] function, agree with the baleen of the whalebone whales, serving as a sieve through which they can strain the water in which they feed, whilst they retain the food itself. The masticating apparatus is not less singular, and seems peculiar to this animal. It is not composed of teeth (of which we have already said there are none), but of two large white horny substances, forming dental masses, one of which adheres to the upper, and the other to the lower jaw. Even their insertion is peculiar, for they are not implanted into the bones beneath, after the manner of teeth, butonly adhere to them by numerous pores and rugosities, corresponding to other projections and cavities in these bones. The substance itself has lately been discovered to be wholly horny, or composed of fibres agglutinated to each other, like the horn of the rhinoceros, and, when examined by the microscope, it is seen to consist of tubes. This structure is so singular that we have exhibited on Plate CCCXLIII, fig. 3, the so styled tooth. A is the tooth itself, and a, b, c, d, e are the fibres or hairs, variously magnified, and viewed horizontally and vertically. These investigations have been made by Μ. Brandt, from a preparation in the Petersburgh Museum, and they are narrated in the Memoirs of its Academy, sixth series, vol. ii. But we must conclude these interesting details by Steller’s account of the heart. This organ does not taper from the base to the apex, th2re to terminate in a single point, but it ends in two distinct and separate apices, corresponding to the two ventricles; the separation reaches to about one-third of their extent, at which place they unite, and then assume the usual appearance exhibited by the organ.

The Stellers are most voracious creatures, and feed with their heads under water, quite inattentive to boats or whatever else may be passing around them. They swim gently one after another, sometimes with a great portion of the back out of the water, and every now and then they elevate their muzzles for the sake of respiration, making a noise like the snorting of a troop of horses. They were captured at Behring’s Island by a great hook fastened to a long rope. This was taken into a boat, which was rowed amidst the herd. When struck into the animal, the rope was conveyed on shore, where about thirty people took hold, and drew it on shore with great difficulty. The poor creatures made the strongest resistance, assisted by their faithful and attached companions, and they clung to the rocks with the greatest pertinacity.^[324. See Steller’s valuable paper De lìestüs Mar. in Nov. Comment. Acad. Petrop., t. ii. p. 294. ]

DIVISION II.—ORDINARY CETACEA.

In passing from the herbivorous to the ordinary Cetacea, we may remark, that the former take the precedence in our systematic works, not from their superior importance, but merely because they approximate more closely to those Mammalia which dwell upon the surface of the earth, and thus link more continuously with our preceding orders. This remark applies with equal force to the sequence in which the more pisciform Cete are discussed. We are in the habit of commencing not with those which are the most imposing of the Order, and the most important in an economical or national point of view, but with those which approach the nearest to the division we have left; and this mode of progression, it must be admitted, possesses an interest peculiarly its own. We begin, accordingly, with the lower and more insignificant links of the scale, and gradually ascend till we reach the great monarch of the deep, which, as to dimensions at least, is the great monarch also of creation.

Subdivision I— Delphiniae. Head of ordinary proportion, with numerous teeth. Blow-hole single.

A. those ιchich have a dorsal fin.

This subdivision comprehends a very great number of species and even genera, which it has been found necessary to distinguish from each other. Baron Cuvier threw out the idea of employing the facial line in their arrangement, and this view has been further extended by Μ. de Blainville. We regard the suggestion as valuable and convenient, and shall therefore adopt it. Five distinctive variations of the line alluded to have already been selected as useful in the classification of these lesser Cete. These we have sketched on Plate CCCXLIII. at figs. 6, 7, 5, 9, 10; to which we shall have occasion subsequently to refer.

Genus (a.)^[325. The Arabic figures which we have made to precede the generic names of this extensive subdivision relate to the abstract exhibited at page 181, and which we hope will render our arrangement more perspicuous. ] Inia, D’Orbigny. The beak is long like that of the dolphin, but cylindrical, and bristled with strong hairs; it has many teeth, incisives anteriorly, molars posteriorly. The temporal fossa and crest arc also peculiar.

There is but one known species in the genus, the I. Boliviensis, D’Orbigny and F. Cuv. (See Plate CCCXLIII, fig. 11.) It is to the first named of these eminent naturalists that we are indebted for our acquaintance with this curious animal (very properly made by him to constitute a new genus), which establishes a link between the Stellerus and the Soosoo. This last frequents the Ganges, an hundred miles from the ocean; but the I. Boliviεnsis is met with thousands of miles from the sea, and is an inhabitant solely of rivers and fřesh-water lakes. It is the only species of the whale tribe characterized by such peculiar localities. Μ. D’Orbigny found it in the early tributaries of the Amazons, 2100 miles from the ocean, at the foot of the Eastern Cordilleras, and was not a little astonished at his discovery. We must condense his description into the following formulary: Snout resembling a prolonged and very slender beak, almost cylindrical, obtuse at the point, and bristled with long strong coarse hair; the commissure of the lips reaching very far back, so as to be over the pectorals; pectorals very far forward, broad, long, and obtuse; dorsal-fin very low, two-thirds down the back; tail large, length 12 or 14 feet. Colour usually pale-blue above, passing into a rosy hue beneath; the tail and fins are bluish. Teeth - , = 134; many of

33 — 33 j them marked with deep and interrupted grooves. The auditory opening is larger than in most of its congeners; and we are not aware that the bristles on the beak have been seen in any of the other Cetacea. The appearance of the teeth is singular; they resemble incisors anteriorly, and posteriorly have an irregular mammary shape. This peculiarity, illustrated on Plate CCCXLIII, fig. 5, somewhat approximates the Boliviensis to the herbivorous Cete, which it also resembles in its brilliant colouring.

This Inia comes more frequently to the surface of the water than its marine congeners, and appears less remarkable for agility and power. It habitually unites in little troops of three or four individuals, which are observed to raise their snouts from the water whilst devouring their prey, which appears to consist entirely of fish. In Bolivia they are hunted for their oil.^[326. See Nouv. Ann. du Mus. t. iii. ] Genus (Z>.) Soosoo, Lesson. The bony frame-work, more than any other part, forms the peculiarity of this genus, especially the long symphysis, and the great maxillary crests which rise above the walls of the spiracles. Besides, there is no furrow between the head and beak; the latter is very long, and slender, compressed at the sides, and expanded [7:14:173]towards the extremity, so that it is broader at this part than in the middle.

<S ’. Gangeticus, Less.; Delphinus Gangeticus, Lebeek, Roxburgh;^[327. Asiatic Researches, vol. vii. 170. ] Platanista Gangeticus, Fr. Cuv. See Plate CCCXLIII, fig. 13. Of all the beaked dolphins, says the Baron Cuvier, the most extraordinary, and that perhaps which most merits being formed into - a distinct genus, is the Soosoo of the Ganges. Lesson accordingly formed it into a genus distinguished by the name under which the only established species is known to the natives of Bengal. Cuvier thinks it is probably ÚiePlatanista of Pliny. The osteology of the cranium, he states, approximates it to the sperm whales.

The length is about twelve feet; the head is obtuse, suddenly tapering to a long and slender, but very strong beak; the jaws are nearly equal, amounting to about one-sixth of the length of the whole animal. The pectorals are of an oblique fan-shape; there is no distinct dorsal fin, but an angular projection nearer the tail than the snout. The colour is a shining nearly white. Teeth — —, = 120.

Spiracle linear, of the shape of an f, running backwards. Vertebrae, cervical 7, dorsal 11 or 12, lumbar 28. We may add that the form of the spiracle is unlike that of most of the lesser Cete, and corresponds with that of the Cachalot, or sperm whale. The tail is curiously festooned, and the pectoral fin scalloped. The eyes are stated to be exceedingly minute, only about a line in diameter, and of a bright shining black colour.

The Soosoos, says Dr Roxburgh, are found in great numbers in the Ganges, even so far up as it is navigable, but seem to delight most in the slow moving labyrinth of rivers and creeks, which intersect the Delta of that river, to the south and east of Calcutta. When in pursuit of the fish on which it feeds, it moves with great activity and uncommon swiftness, but at all other times, so far as noticed by the last named naturalist, its motions are slow and heavy; and it often rises to the surface to breathe. Between the skin and flesh is a coat of pale-coloured fat, more or less thick, on which the Hindoos set a high value, as a remedy of great eflicacy in external pains. The flesh resembles lean beef, but is never eaten by the natives. Though this is the only known living species, it may be mentioned that Baron Cuvier has established the existence of several fossil kinds.

We must now take our leave of those smaller Cetacea which frequent only the shallow bays of the sea coast, browsing upon marine vegetation, or inhabiting “the rivers of water,” to follow the far more numerous groups which revel throughout the vast depths of the unbounded ocean. The haunts of many of these are of course less known; and the facilities of capturing, and more especially of scientifically examining them, are greatly diminished. No wonder, then, need be excited by the avowal that a deep veil of obscurity lies over the history of the great majority, which all the bygone assiduity that has been exercised has as yet but partially removed. Our best endeavours will here be used to present the reader with whatever authentic information the accumulated efforts of naturalists have hitherto supplied, although, in the present embroiled condition of the subject, we cannot ensure ourselves against the chance of error.

Genus (c.) Delpninorhyncus. Snout prolonged, with a beak not distinguishable from the forehead by a furrow, or in other words, with the facial line almost continuous to the extremity of the muzzle (see Plate CCCXLIΠ. fig. 7∙)∙ A dorsal fin.

It was Μ. De Blainville who introduced this generie division, and it has been adopted by Desmarest, the Baron Cuvier and his brother, Μ. Lesson, and others. Though the distinguishing characters are sufficiently precise, yet, from the recent introduction of the generic term, and still more from our want of knowledge of the species, most of which have been only partially described, there is much doubt as to the ascertained number comprehended in the genus. Desmarest enumerated four, Lesson five, and Μ. F. Cuvier in his Cétacés only three. One of the last named author’s species (Z>. micropterus) we reject, because it had many years before his proposed arrangement, been elsewhere and more accurately placed. His other two correspond with two of Μ. Lesson’s. But of the five described by Μ. L., we must reject his Malayanus, because it possesses the characters of the genus Delphinus. Another of these species (Z>. maculatus') must be received with hesitation, because it has never been captured, nor of course examined, though observed with care from a vessel’s deck. To these four of Μ. Lesson we shall now direct our attention.

D. Eredanensis, Less.; D. rostratus, Cuv.,^[328. Règ. An. t. i. 289. ] Fr. Cuv. (in his Mem.);^[329. ĂVe may note that in his Cetacis M∙ F. Cuvier has put this species back among the true dolphins,—we think erroneously,—as it had leng been regarded as the type of the Delphinorhynci. ] Delphinus rostratus, Cuv.,^[330. Ann. du Mus. t. xix. ] Desm.;^[331. No. 704. Description imperfect. ] s D. à bec mince, Desm., Fr. Cuv., Less, (see Plate CCCXLΠI. fig. 14.). In this species, as in the rest of the genus, the profile of the cranium loses itself insensibly in that of the beak. Length of the only specimen examined eight feet; dorsal fin rising nearly from the middle of the back; pectorals falciform; colour sooty-black above, rose-colour beneath.

2Į 21

Teeth ———; — 84. As frequently happens, the osteology, and especially that of the cranium, has been known longer, and more accurately, than any other part of the animal. The city of Brest supplied some crania for the investigation of Baron Cuvier, as did Μ. Van Breda, Professor of Natural History at Gand; and accurate drawings of an individual thrown ashore on the coast of France, reached Paris, and removed all doubts as to its peculiar features. The colouring, we may remark, is singularly beautiful. All the upper parts are of a deep sooty-black, and the lower of a rich rosy hue. These portions are not separated by a distinct and uniform line; on the contrary, their junction is quite irregular, and many small black patches are figured upon the fairer colour. This species would appear to be an inhabitant of the Atlantic; but we believe it has not been seen alive, and we are not aware that any more information has been obtained regarding it than what has now been stated.

D. coronatus, Desm., Cuv.,^[332. Reg. An. 289. ] Less., Fr. Cuv.; Delphinus coronatus, Frémenville. Head small; forehead convex, obtuse; jaws prolonged into a pointed beak, the lower 15 - 15

the largest. Teeth — —, pointed and acute; general form elongated; dorsal fin nearer the tail than the head; pectorals of moderate size; tailcrescent-shaped; length from 30 to 36 feet; colour a uniform black, but having two yellow concentric circles placed on the forehead,—the larger three inches diameter, the smaller about two. Hence its specific appellation. On the authority of the preeeding noted names, we rank this very interesting species as a Delphinorhyneus, though we cannot dismiss all doubts upon the subject. Our knowledge of its existence rests solely, strange to say, upon the authority of Μ. De Frémenville, a distinguished naturalist, and officer of marine, who commanded an expedition towards the North Pole in 1806, chiefly for the purpose of geographical investigation. All subsequent accounts have been derived from that author.^[333. gee Mem. de la Soc. Philom. for 1818. and Fr. Cuvier’s Cétacés. ] He remarks that the only kind of whale he can describe with confidence, is a species which appears to have been previously unobserved. After supplying the description [7:14:174]of its external characters, he adds, “the coronatus is common in the Polar Seas. I first met with it about 74° N., but it is chiefly between 77° and 80°, among the ice-islands near Spitzbergen, that it is found in numerous troops. Frequently during calms we were quite surrounded by it. These animals were so little shy that the water which they spouted fell on the deck. Their spouting was attended by considerable noise, and was effected with such force, that the water was immediately dispersed, and had the appearance only of a slight vapour; the jet itself did not rise above six feet.”

∙,D. Geoffroyi ?, Desm., Less.; Delphinus Geoffroyi, Blainv.; D. frontalis, Cuv. and F. Cuv. The fall of the frontal convexity is rapid; the beak marked and compressed; the specimen in Paris measured seven feet; the beak about ten inches; the horns of the spiracle are pointed backwards; the dorsal-fin very low; the pectorals well developed, and inserted .low in the side. The specimen is painted grey on the back, white on the belly and round the eyes, the fins rosy-white. These are thought to be the colours of the living animal. The only specimen now known was brought from the Museum of Natural History of Lisbon to Paris by Μ. Geoffroy, in 1810. The colours indicated cannot with certainty bo depended upon. It is supposed to have been brought from the Brazils.

D. maculatus?, Less.; Delphinus maculatus, Fr. Cuv. Head slender, terminated by a long beak; body elongated, reaching to about six feet; dorsal fin placed in the middle; tail large. The colour in the water appeared a bright green, but out of it, the tint of the back was azure, of the belly grey, dappled with round spots bordered with red; the edges of the jaws, and especially of the upper one, were pure white. This species was seen, but not captured, in 18° S. and 137° W.

In advancing from the recently established genus DelPhinorhyncus to that which is the oldest, perhaps, of any, viz. Delphinus, we wish we could inform our readers that we leave a region of hesitation and doubt for one of Certainty and precision. This, however, is not the case; and the cause is evidently to be found in the many and great difficulties by which the subject is encompassed. These animals, residing in haunts so different from those frequented by man, are but rarely encountered, and when met with, are seen under circumstances in which examination is difficult, and capture almost impracticable; for they pass us by, and vanish, almost like the vessel’s track upon the rolling waves. It is only then, by some very fortuitous circumstance, or by great and peculiar labour, that when seen they are secured,—and the chances are still more remote of their being rendered available to the advancement of science. But instead of dilating upon these difficulties, we shall simply state a striking proof of their magnitude. In 1822 Desmarest enumerated sixty-two species as belonging to the whale order; but he considered no fewer than twenty-nine of them doubtful and not establisb.ed; and Lesson, in 1828, out of eighty-four species which he classified, could vouch for the accuracy and existence of not more than fifty. With regard, again, to the genus now before us, Μ. F. Cuvier, in his history of the Cetacea, recently published (in 183G), while he regards sixteen species of proper dolphins as pretty well ascertained, describes seventeen, the existence of which is still doubtful. Linnaeus had three species in his genus Delphinus; the number has now been multiplied more than tenfold. The greatest discrimination, however, is required; for, while some are to be regarded as unquestionably established, and others rest upon a high probability, or it may be, on a very low one, yet even the slightest notice may be valuable, and should not be lost to science. On the other hand, there are instances in which species which were at first erroneously admitted, have long passed current as established in the records of Cetology, and some of these can scarcely be excluded without a reason being assigned for doing so. As the authors we have named indicated the different degrees of probability on which the species rest, we shall follow their example, and shall distinguish, 1st, Those which appear to be established; 2dly, Those which are probable, though not free from doubt; and, 3dly, Those which are not only doubtful, but highly questionable.

Genus (d.") Delphinus, Cuv., Desm., Blain., Less., Fr. Cuv., Gray. Forehead convex; snout in the form of a beak, and distinguished from the forehead by a marked furrow. (See Plate CCCXLIII. fig. 8.)

D. Delphis, Linn., Bon., Lacepede, Desm., Cuv., &c. popularly, Die de Mer. Dolphin. (See Plate CCCXLIĨI. fig. 12.) This animal is perhaps more generally known through the fictions of ancient poetry, than by its soberer name of goose of the sea. It is universally considered as the dolphin of antiquity, or at least as the only actual origin of that fabled being, though assuredly unendowed with those extraordinary attributes and charms with which it has been so fancifully clothed. It is the Hieros Ichthys, or sacred fish of the heroic Greeks, and was awarded divine honours by that imaginative people. It was more particularly sacred to their god Apollo; the reason assigned for which is this,—that when Apollo appeared to the Cretans, and obliged them to settle on the coast of Delphis, where he founded that oracle so famous throughout antiquity, he did so under the form of a dolphin. Apollo was thus, according to Visconti, adored not only in connection with the Delphine province, but with the Delphinus fish. He was worshipped at Delphi, with dolphins for his symbols. The ancients respected the dolphin as a benefactor of mankind; they cherished the tale of Phalanthus, the founder of Tarentum, being carried ashore by a dolphin when wrecked on the coast of Italy; and fondly believed in the stcfry of the musician Arion, who, when about to be thrown overboard by the sailors that they might appropriate his wealth, begged that he might be permitted to play some melodious tune, and then throwing himself into the sea, was received by one of the many dolphins which had been attracted by his music, and carried on its back in safety to Taenarus. It is also recorded, that the shield of Ulysses bore an image of the dolphin, and it is certainly found on very ancient coins and medals. It early appeared on the shield of some of the princes of France; and gave a name to a fair province of that empire, and hence a title to the heir-apparent of the crowm.

Scarcely less fabulous are those other narratives which have been transmitted on the testimony of early naturalists. They tell us that the dolphin made itself familiar with man, and conceived a warm attachment for him. Pliny narrates that in Barbara, near the town of Hippo, a dolphin used to frequent the shore, and accept of food from any hand which supplied it; it would mix among those who were bathing, would allow them to mount its back, would consign itself with docility to their direction, and obey them with as much celerity as precision.^[334. Lib. ix. c. 48. ] Still more extraordinary is that other tale narrated to illustrate the assertion that the dolphin is more partial to children than to adults. Thus, according to Pliny, it was recorded in several chronicles that a dolphin which had penetrated the Lake of Lucrinus, in Campania, every day received bread from the hand of a child, answered to his call, and transported him to the other side of the lake, on its back, to school. This intimacy continued for several years, when the boy dying, the affectionate dolphin, overwhelmed with grief, sunk under its bereavement. But [7:14:175]with such stories as these, which might easily be multiplied from Herodotus, Plutarch, and other ancients, we shall not further tax our readers.

The common dolphin (D. delphis) is usually five or six feet long, but sometimes measures eight or nine. For its general appearance we refer to our representation in lieu of many details (see Plate CCCXLIII. fig. 12). The tints, though not gay, are attractive. It is black on the back, and white underneath, with a peculiar glistening when in, or newly taken from, the water. It may be well, however, to remark, that “the dolphin, with its many dying hues,” as mentioned in many books, and sung by modern poets, is not this creature, but another of a different nature, belonging even to a separate great division of the animal kingdom. It is a true fish, the beautifully coloured Coryphoena Hippuris, the Dorado of the Portuguese, and it would be well if its popular name (involving as it does a double application) were entirely dropped. The eyes of the common dolphin are small and supplied with eyelids: the pupil is in the form of a heart. Mr Rapp has minutely described the lachrymal gland, the peculiarities of which Mr Hunter, indeed, had previously pointed out. There is no olfactory nerve, nor ethmoidal foramina. The meatus auditorius is apparent, though very small. The jaws are equal; teeth i '-——, = 188, pointed, slender, and somewhat curved, at 47-47’ 1 equal distances from each other, and locking together when the mouth is closed. There are seven cervical, twelve dorsal, and fifty-two other vertebrae. Finally, the brain of the dolphin is very large, and developed to an extent which is quite extraordinary among the lower animals. Its weight, in relation to that of the whole body, has been stated as one to twenty-five, which is the same as that in man. The average of four accounts given in Cuvier’s comparative anatomy is one-fiftieth of the whole; and Tiedemann, the highest living authority in this department, remarks, “that the brain of the dolphin, next to that of the orang-outang, approaches nearest, in respect of size, to the human brain.” This would lead to the supposition that its intelligence and mental capacity are considerable, and any indications which have been noticed are favourable to: such opinion.

Few if any of the order appear to be more voracious than the dolphins. They live upon medusae and fishes, especially upon flat fish, and cod, mullets, pilchards, and herrings. It used to be held that the common dolphin was an inhabitant of every sea throughout the world. This appeared the more credible, since the strength of the animal, and the velocity of its swimming, exceeding that of a ship in full sail, would readily account for its appearance in all seas, and even at the opposite poles.^[335. Quoy les a vus souvent, dans le voyage de l’Uranic, précéder la frégate filant de neuf à onze noeuds par heure, comme on voit les chiens danois précéderles équipages dans les rues et les promenades publiques. On voit ainsi deux, trois, ou quatre Dauphins, quelquefois un tout seul s’exercer à lutter de vitesse, et par leurs zig-zags entrecroisés sous la pointe du beau-pré (et cela pendant des journées antieres), faire quatre ou cinq fois plus de route que le vaisseau qui file de quatre à cinq lieues par heure.”— Diction. Classique d , Hist. Nat., t. V. p. 350. ] A very different opinion, however, is now gaining ground, confirmatory of a sentiment of Buffon’s in relation to land animals, more than once alluded to in the preceding portion of the present treatise, viz. that every distinct species has a characteristic and, with few exceptions, circumscribed locality. It* is more difficult, of course, to ascertain the truth of this proposition, as it regards the inhabitants of the water, although many facts would seem to establish its truth -with regard to the cetaceous tribes. The species now under review frequents the European seas, the Atlantic, and the Mediterranean; and other species of the genus occur in the seas of Africa, Asia, and America. They navigate the waters of the ocean in more or less numerous troops, and their strange gambols and rapid natation, which are daily observed by voyagers (with sometimes little else within their range of vision), has long made them famous. The common dolphin is peculiarly signalized by these qualities, which, however, it enjoys only in common with the majority of its congeners. To swim with the rapidity of an arrow, to shoot ahead of vessels which are scudding before the breeze, to spring out of the water and over the waves, are qualifications possessed alike by all the smaller Cetacea which live in the ocean.

The one we shall next allude to is almost the most perplexed of the genus. It is the D. Tursio, Fab. 31, Bon., Desm. 761, Cuv., Less.; D. Nesnarnak of the Greenlanders, Fab., Bon., Lacep., Fr. Cuv.; D. Oudre, Belon, &c.; Grand Souffluer and Great Dolphin of the French; Capidoglio of the Italians, and Risso; Bottle-nosed Whale, Hunter, Plate 18, which he confounded with D. Delphis, D. Orea ? Linn., Desm. 765. Head and beak of the genus; the lower jaw somewhat longer, and having a slight bend upwards; dorsal near the middle; pectorals oblong, pointed. Length stated from ten to twenty-four feet. Colour black above, whitish beneath, merging into each other on the sides. Vertebrae (six), seven, seven- 23 23

teen, twenty-seven ≡≡ sixty (Hunter). Teeth — —; of one form, straight, cylindrical, and blunt at the summit. Inhabits Northern Seas, Atlantic, and Mediterranean. The account of the “History of the natural history” of this species, would lead us into a very intricate and not very profitable discussion.

D. Nesarnak? ^[336. Wherever the mark of interrogation (?) follows the name of a species, we mean it to be understood that the existence of that species is extremely doubtful. ' ' ] Cuv.^[337. Ann. du Mus. t xix. 9. ] Desm. 762. The principal alleged difference dwelt upon by these eminent men is the number and arrangement of the teeth. We are disposed wholly to reject this as a distinct species.

D. Boryi, Desm. 757, Desmoulins,^[338. Dic. Classique d’Hist. Nat. ] Less., Fr. Cuv. Beak longish, much compressed, and very broad near the head, which is rather elevated; dorsal in the centre; length about eight feet. Colour mouse-grey above, bright grey beneath, and there striped with light blue. Known at once by a band of ivory-white on the sides of the head, very distinct from the grey underneath it.

Twice seen, near Madagascar, by Col. Bory de St Vincent, a learned and zealous naturalist, who communicated the particulars to Desmarest. On being captured the blue stripes underneath speedily disappeared.

D. Gontalis, Dussumier, Cuv.;^[339. Règne Animal, 288. ] D. dubius, Fr. Cuv. Head and beak of the genus; length of the specimen examined four and a half feet; dorsal somewhat behind the middle; pectorals attached one-fourth of the distance of the whole length from the anterior extremity, and one-sixth of the whole length, pointed. All the upper part of the body, sides, and tail a deep black; belly white, with a leaden-coloured streak running from the angle of the mouth to the base of the pectorals, which are quite black. Teeth about 3G — 3G 1 . .

= 144.

36 —3G

This species was captured by Μ. Dussumier near the Cape∙de-Verd Islands. Μ. F. Cuvier has identified it in his Mammifères, and Cétacés with the Dubius ; but so did not the Baron, nor do we think sufficient reason has been assigned for the step.

D. Pernettyi, Pernetty,^[340. Voy. aux Malouines.- ] Desm. No. 756, F. Cuv. Regarded[7:14:176] as a variety of the Delphis by Bonnaterre and Baron Cuvier. Head and beak of the genus; lower jaw somewhat longer than the upper; dorsal pointed, and placed behind the middle; colour black above, pearly grey below, and mottled with dark spots; teeth acute, and somewhat like those of the pike.

The vessel of Bougainville, in which Pernetty sailed, when near the Cape-de-Verd Islands was surrounded by about 100 of these dolphins, which approached very near it. They appeared, says Pernetty, to have come only for the purpose of diverting us; they made extraordinary leaps out of the water, some of them vaulting four feet high, and turning over two or three times in the air. The one taken weighed 100 pounds. To the common characters, which we have specified, Pernetty adds another, which we believe may be referred to many of the order, viz. that it exhaled an odour which was so strong and penetrating, that whatever substance was once impregnated with it, retained it for many days, in spite of all that could be done to overcome it.

D. Malay anus, Cuv.,^[341. Règne Animal, 288. ] F. Cuv.; Delphinorhyncus ma layanus, Lesson and Garnot. Head large, forehead convex, falling suddenly, and presenting a marked furrow at the origin of the beak, which is prolonged and thin; upper jaw somewhat larger than the lower; teeth numerous; length of the specimen taken six feet; dorsal in the middle; of a uniform ash-colour. This species was taken in the middle of the Indian Seas. In common with Mr F. Cuvier, we do not understand how Μ. Lesson should have ranked it with the Delphinorhynci. Baron Cuvier suspects it may be the same with the following species.

D. plumbeus, Dussumier, F. Cuv. General proportions of the genus; length eight feet; the dorsal starts from about a third of the anterior extremity; colour uniform leaden-grey, with the exception of the extremity and lower portion of the beak, which are whitish; teeth =

136. This species was detected off the Malabar coast by Μ. Dussumier, who states that they frequent the shores, and pursue the shoals of pilchards. Their motions are less rapid than those of their congeners, which are found in the midst of the ocean. The natives capture them in nets, but with much difficulty, because they seem to suspect their intentions, and very cautiously avoid the snare. The noise of a musket makes them flee in all directions; and after having sunk beneath, they take a direction different from that which their plunge indicated. These circumstances manifest something of that mental capacity with which the dolphin is generally supposed to be endowed.

D. froenatus, Duss., F. Cuv. Four and a half feet long; dorsal in the middle,—its length one-fifth of the whole body,—its form triangular and pointed; pectorals long and slender; colour black on the back, pale on the flanks, white on the belly, as is the lower half of the tail, the upper half being quite black; head black above, and of an ash tint on its sides, with a streak of a deeper hue, forming on the cheek a kind of bridle, extending from the commissure of the lips, under the eyes; teeth numerous, but their precise amount not ascertained. Taken by Dussumier to the south of the Cape-de-Verd Islands.

D. velox, Duss., Cuv.,^[342. Règne Animal, 288. ] F. Cuv.;^[343. ’ Cet. 154. ] D. leger, F. Cuv.;^[344. Mammifères. ] the swift dolphin. Head and beak of the genus; beak long; length five feet; all the fins long and broad; dorsal over

4ļ 4ļ

the middle; colour wholly black; teeth , = 164.

41 — 41

Dussumier met this species between Ceylon and the Equator. When one was harpooned the whole group instantly disappeared. They swam with extraordinary rapidity; hence their name.

D. longìrostris, Duss., Cuv.^[345. Règne Animal, 288. ] Our only information regarding this species is that in the Règne Animal taken from Dussumier’s manuscripts. This gentleman captured it off the coast of Malabar. The number of its teeth exceeds that of most of the genus; the formulary is , = 240.

D. superciliosus, Less, and Garnot, F. Cuv. Total length between four and five feet; dorsal somewhat beyond the middle; upper part of the body of a brilliant bluish-black colour, sides and under parts of a silvery whiteness; pectorals brown, on a white ground; but what especially characterizes this dolphin is a large white spot over the eye in front; another long white mark occurs on the sides of the body near the tail. Teeth,; = 118.

It was captured by Garnot off Van Diemen’s Land.

D. Novae Zelandice, Quoy and Gaimard, F. Cuv. Head and beak of the genus; lower jaw somewhat longer than the upper; dorsal large, triangular, rounded at top; pectorals of average size, falciform; tail small. Length between five and six feet. Colour dark brown above, lower part of beak and body dull white; a large yellow stripe commences at the eye, and terminates, growing narrower on the flanks, beneath the dorsal; tail of a slate colour, pale underneath; pectorals of the colour of white-lead, also the dorsal, both tipt all round with black; there is a black line over the snout, becoming larger towards the eye, which it surrounds; this line is accompanied on either side with a white line. Teeth, -'-——; = 180.

D. cceruleo-albus, Meyen, F. Cuv. Facial line of the genus; snout more curved and compressed than in the common dolphin; pectorals more pointed; colour above, a deep steel -blue, as are the pectorals; a marking begins large at the dorsal, descends towards the commissure of the lips, and comes to a point half way between them; another commences at the pectorals and terminates in the black marking which surrounds the eye; this latter extends posteriorly, widening as far as the vent; the rest of the body is of a pure and brilliant white. Μ. Meyen observed this species on the east coast of South America. The specimen he examined was taken at the mouth of the Plata.^[346. Nan. Act. Cur. Nat. ] D. Capensis, Gray.^[347. Spic. Zool. part i. plate il. fig. 1, ] The entire length of this animal is 81 inches; his widest girth 42. The back, lips, and fins 50

are black; the belly white. Teeth about —, — 100.

50

From the tip of the nose to the angle of the mouth he measures 13 inches; to the angle of the forehead 7; to the blower 7⅛; to the dorsal fin 38; to the pectoral 21. The length of the dorsal fin is 12; along the curve 12, and its perpendicular height 10; the length of the pectoral along the curve 13; the breadth of its base 5. The breadth of the tail is 18; and the length of each of its lobes along the curve 13 inches. This dolphin, says Mr Gray, is at once distinguished by the shortness of its beak. Its habitat is the Cape of Good Hope, whence it was sent to the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons, London, by Captain Heaviside. Considerable discrepancy exists between the description and the plate by which it is accompanied.

D. dubius?, Cuv.,^[348. Mem. du Mus., t. xix.; Règne Animal, 288. ] Desm., No. 760. Less., F. Cuv. Cranium shaped like that of D. delphis, though somewhat smaller; beak more slender and pointed; upper jaw slightly[7:14:177] conical, but not bent upwards; altogether smaller than tbe common dolphin. Teeth 3 -~"' 3^7 ’ = 148. This species (still entitled to the name of dubius) was proposed by Cuvier from the examination of specimens, chiefly of crania, transmitted from the western coast of France.

D. niger ?, Abel Remusat., Lacep.,^[349. Mem. du Mus. iv. ] Desm., No. 763. F. Cuv. Beak flat and very long; dorsal very small, and nearer the tail than the pectorals; colour mostly black, but white on the commissures of the lips, and margin of the pectorals, and part of the tail. Teeth more than 24 in each jaw. Introduced by Lacépède, on the faith of Chinese paintings procured in China by Μ. A. Rémusat. This species requires confirmation.

D. lunatus, Less., F. Cuv.; Funenas of the Chilians. Massive in its form; about three feet in length; beak slender; dorsal round at top; colour, a clear fawn shade above, gradually passing into white beneath; a brown and accurately defined cross is seen on the back on a line with the pectorals, and anterior to the dorsal. This small dolphin, according to Lesson, destroys an immense number of fish; and every morning at sunrise he noticed numerous troops of them, unceasingly diving in search of prey. By ten o’clock in the morning, when they had well breakfasted, they devoted themselves to play, and seemed delighted while striving which should rise the highest. He adds, that he saw this species only in the Bay of Talca-guana, in the province of Conception, where, however, it is extremely common.

D. minimus, Less., F. Cuv. About two feet in length; colour generally brown, with a white spot on the snout,— the latter slender. This species was seen by Lesson near the Moluccas, where they existed in thousands, frequently following each other in a uniform course forming two lines, in which they were arranged checquer-wise.

D. cruciger ? Q,uoy and Gaimard, Less., F. Cuv. The flank is white, with a black line nearly throughout its whole extent; the dorsal is acute; total length but a few feet. This species was seen (but not taken) between New Holland and Cape Horn. It is suspected by Μ. F. Cuvier to be the same as the Ph. bivittatus. D. albigena ? Quoy and Gaimard, Less., F. Cuv. Colour generally black, with a white band on each side of the head, extending from the eyes as far back on the flanks as the dorsal-fin, which was of small dimensions. Observed (but not captured) by Q,uoy andGaimard in the Antarctic Seas, and often seen by Μ. Lesson in the neighbourhood of New Holland.

D. Bayeri? Risso, Less., F. Cuv. Head equal to one-third the size of the whole body; snout much prolonged, obtusely pointed, and but little elevated, of the same form as in the dolphin. The opening of the mouth very large; teeth ļ"—∣-*, = 136; pectorals very broad; dorsal small and triangular; length forty-two feet; colour dull blue above, and whitish below. This species is doubtful and requires renewed examination. It was first noticed by Bayer, who considered it a eaclialot;^[350. Act. C<es. Leap. Cur. Nat., t. iii. ] but Risso having procured a drawing of what he believed to be the same animal, stranded at Nice in 1726, described it anew, and gave it Bayer’s name. The characters stated above are from Risso’s description. Baron Cuvier and his brother, with their eye fixed on Bayer’s description, lean to the opinion that it was a cachalot.

D. Canadensis? Desm., No. 767, Duhamel,^[351. Tr. des Pèches, Part ii. Plate X. fig. 4. ] Blain., F. Cuv.; Dauphin blanc, Desm. Head round, forehead elevated; beak pointed, and clearly distinguished from the forehead; length of specimen referred to twelve feet; colour white. Duhamel’s description of this more than doubtful species is derived from information received from Canada. Whilst Desmarest regards it as a Delphinus, Baron Cuvier is disposed to refer it to the Delphinorhyncus Geoffroyi, and F. Cuvier to identify it with the Beluga.

D. Chinensis? Osbeck;^[352. Voy. a la Chine. ] D. Sinensis, Desm. No. 759, F. Cuv. In the words of Osbeek, “it was like the common dolphin, but wholly of a white shining colour.” He only saw this animal in the China seas. Bonnaterre^[353. Encyc. Meth. ] considered it a variety of D. delphis, Desmarest as a distinct species, and Baron Cuvier was disposed to regard it as a Delphinapterus. ^[354. Oss. Foss., tom. v. 1st part, 289. ] ⅛ D. Bertoni ? Desm. 768, Duhamel, Blain., F. Cuv. Forehead prominent; beak long and thick; upper jaw longer than lower; teeth confined to the latter; pectorals high in the body; the dorsal very small. Introduced by Desmarest on the imperfect data supplied by Duhamel. Habitat unknown; existence very doubtful.

D. Kingii ? Gray.^[355. Phil. Mag. 1827. ] “When the cranium is compared with the Beluga, the beak is found shorter by a half, and narrower in the exposed part of the maxilla, which edges the point of the blowers; the cavity of the cranium more globular, and the blower more anterior; teeth °- 0 J — 2XLL o small conical and recurved.” Obtained on the coast of New Holland, and sent by Captain King to the British Museum.

D. longirostris? ^[356. This name is most unfortunately chosen, and should certainly be changed by the learned author. It cannot be synonymous with the D. longirostris of Dussumier and the Règne Animal (see our p. IĴG) which is quite entitled to maintain its appellation. ] Gray.^[357. Spic. Zool. part i. p. 1. ] The existence of this our final species, is founded upon a cranium only, in Brooke’s Museum. The beak, says Mr Gray, is more slender and depressed than that of the D. Delphis ; the palate-bone is more strongly keeled; and the elevated central process of the upper surface of the beak is broad and convex. The length of the head is 6 inches; the beak 11|; breadth of the. latter, at the base, 3 inches. Teeth 48 to 50 in each jaw.

The Porpoises, to which we now proceed, in their habits and dispositions very closely resemble the dolphins; and it is for the convenience of classification only that distinction is desirable.

Genus (e.) Phocaena, Cuv., Less., Gray. Head and snout short and gibbous, no beak, the facial line descending in a uniform connexity to the end of the snout; numerous teeth in both jaws; a dorsal-fin. (See Plate CCCLXIII. fig. 9.)

P. communis, Cuv., Less., &c.; Delphinus phoccena, Linn., Bon., Lacep., Desm., &c. The Porpoise, or Por-pess of the English; also Pellock or Sea porh. The Su-inhual, and Springwhal, and Tumbler of the Danes. Maris Sus, —Marsouin of the French. (See Plate CCCLXΠI. fig. 15.)^[358. We are indebted for this original and very correct representation to our able friend Mr Macgillivray. ] ° Head typical of that of the genus; lower jaw somewhat more projecting than the upper; dorsal nearly in the middle of the body, triangular; pectorals oblong; length from four to five feet; colour bluish-black above, fading on the sides to white underneath; pectorals dark brown; vertebrae, according to Lesson, 7, 14, 45, — 66; Tyson numbers them 60. Ribs, according to Lacepede, Tyson, Cuvier, and Lesson, 13, according to Hunter and

94 94

Jacob,^[359. Dublin Phil. Jour., vol. i. ] 16; teeth ——- 2 ~ 4 > = 96. Tyson.

The porpoise is found in all the seas of Europe, and in the Atlantic. In some parts of North America its skin, like [7:14:178]that of the Beluga, is tanned and dressed with considerable care. It is shaved down from its natural thickness till it oecomes transparent, and is then manufactured into articles of wearing apparel; it also affords excellent coverings for carriages. In a late report of a committee of the House of Commons on the public works of Ireland, it is stated “that porpoises abound in almost innumerable shoals on the western shores of Ireland.” It is desirable that they should be converted to the same economic purposes as in Canada.

P. Grampus; ^[360. Mr Gray has made this species the type of a new genus. We do not, however, perceive the necessity or propriety of this. ] Delphinus grampus, Desm. 774, Hunter; D. Orca, Fab., Linn., Bon., Lacep., Shaw; also the D. Gladiator of Bon. and Lacep.; the Grampus of the English; Epaulardoĩ the French; especially the Buttskoff of northern nations; the Killer and Thrasher of the Americans; the Sword-fish of the Greenlander; Epée de Mer of Bon., &c.; conjectured to be the Aries marinus of the ancients; Cuv. Oss. Fossil, t. v. p. 282. Head and snout of the genus; upper jaw somewhat larger than the lower; lower rather broader than upper; body elongated; from twenty to thirty feet in length; dorsal-fin central and very large, —four feet high; pectorals also very large, broad, and oval; colour black above, and white beneath, with a well marked line of junction; a white mark over the eye, and a black streak running forwards from the tail into the white portion; teeth ———, = 44. Inhabits high northern latitudes, descending frequently into the Atlantic and German Ocean, and frequenting the coasts and friths.^[361. Delphinus orca ?. Desmarest, besides the grampus above described, names a D. Orca (No. 7G5), noticed by Belon, and regarded by some as the Orca of the ancients. According to Cuvier, it has the facial line of a Delphinus. This opinion, however, rests upon a single sentence of Artedi, and its existence is very doubtful. It is said to inhabit the Mediterranean. ]

The grampus has the character of being exceedingly voracious and warlike. It devours vast quantities of fishes of all sizes, especially the larger ones. When pressed with hunger it is said to throw itself on every thing it meets with, not sparing the smaller Cetacea. Hunter found a portion of a porpoise in one which he examined. It is also said to make war on seals, and that when it espies them on the ice, it endeavours to drive them into the sea, where they become an easy prey. This species is often seen m small herds of six or eight, apparently amusing themselves, and chasing each other; and it is alleged, that when thus assembled they frequently attack the great Greenland whale. During this unprovoked and outrageous onset they are said to resemble so many furious mastiffs fighting with a wild bull: some seizing the tail and endeavouring to impede its murderous blows, whilst others attack the head, lay hold of the lips, or tear away the tongue. They have thus received the appellation of Balaenarum tyrannus from the accurate Fabricius; and hence too the popular names of Thrasher and Killer. ^[362. The term Thrasher is also not unfrequently applied to a species of fox-shark (Carcharias vulpes ), which, in common with the sword-fish, often attacks the whale. See the article Ichthyology of this work, vol. xii. p. 184. Note. ] We apprehend, however, that these bloody fights, recorded with such minute accuracy in many works on the Cetacea, stand in need of confirmation.

P. oentrieous ? Hunter’s “second species of grampus.” Plate 18. Delphinus ventrieous, Bon., Lacep., Blain., Desm., F. Cuv. Head and snout of the genus; jaws projecting equally; dorsal fin of moderate size, situate somewhat behind the middle; pectorals long, not remarkably broad. Hunter’s specimen was eighteen feet long; colour black above and whitish underneath, gradually merging into each other; no white or black markings. Cuvier and others have conjoined this with the preceding, and perhaps correctly; but, from the differences above indicated, we prefer for the present to follow the respectable authorities just named, and to keep it distinct. Hunter’s specimen was caught in the Thames.

P. griseus, Less,, F. Cuv.; Delphinus griseus, Cuv.^[363. Ann. du Mus., t. 9. ] Dcsm., No. 77ð; Paimpolporpoise of Less.; D , Orbigny , s porpoise of F. Cuv. Head and snout of the genus, though prominent; dorsal very elevated and pointed; pectorals enormously developed; total length ten feet; upper parts of the body and fins of a deep bluish-black, fading as it descends the sides, and giving place beneath to a dull white; no mark over the eye; vertebrae 7, 12, 42, = 61; ribs 12; teeth -, truncated; has been frequently strand ed on the west coast of France.

P. compressicauda, Less, and Garnot, F. Cu v. Head round and prominent, terminating in a short obtuse point; upper jaw projecting slightly beyond the lower; length eight feet; dorsal somewhat behind the middle, triangular; pectorals small, attached low, form rather straight, and terminating in a point; tail rather small; leaden colour above, and 22 22

whitish beneath; teeth ——-,, =90; lining of the mouth black. Captured by the crew of the Coquille, in latitude 4° S., longitude 26° W.

P. truncatus, Delphinus truncatus, Montague,^[364. Wern. Mem. vol. iii. ] F. Cuv. Length twelve feet, circumference eight; black above, a purplish tinge gradually becoming dusky on the flanks, and sullied white beneath; lower jaw somewhat larger than the ,20 —20 λz , , , , upper; teeth ———, = 8b, placed close together, circular, perfectly flat; some of the teeth nearly double the size of others, with no spaces between them; they were much truncated, some obliquely, and some at right angles. This species was taken in July, five miles up the Dart. Dr Fleming identifies it with the Tursio of Fabricius. We think his opinion is erroneous.

P. Capensis, Duss., Cuv.,^[365. Règne Animal, 289. ] F. Cuv.^[366. Mammifères. ] Head and snout of the genus, though somewhat flat; length four feet; dorsal somewhat beyond the centre, more than half a foot high; pectorals six inches long, three broad, rounded at their extremity; colour all over black, with exception of a white spot on each side, somewhat behind the dorsal;

28 — 28

teeth, according to Baron Cuvier, ——- , = 112; accord-

26 26

ing to F. Cuvier, ———= 98; 'cylindrical, pointed, and not compressed as in the common porpoise. Μ. F. Cuvier names it D. cephalorhyncus, — apparently an unnecessary innovation.

P. Homeii, Gray.^[367. Zoological Journal, iv. ] Colour above pure black; sides of the head and body clouded black and white; belly white; on each side an indistinct band commences immediately under the dorsal fin, and descends obliquely and backwards, till it terminates on the under and posterior part of the body; a dusky-coloured circle also surrounds the eye; below, the anterior part of the jaw, and a space of nearly a foot and a half before the tail, dusky; snout thick, pointed, and not readily distinguished from the anterior part of the head;

40 40

teeth ——— β , = 152, slightly curved with the convexity outwards; pectorals long and pointed; dorsal fin placed behind the centre, large, high, and pointed, its hinder edge falciform; tail semilunar; usual length six feet. Mr Gray states that this species is often caught in Table Bay. Is it distinct from the preceding?

P. ( Grampus) Heavisidii, Gray;^[368. Spic. Zool. part i. plate ii. ] Delphinus hastatus [7:14:179]Fr. Cuv.^[369. The multiplication of specific names is much to be lamented. We have here one of English origin, given by Mr Gray, and another from a French source, supplied apparently by Μ. F. Cuvier, but possibly by Μ. Quoy. The priority of publication ought to regulate our choice, and on this principle we have given due weight to the name of Heavisidii. ] l Beak in a uniform line with the cranium, of moderate length, and large;^[370. We confess we have much difficulty in satisfactorily classifying these species so slightly sketched by Mr Gray: the descriptions would almost ally them with the DelphinorhyncL ] jaws equally projecting; “teeth 26 in upper and 25 in lower jaw dorsal fin not much elevated, placed somewhat beyond the middle; tail large; pectorals short. Length above five feet; colour generally black, head of a slate-colour, four markings underneath,— one in front of the pectorals, lozenge-shaped, two oval ones immediately behind them, and then a much larger one, covering a great part of the abdomen. The specimen which furnished Mr Gray with this description is in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons in London, and was sent thither by Captain Heaviside from the Cape, where Μ. Quoy again examined the species, in the cabinet of Μ. Verveaux, a naturalist settled in southern Africa. Their descriptions generally accord, though not in all particulars. Its habitat is presumed to be the neighbourhood of the Cape of Good Hope.

P. (Grampus') obscurus, Gray,^[371. Spic. Zool. part i. ] F. Cuv., Quoy.^[372. F. Cuvier’s Cetacćs, p. 1G2. ] Forehead and beak in a continuous line; teeth in the upper jaw 52, in lower 48, small and conical; dorsal fin two-fifths from the end of the snout. Length six feet. The back and upper part of the head black, the flanks and lower parts of the body white, with the exception of twm bands running obliquely backwards,—one proceeding from the sides of the head, and terminating upon the pectorals, the other from under the dorsal, and terminating upon the belly. It is singular that these markings vary in different individuals, and are more apparent upon young than old animals. Mr Gray drew his description of this species also from a specimen in the Royal College of Surgeons, London. It had been sent from the Cape of Good Hope. Μ. Quoy, as in the former instance, found it in Mr Verveaux’s museum.

P. Feres? Delphinus feres, Bon., Lacep., Desm., 766, F. Cuv. Head almost as high as long, much rounded on the summit, and suddenly sloping away anteriorly, where it terminates by a short round snout; jaws equal, covered

. 1 , ,. . 10 — 10 . λ 1 with membranous lips; teeth 1 -——, = 40, some large, others small,—the former about an inch long, the projecting portion oval, round at the summit, and as it were divided into two lobes by a groove extending throughout their whole length,—the smaller teeth about half the size of the others. Length about fifteen feet; the whole body covered with a fine black skin.

This species rests solely on the authority of Bonnaterre, who received from the Abbe Turles of Frejus, a drawing of the skeleton, and a description of the external aspect. A shoal of about 100 were captured, after a hard struggle by the Provençals.

P. bivittatus? Lesson, F. Cuv. Snout short and conical; dorsal moderately high, black, and placed over the middle of the animal; pectorals thin, white, with the anterior edge black; tail brown, sloped in the middle; two feet and a half long; slender in its form; upper part of the body of a deep shining black; belly and lower jaw white; there is a large slash of satiny white running along each side of the body, but interrupted in the middle, opposite the dorsal, where the two portions of the band thus separated are enlarged. Suspected by F. Cuvier to be the same as D. cruciger. Seen by Lesson in great numbers off Cape Horn.

P. Agluk ? Pallas, Chamisso, Less. Length thirteen feet; dorsal large; teeth small and numerous; colour black, with a white lateral streak passing from the commissure of the lips to below the pectorals, and another commeneing before the dorsal, and proceeding obliquely underneath towards the origin of the tail.

P. intermedius? F. Cuv.∙, Delphinus intermedius, Gray. ^[373. Phil. Mag. 18'27, P∙ 357- ] This species is proposed by Mr Gray from an examination of a cranium in the British Museum, of the origin of which he knows nothing. He remarks that the cranium is very like that of P. griseus. The teeth, however, are ŗð ~ θ,

— 42, whilst the last named species has seldom more than two or three in the lower jaw. This approximates the former to the Orca of Fabricius, from which, however, it differs in the small size of the temporal fossa, in the width of the temporal ridge, and the greater size of the space for the attachment of the occipital muscles.

Genus (/.’) Geobicephalus, Less. Characterized by having no visible snout; the head being nearly globular, the mouth towards the under portion. (See Plate CCCXLIII. fig. 10.)

G. Deductor, Less.; Delphinus giobiceps, Cuv.,^[374. Ann. du Mus. ] Desm. No. 777; D. Melas, Traill; D. Deductor, Scoresby; Ca ’ ing whale of Orkney; Uyea whale, Neill; Grind whale of Feroe; Butshead of the Danes. (See Plate CCCXLIII. fig. 16.) Head obtuse, upper part very much rounded; body thick; dorsal small; pectorals very long and narrow; colour generally black, with a white mark under the throat, extending along the belly; length about twenty-two feet;

14—14

teeth —, — 56, conical, sharp, somewhat curved at their"summit, and very apt to disappear; vertebrae 7, 11, 37, in all 55; ribs 11. Inhabits the northern shore of Europe, Iceland, Feroe, Shetland, Orkney, and the British and French coasts. Egede is perhaps the first author who makes mention of the Deductor under the name of Butshead ; and he was soon followed by Duhamel, who gave a figure of one taken at Havre, under the name of “the porpoise with the round snout.” In 1806 Dr Neill gave a more extended and interesting account of the species, under the name of Uyea Sound or Ca , ing whale, than any which had previously appeared;^[375. Tour through Orkney and Shetland. ] and three years after Dr Traill published its first accurate description, under the name of Delphinus mêlas, ^[376. Nicoson’s Journal, 1809. ] 9, with a drawing, afterwards republished with additional details by Mr Scoresby.^[377. Account of the Arctic Regions. ] In 1Ş12 an interesting memoir concerning the same animal appeared from the pen of Cuvier. He bestowed upon it the name of Delphinus globiceps. ^[378. Ann. du Mus. t. ix. ] X()

Of all the Cetacea this would appear to be the most sociable, often herding together in innumerable flocks. We may supply a few facts which establish this point. From an old history of the Feroe Islands, quoted by Mr Scoresby, it would appear that the inhabitants had long been in the habit of hunting and capturing them in great numbers. In the year 1664, on two excursions only, they killed about 1000; in the year 1748,40 individuals of this species were seen in Tor Bay, and one seventeen feet long was captured; in 1799, about 200 ran ashore in Fetler, one of the Shetland Isles; and, in 1805, as mentioned by Dr Neill, in February 190, and in March 120 more, out of a herd of about 500, were forced ashore in Uyea Sound, in Unst; in 1806, 92 were stranded in Scalpa Bay, Orkney; in 1809 and 1810, Ĳ00 of these animals approached the shore of Hvalfiord, leeland, and were captured; in 1812, 70 were chased ashore near [7:14:180]the village of Bloubalzbance, on the coast of Bretagne; and, in 1814, 150 were driven into Balta Sound, Shetland, and were there despatched. These are only a few of the instances in which, in modern times, an extensive capture of the Deductor has taken place; and we may add, that it is alleged to have been seen both off the American coast, and in high latitudes in the Pacific.

It would be interesting to ascertain from what mental peculiarity it results that this animal is so frequently stranded, so easily hunted, and so readily made a prey. We have seen enough to demonstrate that they are most sociable in their habits; and we may now remark that they seem moreover to be endowed by an instinct very useful, doubtless, on the whole, whereby they are almost irresistibly induced to follow the guidance of the oldest and most experienced of their number. In the words of Dr Traill, they seem generally to follow one as a leader with blind confidence; and Dr Neill remarks, that the main body of the drove follows the leading whales as a flock of sheep follows the wedders. Hence the natives of Shetland well know that if they are able to guide the leaders, they are sure likewise of entangling multitudes of their followers. This trait is strikingly illustrated by a circumstance of which Dr Traill was a witness. “I once,” says he, “was in a boat when an attempt was made to drive a shoal of them ashore; but when they had approached very near the land, the foremost turned round with a sudden leap, and the whole rushed past the boat.” It is from this peculiarity in their mental constitution, that Mr Scoresby, it would appear, applied to them the appellation of deductor. G. Rissoanus, Less. Delphinus Rissoanus, Cuv. Head large and round, upper jaw longer than the lower, dorsal high, in form of a scaline triangle, situated near the middle; pectorals large, broad and thick. Length nine or ten feet. Colour of the males a bluish-white, of the females a uniform brown, and both marked with irregular white lines, and brown spots. It inhabits the Mediterranean. (See Plate CCCXLIII. fig. 8.)

G. leucocephalus ? Less., Fr. Cuv. Head short, conical and truncated; dorsal very narrow, and acute at the summit. Length about six feet; body of a deep grey colour; head and neck of a dazzling whiteness. Lesson saw this species in the Archipelago of Pomotous, but did not capture any of the shoal.^[379. Voyage de la Coquille, t. i. p. 184. ] He likewise mentions another observed in similar circumstances. It may be called the G. fuscus ? Less. Head completely truncated; dorsal high, falciform. Length ten or twelve feet. Colour a uniform brownish-black. The French naturalist was informed by the captain of an English whaler, that this was the black fish of the whalers, which, though very active, they were anxious to catch, because they found in its head a matter analogous to spermaceti.

We now proceed to a genus as yet but slightly known, though interesting and peculiar. It consists of those Cetacea which have two dorsal fins. This character, more curious than important, does probably not produce any marked difference between the habits of this little group and those of its congeners. It was established by Μ. Rafinesque Smaltz, and contains at present only two species.

B. Those which have two dorsal fins. Genus (y.) Oxypterus, Rafinesque Smaltz, Less., F. Cuv. Two dorsal fins.

0. Mongitori, Rafinesque Smaltz, F. Cuv. Named but not described by Smaltz in his Precis de Sémiologie, p. 13. He observed the animal in the Sicilian seas.

0. Rhinoceros ; Delphinus Rhinoceros, Quoy and Gaimard, Less., F. Cuv. (See Plate CCCXLIII. fig. 18.) A fin on the head inclined backwards, like that on the back; length ten or twelve feet; upper part of the body as far as the dorsal fin spotted with black and white.

“In 1819,” say these interesting writers (Quoy and Gaimard), “in going from the Sandwich Islands to New South Wales, many dolphins, in troops, performed rapid evolutions about our vessel. Every one on board was surprised to perceive that they had a fin upon their head, bent backwards, the same as that on their backs. The size of this animal was about double the size of the common porpoise; and the upper part of its body to the dorsal fin was spotted black and white. We did our best to examine them all the time they accompanied us; but although they often passed the prow of the vessel, with the highest part of the back out of water, yet their head was so submerged, that neither Μ. Arago nor we could discover whether their snout was long or short; and their habits did not assist us on this point, because they never sprang above the wave, as is common with other species. From this very singular structure we have given them the name of Rhinoceros* ^[380. Voyage de Μ. Freycinet. Zoologie, p. 86. ] Though, from the circumstances detailed, our authors could not supply an accurate drawing, yet Messrs Quoy and Gaimard have furnished a sketch of the appearance of the species, which we copy from their atlas.

C. Those which have no dorsal fin. Genus (7ì.) Beluga, Less. Gray. The osteology of the cranium, according to Baron Cuvier, supplies generic characters which distinguish this from the neighbouring genera. The form of the head is obtuse, conical, and rounded. The genus is moreover distinguished from the Globicephalus by having no dorsal fin; and from the Dclphinapterus by having no prolonged snout-like flattened beak.

Beluga arctica, Less. Dclphinapterus beluga, Lacép. Beluga, Shaw. D. Leucas, Linn. D. albicans, Fab. Bon. White whale of English whalers. See Plate CCCXLIII. fig. 17. Head obtuse and rounded; mouth small; teeth short and g 9

blunt θ _ ğ ; no dorsal fin; pectorals large, thick, and oval; tail large and powerful. Total length from twelve to eighteen feet. Colour, of a light cream-colour. The shape of this animal ⅛ highly symmetrical, and at once suggests the idea of perfect adaptation to rapid progressive motion in water. Its head is small and somewhat lengthened, and over the forehead there is a thick cushion of fat; the body continues to swell as far as the pectoral fins, and from this point gradually diminishes to the setting on of the tail. The tail is powerful, bent under the body in swimming, and worked with such force that it impels the beluga forward, says Giesecké, with the velocity of an arrow. The colour is usually a uniform and beautiful cream-colour, whilst the younger ones are marked with brownish spots, and are somewhat of a blue or slaty colour. Mr Scoresby remarks that he has seen some of a yellowish hue, approaching to orange; and this agrees with the statement of Fabricius, who says they are white, sometimes tinged with red. Many contradictory accounts are given of the number of teeth, in consequence, no doubt, of the fact, that in the beluga, as in most of the other w hales, these parts have the greatest tendency to drop out as the animal becomes aged. Anderson states that it has no teeth in the upper jaw, and that this is the universal opinion of the Greenland fishers, while there are eight on each side in the lower ;—thus, g~^ 8 ∙

9 9 g 9

Dr Neill gives ð- β , and Crantz —Cuvier, however,

9 g states them as - = 36; so agreeing with Fabricius.

But if we are so slow in arriving at certainty respecting [7:14:181]the dental apparatus of the beluga, when are we, by this means, to determine species in any of the other Cetacea?

Sir Charles Giesecké describes the white whale as a migratory animal, which visits Greenland every year regularly about the end of November. He remarks that, next to the seal, it is the most useful animal captured by the natives, as it comes at a season when their provisions are extremely scanty. It arrives in herds, in stormy weather. It is taken by harpoons and strong nets; in the latter case the nets are extended across the narrow sounds between the islands, and when a shoal is thus interrupted in its course seaward, the individuals are attacked with lances, and great numbers are frequently killed. The flesh is somewhat similar to that of beef, of a bright red colour, though somewhat oily. According to Hans Egede, “when it is marinated with vinegar and salt, it is as well tasted as any pork whatever; the fins also, and the tail, pickled or sauced, are very good eating, so that he is very good cheer. The oil is of the whitest, best, and finest quality.”^[381. Description of GreenlaiuL ] Some of the internal membranes are used for windows, and some as bedcurtains; the sine⅞vs furnish the best sort of strong thread.

Genus (ĩ.) Delphinapterus, Cuv. Less. Distinguished from the dolphins by having no dorsal-fin, and from the beluga by having a slender beak, flattened transversely, and separated from the head by a marked furrow.

Zλ Peronii, Cuv. Less. Delphinus Peronii, Lacep. Desm., No. 771, D. Leuco~grampus, Peron. D. Chilii of Kotzebue. See Plate CCCXLIII fig. 19∙ Snout obtuse, depressed at the extremities and edge, thus forming a short beak; pectorals and tail large; colour above of a deep bluish-black, beneath brilliant white, except the edge of the pectorals, which is black. Length between five and six 39 _ 39

feet. Teeth ğğ ~ = 156, all slender and very pointed.

High southern latitudes are the resort of this species. The historian of the voyage of Baudin met with them to the south of Van Diemen’s Land; Dr Quoy saw them near New’ Guinea, as did Μ. Lesson, off Magellan’s Straits and the Falkland Islands. Many of them, according to the last named author, surrounded the corvette in January 1823, on the vessel entering the Southern Ocean, and one was harpooned by the sailors, which enabled him to give a more accurate account than any previously supplied. It is elegant in its form, regular in its proportions, sleek, and especially remarkable from appearing to be covered with a black cloak. Its snout, as far as the eye, is of a silky and silvery whiteness, so are the sides and pectorals, the abdomen, and part of the tail. A large scapular y of a deep bluish-black colour, rising at the eyes, where the white appears like a cross, is pointed and bent on the flanks so as to cover the upper part of the back only. The iris is of an emerald-green.

D. Commersonii, Cuv. Less. Delphinus Commersonii, I√teep. Desm. 772. r The Jacobite of the French. Snout flat and slender; body generally silvery-white; the snout, tail, and pectorals tipt with black; about the size of the common porpoise. Commerson, who regards this as one of the most beautiful inhabitants of the ocean, encountered it in the Straits of Magellan. Lesson met with it at the Falkland Islands.

D. Senedetta ? Lacèp. This species is rejected by Cuvier.^[382. Règne Animal, 291. ] D. Epiodon ? Rafinesque Smaltz, Desm., 786, F. Cuv. Body elongated, attenuated posteriorly; snout rounded; lower jaw shorter than the upper; many obtuse teeth, which are all alike in the upper jaw; none in the lower. No dorsal-fin. This animal was taken in the Sicilian Seas in 1790, and Rafinesque seems to have described it from a drawing. We have no further information respecting it.

It may here be remarked, that we have now discussed to the extent our limits will allow our first subdivision, consisting of Cete with ordinarily proportioned heads, and numerous teeth; it includes nine genera, and about fifty species. The direction of the facial line has chiefly, though not solely, regulated us in this avowedly artificial, and, it should not be forgotten, not very important arrangement of genera. We shall here supply a tabular view of the classification of the whole of the preceding subdivision :—
[table]

Subdivision II.— Heterodontes. Head of ordinary proportion. Teeth few, and of various forms,—sometimes wanting. Blow-hole single.

Ever since Cetology has been studied as a science, the teeth, as in the other orders of Mammalia, have received the most marked attention. The two great orders into which Lacèpéde divides the ordinary Cete (which alone he considers), are founded on the fact, that some possess teeth, while others want them; and three of his ten genera repose solely on the peculiarities of the dentition. Since his time increased attention has been paid to these important parts. Blainville introduced the term Heterodon, —in which subdivision he includes those genera of which the teeth, in number, form, and situation, are various and in some respects anomalous. Sometimes, as in the Narwhal, they are scarcely in the mouth at all; and several genera are believed to be still more destitute of teeth. Desmarest and Lesson have followed in Blainville’s track, and pursuing the same course we shall now discuss, under the name of Heterodontes, a perplexing and somewhat anomalous group. It includes the Narwhal, the Diodon, the Hyperoodon, the Aodon, and the Ziphias, — which last comprehends some of the most important fossils which have been discovered.

Genus Narwiĭalus, Lacep., Cuv., Desm. Monodon, Lin., Bon. Sea Unicon of whalers. This genus has no teeth properly so called, but only two long tusks straight and pointed, implanted into the outer maxillary bones, and projecting forwards in the axis of the body. It has no dorsal fin.

This long established genus was formerly made to include several species. Bonnaterre had two, and Lacèpéde and Desmarest three; the first and last of these, viz.— N. vulgaris? Lacèp., Desm. No. 707, Monodon monoceros, Fab., Linn., Narwhal, Bon.; and the N. Andersonii ? Lacèp., Desm. No. 789? are now rejected as having been [7:14:182]introduced on insufficient grounds. There remains, therefore, only one species, viz.

√V. microcephalus, Lacep., Desm. No. 788, Dr Fleming. Monodon monoceros, Linn., Cnv., &c. Sea Unicon. (See Plate CCCXLIV, fig. 2.) This singular creature has rarely two tusks developed at the same time; the single tusk or horn (as it is called) has usually spiral markings, though these are sometimes absent; its length is from seven to ten feet; and that of the whole animal twice or thrice as much. The head is round and suddenly truncated; body slender; no dorsal fin; pectorals short; eye small; colour generally light-grey, variegated with darker spots. Vertebras 7, 12, 35, ~ 54 (Scoresby); ribs twelve pair. The length of the narwhal is usually stated to be about fifteen or sixteen feet, which is to be understood exclusive of the tusk; so that, with this striking appendage, it reaches to from twenty to twenty-seven feet. Besides the elongated tusk, like a spirally twisted spear, there is literally no other teeth. When very young, the germ of a tooth can be discovered on each side of the mesial line, the subsequent elongation of one of which produces the sharp weapon of the adult. Sometimes both germs are developed, and produce two horizontal and diverging spears. Among a considerable number of instances which might be adduced, we mention only one of this more perfect development, which is preserved in the Museum of Roeding at Hamburgh. In this specimen, when they start from the bone (see Plate CCCXLIV, fig. 1.), the tusks are only two inches apart; but they steadily diverge till their points arc thirteen inches asunder. The left tusk is seven feet five inches and the right seven feet long. It much more frequently happens, however, that only one of the germs grows, while the other becomes almost obliterated, or remains shut up in the bone, like an inert osseous nut. It is curious that the tusk is usually found on the left side,—a fact for which we believe that no sufficient reason has yet been assigned. At one time it was stated that the tusks were peculiar to the males; this, however, is now found to be incorrect, and it seems doubtful whether they are not as common in the one sex as the other. Fabricius’ account is probably the correct one, “Caeterum, tam feminae, quam mares dentatoe” Two uses of .the horn may be inferred from the statements of Mr Scoresby ∙.^[383. See some interesting remarks in a Journal of a Voyage to the Northern Whole-Fishery, 1823. ] one, that it is occasionally employed in breaking the thinner ice, whereby the narwhal can more easily carry on respiration than it otherwise could; and the other, that, by the horn, it attacks its prey, first killing the great fish on which it is to feed, because, from the smallness of the mouth, it could not possibly devour them until it had put an end to all resistance.

The sea-unicon is regarded by the Greenlanders as a migrating animal. Its favourite resorts seem to be among the ice-islands of the pole, and the creeks and bays of Greenland, Davis’ Straits, and Iceland. The natives regard it as the precursor of the great ^Mysticetus, and, as soon as it is noticed, they prepare in earnest for the fishing of that vast monster. Narwhals are quick, active, usually inoffensive animals, which swim with considerable velocity. When harpooned they dive in the same manner, and almost with as much rapidity, as the true whale, but not to the same depth. They generally descend about 200 fathoms, then return to the surface, and are despatched with the lance in a few minutes. The blubber supplies about half a ton of oil, which is regarded of first-rate quality. The Greenlanders consider both the oil and flesh as very delicious nourishment. At a time when the origin of the horns of these animals was less known, and when they were more rare than now, they were considered as invaluable. The physician, and still more the charlatan, employed them, and superstition converted them to its use; for it is stated that the monks in various convents procured the true horn of the unicon, which was believed to be endowed with unheard-of powers, and obtained for them far and near the credit of curing the most inveterate diseases. The ivory is esteemed superior to that of the elephant; in the words of Giesecke, it far surpasses it in all its qualities. It is said that the kings of Denmark possess a magnificent throne made of these precious horns, which is preserved with great care in the castle of Rosenberg. They still form a highly valued article of trade.

Anarnacus, ? Lacep. We shall here notice the An-arnah, the fourth genus of Lacepede, the fifth of Lesson, the nineteenth species of Fabricius,—a kind of Monodon according to Bonnaterre, and of Heterodon according to Desmarest. The characters are, two small teeth at the extremity of the upper jaw, and no traces of any other teeth in either jaw.

Anarnacus Groenlandicus ? Lacep. Less. AIonodon spurius, Fab. Bon. Delphinus Anarnak, Desm. No. 780. The two teeth are scarcely an inch in length, obtusely conical, slender, and curved at their summit; body elongated; whole size inconsiderable; a dorsal-fin; colour black; the flesh said to possess a laxative property. This genus rests solely upon the authority of Fabricius. He says it frequents the high northern seas, and seldom approaches the coast.

Genus Diodon, Lesson. The lower jaw supplied with two teeth only, the upper having none; the lower jaw the longer and stronger, somewhat convex; forehead depressed.

D. Sowerbyi, Less. Delphinus Sowerbyi, Blain., Desm., No. 785, Fr. Cuv. Physeter bidens, Sowerby. (See Plate CCCXLIV, fig. 5.) Lower jaw longer than the upper and stronger, with two short lateral teeth; upper jaw sharp, kt into the lower, having two impressions corresponding to the teeth; eye small; spiracle lunated, horns pointed forward; colour black above, nearly white beneath, marked with streaks. Sowerby’s specimen was sixteen feet long and eleven in circumference at the thickest part. Dorsal fin over the vent. This animal was cast ashore near Brodie-House, Elginshire.^[384. Sowerby’s Brit. Miscel. 1806. We beg to observe that the generic title of Dionox is extremely ill-chosen, seeing that it has been long ago applied by all naturalists to a genus of plectnognathous fishes. ] Its ordinary habitat and habits are wholly unknown.

D. Dcsmaresti, Risso. Less. Fr. Cuv. Upper jaw short and without teeth, lower much longer, convex, and having near its extremity two large conical teeth, three inches long, one broad; eye small; pectorals short; dorsal fin over the vent; tail large and festooned; upper portion of the body of the colour of polished steel, with a number of white streaks arranged without regularity; belly white; inside of the mouth bluish-black. Risso’s specimen was fifteen feet long. According to the naturalist of Nice, who alone has described and drawn this animal,^[385. Hist. Naturelle de l’Europe Mírid. Nice. 182G. T. iii. pl. 3. ] it affects the deep waters of the Mediterranean, and comes towards the coast in the months of May and September. It very much resembles the preceding.

Genus Hyperoodon, Lacép. Cuv. Less. Fr. Cuv. Three great bony maxillary and occipital crests, separated by deep furrows, which rise over the cranium and occasion a remarkably rounded and prominent forehead; beak short and very strong; palate supplied with a number of small false and tuberculated teeth . g, blow-hole crescent-shaped, horns pointing forward.

H. Honfloriensis, Less. Delphinus IIyperoodon, Desm. No. 784. H. Butshof, Bon. Lacép.; including also D. bidentatus, Bonnat. D. Diodons, Lacép. D. Hunterii, [7:14:183]Desm. 782: called Bottle-nosed whale by Hunter, plate 10. Bottle-headed whale of Dale. (See Plate CCCXLIV, fig. 8). False teeth in the upper jaw, and, allowing these have no existence, still the name has been affixed by Cuvier to a genus which undoubtedly exists, and which possesses marked peculiarities in the prominence of the forehead, and the shortness and flatness of the beak, produced by the maxillary crest. The head is higher than it is broad; the pectorals are very small; the dorsal fin, but little developed, is within a fifth of the length from the tail. Colour brownish-black above, verging towards white beneath. Usual dimensions from sixteen to forty feet. Vertebrae 7, 9, 26, in all 42 (Jacob); ribs 9 pair. Two strong teeth at the extremity of the lower jaw.

This genus was admitted upon the authority of Μ. Baus-sard, an officer of marine, who examined two individuals, mother and cub, which were stranded near Honfleur, and who, with laudable zeal, published an account of them in the year 1789-^[386. Journal de Physique, 1789. ] The circumstance on which rested the claim of these specimens to be considered generic was the total want of teeth in either jaw, and their having the upper jaw and palate furnished with small unequal and hard points, which were about half an inch long in the cub, and somewhat larger in the mother. Baussard’s memoir appeared two years later than Mr Hunter’s description of his B. bidentatus ^[387. Phil. Trans. 1787∙ ] f which was admitted as distinct by Bonna-terre, Lacépède, &c. Hunter says nothing of false teeth in the palate, and mentions that two strong and robust teeth existed at the extremity of the lower jaw. These, then, were long regarded as two species. Bonnaterre, in describing Baussard’s specimens, very unaccountably assigned to them two teeth in the lower jaw,^[388. Lesson, 130. Though this is clearly asserted by Lesson, we do not find the mistake in the Encycl. Method. It is very apparent in Lacépède’s Cetacćes, p. 320. ] and thus very naturally misled Lacépède, liliger, and for a time even Baron Cuvier.^[389. Rcy. Animal, 1817, t∙ i∙ 281. ] It was probably when holding this opinion, that Cuvier, in visiting Mr Hunter’s museum, and examining the head of his Bidentatus, came to the conclusion that Baussard’s and Hunter’s specimens were one and the same species, belonging, however, to a genus distinct from all others. He attached the title of liyperoodon to both.

II. Chemnitzianus ? D. Chemnitzianus, Desm., Blainv. Length twenty-five feet; two teeth at the extremity of the moveable or lower (but Desmarest has it upper) jaw; upper jaw, much less thick and strong; body wholly black. A considerable quantity of spermaceti was taken from the head of this species which was captured near Spitzbergen in 1777∙ It is the Balaena rostrata ? of Chemnitz, which Blainville and Desmarest have classed among the Heterodons, and which Cuvier suggests would be better united with the present genus. But in truth the description is so short that nothing satisfactory can be made of it.^[390. See Oss. Poss. t. v. 325. Less. 120. Fr. Cuv∙ 244. ] Genus Aodon, Lesson. No teeth; no tubercles on the palate; no whalebone; body fusiform; forehead prominent; jaw in a continuous line with the forehead.

A. Dalei, Less.; Delphinus Datei, Blain., F. Cuv.;^[391. Mammifères. ] D. edentulus, Schreber, Desm. 783; Delphinorhyncus micropterus, Cuv.^[392. llègne Animal, t. i. 288. ] (See Plate CCCXLIV. fig. 6.) Body fusiform; some appearance of a neck; forehead prominent; spiracle curved forwards; jaws prolonged in form of a subcylindrical beak, and in the same plane with the facial line, the upper somewhat shorter than the lower; no teeth, or only rudimentary; no rugosities on the palate; pectorals and dorsal very small; tail broad; colour shining-grey, dark above, light beneath; vertebrae seven, nine, and from fifteen to twenty more; ribs nine; maxillary and intermaxillary bones rising high above the frontal. This beautiful animal stranded itself near Havre; its resorts, habits, &c. are wholly unknown. The species was originally founded on the Bottlehead of Dale, and designated as D. edentulus by Schreber, Blainville, and Desmarest. The name was applied afresh to a specimen stranded near Havre in 1825, and examined by Drs Surirray and Blainville. If Hunter was right in saying that his Bidentatus was the same as Dale’s, then the authors last quoted were incorrect in associating that name with the Havre specimen. This was Cuvier’s opinion, who says (in Bèg. An.) that the name was “très impropre" Nevertheless we retain it, as we believe the species has been accurately described under that designation.

The Genus Ziphias being fossil, we omit. Cuvier states that their craniums ally them to the Cachalots, and still more to the Hyperoodons. He has distinguished three species, all of which appear to be destitute of teeth.

Subdivision III. Great-headed Whales.

We now advance to the last subdivision of the ordinary whales, which is distinguished from the others by having the head much larger than the usual proportions, amounting to one-fourth, or even to one-third of the whole bulk. Though this section includes by far the most important animals of the order, yet the number it contains is small, extending to but three genera, and about twice as many ascertained species. All of these, from their extraordinary magnitude, and the majority from their extreme value, have from time immemorial engaged the liveliest and most general interest; and hence, notwithstanding their gigantic size, their structure is better known, and their habits and disposition better ascertained, than those of most others of the race.

Genus Cachalot, ^[393. From Cachou, a tooth, in the Basque tongue. ] Bon. Desm. Cuv. Physeter, Linn. Head nearly one-third of the whole size; blow-hole single -, no baleen; no teeth, or only rudimentary, in the upper jaw; lower jaw narrow, elongated, received into a furrow in the upper one, armed on each side with a range of strong teeth. Produces the spermaceti and ambergris of commerce.

C. macroeephalus, Cuv. Bon. Lacép. Physeter catodon, Linn. The Spermaceti Whale. (See Plate CCCXLIV-fig. 11.) One or more humps on the back; lower jaw having from 20 to 23 teeth on each side, a few rudimentary ones hid under the gums in the upper jaw; length 80 feet; colour greenish-black above, whitish beneath. Ver tebrae, 7, 14, 38, = 59∙

Some of our readers may perhaps be surprised, that under the generic term Cachalot we introduce to their notice only a single species. This we do, not because we deny the existence of others, but because these have not hitherto been accurately described or established. Desmarest but a few years ago admitted three subgenera and eight species; and Lacépède has three genera and eight species, including his cachalots, physalus, and physeter.^[394. We shall here exhibit the older classification by copying that of Lacépède. I. Genus Cachalot. Having blow-hole at the extremity of the snout. 1. Subgenus. Those which have a bump or bumps on their back. Jstsp. C. macrocephalus. 2d, C. Trumpo. 3d, C. Swinwhal. 2. Subgenus. 4th sp. C. albus. II. Genus Physalus. Having blow-hole on the head, not at the extremity of the snout. 5th sp. P. cylindricus. Having a bump on the back. HI. Genus Physeterus. A fin on the back. Cth sp. P. Microps. 7th, P. Orthodon. 8th, P. Mular. ] Every one who, previous[7:14:184] to our own days, had attempted to reconcile the many contradictory accounts which have been given of this extraordinary animal, seems in his turn to have been foiled; and it was reserved for Cuvier to cut at all events, if not to unravel, the entangled knot. He remarks: “The history of this animal is so perplexed, so many beings have been confounded with it, and the species have been so wantonly multiplied, that to obtain more precision on the subject, I have been obliged to review, chronologically, every thing that naturalists have written concerning it.” And after making this review, he concludes, “Will it now be regarded as great temerity in me, after having produced the ideas of so many learned men, to maintain that up to the present time, there is no ground to suppose that there is more than a single species of Cachalot ?”

We take our description very much from that supplied by Cuvier.^[395. Oss. Fossil. t. V. p. 339. ] It is one of the largest Cetacea, attaining the length of 70 and 80 feet; its head is very large in all its dimensions, and the length of that part does not appear to have been much exaggerated when stated to be about a third of the whole body; the snout is very obtuse, and apparently truncated; the lower jaw, very narrow, is received between the upper lips as in a furrow, the teeth entering, when the mouth is shut, into cavities on the edge of the palate. The blow-hole, 12 inches long, in the form of an s, is on the anterior extremity of the head, in the centre of a round protuberance, formed of thick fibres, which act as a sphincter. The pectorals are small and obtuse; there is a small dorsal protuberance only, far down the back, and sometimes two or three smaller ones; the tail is very large. The colour above is a blackish and somewhat greenish-grey; below it is whitish, as also round the eyes. The immense cavity at the upper part of the head, covered only by a tendinous but very resisting integument, is divided interiorly into compartments, also tendinous, which communicate with one another, and into great cells filled with oil, which is fluid when the animal is alive, but after death assumes the concrete form with which we are familiar under the name of spermaceti. This substance was long absurdly regarded as the brain, which, in truth, occupies a very small space in the interior of the cranium. The ambergris again, is found in the intestinal canal, but in what precise part, and under what exact circumstances, has not yet been ascertained.^[396. For a somewhat minute and valuable account of the anatomy of a sperm-whale, which was cast ashore on the Yorkshire coast in April 1825, see a paper by James Alderson, Esq. in the second vol. of the Trans, of the Cambridge Phil. Soc. ]

From the popular and highly interesting statement of Mr Beale,^[397. Observations on the Natural History of the Sperm-Whale. Lond. 1835. ] we learn that the blubber on the breast of a large whale is about 14 inches thick, and on most other parts of the body from 8 to 11. This covering the southern whalers call the blanket ; it is of a yellow colour, and when melted down yields the sperm oil. He states, that the opening of the ear is of sufficient size to admit a small quill. The throat is capacious enough to give passage to the body of a man, in this respect presenting a strong contrast to the contracted gullet of the Greenland whale. According to Mr Beale, the peculiarity of the sperm-whale which strikes every beholder, is the unwieldy bulk of the head; but this, instead of being an impediment, is conducive to its agility, for the greatest part of it containing oil, the head receives a tendency to rise so far above the surface, as to elevate the blow-hole for the purposes of respiration; and should the animal wish to increase its speed to the utmost, the narrow lower portion of the head, which bears some resemblance to the cut-water of a ship, is the only part exposed to the resistance of the water, and it is thus enabled to press its ponderous way, with the greatest ease, along the ocean.. “ Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom thou hast made them all.” “They that v go down to the sea in ships, that do business in the great waters; these see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep.”

Mr Beale’s observations on the swimming of this whale are curious. He states that, when undisturbed, it passes tranquilly along, just below the surface of the water, at the rate of about three or four miles an hour, its progress being effected by a gentle oblique motion of the tail from side to side. When proceeding at this rate, the body lies horizontally; the water, somewhat disturbed by its progress, is known by the whalers under the name of “white-water,” and from its appearance, an experienced eye can, from a distance of several miles, judge of the rate at which the whale is advancing. In this mode of swimming, it is able to attain a velocity of about seven miles an hour. When it swims at a more rapid rate, the action of the tail is altered, the water is struck directly upwards and downwards, and each time the blow is made with the lower surface, the head sinks down eight or ten feet; and when the blow is reversed, it rises out of the water, presenting to it only the sharp cut-water portion.^ This mode of swimming is what is called going-head-out·, and in this way the whale can attain a speed of 10 or 12 miles an hour, which is probably its greatest velocity.

ř The sperm-whale is remarkably distinguished from its congeners by its blowing. If the water is smooth, the first part observed is the hump, projecting two or three feet above the surface; at very regular intervals of time, the snout emerges, at the distance of forty or fifty feet; from the extremity of the snout the jet is thrown up, and when seen from a distance, appears thick, low, bushy, and of a white colour. It is formed, according to Mr Beale, by the air expelled forcibly through the spiracle, acquiring its white colour from minute particles of water previously lodged in the external fissure. It is projected at an angle of 45°, in a slow and continuous manner, for about three seconds, and may be discovered at the distance of 4 or 5 miles. This leviathan is, like the mysticetus, remarkably timid, and is readily alarmed by the approach of any unlooked-for object. When frightened it is said by the sailors to be “gallied,” probably galled; and in this state it performs many actions in a manner very different from the usual mode. One of these is what is called “sweeping,” which consists in moving the tail slowly from side to side on the surface of the water, as if feeling for any object that might be near. This whale has also an extraordinary fashion of rolling over and over on the surface, especially when harpooned; in which case it will occasionally coil an amazing length of rope around it. But one of its most surprising feats—as it is of those of all the larger genera—is leaping completely out of the water, or “breaching,” as it is called ;—a practice which, from its dangerous results to those around, is regarded by mariners as far “more honoured in the breach than the observance.” The mode in which this appears to be done is by descending to a certain depth, and then making several powerful strokes with its tail, thus imparting great velocity to the body before it reaches the surface, when it darts completely out of the water. It seldom breaches more than twice or thrice at a time, and in quick succession 5 the performance may be seen at the distance of six miles from the mast head. We once witnessed a Scotch whale performing a similar feat in Loch-fine, between the loved shores of Minard and Castle Lachlan.

The sperm-whale seems now to have nearly vanished from the northern hemisphere, though it is frequent in numerous places in the southern. In the year 179L seventy-five[7:14:185] vessels belonging to Britain were engaged in the trade, whilst in 1830 only thirty-one ships were sent out, all from the port of London, withan aggregate burden of 11,000 tons, and 937 men. On its introduction into commerce spermaceti was chiefly employed in medicine, in which its use is still continued; and it is also freely used in the cosmetic art. Its largest and most valuable application, however, has long been in the manufacture of candles, in which it maintains a rivalry with wax, as cheaper and not less elegant.

Ambergris, according to its quantity, is a peculiarly valuable product of the sperm-whale. The majority of sperm-whales, however, do not yield it. Sometimes it sells in London at about L.l an ounce, but frequently two or three voyages are accomplished, and successfully too, without any ambergris being obtained. It is seldom or never found in young fish, but only in those of full size, or rather of great age. It is generally considered the result of some diseased process in the intestinal canal; the quantity obtained, therefore, is very various. Sometimes 50 lb. have been extracted from a single individual. Ambergris is frequently found in considerable quantities on the sea-shore, especially in the Indian seas. It is highly esteemed by the orientalists. With us its use is confined almost wholly to the perfumer.

C. sulcatus ? Abel Rémusat. Lacépède. Reported to have a furrow below the lower jaw, and to frequent the Chinese seas.^[398. See Mem. du Museum, t. iv. ] Aggadachgik ? Tschicduk ? Tschumtschugagah ? Pallas and Chamisso. These are alleged Kamtschatkan varieties. See Less, and Fr. Cπv.

Genus Balaena, Lacép. Cuv. Less. The right-whale of northern fishers. No teeth; blow-holes double; no dorsal fin; long whalebone or baleen in the upper jaw; blubber thick and highly productive of oil.

B. mysticetus, Linn. Desm. (No. 798.) True whale, Bon. Lacép. Greenland whale of Fab. and of fishers. B. borealis, Klein. (See Plate CCCXLIV. fig. 12.) Length about 60 feet; body of vast circumference; fanons more than 300 on each side of upper jaw, extending from 10 to 15 feet in length; colour black above, and partly white beneath. Vertebrae 7, 13,—?^[399. Giesecké. ]

In former times there was much exaggeration as to the dimensions of this whale, 80 and 100 feet being assigned as a frequent size, and 150 and 200 feet as not uncommon. Some of the ancients stated, that it attained even a much greater length. From the researches, however, of Mr Scoresby, it seems irrefragably established, that the mysticetus never exceeds nor has exceeded 65 or 70 feet.^[400. Edin. Phil. Journ. vol. i. ] That excellent observer was personally concerned in the capture of 322 whales, not one of which exceeded 60 feet. It is thickest a little behind the fins, whence it gradually tapers in a conical form towards the tail, and slightly towards the head. The head is remarkably large, forming nearly one-third of the whole bulk. Its under part is flat, and measures from 16 to 20 feet in length, and from 10 to 12 in breadth. When the mouth is open it presents a cavity as large as a small apartment, and capable of containing a ship’s jollyboat full of men.

The mysticetus has no dorsal i fin, the pectoral fins are about nine feet long and five broad. The tail is semilunar, indented in the middle. On the most elevated part of the head, about sixteen feet from the extremity of the jaw, are situated the blow-holes, consisting of two longitudinal apertures, similar to the holes in the body of a violin, from eight to twelve inches in length. The mouth, in place of teeth, contains two extensive rows of baleen, commonly called whalebone, suspended from the upper jaw and sides of the crown bone. The plates arc generally curved longitudinally, and give to the roof of the mouth the form of an arch, lhcy enclose the tongue between their lower extremities, and are themselves covered by the lower lip. There are upwards of 300 of these plates on each side of the jaw; they are longest in the middle, whence they gradually diminish away to nothing both in front and behind. The tongue is incapable of protrusion; and the throat is remarkably narrow,—according to Sir C. Giesecké, not exceeding an inch and a half in width. The colour of the true whale is mostly velvet-black, with white in some parts underneath, and a tinge of yellow. The blubber, constituting the most valuable part of the animal, forms a complete wrapper round the whole body from eight to twenty inches thick.

Being somewhat lighter than the medium in which it swims, the Greenland whale can remain on the surface with its spiracles above water, without any effort or motion; and it is thus sometimes found asleep upon the waves. Though bulky and clumsy, it is capable of making great exertion. A whale extended motionless on the surface can sink, in the space of five or six seconds, beyond the reach of its human enemies. Mr Scoresby has observed a whale descending, after it had been harpooned, to the depth of a quarter of a mile, with the average velocity of seven or eight miles an hour. The usual rate, however, at which they swim when on their passage from one station to another, seldom exceeds four miles an hour. Sometimes they leap entirely out of the water, and sometimes they throw themselves into a perpendicular position, with their heads downwards, and waving their tremendous tails on high in the air, beat the water with awful violence,—the sound reverberating to the distance of two or three miles. This feat is denominated “lob-tailing.” They usually remain at the surface to breathe, about two minutes—seldom longer; and during this time they blow eight or nine times, and then descend for an interval usually of five or ten minutes, although sometimes, when feeding, of fifteen or twenty. When harpooned or apprehending danger, the period is greatly prolonged. The food of these animals, so vast and strong, is too remarkable not to claim a moment’s attention. They have no teeth, and hence we at once perceive that they cannot prey either on the smaller of their own kind or on fishes; and their throat is so narrow that they could scarcely dispose of such a morsel as might be swallowed by an ox. Their well provided pasture grounds, however, exhibit to the contemplation of the curious one of the most wonderful manifestations of beneficence and power. Vast portions of those spaces in which the whale is found, consist of what is called green-water; as there is yellow and red water, in other parts of the ocean. This was examined by Captain Scoresby in 1816, and to his astonishment he found that it obtained its colour from the presence of countless millions of animalcules, most of them invisible without the aid of the microscope, and of which the greater number consisted of a species of medusa. These minute creatures are not the immediate food of the whale; they form, however, the prey of the various shrimps, small Crustacea, cuttle-fish, &c. upon which the , monster of the deep is supported. When this whale feeds it swims with considerable velocity below the surface, with its jaws widely extended. A stream of water consequently enters its mouth, and along with it large quantities of minute crustaceous and mollus cous animals; the water flows out again at the sides, but the food is entangled by the baleen or whalebone, which, from its compact arrangement, and thick internal covering of hair, does not allow a particle to escape, even of the size of the smallest grain. The mysticetus, though often found in great numbers, can scarcely be said to be gregarious; [7:14:186]for it generally occurs either solitary or in pairs, except when attracted to the same spot by an abundance of palatable food, or a choice situation among polar icebergs.^[401. We cannot dismiss these slight notices of this important species, without referring the reader to Mr Scoresby’s elaborate trea∙ tise on the Arctic Regions, which contains a most interesting history and description of the northern whale-fishery. Consult also the first volume of the Edinburgh Cabinet Library, entitled Narrative of Discovery and Adventure in the Polar Seas and Regions. Fourth Edition, 1835. ] B. Nordcaper ?, Anderson, Bon., Lacép., Desm. (No. 799.) B. glacialis?, Klein. We reject this species, as established by mistake on insufficient grounds.^[402. øss. Fossil, t. v. 360-5. ] B. antarctica, Delalande, Cuv., Desmoul., Lacép., Fr. Cuv. Usually from forty to fifty feet long; colour wholly black; line of the forehead more depressed than in the mysticetus ; pectorals longer and more pointed. Vertebrae 7, cervical, ail anchylosed, 15 dorsal, others 37, in all 59- This species, nearly up to the present period, has been confounded with the preceding and probably we might have been still ignorant of the difference, had not Μ. Delalande, during his residence at the Cape of Good Hope, prepared one of these animals, and transmitted its skeleton to F rance, where Cuvier soon detected its specific characters. The whale of the Southern Seas is decidedly smaller than that of the north, measuring only from thirty-five to forty-five feet, though sometimes extending to fifty. Its baleen, owing to the great curve of the upper jaw, appears to be relatively longer, usually reaching to about nine feet in a fish of forty feet. Whilst the pectoral fins appear longer and more pointed, the lobes of the tail are less marked than in the preceding species. This whale is found in the bays of Terra del Fnego, and on the western coast of South America; it also occurs around New Holland, as well as along the African shore. It visits the Cape of Good principally in June. Its capture is more easily achieved than that of the great Greenland species.

The ensuing quotations seem to us to indicate the existence of other still undetermined species in the Arctic Regions. “The whales,” says Mr Scoresby, “seen in the spring in lat. 80° N., which are usually full grown animals, disappear generally by the end of April. Those in 78° are of a mixed size; such as resort to fields in May and June are generally young animals. Those seen in 76° are almost always of a very large kind. In some the head measures four-tenths of the whole length, in others scarcely three-tenths; in some the circumference is upwards of seven-tenths of the length, in others less than six-tenths. It is probable the difference in the appearance of the heads, and the difference of proportion existing between the heads and bodies of some mysticetae, are characteristic of different species or subspecies. Those inhabiting lower latitudes have commonly long heads and bodies compared to their circumference, moderately thick blubber and long whalebone; those of the mean fishing latitudes, that is 78° or 79°, have more commonly short broad heads, compared with the size of the body.”^[403. Scoresby, i. 470; ii. 211. ] “It is certain,” observes Μ. Frémenville, “that the fishers confound many species which are still unknown. On my expedition towards the North Pole, in 1806, I remarked there were great differences in the shape of the tails of the whales which were taken, and which, without doubt, belonged to species not yet accurately ascertained.” It is also more tĥan probable that another occurs in the southern seas. “I am certain,” says Baron Cuvier, “that at least a third species exists at the Cape of Good Hope, seeing we have satisfactory knowledge of vertebrae, which, with the characters of the subgenus (without dorsal-fin), present also distinct specific characters.”^[404. Oss. Fossil. t . w p> 3β8 . ] B. Gibbosa ? Bon., Lacép., Desm., No. 801. Scrag~ whale and Hunchback of Dudley and the English; B. à bosses of the French; Knoten-fisch of the Germans, and of Anderson.

B. Nodosa ? Gmel., Bon., Lacép., Desm., No. 800. Humpback whale of Dudley and the English; Pflockfisch, Anderson, Crantz, &c.

We cannot pass by these alleged species, so long and widely recognised, without a few remarks. They are classed together as subgenera of the true whale by Lacépède, Desmarest, and many others, whilst Bonnaterre associates them with the Gibbar. Cuvier throws doubts on the existence of all these species, remarking that their right to a place is founded upon some obscure passages of Mr Dudley’s paper in the Philosophical Transactions. The humpback of Dudley (2?. nodosa) should evidently be removed from the true whales, because, according to Dudley himself, it is a rorqual: “the humpbacks have longitudinal reeves from head to tail on their bodies and sides, as far as their fins, halfway down their body.”^[405. Phil. Trans. No. 387, p∙ 258. ] The Gibbosa, again, he remarks, comes nearest the true whale in figure and for quantity of oil; and, according to Anderson, it produces as much oil as the Greenland whale. Though we cannot accurately characterize this Gibbosa, neither can we altogether reject it; and the following facts supply something like additional evidence of its existence. Captain Day, a most respectable southern fisher, mentions that he occasionally took humpbacks as well as sperm whales and finners;^[406. Scoresby, ii. 530. ] and Captain Weddell also states that he met with humpbacks, besides sperm whales and finners.^[407. Voyage to the South Pole, pp. 29, 34, 182. ] Captain Colnett, likewise, whose voyage was undertaken to increase our knowledge of the southern fishery, and who had many whalers among his crew, familiarly speaks of the humpback, as well as of the other kinds; and humps are described by Μ. Abel Rémusat and Lacépède as occurring on the heads of the Punctata and Nigra, two alleged Japanese species. We hence infer that attention should still be directed to the kind called Gibbosa. B. Japonica ? Rémus., Lacép., Desm., No. 802. Less.

B. Lunulata ? Rémus., Lacép., Desm., No. 803. Less.

These species are described by Lacépède in a paper read to the Institute in 1818, from Japanese designs communicated by Rémusat, and the characters are detailed in the Mem. de Mus. d ’ Hist. Nat. t. iv. 473. Their existence, however, is very doubtful.

B. Kulcomoch ? Pallas, Chamisso, Less., Fr. Cuv.

B. Ischikagluch ? Pallas, Chamisso, Less., Fr. Cuv.

Pallas describes these species of the Kamschatkan Seas with apparent accuracy in his Zoograph. Jłosso Asiatica, as does also Chamisso, the naturalist of the Rurick.^[408. ® Kotzebue’s Expedition. ] They are, however, far from being satisfactorily established.

B. Physalus ? Lin. B. Gibbar, Bon., Desm., No. 8θ4∙ Physalis, Scoresby. Balaenoptera Gibbar, Lacépède. Finfisch, Anderson; Razor-back of whalers. Fin on the back, and no pectoral folds. There are no sufficient grounds for the admission of this supposed species, which seems to have arisen from some confusion with the rorquals.^[409. Oss. Foss. v. 363-4. ] Genus Rorqualus, ^[410. Rorqual in the Norwegian tongue means whale with folds. ] ° Cuvier., Less., F. Cuv. (See Plate CCCXLIV. fig. 13.)^[411. for our representation of this animal we are indebted to the kindness of Dr and Mr F. Knox, who furnished us with an original and highly characteristic sketch. ] n No teeth; a dorsal-fin; folds under the throat and chest; fanons in upper jaw, but short; [7:14:187]blubber not thick, nor yielding much oil; blow-hole double.^[412. The prevailing arrangement of the individuals included under this genus has for many years been that of Bonnaterre and Lacépède. It contained, 1. B. Jubartes, Klein., Bon.; Balaenopter. Jubart, Laccp., Desm., 805; B. Boops, Lin. 2. B. Borqualus, Bon.; Balaenopter. Rorqual. Lacep., Ďesm. 806; B. Musculus, Inn. .3. B. Rostrata, Fab., Hunter: Balaenopter. Ámto-rostrala, ĭ.acép., Desm., No. 807∙ Cuvier considers these three, along with the Physalus (above alluded to), as one species. For reasons which will presently appear, we retain the Rostrata as distinct; but Cuvier’s remarks in reference to the others are extremely judicious. “When we examine the figures and descriptions on which these species rest, it will be found that there are no means by which we can assign them distinctive characters. When we come also to examine in detail the testimonies respecting them, we find no person who has seen more than one of them, 1 do not say at the same time, but even in succession; and each author is obliged to support himself upon the testimony of another. Almost the only distinction we can make out is the size which may be the result of age; so that we are disposed to doubt and deny their existence as distinct.”— Oss Fossil, t. v. 36β-6'. ] l R. borealis, Less. R. Boops, Fr. Cuv. The Great Northern Rorqual, Balaena Rorqualus. Bon., Desm. No. 806. The general form of the body is that of an immense cylinder, largest at the head, and gradually diminishing to the tail; dorsal small, obtuse at the summit, placed opposite the vent; pectorals thin, straight, and pointed at the extremity; blow-holes not situated on the most elevated part of the head, but in advance of the perpendicular over the eye; the upper jaw descends rapidly towards the lower, is not so long, and much weaker; the baleen much shorter than in the mysticetus. Numerous folds cover the throat and chest, and extend to the abdomen. Colour black above, whitish underneath; inside of the folds pale red. Length from 100 to 110 feet. Vcr-tebrae 7, 15, 42; = 64.

The northern rorqual is the largest of the whale tribe, die mightiest giant of the “great deep,” and probably the most powerful and bulky of all created beings. Its head is to its entire length as one to four. It differs from the mysticetus in its body being proportionably longer and more slender, in its form being less cylindrical, in possessing a dorsal-fin, in its skin or blubber being much thinner (seldom exceeding six inches), and in its speed being greater, its action quicker, and more restless, and its conduct bolder. The blowing also is more violent, and its baleen much shorter and less valuable. The cause of this last important difference is very plain, and may be best illustrated by a glance at the accompanying engraving (see Plate CCCXLIV.), in which there is a side view (fig. 9.) of the cranium of the mysticetus and (fig. 10.) of that of the rorqual. It will at once be seen that the upper jaw of the former is relatively larger, and much more curved; the intervening space in both is filled with baleen, which accordingly must be long in the mysticetus, and short in the rorqual, the longest laminae seldom measuring four feet.

In Mr F. Knox’s account of the great rorqual, we are informed that 314 plates were counted on each side; and that, on further examination, it was found that these invariably extended mesially only about fifteen inches, and were then succeeded by a vast number of smaller plates, which gradually became less and less, till finally they were converted into bristles; so that, correctly speaking, there were probably not fewer than 4000 or 5000 distinct plates of whalebone. This baleen, when recent, was highly elastic and soft, the fringed edge being as pliable as the hair on the human head, and thus forming a sieve of the most perfect kind. From the same source we also learn that the posterior arch of the palate was so large that it could admit a man, being thus like a great vestibule to the windpipe and gullet, which last was quite closed when first seen, and appeared as if it would admit with difficulty even the human hand.

The proper nourishment of this genus is not only the small medusae, shrimps, &c. which form the food of the mysticetus, but also the medusae of larger size, and substantial fishes such as herring, cod, and salmon. There seems no ground to question, that these whales often follow in the tract of various fishes, and devour them in quantities which it would not be easy to conceive. Thus Μ. Desmoulins states that six hundred great cod, and an immense quantity of pilchards, have been found in the stomach of a single rorqual.

The plicae or folds from which the genus derives its name constitute a singular structure, the precise use of which hąs not hitherto been very clearly stated. John Hunter described it with his usual accuracy, and observed that it must increase the elasticity of the integuments of the part, but confessed he could not perceive wherefore this should be, or how it was made useful. Lacépède also particularly describes it, and it has since been generally noticed by subsequent authors. It consists of a number of longitudinal folds, nearly parallel, which commence under the lower lip, occupying the space between the two branches of the jaw, pass down the throat, covering the whole extent of the chest from one fin to the other, and terminate far down the abdomen. The external portion of these folds is of the colour of the neighbouring skin, whilst the parts which are infolded are of a more delicate hue, generally of a pale white, and in some species of a beautiful red colour. The simplest and probably the true account of the use of these folds is this: The rorqual has not, in the upper jaw, that large segment of a circle in which the mysticetus collects its food; but to compensate for this it has it in the lower; for, when it opens its prodigious mouth, the water rushing in opens these folds, and so forms a vast well, in which its supplies are collected. On shutting its mouth and contracting the folds the water is expelled, whilst the strainer formed by the baleen retains the captured fish, which, entangled as it were within the folds of an enormous net, become an easy prey.

This animal attains the vast length of from 100 to 110 feet,—Sir A. de Capel Brooke says 120,^[413. Travels in Lapland, p. 141. ] —with a circumference of between 30 and 40, which is the same as that of the mysticetus. Mr Scoresby remarks, “that it seems apparently of the length of a ship, that is, from 90 to 110 feet ;”^[414. Thomson’s Annals of Phil. vi. 314. ] and it has more than once been actually measured at 105 feet. Its blowing is very violent, and may be heard in calm weather at a great distance. Though the species of this genus are sometimes at a distance mistaken for the mysticetus, yet their appearance and action are so different that they may be generally distinguished. They seldom lie quietly on the water when breathing, but usually move with a velocity of four or five miles an hour, and when they descend they very rarely throw up their tails into the air, which is the general practice of the other.

The rorqual occurs in great numbers in the Arctic Seas, especially along the edge of the ice between Cherie Island and Nova Zembla. Persons trading to Archangel have often mistaken it for the right whale. It is seldom seen amid much ice, and seems to be avoided by the mysticetus ; and the whalers accordingly view its appearance with concern. It swims with a velocity, at the greatest, of about twelve miles an hour. It is by no means a timid animal. When closely pursued by boats it manifests little fear, does not attempt to outstrip them in the race, and merely endeavours to avoid them by diving or changing its direction.
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If harpooned, or otherwise wounded, it exerts all its energies, flies off with the utmost velocity, and usually escapes. This great speed and activity render it a dangerous object of attack, whilst the small quantity of oil it yields makes it unworthy of the particular attention of the fishers. But though regular whalers usually decline the encounter, it is not so with the natives of the polar regions, whose wants compel them to make every exertion which promises the least success, and whose opportunities are frequently peculiarly favourable./ Sir C. Giesecké states, in regard to the Greenlanders, that both men and women engage in the adventure,—the former in their keyacks, the latter in their bo-miaks. The men in their light skiffs pursue the whale as closely as possible, and continue to throw as many harpoons and lances into him as they can, until he dies of loss of blood; and then all join their canoes, fasten to their spoil, and carry it home, when it is faithfully divided. In the words of the poet :Trained with inimitable art to float, Each balanced in his bubble of a boat ;With dexterous paddle steering through the spray, With poised harpoon to strike his plunging prey ;As if the skiff, the seaman, oar, and dart, Were one compacted body, by one heart With instinct, motion, pulse, empowered to ride A human Nautilus upon the tide.7?. rostratus (see Plate CCCXLIV. fig. 13.), Knox. Lesson. Balaena Rostrata, Fab., Lin., Hunter, Dcs., 807, Balaenoptera acuto-rostrata, Lacép., Scoresby This is the smallest of the genus, twenty-five feet being assigned as its extreme limits; fanons short and white, pectorals ovate, margins obtuse; dorsal over the vent; many deep folds under the throat and chest; colour black above, white beneath; interior of the folds red. For the undisputed establishment of this species we are indebted to the zeal and assiduity of Dr Knox. It is true that Fabricius described it with his accustomed elegance and precision; that Mr Hunter likewise met with and delineated it; and that Mr Scoresby’s work contains an exact representation, supplied through Dr Traill. But notwithstanding all this, the details which were collected were so slight and meagre, that not only were much ignorance and error prevalent concerning it, but many naturalists (of whom Baron Cuvier, in 1823, was one, and Mr F. Cuvier, in 1836, is another) were led to doubt even its existence.Dr Knox’s specimen was taken in February 1834, near Queensferry, Frith of Forth. It was a young one, measuring only ten feet. On obtaining possession of it, Dr K. thought of suspending it horizontally, as in the posture of swimming. “By this means,” he remarks, “the proper character of the head and mouth were given, and this so much altered the appearance of the animal, that the author thinks all previous views extremely incorrect, besides tending to mislead the naturalist as to the real capacity of the mouth of the genus, which is really very great. The lower part of the mouth is an enormous pouch or bag which, in the great northern rorqual, must at times contain an incredible volume of water.”^[415. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 1834. ] We have yet to state how Dr Knox established the fact that the lesser rorqual ought to be considered as distinct. It was by means of the comparative osteology of the two species, which exhibited the following discrepancies :— Vertebrae. Cervical. Dorsal. Remaining.Total Great rorqual,7 15 4365Lesser do.7 11 3048Before laying aside Dr K.’s brief notice, we must introduce a few of his remarks. “Two bolster-like substancesfiled the blowing canals, which are 'drawn from them at :he moment of breathing, by muscles provided for that purpose; the mechanism is admirable, and would sustain a Dressure from above, though the animal were to descend :housands of fathoms.” Again: “The cavity of the cranium, besides containing the brain and its membranes, inclosed also a very large mass of a vascular substance, closely resembling the erectile tissue: it filled a very large proportion of the interior of the cranium, extending from thence into the interior of the spinal column, three-fourths of whose cavity it also occupied, surrounding the spinal marrow and nerves.” The olfactory nerves “were at least as large as those of man.”The R. rostratus frequents the rocky bays of Greenland, especially during summer, and also the coasts of Iceland and Norway; sometimes, though rarely, coming into lower latitudes. In its habits it is very active, and its food consists of arctic salmon and of other fishes. R.Mediterraniensis, Cuv.; BalaenopteraFIediterraniensis, Less.; R. muscidus, Linn., Lacép. Head remarkably rounded; upper jaw shorter than the lower; dorsal fin smaller, situated four-fifths down the body, and much beyond the vent; the folds extend to the vent; upper parts of the body bluish-black, gradually declining on the flanks, and giving place to a dull white beneath. Vertebrae, 7∙ 14. 40? — 61? For the specific character drawn from the osteology, see Oss. Fossil, t. v. 370. This species is not uncommon in the Mediterranean. One, seventy-five feet long, was stranded near St. Cyprien, Eastern Pyrenees, in 1828. R. antarcticus, Cuv., Fr. Cuv., Delalande; Balaenoptera australis, Less.; Poeskop of the Dutch at the Cape. Dorsal long and situated directly over the pectorals; a hump upon the occiput; the colour black above, and pure white beneath; the furrows under the throat and chest of a lively rosy hue. Vertebrae. 7, 14, 31; = 52. For specific characters of bones of the cranium, sec Oss. Fossil, V. 372." As we have seen that there is a mysticetus of the southern as well as northern seas, so within the last few years it has been established that there is an antarctic as well as an arctic rorqual. These discoveries recall to mind an observation of Buffon’s, already more than once referred to, that every great division of the globe has animals peculiar to itself. It is true this law has not often been demonstrated in reference to the inhabitants of the ocean, although it has been alleged that the intertropical zone includes the same species throughout its whole circumference, and that as we remove from it, both northwards and southwards, each parallel has its peculiar kinds, of which the limits are terminated by the different meridians of the globe. In the present state of our knowledge, it would be going too far to affirm that none of the Cetacca plough their watery way through every clime; but Mr Scoresby decidedly states that the true Greenland whale has never been seen in European seas; and since the time that this startling statement was made, all later discoveries have greatly tended to confirm the views of the eloquent though not always accurate Buffon.The southern rorqual but rarely approaches the coasts at the Cape, since it is stated that only two or three are observed there during the year; nor does any one think of pursuing it, since its great power and velocity make it not only difficult but dangerous of capture, and its produce by no means repays either the risk or labour. Balaenoptera Abugulich ?; B. Mangidach ?; B. Aga-maćhthick ?; B. Aliomoch ? Pallas and Chamisso. These four are alleged species of Kamschatka. See Lesson and Fr. Cuvier’s works.
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Balcenoptera punctulata ?; B. nigra ?; B. coerules-cens ?; B. maculata ? Rémusat, Lacép. The species just named are supposed Japanese whales, of which we certainly know little else than the names.^[416. See Mem. du Mus. iv∙ Desmarest’s Mammalogie, No. 808, 809, 810, 811, and Lesson’s Cétacés. ] Less., Fr. Cuv.

We have now reviewed forty-nine species which appear to be established, eighteen which are probable, and thirty-three which are extremely doubtful; and having thus completed our proposed summary of the Cetaceous tribes, we shall conclude by presenting such observations on their comparative anatomy as may not be inconsistent with the plan of the present treatise. We shall confine ourselves to a few of the most important and peculiar parts of structure.^[417. For other details the reader is again referred to the article Comparative Anatomy of this Encyclopaedia (vol. iii. p. 1.), and to the works noted at page 85 of the present treatise. ]

The most striking feature in the economy of the Cetacea is, that they are Mammalia, and yet inhabitants of the ocean. We do not now refer solely to their being viviparous, whilst fish on the contrary are oviparous, though this, unquestionably, forms a very marked distinction; but, more especially, to their being warm-blooded animals, and to their discharging the all-important functions of the sanguiferous system not through branchiae, but by means of lungs, —thus breathing like quadrupeds, whilst their appropriate element is the watery deep. Hence it is that they occupy so singular a position in the classification of the animal kingdom. Whilst they inhabit the water like fishes, and while in their mode of progression through their common element, and in some of their more obvious external characters, they seem to claim kindred with the other inhabitants of the deep, yet in every essential respect they are unequivocally marked as members, not of the last class of the Vertebratae —that of fish, but of the first and most remote class—that of the Mammalia. Fish are produced from spawn, and after the lapse of wecks or months, emerge from their slimy beds of weed or gravel, where they had long lain neglected by their oblivious parents; but whales are brought alive into the world, and the cub is nourished for months by its mother’s milk, and disports itself around her in playful affection, gambolling through the green translucent sea, like the fawn or the lambkin rejoicing in their sunny glades. Fish, again, are cold-blooded, their circulating fluid being only exposed to the water through the medium of the gills; but the whale has no gills, nor any thing resembling these organs; on the contrary, it has true lungs, in a great bony chest, into which the air is freely admitted, not indeed by the mouth, but by a peculiar apparatus to be presently explained, and through which it breathes the pure air of heaven like other Mammalia, and is thus enabled to maintain an extremely high temperature of body even in the midst of icy seas. Finally, fish never breathe, and if removed from water, and brought into air, they almost immediately expire; whereas the Cetacea, if deprived of air, and confined beneath the surface, are speedily and literally drowned.

It is this constant demand for vital air, and the consequent necessity under which they labour of coming to the surface to perform the function of respiration, which have procured for them the distinctive appellation of Blowers : and it is this same necessity which affords, in fact, the explanation of all the peculiarities of their structure. In most of the Mammalia, the inhalations succeed each other with great rapidity, and cannot be suspended for more than a few instants. In man, for example, even when at rest, they occur every three seconds, whilst the interval in the Cetacea is augmented many hundred and even thousand fold; for nearly all the whales can remain under water for a quarter of an hour or twenty minutes, and the larger genera for an hour and sometimes nearer two. But respiration is subservient mainly to the circulation of the blood; and the singular and anomalous fact just alluded to, is enough to prove that there must be some grand peculiarity in their sanguiferous system. This peculiarity has indeed for many years been recognised, but without its true use having been stated or understood. We may remark, then, that in the Cete there exists a great reservoir for arterial blood; and that when they come to respire on the surface, besides simply filling the chest with air, they likewise fill this reservoir with highly purified and arterialized blood. This reservoir consists of an innumerable congeries, a vast plexus of great arteries, which is lodged beneath the pleurae, between the ribs, all round the spinal column, and even within it, as within the cranium itself. The vessels forming this plexus rise chiefly from the upper intercostal, and other great vessels near the heart; and they are found not connected by close and frequent ramifications, which anastomose freely with each other, but to a great extent they may generally be followed out and unravelled, as if they were a set of vessels twisted a thousand times upon themselves: nor do they appear to communicate directly with any veins; and hence it is inferred that after the blood from the lungs is vitiated, the pure fluid from this reservoir finds its way gradually into the general circulation, and thus for a long period maintains life. This structure was first noticed and accurately described by John Hunter.^[418. Phil. Trans. 1787∙ ] Dr Barclay then described it as existing within the spinal canal of the beluga,^[419. Wern. Mem. vol. iii. ] and Dr Knox has more recently observed it within the cranial cavity itself of the rorqual;^[420. Proceedings of Royal Society of Edinburgh, 1834. ] Messrs Desmoulins and Breschet have lately noticed it in France; and to these latter gentlemen, we believe, belongs the merit of associating this very peculiar structure with the no less extraordinary anomaly in the respiratory function of the order, in the manner we have now attempted to explain.^[421. Mem. de l’Acad. des Sciences. ] Desmoulins likewise states that the temperature of the blood in whales is 104°, which is considerably higher than in most of the Mammalia.^[422. Diet. Class. d’Ĳisi. Nat., art. Cétacés. ]

But while the Cetacea breathe on the surface of the water, it is equally true that they feed beneath it, and as the access of water into the lungs would be as destructive to them as to ourselves, we at once perceive that some peculiar apparatus is required whereby, when freely swallowing, water may be prevented from entering the lungs. This is effected by the peculiar structure of the wind-pipe. In man and the other Mammalia, the mouth and nostrils terminate posteriorly in a common pouch or bag, called the pharynx, from which both the windpipe and gullet take their origin; —the former and anterior, through an aperture called the glottis, covered by the epiglottis as a valve, which usually stands erect, but upon the passage of the food shuts down like a lid, and so leaves the posterior opening free. In the Cete, the blow-holes admit free ingress and egress of air into and from the lungs; but as the mouth is at the same time usually filled with water, a mechanism is provided to prevent the fluid from rushing with the air into the chest. The epiglottis, then, instead of being a simple and usually unshut lid, is in the Cetacea a projecting tube. In the shape of this tube there is great variety in the individual species; and as an example merely, we refer to sketches (Plate CCCXLIV, figs. 3 and 4), which exhibit the larynx in the common dolphin (as shewn in the Encyclop. Méthodique), and in the narwhal (as represented by Dr Fleming);^[423. Wern. Mem. vol. i. ] in both of which it will be observed that the rima glottidis is on the summit of a projecting cone or [7:14:190] pyramid. This cone is received into the lower end of the blowing√woe, a circular aperture, surrounded with a strong sphincter muscle which includes the glottis in its grasp, thus uniting the wind-pipe and blow-tube, which cross the fauces and divide it into a kind of double vestibule. This union, however, does not appear to be fixed and permanent, so that we see no reason to conclude, as has been done, that the parts are not under the power of the will, and that the larynx cannot at pleasure be withdrawn from the blowing canal.

This is a physiological point of considerable importance, as on it depends the solution of the question now agitated regarding what forms the proper substance of the jets d’eau of the whale. We have already stated that the larynx enters into the lower aperture of the blowing-tube, the spiracle considerably enlarges immediately above this aperture, and proceeds upwards and forwards, through the bones and soft parts, till it reaches the summit of the head. The tube is usually divided by a septum into two canals, which in the greatest whales open by two blow-holes, whilst in all the smaller the septum ceases, and the spiracle terminates as it begins by a single aperture. It was long supposed that the liquid discharge of the spouting, was chiefly owing to the water which the Cete take in with their food, and which, if swallowed, would only incommode them. But in opposition to this, it has recently been maintained, that the proper egress of the water is the same as its ingress, and that by contracting the surrounding muscles, the throat and mouth can easily be cleared of fluid. The spiracles, moreover, have a secretion peculiar to themselves, and it is now the prevailing opinion among naturalists, that it is chiefly this secretion, together with the superfluous vapour of the lungs, which, along with the expired breath, forms the proper substance of the projected column. We venture, however, to express our doubts whether this point is either definitely or satisfactorily established. It would appear that there is an allowed difficulty arising from the great quantity of the fluid frequently expelled. This is met by the statement, that sometimes the ejected air comes in contact with the supernatant water, and raises quantities along with it. With perfect cognisance of these opinions, however, we find that Μ. Lesson, from much personal observation, dissents from the recently prevailing view, and, as late as 1828, maintains the old and now often-scouted opinion. He states that from having often seen the phenomenon, and frequently within the distance of a few yards, he feels constrained to oppose the modern hypothesis. Drs Quoy and Gaimard, though they allow that sometimes no water is expelled during expiration, yet having often observed that during stormy weather the jets took place both more frequently and more abundantly, account for the fact on the supposition that, as it is then the Cetacea feed most freely, the projection of the water takes place chiefly when they are engaged in this important process. Desmoulins expresses his opinion thus: “It is not water, but mucosity, which is expelled by the blow-holes during expiration; the animal spouts water only after deglutition, or in moments of rage.” This twofold view of the matter we are disposed to consider as rather feasible; and in the meanwhile we may remark, that as the mechanism is different in almost every genus, so the character of the blowing also differs greatly,—indeed to such an extent, that an experienced observer can, we believe, even at a distance determine the species at any time during day-light; the utility of which to the whalers need not be insisted upon.

The blow-holes are very extensive apertures, being not less in the larger genera than a foot in length. This is not more than sufficient when the animal is breathing upon the surface of the water; but a new train of thought is suggested when we reflect that the whale often descends to the depths of the ocean, and thus endures a pressure which can scarcely be conceived, amounting according to Mr Scoresby to 154 atmospheres, or about a ton upon every square inch. How then is this pressure to be resisted, and the water prevented from entering the lungs, and thus destroying life? This is effected mainly by a set of valves which act upon the same principle in all the genera, but which are varied in each by a number of contrivances equally beautiful and efficient. We shall illustrate this remark, by epitomizing a short portion of Pallas’s excellent account of the apparatus in the white whale. The blow-hole opens in the most elevated part of the head, and this opening is circumscribed by a double arch. The skin is drawn towards the orifice, and forms upon it a soft papillary valve, which prevents the entrance of all foreign matters. The skin over the valve is scarcely two lines thick, but internally it envelopes a projecting body, which is about two inches thick, and is composed of a net-work of tendinous fibres hard as wood, and scarcely capable of being cut with a knife. A similar net-work of tendinous fibres, arranged in circles, forms, in this situation, the external wall of the spiracle; and two strong muscles rising from the frontal bone, and peculiar to the tube, acting on these bodies, most effectually shut them down, and so secure the canal. A similar valvular apparatus exists over the meatus auditorius in those species in which it is open, and not covered, as it is in most, with a strong and impenetrable membrane.

This leads to a few remarks on the skin, or general external covering, which is often subjected to such inconceivable pressure. The integuments, though soft and flexible like the finest velvet, are so curiously constructed as to enable them to present the most effectual resistance. We say nothing of the epidermis, with its mucous-oily covering, nor of the rete mucosum, but proceed to what are regarded as two layers, viz. the cutis vera and the lard or blubber, the former of which is represented as thick and strong, and the latter is held to correspond with the subcutaneous fat in other animals. This is the view that naturalists in general, influenced probably by analogy, have taken; it is espoused by Ray, Tyson, Pennant, Hunter, Scoresby, Cuvier, &c. But we believe that, according to this account, the great peculiarity of the structure is disregarded, and the essentia] character, so much desiderated, is overlooked. According to Pallas, Giesecké, and Professor Jacob, there is no distinction between the true skin and the blubber, and the whole is nothing more than modified skin. The structure, upon close examination, is found to consist throughout of an interlacement of tough fibres, crossing each other in every direction, as in the cutis vera, but having a somewhat more open texture, to afford room for the oil. Had the integuments consisted chiefly, as is usually stated, of a soft wrapper of common fat, though it had been double in thickness to that usually found in whales, yet it could not have so well resisted the superincumbent pressure; whereas, by its being wholly a modification of the true skin, always firm and elastic, and in this case never less than several inches, and sometimes between one and two feet thick, it operates like so much caoutchouc, and possesses such density and elasticity that the more it is pressed it resists the more.^[424. For MM. Breschet and llousset’s account of the minute structure of the integuments of the whale, see Magazine of Zoology and Botany, vol. i. p. 181. ] Other uses of this peculiarity of the skin will readily suggest themselves. The order is warm-blooded, and yet is exposed to the keenest cold, in the most remote recesses of the frozen seas. Hence this wrapper or blanket, as it is appropriately called, being a bad conductor of caloric, will at [7:14:191]once resist the surrounding cold, and retain the animal heat. On this account, such an integument would seem to be essential; but its bulk and quantity are enormous,—sometimes weighing thirty tons. This might appear sufficient to overwhelm the animal; but, on the contrary, the fatty mass being specifically lighter than water, instead of oppressing its owner, buoys it up,—thus making it relatively lighter and more active.

But we must conclude these interesting generalities by a short reference to the brain. It would appear that the observations made on this organ are by much too few to enable us to come to any thing like general results; and in systematic writers, we meet with the utmost contrariety of statement. Thus Cuvier, judging from the limited opportunities he had then enjoyed, speaks of the brain of the Cetacea generally as distinguished for its great breadth and heighth j^[425. Lee. d’Anat. Comparée, ii. 265. ] whilst Μ. Lesson, on the other hand, states that it is always very small in relation to the size of the animals.^[426. Hist. Nat. des Cetac. f, 23. ] Mr Scoresby states, that in a young B. mysticetus which weighed 11,200 lb., the brain weighed only 3 lb. 12 ounces, which is only 5θ 1 σσ th part °f t ^e whole animal. In a young R. rostratus which measured 17 feet, Mr Hunter found that the brain weighed 4 lb. 8 ounces; and Μ. Delalande reports, that in a Rorqual nearly 80 feet long, the brain only measured 13 inches by 9. On the other hand,

Cuvier states, from five examinations of the porpoise and dolphin, that, on the average, the brain weighed ε ⅛d part of the whole. This statement regarding these smaller groups is corroborated by Tyson and Ray; and Tiedemann, the highest living authority in this department, remarks: “That the brain of the dolphin is distinguished from that of monkeys by its great size and development, and next to the brain of the orang-outang, approaches nearest in this respect to that of man.” From these data it would follow, that the organ is very large in the smaller groups, and very small in the larger. We insert (Plate CCCXLIV. fig. 7∙) a sketch of Tiedemann’s plate of the base of the brain in the dolphin; and may add that, considering the marked effect which the relative size of this impor tant organ generally produces on the character of the animal, it seems desirable that every opportunity should be embraced to accumulate accurate information on the subject.

Let it be borne in mind by the rising race, that in relation to the cetaceous tribes, an enterprising naturalist of accurate habits, well versed in the recorded observations of his predecessors, and at the same time inclined to original investigation, has still before him a vast, and in several of its departments, an almost unexamined field. We here close our account of the class Mammalia. (τ.)

PageAchius, ....142 Agoutis, .... 141 Ai, 142Ailurus, ....106 Algazel, .... 162 Alouattes, .... 94 Alpaca, .... 157 Amphibia, . . . 123Anarnacus, . ∙182 Ant-eaters, . . 143144 Antelope, .... 162Antilope, ....161Aodon, 183 Apes, 89Arctomys, . . ∙ .131 Argali, .... 165 Armadillo, . . ∙ 143 Arnee, 168Arvicoa, ....135 Ashkoko, .... 151√4ss, 153Ateles, 93Atherura, ....139Auchenia, ....157 Aurochs, .... 166 Axis, 161 Aye-aye, .... 131 Baboons, .... 93 Babyrussa, . . . 149 Badger, .... 107Balaena, ....185 Bats, 98Bathiergus, . . .137 Bear, 105 Beaver, .... 137Beluga, ....180 Bison, 166Page Blowers, . . . . 183 Bobac, ... . 131Bos, ..... 165 Bouquetin, . 164Brady pus, . . .. 141 Buffalo, . . . . 167 Bull, .... . 160Cachalot, . . .. 183 Callithrix, . . . 92 Camel, .... . 156Camelus, . . .. 156 Camelopard, . . . 161Camelopardalis, .. 161Canis, ..... 111 Cape-cavy, . . . 151Capromys, , . .. 132 Capybara,. . . . 140 Caracal, . . 123 Carnivora, . . . 105Castor, . . .. 137 Cat, .... . 122Cavia, ..... 140 Cavy, . . , . . 141Cebus, ..... 94Centenes, . . .. 104Cephalotes, . .. 100Cercocebus, . .• 92Cercopithecus,. 91Cervus, . . .. 157CETACEA, . .. 168 Anatomy of, . . 189 Bloiv-holes of, . 190 Blubber of, . 190 Chamois, . . . . 163 Chati, .... . 122Cheiromys, . . Cheiroptera, . . 130. 98Page Chićkara, .... 162 Chimpanzee, . . . 89 Chinchilla, . 135 & 141 Chiru, 162 Chittah, .... 121Chlamyphorus, . .143Chrysochloris, . .103 Civets, .... 118 Coatis, .... 107 Coipu, 138Condylura,104 Cow, ..... 166Cricetus, ....134Cynocephalus, . .93 Daman, .... 151Dasyprocta, . . .141Dasypus, ∙ . . . .143Dasyurus, ....127 Beer, . . . 157 & 158 Delundung, . . . 118 Delphiniae, . . . 172Delphinorhynchus, .173Delphinapterus, . .181Delphinus, . . .174Didelphis, . . .126 Digitigrada, . . 108Diodon, . . .' .182Diplostoma, . . .137Dipus, 136 Dogs, 112 Dolphin, .... 174 Dormouse, . ∙ . 132 Dromedary, . 157 Duck-billed Platypus, 145Dyeoteles, . . .149Dynops, ....100 Dziqquhai, . . . 152Page Dugong, . . . . 170Echidna, . . .. 145Echimys, . . ,. 132EDENTATA, .. 141ĽFFODENTIA,. 142 Elephants, . . . 147Elephas, . . .. 146 Elk, .... . 158 Encoubert, . 143Erinaceus, . . .. 102Equus, ..... 151Ereteson, . . .. 137 Fallow-deer, . . . 160Felis, ..... 120 Fennce, . . . • ∏7FERAE, . . .. 98 Ferret, .... . 109Fiber, ..... 135 Flying Lemur, . . 102 Fox, .... . 116 Foumart, . . . . 109Galago, . . .. 97 Galeopithecidae, . 102Galeopithecus,. 102 Gayal, .... . 167 Gazelle, . 162 Gennets, . . . . 118Genetta, . . .. 118Georychus, . ., 135Geomys, . . .. 137Gerbillus, . . .. 134 Gibbons, . . 91 Gireffe, . . . . 161GLIRES, . . .. 129Globicephalus,. 179Glossophaga, . .. 101

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