'* NATURAL HISTORY REV. J. G. WOOD, M.A. F.L.S. AUTHOR OF "THE ILLUSTRATED NATURAL HISTORY, "ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS," ETC. WITH FOUR HUNDRED AND EIGHTY ORIGINAL DESIGNS BY WILLIAM HARVE\ TWENTIETH EDITION. LONDON GEORGE ROUTLEDGE & SONS, LIMITED BROADWAY, LUDGATE HILL MANCHESTER AND NEW YORK 1894 KU CLAY & SONS, LIMITED, LONDON & BUNGAY. P it E F A G E. ALTHOUGH the number of works on Natural History might deter any new writer from venturing on so extensively handled a subject, there is at present no work of a really popular character in which accuracy of information and systematic arrangement are united with brevity and simplicity of treatment. All the best-known popular works on Natural History are liable to many objections, among which may be named a want of correct classification, the absence of explanations of the meanings and derivations of scientific words, the strange inaccuracy of many of the accompanying illustrations, and of the accounts of many animals. Nor do the conventional anecdotes chronicled in their pages evince that personal experience of the animal race which alone can repress romance and prevent inaccuracy. These deficiencies, it is hoped, are at all events partly supplied in the present work. The present volume, although exceeding the limits originally contemplated, is but a brief digest of a large mass of materials, derived either from personal experience, from the most recent zoological writers, or from the kindness of many friends, who are familiar with almost every portion of the world, and to whom my best thanks are due. My original intention was to carry the 2091168 iv PREFACE. work as far as the Zoophytes, but it grew so rapidly, especially in the first two classes, the Mammals and Birds, that it was found necessary to conclude at the Insects, and even then to give but an exceedingly short and meagre account of them. This was much regretted by me, as my experience had lain so much in the practical entomological part of Natural History, that during the earlier stages of the work I looked forward with some pleasure to giving a very much fuller account of the British Insects than will be found in the last few pages of this volume. In arrangement, the order of the Catalogue of the British Museum has been followed, with the view of rendering it a useful companion to that most valuable collection, especially for young visitors. In accordance with that catalogue, the volume commences with a short sketch of mankind and of the theories respecting the different races of humanity; and at the same time i few of the distinctions are mentioned which so widely separate man from any other inhabitant of the earth. As for the Illustrations, they will best speak for themselves. It will, however, be well to observe that they have all been de- signed expressly for the present work, and that the combined abilities of Messrs. Harvey and Dalziel, as artist and engravers, are a guarantee for their accuracy and perfect execution. For the anatomical and microscopical vignettes, I am myseif answerable, as well as for several of the later drawings, such as the Thorny Woodcock-shell, the Leaf Insect, the Rove Beetle, together with parts of a few others, all of which were drawn from actual specimens. It has been an object with me in the accounts of each animal, to give as far as possible ne* anecdotes. Iir many cases, the anecdotes related have never been published before, and in many PREFACE. V more, they have been extracted from works which, either from their scarcity, their cost, or their nature, would be very unlikely to be placed in the hands of general readers. I dismiss these pages with almost a feeling of regret, that a tasli which has to me been a labour of love, has come to an end. Indeed, the only drawback experienced during its progress was its neces- sary brevity, which constrained me to omit many creatures, not only beautiful and wonderful in form, but interesting in habits. I was also compelled to describe many others so briefly, as to render the account little more than a formal announcement of their name, country, and food. If, however, the perusal of the following pages should induce any one to look upon the great plan of Creation more as a whole than merely as an aggregation of separate parts, or to notice how wonderfully each creature is adapted for its peculiar station, by Him who has appointed to each its proper position, and assigned to each its own duties, which could not be performed so well by any other creature, or even by the same animal in another place, my end will be attained. Perhaps, also, this volume may cause some who have hitherto been troubled with a causeless abhorrence of certain creatures igaiust which they have nourished early prejudices, to examine them with a more indulgent I should perhaps say, a more reverent eye. 1 say reverent, because it has long given me deep pain when I have heard others stigmatizing as ugly, horrid, or frightful, those beings whom their Maker saw at the I eginning of the world, and declared very good. A naturalist will see as much beauty in a snake, spider, or toad, as in anj of those animals which we are accustomed to consider models of beauty ; and so will those who have before feared or despised them, if ft VI PREFACE. they can only persuade themselves to examine them with an unprejudiced eye. In those three creatures mentioned a few lines above, there is great beauty even on a superficial examination. The movements of the snake are most graceful, and the changing colours of its varied scales leave the imitations of art far behind. The spiders too are beautiful, even in colour ; some are bright crimson, some pale pink, some entirely yellow, some banded with broad streaks of alternately velvety black and silvery white ; while the eye of the toad is a living gem of beauty. But when we come to look closer, to watch their habits to note their instincts or, by the use of the microscope, to lay open to our vieAV some of the details of their organization, then indeed are we lost in wonder and amaze at the vastness of creation, which, even in one little, apparently insignificant animal, presents to our eyes innumerable marvels marvels which increase in number and beauty as our power for perceiving them increases. MERTOK COLLEGE, OXFORD, December 10, 1852. PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. THE unexpectedly rapid sale of this work, five thousand copies having been sold in little more than eighteen months, has induced Messrs. Routleclge to publish a second edition. In the present edition very great pains have been taken to render the book more worthy of the public notice. At least one- third more matter has been introduced, and between thirty and forty new illustrations will be found in its pages. The entire work has been carefully revised, and the trifling errors which existed in the first edition have been corrected. The price has also been considerably lowered from the sum at which the volume was originally published. I may be excused for giving a short account of the reasons that led to the production of this book. It was with considerable reluctance that I first undertook a work that necessarily involved so much labour, and it was not without much misgiving on my part, that it first made its public appearance. No one could be more sensible of its deficiencies than myself; added to which, I was fully aware of the impossibility of condensing the requisite amount of infor nil PREFACE. inatiou into so small a compass. It was therefore uo lest gratifying than unexpected, to find that my fears were ground- Less, and that ray labours were not in vain. From my earliest childhood, the study of Natural History was my favourite pursuit, and in the prosecution of this study, I was invariably disappointed by the character of the books that are generally considered as standard works on the subject. In none of them is there any systematic order, and much less is there any attempt to explain the arrangement of the various links in the chain of animated nature. For this reason tt 1 scientific names always appeared to be little but a collection j>f cacophonous and unmeaning syllables, hardly more intel- ligible to the unclassical reader than Abracadabra or Aldibo- rontiphoskiphoraiosticos. Moreover, very little practical acquaintance with the subject was required, to perceive that, in almost every case, the work was nothing but a compilation from various authors, the compiler having thrown together truth and c~ror with perfect impartiality. For example, in one of the best of these works, the panther, the ocelot, and the ounce, are asserted to be varieties of the leopard ; while the chimpansee and the orang-outau are considered as the same animal, although their formation, their colour, their habits and their country are all different. The one has a small, rather smooth skull, while the skull of the other is large, and heavily ridged ; the fur of one is black, that of the othei reddish brown ; the one lives at the foot of trees, the other in their branches ; the one inhabits Western Africa, while the other is confined to Borneo and Sumatra. IM:I:FACK. ix My object, therefore, iu undertaking this work, was to produce a book which would bo comparatively free from these defects, and to afford to the young inquirer that assistance which I myself had so often sought in vain. That I should perfectly succeed in so arduous a task could not possibly be expected; but that I hive at all events partially succeeded, is evident from the large sale of the work in so short a time. There was also another object that I endeavoured to attain. In the preface to the first edition, I mentioned that the book was uifended as a companion to the British Museum. For that purpose it has been used, and has been found to answer as well as so superficial a work couid be expected to do. It is my sincere wish that this new edition may be found to approach nearer to my original plan, and to carry out my oesign better than the first. MEKTO.N COLI.:.C>. I C, Spttmaiir Jivision I. VERTEBRATA. Class I. MAMMALIA. Order I. PRIMATES. Family 1. ilominidje. Genus I. HOMO. Sapiens, Man. Fain. II. Simiadac. TROGLODYTES. Niger, Ctiim- pansee. SIJIIA. Satyrus, Orung-Outnn. HYLOBATES. Agilis, Agile Gib- bon. PRESBYTES. Larvatus, Ku/iau. CYNOCEPHALLS. Mcrmon,JMau- drill. Kdin. III. Cebidffi. ATKLES. Paniscus, Coaita Spi- der Monkey. MYCETES. Ursinus, Ursine Howler. CAI.LITHRIX. Torquatus, Col- tared Tee Tee. JACCHUS. Vulgaris, Marmoset. Fam. IV. Leinurida:. LEMUR. Macaco, Ruffled Le- mur. Louis. Graciiis, Slender Loris. Fam. V. VegpertilionidcE. Sub-fam. a. Phyllostomina. VAMPIRDS. Spectrum, Vampire. Sub-fain, c. Venperlilionina. PLECOTUS. Auritus, Long eared Bat. Order II. PERM. Fam. I. Felidae. Sub. fam. a. 1'elina. LEO. Barbarus, Lion. TIGRIS. Hegalis, Tiger. LEOFAKDUS. Varius, Leopard. Uncia, Ounce. Onca, Jaguar. Concolpr, Puma. Pardalis, Ocelot. FELIS. Domestica, f.al. CARACAL. Melanotis, Cattical LYKCCS. Canadensis, Canai.^ Lynx. GOEPARDA. Jubata, Cltetah. Sub-fam. 6. Hycenina. HyNA. Stria.tn,Stripedflya;nn ub-fam. c. Viverrina. VIVERRA. Civutta, Civet Cat. GINETTA. Vulgaris, Genet. HERPESTES. Icbneumon, Eyyi' tiaii Ichneumon. Sub-fam. d. Canina. CANIS. Familiaris, Dog. Lupus, Wolf. Aureus, Jackal. VULPES. Vulgaris, Fox. Sub-fain. <. Mustelina. MARTES. Abietum, Pine M ar ten. Zibellina, Sable. PUTORIUS. Fo3tidus, 1'olecat. MUSTELA. Erniinoa, Stoat. Vulgaris, Weasel MELLIVORA. Ratel, Honey Ha tel. GULO. Luscus, Glutton. MELES. Vulgaris, Badge.r LUTRA. Vulgaris, Otter. Fam. II. Ursidae. Sub-fam. a. Ursina. URSUS. Arctos, Bear. Horribilis, Grizzly Bear. TH A L ARCTOS. Maritimus, Po- lar Bear. Sub-fam. c. Procyotiina. PROCYON. Lotor, liacoon. Sub-fam. d. Cercoleptina. NASUA. Fusca, Coali-niondi. CERCOLEPTES. Caudivoivulu- Kinkajuu. Fam. III. Talpidae. Sub-fam. a. Talpiiia. TAIIA. Europ.fa, Mole. 3ub-fanj, rf, firinncina. ScnBT> Araneus, Shrew. SYSTEMATIC INDKX. CIIOSSOPUS. Fodiens, Water Shrew. KBINACEUS. Europ^us, Hedge- hog. Fam. IV. Macropidar. Suh-fam. b. Macrnpinn. MACROPUS. Majr, Kangaroo. Sub-fain, e. Didelphinn. DIDF.LPHYS. Virginians, Opos- sum. Fam. V. Phocidrc. Sub-fam. 6. Plincinn. PHOCA. Vitulina, Seal. MORUNGA. Proboscidea, Ele- phant Seal. Sub-fain, c. Trichecina. TRICHECUS. Rosmarus, Walrus. Order III. CETE. I''am. I. Balaenidre. BALJENA. Mysticetus, Whale. PHYSETER. Macrocephalus, Cachalot. Fam. II. Delphinidae. DELPHINUS. Delphis, Dolphin. PHOCKKA. Communis, Par poise. MOKODON. Mo.'.oceros, Nar- irhal. Order IV. GLIRES. J*aan. I. Muriels. Sub-fam. a. Marina. Mui. Decumanus, Rat. - Musculus, .l/oue. MICRC.MYS Minutus, Harvest Monte. Sub-fam. b. Arvicolina. C.;icETU8. Frumentarius, Ham- tter. ARVICOLA. Amphibius, Water Rat. Sub-fam. d. Castorina. CASTOR. Fiber, Beaver. Fam. II. Hystricide. Sub-fam. a. Hystrlcina. HYSTRIX. Cristata. Porcupine. Sub-fam. c. Dasyproctina. DASVPIIOCTA. Aguti, Agouti. iv.iii-farn. d. Hydrochairina. rtTURUCHXRUs. Capybara, Ca- fjjarm, I',-i in. HI. Leporids. I.KPUS. Timidus, Hare. Cuniculus, Rabbit. Fain. IV. Jerboide. Sub-fam. a. Chinchillina. CHINCHILLA. Laniger, Chin- chilla Sub-fam. c.Dipina. l)i pus. ^Egyptius, Jerbva. Sub-lam, d. Myoxina. MYOXUS. Avellanarius. Dor- mouse. Sub-fam. e. Sciurina. SCIUHUS. Europicus, Sgttirret. PTEROMYS. Alpinus, Flyiny Squirrel. ARCTOMYS. Marmotta, Marmit Order V. UNGULATA. Fam. I Uovidse. Sub-fam. a. Bovina. Bos. Taurus, Bull. - - Zebu. liUBALUS. Buffelus, Buffalo. -- Caffer.Cope #/.;/ BISON. Americanus, Bison POEPHAGUS. Grunnicns, Yak. Ovinos. Moschatus, Mtmk Ox. CATOBLEFAS. Gnu, Gnoo. I'ORTAX. IMcta, Nylglia'i. STREPSICEROS. Kudu, Koodoo. BOSELAPHUS. Oreas, Eland. ORYX. Leucoryx, Oryx. GAZELLA. Euchore, Sprinybok. -- Ariel, Gazelle. RUPICAFRA. Tragus, Chamois. CAPRA. Ibex, Ibex. - Hircus, Goat. Ovis. Aries, Rum. Sub-fam. 6. Camelojtardina. CA-MELOPAKDALIS. Giraffa, Gi- raffe. Sub-fam. c. CameUna. CAMEDUS. Arabicus, Camel. Camel. LLAMA. Paces, Llama. Sub-fam. d. Moschina. Moscuus. Moschiferus, Musk- deer. Sub-fam. e. Cervina. CERVUS. Capreolus, Roebuck. - Elaphus, Stay. - Canatlensis, Wapiti. Axis. Maculata, Axis. DAMA. Vulgaris, Fallow-deer. RANGII'EK. Tarandus, /lei.i deer. ALCJ-.S, Palmatus, Elk. Fam. II. Equidee. Kacus. Cnballus, Horse. ASINUS. Vulgaris, Ass. Dzigguetai, bzijyuc tin. Zebra, Zebra. Uuagga Quagga. Fam III. Elephantidffi. ' Sub-lam, a. Elephantina ELEPHAS. Ind!ous, India* Elepha-.it. SYSTEMATIC IXDRX. Sill KLBPIIAS. Africanus, African Keephant, Sub-fam. b. Tapirinrt. TAPIRITS. Tcrrestris, Tapir. Suh-fam. c. Sitina. Sus. Scrofa, Hoar. - B;ibyroussa, Babyroiissa. Dicorvi.ES. Tajagu, Peccary. Sub-fam. d. Ithinocerina. RHIHOCEROS. Unicornis, Rhi- noceros. Bicornis, Rhi- naslcr. Sub-fam. e. Hippopotamina. HIPPOPOTAMUS. Amphibius, Hippopotam us. Fam. IV. Bradypidip. BRADYPUS. Tridactylus, Sloth. Fam. V. Dasypidae. Sub-fam. a. Manina. MANIS. Tetradactyla, Phutagin. Pentndactyla, Short- failed Mani*. Sub-fam. l>. Dasypina. DASVPUS. Sexcinctus, Arma- dillo. Sub-fam. c. Myrmrcophagina. MYRMCQiMtAGA. Jubata, Ant- eater. TAMANDUA. Tetradactyla, Mid- dle Ant-cater. CYCLOTHURUS. Bidactyla, Little Ant-eater. Sub-fam. d. Ornilhorhynchina. ORNITHORHYNCHUS. Paradcx- us, Ornithorhynchus. ::ass II. AVES. Order I. ACCIPITRES. Sub-order I. ACCIPITRKS-DIURNI. Fam. I. GypaetidEc. GYPAKTUS. B.irbatus, Liimmer- geyer. Fam. II. Sarcorhainphidas. SARCORHAMPHOS. Gryphon, Cor, dor. Papa, ATj'jiy Vulture. Fam. III. Vulturida;. Sub-fam. a. Vulturina. GYPS. Fulvus, Griffin Vulture. Fam. IV. Falconidae. Sub-fam. a. Aquilinee. AQUILA. Chrysaetos, Golden Eagle. PANDION. Haliaetus, Osprey. HALIAKTUS. Leucocephalus, White-headed Eagle. Sub-fam. c. Buteoninte. Buxxo. Vulgaris, Buzzard. Sub-fam. d. Mittincc. PKRNIS. Apivorus, Honfy Buzzard. MiLvtis. Kegalis, Kite. ELANOIDKS. Furcatus, SK-*I low-tailed Falcon. Sub-fam e. Falcnninte. FALCO. Gyrfalco, Gyrfatc<;n. Peregrinus, Peregrine Falcon. HYPOTRIORCHIS. Stil)buteo, Hobby. j^salon, Mer- lin. TINNUNCUI.US. Alaudarius, Kestrel. Sub-fam./. Accipitrince. ASTUR. Palumbarius, Gishtiwk. ACCIPITER. Nisus, Sparrow Hawk. Sub-fam. g. Circinte. SERPENTAUIUS. Reptilivorus, Secretary Bird CIRCUS. Cyaneus, Hen-Harrier. Sub-order II. ACCIPITHES-NOCTURNI Fam. I. Strigidse. Sub-fam. a. Surntna. SURNIA. Ulula, Hawk Owl. NYCTEA. Nivea, Snowy Owl. ATIIJ.SE. Cunicularia, Burrow ing Owl. Sub-fam. b. Bubomnce. F.PH i A LTF.S. Scops, Scopt-eareii Owl. BUDO. Maximus, Great-eared Owl. Sub-fain, d. Strigina. STRIX. Flammea, Barn Owl. Order II. PASSERES. Tribe I. FISSI ROSTP ES. Sub-tribe I. FissiRosrRES-uor TURNJB. Fam. I. Caprimulgidae. Sub-fain, a. Cuprimnlginve. CAI'RIMULGUS. Europaeua, Goatsucker. Sub-tribe II. FISSIROSTRES-DI- URNffi. Fam. II. Hirundinidw. Sub-fam a. CypseHna. CYPSEI.U8. Mclba, Alpint- Swift. Apus, Swift. Sub-fain. 6. Hirundinintc. HIRUNDO. Kustica, CAimtiey Martin. COTILE. Riparia, Sand Afar- tin. CHELIDON. Urbica, Martin Fam. III. Coraciidae. Sub-fam. a. Coraciin/n. CORAOIAS. Garrula, Rottirr xlv SYSTEMATIC INDEX. Fain. IV. Trogomdre. TROGON-. llesplcndcns, lie splendent Trogon. Fam \. Alcedinidse. Sub-fam. a. Alcedininae. ALCLDO. Hispidu, A! ing-suiter. Kam. VI. Meropidse. Sul>-fam. o. Aleropintx. MKROI-S. Ayiaster, Bee-eater. e II. TENUIROSTRES. Fam. I. Upupidae. Sub-fam. a. Upupitiee. UTUPA. Epops, Hoopoe. Fam. II. Trochilidse. TROCHILUS. Colubris, Ruby- throated Humming-bird. ORN'ISMYA. Gouldii, Gould's Humming-bird. Sappho, Bar-tailed llumming-hird. Cora, Cora Hum- ming-bird. Chrysolopha, Dou- ble-crestedilumnri'iy-bird. Fain ill. Certhidav Sub-fain, a. Ccrtliiiim. CERTHIA. Familiaris, Creeper. Sub-fain, b. Siltince. SITTA. Europeea, Kuthatch. Sub-fani. c. Menurinie. TROGLODYTES. Parvulus, Wren. be III. DENTIROSTRES. Farn. I. Luscinids. Sub-fam. a. Luscinina. CALAMOOYTA. Locustella, Grasslwpjer Warbler. LUSCINIA. I'hilomela, Night- ingale. SYLVIA. Undata, Dartford Warbler. Cinerea, Whitethrnat. Atricapilla, Black- cap Warbler. Ilortensis, Petti- chaps. Rufa, Chiff-chaff. Trochilus, Willow Wren, UEGULUS. CHstatus, Golden- crested Wren. Sub-fani. 6. Erythacinee. SAXICOLA. GEnanthe, Wheat- ear. RUTICILLA. Phoenicura, Red- start. EBYTUACUS. Rubecula, Red- breast. Sub-fam. c. Aacenlorinee ACCEKTOR. Moduiarius, Hedge Accentor. Sub-fain, d. Farince. I'AIIUS. Major, Great Tn mouse. Coeruleus, Blue Tit mouse. Caudatus, Long-tailed Titmouse. Sub-fam. e. MotaciUinae. MOTACILLA. Yarrellii, Pied Wagtail. Flava, Yellow Wagtail. ANTHUS. Pratensis, Meadott Pipit. Fam. II. Turdidae. Sub fam. (/. Formicarince. HYDROS ATA. Cinclus, Dippei Sub-fam. b. Turdince. TURDUS. Viscivorus, Mittel- toe Thrush. Pilaris, Fieldfare. Musicus. Song- Thrush. Iltacus, Redwing. Torquatus, Ring- Ouzel. Merula, Blackbird. ORPHEUS. Polyglottus,yi/oc*- ing Bird. Sub-fam. c. Oriolines. ORIOLES. Galbula. 'am. III. Muscicapidx. Sub-fam. a. Muicicapince. MUSCICAPA. Grisola, Spotted Fly-catcher. Fam. IV. Ampelidse. Sub-fam. a. Ampelinre. AMPELIS. Garrulus, Kohe- mian Wax-wing. Para. V. I.anida;. Sub-fam. a. Lanince. I. AMI'S. Excubitor, Gr^n Grey Shrike. - - Col.ario, Rtd-bac/i-.J Shrike. Tribe IV. CONIROSTRE8. Fam. I. Corviilae. Sub-fam. . Garrulinar. GARRULUS. Glandarius, Jay Sub-fam. b. Corvinte. NOCIFRAGA. Caryocatactcs, Nutcracker. PICA. Caudata, Magpie. CORVUS. Corax, Raven. - Frugilegus, Rock. Moiiedula, Jtck- daw. Corone, Crow. Comix, Hooded Crow. Sub-fam- c. fyrrhocnracinee. CORACIA. Garacula, Choiij/ SYSTEMATIC INDEX. XV r'ain. 11. ParadiscicUe. PAUADISEA. Apoda, Kmerali! Jiird of Paradise. Fam. III. Sturnidae. Sub-fam. a. Plilonorhynchinte. PxiLONORHYNCIIUS. Sericeus, Salin liu rer-liird. Sub-fam. d. Iclerinie. ICTERUS. Baltiinorus, Haiti mure Oriole. Sub-fam. g. Stmnitice. STURNUS. Vulgaris, Starlitiy. Fam. IV. Frinsillida. Sub-fain, a. Coccoihrattstinee. COCCOTHRAUSTES. Vulgaris Grosbeak. Sub-fam. />. Frinaillinee. FRINGILLA. Ccelebs, Chaf- Jinch. - Carduelis, Gold- fitch. Cannabina, Lin- net. Spinus, Siskin. Cliloris, Green- finch. CARDUELIS. Canada, ('unary. PASSKH. Domesticus, House Sparrow. Sub-fain, c. Emberizince. EMBERIZA. Mi\lari&, Bunting. Citrinella, Yellow Hunting. Hortulana, Ortolan. Sub-fam. d. Alaudina:. AIAUDA. Arvcnsis, Skylark. Arborea, Woodlark. Sub-fain, e. fi/rr/itiliiite. PVRRHULA. Ktibicilla, Bull- finch. Sub-fain./. Loxino:. IIOXIA. Curvirostra, Cross- bill. Fain. VII. Bucerotidse. BUCEROS. Rhinoceros, Rhi- noceroi Jlornbill. Order III. SCANSORES. Fam. I. RhamphastidzE. Sub-fam. a. llhamphattince. KHAIIPHASTOS. Toco, Toco Toucan. Fam. II. Psittacidae. MACROCERCUS. Ararauna, lilue and Yellow Mactiif. PALXORNIS. Torquatus./fiHy- ed Parrakeet. CACATUA. Sulpburea, Great Sulphur Cockatoo. Fam. Ill, Picidae. Sub-fain, c. 1'icince. Picus. Majoi, Great Snotlett 1'icus. Viridis, Green It'vta! pecker. Sub-fam. g. Yuncina;. YUNX. Torquilla, Wryneck. Fam. IV. Cuculida-. Sub-fam. e. Cuculina:. CUCULUS. Canorus, Cuckoo Order IV. COLVMB&. Fam. I. Columhidic. Sub-fam. b. Columbinte. COLUHIHA. Paluiubus, Ring duiu. . Sub-fam. a. Alcince. FRATERCULA. Arctica, PuJ- fin. An A. Impennis, Great Auk. Sub-fam. c. Spheniscinif. SPHENISCUS. Uemcrsus, Cape Penguin. Sub-fam. d. Urince. URIA. Troile, Guillemot. Fam. IV. Procellaridae. Sub-fam. a. Procellarinte. PROCELLAIUA. Ulaci.iiis, Fulmar Petrel. THALASSIDROMA. PeJagict, Stormy I'elrel. DIOMEDEA. Exulans, Alba . Iros. *\ Fam. V. Laridae. Sub-fam. b. Larinae. LARUS. Marinus, lilack bucked Gull. Sub-fam. c. St-'miiies. STERNA. Hirunilo, Tern. fam. VI Pelecanid.ne. Sub fam. b. Pliaetuiiina;. PHAETON. ^Ethereus, Trupt* Bird Sub-fain, c. PelecaninEX. Order II. M.ILACOPTERYGII. Sub-order I. ABDOMISALI A. Fam. I. Cyprinid;c. CYI-RINUS. Carpio, Carp. . IJarbus, Barbel. . Auratus, Gold- fish. AURAMIS. Brama Bream. Gomo. Fluviatilis, Gud- geon. TINCA. Vulgaris, Tench. LEUCISCUS. Rutihis, Roach. I.euciscus.-Duee. Cephalus, Chub. COHITIS. Baibatula, Loach. ram. II. Esocidaj. F.sox. Lucius, Pi/.-e. KXOCCETUS. Volitans, Fly- ing-fish. Finn. IV. SalmonidEB. SALMO. Salar, Salmon. Fario, Truut. Fam. V. Clupeidre. CLUPEA. Pilch-ardus, Pil- chard. Harengus, Her- ring. ENGRAULIS. Enchrasicho- lus, Anchovy. Sub-order II. SUB-BRACHIATA. 1'ani. VI. Gadidffi. MOHRIIVA. Callarias, Cod. Fam. VII. PU'iironectiiUe. PSETTA. Maxima, Tnrbot. SOI.F.A. Vulgaris, Sole. Sub-order III. APODA. Fam. IX. Muracnids. ANGUILLA. Acutitostris, Sharp-nosed Eel. CONGER. Vulgaris, Congnr. Fam. X. Gymnotida;. GTMNOTDS. Electricus, Electric Eei. Order III. PLECTOGNATHl. Fam I. Diodontidse. OHTHARORISCUS. Mola, Stmrt Sun-fiih. Sub-cUss 11. PISCES CHONDUOITE- RYO1I. Sub-order I. EI.EUIHEHOPDMI. Fam. I. AcipcnseridiB. ACIPENSKR. Sturio, Slnr- geon. Bub-oider II. TREMATOPNEI. Sub-aection I. SQUALL p am. I. Scyllidffi. SCYLLIUM. Canicula, l.ittl* Soottfd Dog-ptlt Fam. II. Squalid*. SauALus. Carchariis, Whitt Shark. SPHYKNIAS. Zy?(ena,War- mer-headfd Shark. Sub-section II. RAIL Fam. I. Pristid*. PRISTIS. Antiquornm. Sawfish. Fam. II. RaidfB. TORPEDO. Scutata, Tor- pedo. RAIA. Clavata, Th<>rnbac^ Skate. Sub-order III. CYCLOSTOMI. Fam. I. PetromyzonidiB. PETROMYZON. Mariuus, Lamprey. LAMPETRA. Fluviatilis, Lampern. MYXINE. Glutinosa, Afi/x- Division II. INVERTEBRATA. Class. VI. MOLLUSCA. Order CEPHALOPODA. Fam. OctopidiE. OCTOPUS. Vulgaris, Cuttle fish. ARGONAUTA. Argo, Nau- tilus. Order GASTEROPODA. Sub-order PULMOIIKANCHIATA. Fam. Limacidse. LIMAX. Ater, Black Slug. Fam. Helicid;e. HELIX. Aspersa, Snail. Fam. Turbinidae. SCALARIA. Pretiosa, Roya, Staircase Wentletrap. Fam. Coniid.-p. CONUS. Generalis, Cone. Fam. Cypr^ids. ARICIA. Moneta, Mono/ Cowry. Fam. Bureinidae. BUCCINVM. Undatum, Whelk. Fam. Muricidje. MUREX. Tribulu, Thorny Woodcock. Order CYCIOBHANCHIATA. Fam. Patellidie. PATELLA. Vulgata, Lint- tet. SYSTEMATIC INDEX. XIX Ordet COKC1I1FERA. Fain. PectinidrB. PECTEN. Jacohoms, Scal- lop. OSIREA. Edulis, Oyster. Fain. Meleagrinida;. MELEAGRINA. Margarati- fera, Pearl Oyster. Fain. Mytilidae. MYTILUS. Edulis, Edible Mussel. Order CIRRHOPODA. PENTALASMIS. Anatifera, tternicle. .iss VII. CRUSTACEA. Sub-class I. MALACOSTRACA. Order I. DEC APOD A. Sub-order I. DiiCAroDA-BUAciiY- URA. Fam. I. CanceridiE. CANCER. Pagurus, Crab. Sab-order II. DECAPODA - ANO- MOUKA. Fam. III. Paguridje. PAGUHUS. Beniliardus. Hermit Crab. Sub-order III. DECAFOUA - MA- CROURA. Fam. V. Astacidae. POTAMOBIUS. Astacus, Cray-fish. ASTACUS. Gammarus.ZoA- stcr. Fam. VI. Crangonidae. CKANGON. Vulgaris, Shrimp. Fam. VIII. Palaemonidee PAL^MON. Serratus, Prawn. Class VIII. AIIACHNIDA. Order PULMONARIA. Fam. Araneidse. MTUALE. Aviculariu, Biri. Spider. Fam. Scorpionidee. SCORPIO. Europsus, Scor- pion. Class IX. INSECTA. Sub-class I. INSECTA MAN in in 1 I.AT* Order I. COLEOPTEHA. Fam. Cicindelidaj. CICJNDELA. Camjicstris Tiger-beetle. Fam. Carabidx. CAKA- 'js. Cancellatui Ground-beetle. Fam. SHphidic. NECKOPHAOI-S. Vespillo, Buryiny-beeile. Fam. Lucanidae. LUCANUS. Cervus, Siic- beetle. GEOTRUPES. Stercoiariui, Dor-beetle. MELOLONTHA. Vulgaris, Cockchafer. Fam. Lampyrida. 1 . LAMPYRIS. Noctiluc, Glowworm. Fam. Ptinidae. ANoniUM. Tesselstum, Death-watch. Fam. Cerambycids. CEHAMEYX. Moschatus Musk-beetle. Fam Staphylinidae. CREOPUILUS. Maxi'.!om, Rove-heetlc. Order II. DERMAPTERA. FORMCULA. Porcipata, K it wig. Order III. ORTHOPTERA. Fam. LocustiriiB. Locusi A. Tartarica./.ocu.-:. Fam. Achctidae. Ac ii ETA. Campestris, FieM Cricket. DoraestieuK Jfoua Cricktt. GRVILOTALPA. Vulparis, Mole Cricket. PHVI.I.IA. Foliata. /.g/ Insect. Fain. Blattidce. BI.ATTA. Orientalis, Cotk- roach. Order TRACHEARIA. Fam. Acaridae. LEPTUS. Autumnalis, Har- vest Bug. Order IV. NKUROPTERA Fam. Ephemeridae. EPHEMERA. Vul^ata, ffv SYSTEMATIC INDKX. Fain. Libellulidae. LIBELLULA. Dejiressa, Dragon-fly. Fain. Mypnelconidse. MYHMELKON. Formicarum, Ant-lion. Fain. Termi'.iilu'. TERMKS. Bellicosu ( 5Tnite. Order V. TR1CIIOPTERA. Fam. 1'hryganido.' PJIKYGANF.A. Caddis-Jly. Grandis, Order VI. 11YMEXOPTEKA. l-'am. Ichneumonidse. PIMPLA. Manifestator, Ichneumon-fly. Faui. Formicidse. FORMIL-A. Rufa, U'uoa Ant. Fam. Vespidrj. VESTA. Ciabro, Jlartu't. \'ulgaris, Wasp. Fam. Apidz. Ans. Mellifica, Honey Bee. Sub-rlass II. INSECTA HADSTELLATA. Order I. LEPIDOPTEltA. Fain, r^puioniilae. P-HLIO. Mm-hao::, Su'a< loio-tail id jJ\Hff&tj. AROTKNIS. Adippe,5t.'icr- tpotted Frltiliary. VANESSA. Atalanta, Re-i Admiral Fam. Sphingidae. ACHERONTIA. Atroptis Death's-head Moth. Fain. Sesiid;E. MACBOGLOSSA. Stellata- rum, Humming -bird Motk. Fam. Arctiadae. ARCTIA. Caja, Tiger Molh, Fam. GcoinetridJE. OUUAPTERYX. Sambucaria, Swallow-tailed Moth. Fam. Alucitidae. ALUCITA. Hexadactyla, Many-plumea Moth Order II. VJPTERA. Fam. Culicidaa. CUI.KX. Pipiens, Gnat. Fam. CEstridae. CEsiKiis. Bovis, Gadjltj. Fam. Bombylida;. BoMiiYLius. Mcdius,//um ble-bee Fly. Order IV. APHANIPTERJ.. Vam. Pulicidffi. I'ULF.X. Irritaiis, Fleo. NATURAL HISTORY Llivisiou I. VERTEBRATA (Lat. possessing verthrce.) Class I.. . MAMMALIA. (Lat. suclcling their ycunci.} Order I. . . PRIMATES. (Lat. primus, first.) Family I. . Horainldae. (Lat. homo, a man mankind.) (jenus I. . HOMO. UUiJESJIAN AND LION Species I. Sapiens (Lat. wise), Man. MAN holds the foremost place in the order of creation. The perfec- tion of his bodily form is as far superior to that of other beings as his intellect surpasses their instinct, beautiful and marvellous though it be. Between man and brutes there is an impassable barrier, over which man 3an never fall, or beasts hope to climb. The lowe r animals are but 2 N^TUIIAL HISTORY. " beasts that perish," whereas man is a LIVING SOUL. It is the soul that gives consistency and force to the reason, and therefore, man, eveu when fallen from his high estate, and deprived of the right use of his reason, still holds his supremacy over the lower animals by the power of the still living soul, and is not subject even to the most perfect and powerful brutes. There is but one genus of mankind, HOMO, and but one speciea Sapiens; that is, the rational human being. Intellect, or reason, differi from instinct in its power of accommodation to circumstances; whereas instinct ever remains unchanged. The beaver, when confined in a cage, still builds dams in order to confine the stream that never visits it ; the captive squirrel, when satiated with food, still conceals the remnants for a future repast, although it is regularly supplied with its daily meals; the magpie approaches a dead wasp with the same caution as if it were living ; and the dog Hies from a recently flayed tiger skin with no less fear than if the living tiger stood before him.* On the contrary, the power of man's reason enables him to alter his habits and actions ac- cording to the change of external circumstances. The same man can inhabit the burning sands of the tropics, or the everlasting snows of the north pole ; and can defend himself from the scorching heat of the one, or set at defiance the piercing cold of the other. The forms and habits of men are modified according to the different climates and positions in which they are placed. These modifications are in some cases so great, that many philosophers, and not a few naturalists, have imagined that there are several distinct classes of mankind, which derive their origin from different sources. There is certainly no doubt that the educated human being who peruses these pages, seated in a comfortable apartment, surrounded with luxuries brought from almost every country on tiie face of the earth, within sound of church bells., and clothed in garments fitted to defend him from the heat of summer or the cold of winter, is far superior to the half-naked Bosjesman, whc has no conception of a God, who lives in caves, or scrapes a hole in the sand, in which he crouches until he has devoured the last putrid morsel of the prey which lie has been fortunate enough to secure, and which he then abandons to the beasts of the desert, scarcely less provident than himself. Yet this superiority results entirely from the external circum- stances in which each is placed. Let each be transplanted into the country of the other, and in a few generations we should find the Bos- jesman civilized, and capable of reading how his former superior, now sunk into the savage state, gains a precarious subsistence by hunting, and passes his life in caves. All men do not see the case in this light, for some theorists have ventured so far as to assert that tlie Negro is but an improved monkey, and that his * In those cases where animals alter their habits to suit the changed circumstances in which they find themselves, their reason, not their instinct, acts. See this point more al luge to the introduction to "Sketches and Anecdotes of Animal Life." NATUIIAL HISTORY. 3 leaoon is nothing but a partially civilized instinct. That these theorists were no anatomists is sufficiently evident, and it would not be necessary to prove the absurdity of their assertion, wore it not that many have actually been deceived by their flimsy though specious arguments. Indeed, at the present time, when we find one philosopher giving what he considers satisfactory proofs that salt is the cause of all earthly misery, and the reason why the sun is at so great a distance from us ; another reviving the very ancient and venerable belief, that the earth is flat like a plate ; and a third pretending to read a sealed letter with the point of his toe, or to examine the interior of a friend some hundred miles distant; it is dlf. licult to say to what extent credulity can proceed.* We will, however, briefly examine this theory respecting the humanity of the Negro partly by anatomy, but mostly (for which delinquency we must ask paraon of the theorists in question) by common sense. That monkey, or rather ape, whose form most resembles that of man, is the Oraug-outan. Let us compare the skull of this animal with that of the Negro. Will any one venture to deny that the noble sweep of cranium, and the smooth globular surface of the human skull, demonstrating the volume of the brain within, is a proof of far superior intellect than is indicated by the heavy ridges, the irregular prominences, and the small capacity of the ape's skull? The face of the ape is an instrument for procuring food, and a weapon for attack and defence, while that of man is an ever-changing index of the workings of the mind within. We therefore find that the jaws of the ape are enormously developed, armed with formidable fangs, and marked with strong bony ridges, to which the powerful muscles which move the jaws are attached. On the other hand, as man is enabled to procure food, and to manufacture weapons by means of his hands, his jaws and teeth are reduced to the smallest size compa- tible with the preservation of life. The habitually erect posture is another characteristic of mankind. Other animals are not fitted for it; since, when they attempt to assume that position, their head is thrust so far forward that its weight destroys their balance, and the bones of the leg and the pelvis are so formed as to give them a tottering gait. When the ape attempts to stand erect, it is forced to balance itself by its immensely long arms, and cannot walk without assisting ilself along by the knuckles pressed on the ground. The fingers on the feet, or more properly the hinder hands, prevent the ape from planting more than the heel upon the ground. It therefore hobbles along with its body bent, and at best can only contrive to manage an uncertain and vacillating shuffle ; nor does it ever walk so well or so * I say "pretending," because, although there are sundry accounts of such sealed letters proving legible to the " clairvoyant" there still exists a crucial test In the sliapt of a very thick sealed envelope, containing a bank note of considerable value, which will become the property of any one who can read its number and signatures without opening the envelope. It is almost unnecessary to say that the bank note has reposed in illegible security ever since its (irst enclosure, and is likely ao to do until the patience of its ownor s exhausted. r. 2 4 NATURAL HISTORY. gracefully in the erect posture as many of the performers at Astley's do on their hands, which are apparently less fitted for walking than those ol the ape. The power of the thumb is much greater in man than in the apes ; it, is by means of this instrument that man is able to handle large or small objects, to wield a sword or a pen, to cast a spear or thread a needle. There are also many anatomical differences which need not be de- scribed. The intellectual power in man shows its supremacy over the instinct of the ape in many ways. We will take as our example of mankind, the most abject of the human race, the Bosjesman, as represented at the commencement of this chapter. Surely the slain lion was not destroyed by an ape. No ape or monkey was ever able to manufacture weapons for itself. It may, indeed, take up a stick or a stone and defend itsell vigorously,* but it could never form a bow and arrow, much less reflect: that the juices of certain plants rubbed on the points of its weapons would cause inevitable death to any person wounded by them. Yet the diminutive Bosjesman, who is far lower in intellect, and much less civil- ized than the calumniated Negro, boldly attacks, with perfect certainty of success, an animal before which the most intelligent ape that ever lived would fly in helpless terror. Neither can an ape procure fire, nor even renew it. It will sit de- lighted by a flame which a chance traveller has left, and spread its hands over the genial blaze; but when the glowing ashes fade, it has not suf- ficient understanding to supply fresh fuel, but sits ana moans over the expiring embers. The Bosjesman _makes a bow and arrow; he tips the arrow with a hard substance to make it penetrate; he imbues the point with substances which he has learned are fatal when mingled with the blood, and then sallies forth in search of some animal whose skin may serve as a dress, and whose flesh may furnish him a meal. When by his unerring weapons he has succeeded in destroying the terrible and ferocious lion, the swift antelope, or the wary ostrich, he constructs for himself a hut by the side of his prey, strikes fire, fetches fuel, and dresses his meat. These are actions which no beast ever performed, and no ape could ever imitate. One point of difference between man and brutes has yet to be men- tioned LANGUAGE. This one word includes almost every distinction mentioned, as it is by the use of language that we are enabled to com- municate our ideas to each other, to give the thoughts hidden in out minds an almost visible shape, to record our experience for the benefit of others; in a word, it is by language that we are civilized. The ape has no Ifc^guage, although there is no apparent anatomical reason why apes should not speak, and therefore, the Orang-outan in the gardens of the Zoological Society is no more refined, nor does it make a nearer approacn to civilization, than its ancestors in the time of Adam. Even this statement is generally discredited by naturalists. NATURAL HISTOHV. 5 es, it is so. The whole of mankind has one common source, springing from one origin, from him who waa formed out of the dust of the earth, and from her whose existence took its rise from his living side. All are one family, sprung from one father on earth, by the will of their one Father in Heaven. The mind of man is much influenced by outward objects and the society by which it is surrounded. If a man be confined to one spot, or within certain bounds, his mind becomes feeble in proportion to the isolation. The rustic, whose ideas never wander from the farm on which he works, and whose travels are circumscribed by his native village, or, at most, by a casual visit to the nearest market town, exhibits a mind which has received a certain set of ideas, false as well as true, and which refuses alike to admit new notions or to give up any of the old. So great is the influence of society on the mind, that an experienced clergyman, while examining some candidates for Confirmation, observed that the Oxford children were two years in advance of those of the same age who had been bred in the country. So with music, a town child is accustomed to hear street music, and readily catches the air, while the country child, whose notions of music are confined to the dismal hosannns and lugubrious psalmody of the village church, is usually devoid of musical car, but is great in imitatiwi of rooks, cows, pigs, and donkeys. The most perfect case of isolation known, was that of the celebrated Kaspar Hauser, who had been confined for the first fourteen or fifteen years of his life in a dark cave, and was never permitted even to see his keeper. In consequence, when he at length left his dungeon, his mind Tas that of an infant, his body that of a man. It would have been A most interesting and important experiment, to watch the gradual development of his mind, but, unfortunately for science, an unknown dagger reached his heart, and this mysterious victim of a hidden plot perished, leaving the riddle of his life unsolved and the development of iiis intellect unfinished. His history furnishes us with another dis- tinction between man and beasts. When the mind of Hauser was released from its bands, it at once began to expand, and every day gave it fresh powers, while the brain of the ape is rapidly developed when young, and receives no further increase as it grows in stature, or if any change at all takes place, rather diminishes in power than develops by increasing years. We have seen that mankind have little in common with brutes, and that the barrier between the two can be passed by neither: but theic is another question to be considered. Many theorists have boldly denied the revelation of man's origin as given in the Scriptures, and asserted that at least five distinct races of men must have been created simultaneously, each deriving its origin from a different progenitor. Let us see how this theory will hold. It has already been stated that man is modified according to thfl 6 NATURAL HISTOKS". estimate and position in jvhicli lie is placed. There are several of these modiStHtions, or varieties as they are called, but authors do not agree >*s to their number. Some describe the human family as divided into live varieties or races : the Caucasian, the Mongolian, the Ethiopian, the Malayan, and the American ; each of these being subdivided into families, as for instance, the Caucasian race subdivided into the Cauca- sian, the Celtic, the Germanic, the Arabian, the Libyan, the Nilotic, and the Indostanic families. The division generally received is that of Pickering, who enumerates eleven, distinct races of m<'n, all of whom he has seen ; the Arabian, Abyssinian, Mongolian, Hottentot, Malay, Papuan, Negrillo, Telingan, Ethiopian, Australian, and Negro. He differs from Prichard in several points, but especially in referring the population of America to the Mongolian race, whereas Prichard con- siders it as entirely separate. The characteristics and distribution of each race are briefly these. The Arabian race extends over the whole of Europe, excepting Lapland, about half of Asia, including the greater part of India, and most of the northern third of Africa. The complexion is light, the lips are thin, the nose is prominent, and the beard thick. Number, about 350,000,000. The Abyssinian race occupies a small tract towards the east of Africa, including part of Abyssinia, and part of Nubia. The features are like those of Europeans, the complexion is light, the hair is crisp, and the beard moderate. Number about 3,000,000. The Mongolian race is remarkable for a feminine aspect in both sexes, so that a stranger ia often perplexed to distinguish a man from a woman at a short distance ; the hair is straight, and the beard is wanting. It extends over the eastern half of Asia, except Corea, over Lapland, and the whole of America, except the western coast by California, and the upper part of South America. Number 300,000,000. The Hottentot race occupies the southern extremity of Africa. The complexion is not so dark as that of the Negro, the hair is woolly, and frequently grows in irregular patches, leaving a bald spot in the centre of each patch. This race includes the Bechuanas and the Bosjesmans. The complexion of the Bosjesmans, or Bushmen, is very light, and strongly resembles that of an European, with a few sooty patches irregularly placed. Number about 500,000. The Malay race is almost amphibious, and is never found far inland. It is widely spread, and inhabits the centre of Madagascar, the whole of the islands in the Pacific Ocean, except the Fiji, New Hebrides, Solomon's Isles, Papua, and parts of the Philippines. The parts of America not populated by the Mongolians, are also inhabited by this race. The complexion is a dark copper, the hair straight, when cut it stands erect and the beard is thin. Number 120,000,000. The Papuan race inhabits about two-thirds of Papua, and the Fiji Islands, where Pickering saw the only individuals of this race who came under his notice. The complexion is dark, the hair bushy, the beard NATURAL HISTORY. 7 copious. The nost remarkable point in tin's race is the skin, which is astonishingly rough and harsh. Number 3,000,000. The Negrillo race is like the Papuan in colour, but the hair is mort woolly, the stature is small, and the beard absent. The Negrillos inhabit part of Papua, Solomon's Isles, the northern extremities of Luzon and Sumatra, and the New Hebrides. Number 3,000,000. The Telinyan, or Indian race, inhabits the eastern parts of India, especially about Calcutta, several isolated spots in other parts of India, and the eas.t coast of Madagascar. The complexion is dark, (best imitated by a mixture of red and black,) the skin is soft, the features are like those of Europeans, hair straight and line, and the beard copious. Number 60,000,000. The Ethiopian race is darker than the Telingan, the hair is crisp a7.d fine, skin soft, and the features are more like European features than those of the Negro. This race inhabits the north-eastern portion of Africa, including Southern Egypt, part of Nubin, and part of Abyssinia; a few detached spots toward the north-west, and a large tract of country by Senegambia. Number 5,000,000. The Australian race inhabits Australia alone. The complexion is like that of the Negro, but the hair is not woolly like that cf the Negro. Number 500,000. The Negro race inhabits the central parts of Africa, from the north of Ashanti to a little southward of Zanzibar. The complexion is black, the lips are immensely thick, the nose is flat, and the hair is close and curly, strongly resembling wool. Number 55,000,000. The numbers given in this distribution are of course in many cases only conjectural. In the distribution of races, it is most interesting to observe the influence of climate and vegetation on the character of man. The vast tract of desert extending from the north-west of Africa, througli Arabia, part of India and Tartary, as far as Mongolia, is inhabited by nomadic, or wandering, tribes, who depend principally on the milk of their do- mesticated animals for subsistence. The interminable and trackless woods of North. America develop tribes whose faculties are moulded to the exigencies of their position. To their practised senses the tangled forests are as clear as the highway; the moss on the trees, tbe sun by day, the stars by night, the rushing of the wind, or the sounds of animal life, are as broad roads and legible signs to them, although we could discover no means to escape from the wilderness of trees. Dependent in a great measure on hunting for their subsistence, their keen eye marks the slightest trace of the expected prey ; a drooping leaf, a twisted blade of grass, a bent twig, a ripple in the stream, are all noticed and all understood. Ever eagerly bent on the destruction of inimical tribes, and deeming the number of "scalps ' attached to their dress, each designating a slain enemy, as the best mark of nobility, they learn to track an enemy by his footsteps with unex- ampled patience and untiring assiduity. No bloodhound ever followed 8 NATURAL HISTORY. Ins prey with more certainty than the American Indian when on his "war-path" tracks his retiring enemies, and when near them his approach is silent as the gliding of the serpent, his blow as deadly as its fangs. The Malny race, whose lot is thrown amid islands and coasts, are as crafty and fierce on the waters as the American Indians in their woods. Accustomed to the water from their earliest infancy, able to swim before they can walk, using as their toys waves that would dash an ordinary swimmer to pieces against the rocks, their existence is almost entirely passed on the water. As the American Indians are slayers and robbers by land, so are the Malays murderers and pirates by sea. They have been known to capture a ship in the midst of a storm by swimming to it and climbing up the cable, and many instances of their crafty exploits in ship-taking are on record. For a, full account of their ferocity, cunning, and endurance, the reader is referred to Sir James Brooke' s reports on the Borneo pirates. The Esquimaux, situated among ice and snow, where mercury freezes in the open air and water becomes ice within a yard of a blazing fire, pass a comparatively inactive life. They actually form the ice and snow into warm and comfortable houses ; wrapped up in enormous fur garments that almost disguise the human form, they defy the intensity of the frost, and place their highest happiness in the chance possession of a whale, which will furnish them with food, clothing, and light, through their long winter. All these races, although they differ in habits and external appearance, are not different genera, or even different species, but only varieties of one species. There is not so marked a distinction between the European and Negro, as between the light and active racer and the heavy brewer's horse ; yet no one attempts to deny that these two animals belong to one species. The varieties in man are permanent ; that is, the child of Negro parents will be a Negro, and the child of Malay parents will be a Malay, but that is no proof of a distinct species, as precisely the same argument may be used with regard to the horse. The soul is the important part of man, not the body ; and though the outward bodies of men differ, the soul is the same in all, and therefore in all the mind is capable of improvement and cultivation. It were an easy task to prove the unity of mankind by Scriptural proofs, but I have thought it better to use rational arguments, as so- called reason was the weapon used to disprove the facts which the Scriptures asserted. Sufficient, I trust, has been said to show that man " has dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth ; " and also that the whole of mankind forms one great family, precisely according to the Scriptural assertion, that Eve was " the mother of all living." The distribution of the different nations over the face of the earth, and especially the presence of man in certain situations forms one of the NATURAL HISTORY. 9 principal arguments of those who deny the unity of mankind. Among such lands may be named America, Australia, New Zealand, and several other countries, whose inhabitants were supposed to have been destitute of artificial means of crossing the expanse of waters that divides their lands from others. So to obviate this difficulty the perplexed philosophers invented a theory that, each race was separately and simultaneously created, a theory which has but one disadvantage, that of being entirely false. There are many other theories on the same subject, all differing from each other in essentials, but all remarkable for their ingenuity and folly. As, however, such theories have been promulgated, it cannot but be interesting to one who holds in its fullest sense the doctrine of the unity of mankind as given in the Scriptures, to search after the means by which men were enabled to pass from one common centre to all parts of the earth. Many portions of the globe, such as islands, could not be reached without some artificial means to enable men to cross the waters. This implies some degree of civilization, as boats or rafts are the result of much thought and some skill. Pickering has published a map con- taining the probable route of mankind through the earth. He appears to think that Ihe most perplexing question of all, namely the problem of the population of America, is not very difficult of solution, as the Aleutian Isles form a chain of spots easily traversed by the skin-covered canoes which are still in uss among those islands.* All nations which have preserved traditions of past events agree in many points in a very remarkable manner. All have some traditions oi^ a creation, not always of a world, but of that particular part in which they reside. The Fiji islanders believe that one of their gods fished up Fiji from the bottom of the sea, by entangling his fish-hook in a rock, and that the island would have been higher had not the line broken. The fish-hook is still preserved as a proof, but. they do not state where the god stood while fishing. A traveller asked one of the priests why the hook, an ordinary tortoishell one, did not break? "Oh! it was a god's hook, and could not break." But why then did the line break? was the traveller's very natural response. Whereupon the man, ac- cording to the prevailing system of argument in those countries, and perhaps in a few others, threatened to knock him down if he abused the gods any more. Most nations have dim notions of a deluge which overwhelmed the whole world, and from which only a few individuals escaped, by whom the earth was repeopled. Nearly all believe ia a good and an evil power continually at warfare, and that the good will finally subdue the evil. Many savage nations, in consequence, seek *o propitiate the evil power with prayers and offerings, feeling sure thf>t the good one vrill not injure them. Pickering's Races of Man. Hall's Edition, p. 296. 10 NATURAL HISTORY. AH nations, (except one or two, such as the abject Bosjesnian, who ?an form no idea of what he cannot see, and whose answer when told ol a God is, " Let me see him,") believe in a future state. Their belief is invariably modified according to their habits. Some of the debased dark races believe that after dealh they become white men and have plenty of money; the Mahometan considers his paradise as an abode of ever- lasting sensual indulgence ; the savage believes that when he leaves this world he will pass to boundless limiting-fields, where shall be no want of game, and where his arrows shall never miss their mark; while the Christian knows his heaven to be a place of un- speakable and everlasting happiness, where the power of sin shall have ceased for ever. SKULL OF MAN. THE section Quadrumana includes the apes, baboons, and moiiKeys. The name of Quadrumana is given to these animals because, in. addition to two hands like those of man, their feet are also formed like hands, and are capable of grasping the branches among which most monkeys pass their lives. Apes are placed at the head of the Quadrumana because their instinct is mostly superior to that of the baboons and monkeys, of whom the former are usually sullen and ferocious, when arrived at their full growth, and the latter volatile and mischievous. The Chimpansee and the Orang-outan have been confounded together by the older naturalists, whose pardonable error has been unpardouably repeated even in books professing to instruct the young in the present state of natural science. That they are really distinct animals a glance at the skull of each will at once prove. The Chimpansee is a native of Western Africa, and is tolerably common on the banks of the Gambia and in Congo. Large bands of these formidable apes congregate together and unite in repelling an Invader, which they do with such fury and courage that even the dreaded elephant and lion are driven from their haunts by their united efforts. They live principally on the ground, and, as their name imports, spend much of their time in caves or under rocks. Their height is from four to five feet, but they are said not to reach this growth until nine or ten years of age. Several young chimpansees have been recently imported into this country, and have shown themselves very docile and gentle ; but, had they lived, they would probably in a few years have become fierce and obstinate, as apes almost invariably are when they reach their full growtlt SKULL OP CHIMPANSEE. NATURAL HISTORY. 11 1 lately saw one of these animals at the Zoological Gardens in the- Regent's Park. It \vas very gentle, and seemed to be above that restless spirit of curiosity that is so characteristic of the monkey tribe. Its countenance appeared expressive of the deepest distress, and it moved about with a gravity that contrasted curiously with the lively movements of the body of monkeys living in the large cage.* Family II. Simiuda). (Lat. Simla, an ape Ape kind.) TROGLODVTKS. (Gr. Tpa,-/\r], a hole ; 5i-o>, to creep.) Niger (Lat. Hack), the Chimpansee. When I saw it an unmistakeable hacking cough proved that tin scourge of these animals had fallen upon it. When monkeys are brought to England they are generally carried off by consumption within a few rears. This disease is not so prevalent now in the Zoological Gardens as it was when the keepers thought that the animals ought to be shut up close in a warm atmosphere. This treatment predisposed them to taking cold on the slightest occasion, and thus paved the way for their deadly There is a remarkably fine specimen of the Chimpansee in the Jardin des Plantes at Paris. It is very lively, and is fond of swinging on the ropes that are so plentifully hung from the roof of the preat monkey cage at that establishment. The Chimpansee appear* to be entirely free from disease i f the lungs. SKULL OP OHAXG-OUTAN. 12 NATURAL HISTORY. foe. Since the monkeys have been permitted to range freely in the open air, they have proved much more healthy than under the old system of confinement. The ORANG-OUTA.N inhabits Borneo and Sumatra. In Borneo there are certainly two species of orang, called by the natives the Mias-kassar and the Mias-pappan. Some naturalists suppose that the Sumatran orang is also a distinct species. This is the largest of all the apes, as it is said that orangs have been obtained from Borneo considerably above five feet in height. The strength of this animal is tremendous ; a female snapped a strong spear asunder after having received many severe wounds. Its arms are of extraordinary length, the hands reach- ing the ground when it stands erect. This length of arm is admirably adapted for climbing trees, on which it principally resides. Mr. Brooke, the Rajah of Sarawak, gives the following account of the orangs of Borneo. There appears also to be a third species, the Mias-rombi : " On the habits of the orangs, as far as I have been able to observe them, I may remark that they are as dull and as slothful as can well be conceived, and on no occasion, when pursuing them, did they move so fast as to preclude my keeping pace with them easily through a moderately clear forest; and even when obstructions below (such as wading up to the neck) allowed them to get away some distance, they were sure to stop and allow us to come up. I never observed the slightest attempt at defence ; and the wood, which sometimes rattled about our ears, was broken by their weight, and not thrown, as some persons represent, li pushed to extremity, however, the pappan could not be otherwise than formidable; and one unfortunate man, who with a party was trying to catch one alive, lost two of his fingers, besides being severely bitten on the face, whilst the animal finally beat off his pursuers and escaped. When they wish to catch an adult, they cut down a circle of trees round the one on which he is seated, and then fell that also, and close before he can recover himself, and endeavour to bind him. " The rude hut which they are stated to build in the trees would be more properly called a seat, or nest, for it has no roof or cover of any sort. The facility with which they form this seat is curious ; and I had an opportunity of seeing a wounded female weave the branches together, ac.d seat herself in a minute. She afterwards received our fire without moving, and expired in her lofty abode, whence it cost us much trouble to dislodge her. "The pappan is justly named Satyrus, from the ugly face and disgusting callosities. The adult male I killed was seated lazily on a tree; and when approached only took the trouble to interpose the trunk betweer NATURAL HISTORY. 13 us, peeping at me and dodging as 1 dodged. I hit him on the wrist, and he was afterwards dispatched. I send you his proportions, enormous relative to his height ; and until I came to actual measurement my impression was that Le was nearly six feet in stature. . (Lat. an Ape.) Satyrus (Gr. Zarvpos, a satyr), the Orang-outan. "The great difi'ercnce between the kassar and the pappan iu size would prove at once the distinction of the two species ; the kassar being a small slight animal, by no means formidable in his appearance, with hands and feet proportioned to the body, and they do not approach the gigantic extremities of the pappan either in size or power ; and, in short, a moderately strong man would readily overpower one, when he would not stand a shadow of a chance with the pappan." I saw a young Orang-outan not long since. It was rather spidery in its development, having a very small and very rotund body, to which were affixed very long and slender limbs. Its face was like that of a very misanthropical old miser, thoroughly wearied of life, and contem- plating surrounding objects with a calm but derisive pity. The whole form of the creature reminded me strongly of the Goblia king that 14 NATURAL HISTORY. appeared to Gabriel Grubb on Christmas Eve, and whose degage eaes of posture upon a tall tombstone has been so admirably depicted by " Phiz." It possessed in a high degree the expressive mobile character of the lips, which appeared to express its feelings much in the same manner as do the cars of a horse. When it was alarmed or astonished at any object it was accustomed to shoot out both its lips, and to form its mouth into a trumpet kind of shape. A snail was very effectual in producing this contortion of countenance. The creature was very tame, and delighted in walking about the garden leaning on the arm of its keeper, and if any lady would venture to be its guide, it appeared as happy as any such misanthropical being could be. When young the Orang-outan is very docile, and has been taught to make its own bed, and to handle a cup and saucer, or a spoon, with tolerable propriety. For the former occupation it proved itself particu- larly apt, as it not only laid its own bed-clothes smooth and comfortable, but exhibited much ingenuity in stealing blankets from other beds, which i Tvr *,. /r, , in- it added to its own. The young MYLOBATE8. ( W. 5Al7, a WOOU J /3ail'o>, to r-\ n , c traverse ) Orang m the collection oi the Zoological Society evinced extreme horror at the sight of a small tortoise, and, when the reptile was introduced into its den, stood aghast in a most ludicrously terrified attitude, with its eyes intently fixed on the frightful object. The AGILE GIBBON is a native of Sumatra. It derives its name of Agile, from the wonderful activity it displays in launching itself through tiie air from branch to branch. One of these creatures that was exhibited in London some time since, sprang with the greatest ease through dis- tances of twelve and eighteen feet; and when apples or nuts were thrown to her while in the air, she would catch them without discon- tinuing her course. She kept A.gliis (Lat. active), the Agile Glibon, or Ouvgka. UP a succession of springs, hardly touching the branches in her NATDhAL HISTORY. 15 progress, continually uttering a musical but, almost deafening cry. She was very tame and gentle, and would permit herself to be touched or caressed. The height of the Gibbon is about three feet, and the reach of the extended arms about six feet. The young Gibbon is usually of a paler colour than its parent. There are several species of Gibbon, amongst -which some naturalists include the Siamang, a monkey chiefly celebrated for the pains it takes to wash the faces of its young, a duty *-hich it conscientiously performs in spite of the struggles and screams of its aggrieved offspring. PUESB?TES. (Gr. trpe mar..} an oM The KAUAU is a native of Borneo. It derives its name from the cry it utters, which is a repetition of the word " Kahau." It is remarkable for the extraordinary size and shape oi its nose, and the natives relate that while leaping it holds that organ with its paws, appa- rently to guard it against the branches. As may be seen from the engraving, it is not an animal of very captivating appearance; but when it has been macerated in spirits of wine for a few months, its ugliness is quite super- natural. Naturalists formerly supposed that there were two species of this animal, the nose of one being aquiline like that of the monkey in the accompanying cut ; and that of the other being slightly rclroussee. It was dis- covered, however, that the latter animal was only the young Kahau, whose nose had not reached its Larvatua (Lat. masked) Kahau, oi full beauty. Proboscis Monkey. The length of the animal from the head to the tip of the tail is about lour feet four inches ; arid its> general colour is a sandy red, relieved by 5'ellow checks and a yellow stripe over the shoulders. The ENTELLUS, or Hoonumau, is a native of India. It is astonish- ingly active in the capture of serpents. It steals upon the snake when asleep, seizes it by the neck, runs to the nearest stpne, and deliberately grinds down the reptile's head until the poisonous fangs are destroyed, frequently inspecting its work and grinning at the iir potent struggles of the tortured reptile. When the snake is rendered harmless the monkey casts it to its young, wjio, after tossing about and exalting over theu 16 NATURAL BISTORT fallen enemy for some time, finally destroy it. t.d body is about two feet two inches. PRESBfTES. The length of its head Eiitellus (Lut. A proper name), the Entdlus Monkey. Seven genera are omitted on account of want of space. S. (Gr. ;a'wr, a dog; Kf$x\q, a Lead.) ;*', a bogie), the Mandrill. We no\v arrive at the BABOONS. This tribe is principally distinguished from the apes by their short and insignifi- cant looking tails. The baboons are the only mamma- lia which exhibit brilliant colours ; on some parts of these, however, na- ture has bestowed vivid tints hardly to be surpassed even by the gor- geous plumage of the tropical birds. The Mandrill, which is the most conspicuous of the NATURAL HISTOKY. 17 baboon tribe, is a native of Guinea and Western Africa, and is chiefly remarkable for the vivid colours with which it is adorned. Its cheeks are of a brilliant blue, its muzzle of a bright scarlet, and a stripe of crimson runs along the centre of its nose. These colours are agreeably contrasted by the purple hues of the hinder quarters. It lives principally in forests filled with brushwood, from which it makes incursions into the nearest villages, plundering them with impunity. On this account it is much dreaded by the natives, who feel themselves incapable of resisting its attacks. It is excessively ferocious, and easily excited to anger; and whco enraged, so boundless is its rage, that Cuvier relates that he has seen several of these animals actually expire from the violence of their fury. The greenish brown colour of the hah- of this and other monkeys is causei by alternate bands of yellow and black, which exist on each hair. The brilliant colours referred to above belong to the skin, and fade away entirely after death, becoming paler when the animal is not in perfect health. The AMERICAN MONKEYS, Family III. *Cel>1 Ice. (Gr. Krj8or, a monkey or Cebidae, are found exclu- Monkey kind.) sively in South America, and ATELES. (Gr. dre^s, imperfect.} are never seen north of Pa- nama. Their tails are inva- riably long, and in some genera, prehensile. The Coaita is one of the Spi- der Monkeys, so called from their long slender limbs, and their method of progressing among the branches. The tail seems to answer the purpose of a fifth hand, as it is capable of being used for every pur- pose to which the hand could be applied; indeed, the Spider Monkeys are said to use this member for hooking out ob- jects where a hand could not be inserted. In this manner they often rob nests of birds, who thought that they had laid their eggs safe from all danger. The tail is also of considerable use in climbing Pani8CUS (Gl , nwifflcos> dim . of &, a Ut4 i, among the branches of trees ; Pan) the CGaita Sj)ider Monkey. they coil it round the boughs to lower or raise themselves, and often will suspend themselves entire!? Procouace Ketidtt. a IB KATUu&I, HISTORY. by it, and then by a powerful impetus swing off to some distant branck The habits of all the Spider Monkeys are very similar. They are ex- tremely sensitive to cold, and when chilly are in the hab't of wrapping their tail about them, so that this useful organ answers the purpose of a boa as well as a hand. They will also, when shot, fasten their tail so firmly on the branches, that they remain suspended after death. The great length of their tail enables them to walk in the erect attitude better than most monkeys. In walking, they cast their tails upwards as high as the shoulders, and then bend it over so as to form a counter- balance against the weight of the body, which is thrown very much forward in that and most other animals. The genus is called Ateles, or imperfect, because in most of the species the thumb is wanting. The Coaita inhabits Surinam and Guinea. Several genera are omitted. MYCETES. (Gr. /UU/OJTJJS, a hov.'ler.) Ursinus (Lat. Ursa, a bear Bearlikej, the Ursine Howler. The HOWLING MONKEYS are larger and not so agi'.s as the Spider Monkeys, and are chiefly remarkable for the peculiarity from which they derive their name. These animals possess an enlargement in the throat, composed of several valvular pouches, which apparatus renders their cry exceedingly loud and mournful. An arrangement somewhat similar may be seen in the throat of several loud-voiced birds. They howl in concert, principally at the rising and setting of the sun; 3ne monkey begins the cry, which is gradually taken up by the rest, pre asely s.3 may be observed in a colony of rooks. They are in great re- crac-cL among the natives as articles of food, their slow habits rendering &em tun easy Key. NATURAL HISTORY. 19 . (Gr. ica\6s, beautiful ; hair.) The Ursine Howler, or Araguato, is common in Brazil, where forty or fifty have been observed on one tree. They generally travel in files, an old monkey taking the lead, and the others following in due order. They feed principally on leaves and fruit; the tail is prehensile ike that of the Spider Monkeys. The genus Cebus is omitted. The beautiful little animals here represented belong to the Squirrel Monkeys, so call- ed on account of their large bushy tails. The COLLARED TEE TEE, or White-throated Squirrel Monkey, is found to the east of the Orinoco. It lives on small birds, insects and fruits. Its habits are, apparently, mild and inoffensive, but its acts belie its looks, for when a small bird is presented to it, it springs upon its prey like a cat and speedily de- vours it. Torquatus (Lat. torquis, a necklace- Collared), the Collared Tee Tee. The MARMOSET is a most interesting little creature. sensitive to cold, and when in England is usually occu- pied in nestling among the materials for its bed, which it heaps up in one corner, and out of which it seldom emerges entirely. It will eat almost any article of food, but is especially fond of in- sects, which it dispatches in a very adroit manner. It. will also eat fruits, especially those of its native country. Its fondness for insects is carried so far, that it has been known to pinch out the figures of beetles in an ento- mological work, and swallow them. JACCHUS. (Gr. "l It is exceedingly is. Bacchus.) VulgSris (Lat. common), the Marmoset. eS 20 NATURAL HISTORY. A beautiful little marmoset in the Zoological Gardens ate a great number of flies which I caught and presented to it. Its little eyes sparkled with eagerness eacli time that it saw my hand moving towards a fly settled out of its reach, and it even ventured from its warm woolly nest, and climbed up the wires of its cage as it saw the fly approaching. It was also rather expert at catching for itself the flies that settled OE the bars of the cage. A blue-bottle fly was evidently considered a great orize. This pretty little monkey is also called the Ouistiti, from its peculiar whistling cry when alarmed or provoked. Several genera are omitted between Callithrix. and Jacchus. Family IV. Lemurtdse. (Lat. lemHres, ghosts Ghostlike.) Macdco (Native name), Ike llujjkd Lemur. The LEMURS derive their name from their nocturnal habits, and that noiseless movements. The Ruffled Lemur is a native of Madagascar. It lives in the depths of the forests, and only moves by night, the entire day being spent in sleep. Its food consists of fruits, insects and small birds, which latter it takes while they are sleeping. This is the largest of the Lemurs. Seing rather larger than a cat. The SLENDER LOBIS is a native of India, Ceylon, &c. It, like the Liemur, seldom moves by day, but prowls about at night iu search of food. No sooner does it espy a sleeping bird, than it slowly advances until within reach ; then putting forward its paw with a motion slow and imperceptible as tUe movement of the shadow on the dial, it gra- NATURAL HISTORY. 21 iiuJly places its fingers over the devoted bird; then, with a movement swifter than the eye can follow, it, seizes it.s startled prey. Louis. (Native came.) Several specimens of this animal have been kept in captivity and have proved very interesting in their habits. Their sleep appeared to be almost torpidity, as they would suffer their cage to be cleaned at any time between six in the morning, and the dusk of the evening. One of them when quietly awakened by thrusts of a stick, would utter a low plaintive cry, and walk once or twice slowly round its cage, and then sleep again. Two genera are omitted Qracllis (L:lt sicndcr} ,^ ^^ Lon between Lemur and Loris, and several more between Loris and the Vcspcrtilionidae. Family V. . . VespertihonTdae. (Lat. vcspertilio, a bat. Bat kind.; Sub-family a. Phyllostomina. (Gr. e the cut of the breast-bone of a bird at the commencement of Uie division AVJiS SXULL OP COMMOH BAT. NATURAL HISTORY. 23 in the ear or shoulder, and through this small aperture, into which a pin'a head would scarcely pass, it contrives to abstract sufficient blood to make a very ample meal. The wound is so small, and the Bat manages so adroitly, that the victim does not discover that anything has happened until the morning, when a pool of blood betrays the visit of the Vampire. Darwin relates, that while travelling in Chili, " We were bivouacking late one evening near Coquhroo, when my servant, noticing that one of the horses was very restive, went to see what was the matter, and fancying he could distinguish something, suddenly put his hand on the beast's withers, and secured a Vampire. In the morning the spot where tiie bite had been inflicted was easily distinguished, from being slightly swollen and bloody." The wound made by the bat's teeth is no larger than that made by a needle, and hardly penetrates the skin, so that the blood must be extracted by suction. There have been very different accounts of the J|A1R op LOS0 . EARED BAT .. Vampires from travellers, some denying that they suck blood at all, and others narrating circumstantially the injuries inflicted upon their own persons. The cause for these dis- crepancies is probably owing to the constitution of the narrators, there being some persons whom a Vampire will not touch, while others are constantly victimised. This Bat is placed among the Phyllostomina, because the membrane OB its nose resembles a leaf. The length of its body is about six inches. THE LONG-EARED BAT. The LONG-EARED BAT is found in most parts of Europe, and is common in England. It may be seen any warm evening flying about in search of insects, and uttering its peculiar shrill cry. It is very common on Hampstead Heath. The ears are about an inch and a half in length, and Imve a fold in them reaching almost to the lips, from which pecu- liarity the genus is called Plecotus. This Bat is very easily tamed, and will take flies and other insects from the hand. One that I had in my own possession used to hang by the wing-hooks during the whole of the day, and could hardly be persuaded to move, or even to eat; but when the evening came on it became very brisk indeed, and after carefully combing itself with its hind feet, it would eagerly seize a fly or beetle and devour it, always rejecting the oead, legs, and wings. It was then very impatient to be released from * Magnified about 200 diametori. 24 NATURAL HISTORY the cage, ami would show its uneasiness by climuing about_the cage anc fluttering its wings. It unfortunately died before further investigations could be made, but during the short time that it survived, it seemed very gentle, and only bit me once, although I used frequently to handle it. The singular appearance of t , } . f , ^ geen fhrongli a microscope is caused ..,. . Sub-family c. Ycspertitionina. (Lat. Vcsiici'hiio. a i>at.) _ _ , PtECorus.-(Gr. me,ca, I fol.l ; . , an ear.) Auritus (Lat. awis, an ear Eared), the Lony-eared Eat. iug to the exterior of the hair. These scales can be rubbed off, and iii consequence of this property, the bat's hair often assumes very singular forms. The hair that is figured was drawn by means of the Gamers Lucida, from a specimen seen by transmitted light, but if it had been seen by reflected light, it would have presented quite a different appearance, not very unlike the plant called Mare's tail before its leaves are grown. The details of the hair are different in the differing spe- cies of Bats, but there is always a character about them which is not to be mistaken. When the Long-eared Eat is suspended by its hinder claws it assumes a most singular aspect. The beautiful long ears are tucked under its wings, which envelop great part of its body. The tragus, that pointed mem- brane visible inside the ear, is then exposed, and appears to be the actual ear itself, giving the creature a totally different cast of character. QUADRUPEDS. THE former sections have been characterised by the number and pro- perties of the hands. In the section that we are about to consider, the hands have been modified into feet. At the head of the quadrupeds, or four-footed animals, are placed the carnivora, or flesh-eaters, and at the head of the carnivora, the Felidse, or Cat kind are placed, as being the most perfect and beautiful in that section. The Felidse all take their prey by creeping as near as they can without observation, and then springing upon their unfortunate victim, which seldom succeeds in making NATURAL HISTORY. 3d its escape, as the powerful claws and teeth of its enemy usually dash it insensible to the ground. The jaws and teeth of the Felidae are very different from those of the animals already described ; their jaws are more powerful, and their teeth longer and sharper. Their claws, too, are necessarily very long, curved and sharp, and to prevent them from being injured by coming into contact with the ground, they are concealed, when not in \ise, in a sheath, which effectually guards them and keeps them sharp. There are five claws on the fore feet, and four on the hinder fec-t. The tontrue ot the Felidfe is very rough, as may be proved by feeling the tongue of a cat. This roughness is occasioned by innumerable little hooks which cover the tongue, point backwards, and are used for the purpose of licking the flesh off the bones of their prey. The bristles of the mouth, or whiskers, are each connected with a large nerve, and are exceedingly useful in indicating an obstacle when the animal prowls by night. Their eyes are adapted for nocturnal vision by the dilating power of the pupil, which expands so as to take in every ray of light. THE LION. The LION stands at the head of the wild beasts. His noble and digni- fied bearing, the terrific power compressed into his comparatively small frame, and the deep majesty of his voice, have gained for him the name of " king of beasts." The Lion inhabits Africa and certain parts of Asia, such as portions of Arabia and Persia, and some parts of India. It varies in external appearance according to the locality, but there is little doubt that there is but one species. We are indebted to Mr. Gumming for many interesting notices of this noble animal, observed during his residence in Southern Africa, and from his book many extracts will be given in the course of this work, as by his cool and daring courage he has been enabled to watch the habits and actions of the most ferocious beasts in the depths of their own haunts. The Lion is barely four feet high, and eight in length, yet he can, with little difficulty, dash the giraffe to the earth, or overcome the powerful buffalo. He has been known to carry off a heifer in his mouth, and although encumbered with such a burden, to leap a broad dyke, apparently with the greatest ease. No animal willingly molests the Lion, and there are but very few which he cannot overcome. The rhinoceros and elephant are almost the only quadrupeds he dare not meddle with, but he does not seem to stand in much fear of them. Gnoos, zebras, and antelopes, seem to be his favourite prey, although one of the antelopes, the oryx, or gemsbok, not unfrequently avenges its own death by the destruction of its pursuer, its long straight horns impaling the Lion from side to side. The two skeletons have been seen lying together. The roar of the Lion is one of its chief peculiarities ; the best description of it is in Cumming's Adventures : 26 NATURAL HISTORY. "One of tbe most striking things connected with the LIoii is his voice, which is extremely grand and peculiarly striking. It consists, at times, of a low deep moaning, repeated five or six times, ending in faintij audible sighs; at other times he startles the forest with loud, deep-toned, solemn roars, repeated five or six times in quick succession, each in- creasing in loudness to the third or fourth, when his voice dies away in five or six low, muilled sounds, very much resembling distant thunder. At times, and not imfrequently, a troop may be heard roaring in concert, one assuming the lead, and two, three, or four more regularly taking up their parts like persons singing a catch," Order II. ... FER^E. (Lat. ferus, wild. Wild beasts.) Family I. . . . Felldw. (Lat. felts, a cat. Cat kind.) Sub-family a. Fdlna. LEO. (Lat. a Lion.) Barbaras (Lat. fierce), the Lion. " As a general rule lions roar during the night, their sighing moans commencing as the shades of evening envelope the forest, and continuing at intervals throughout the night. In distant and secluded regions, how- ever, I have constantly heard them roaring loudly as late as nine and ten o'clock on a bright sunny morning. In hazy and rainy weather they are to be heard at every hour in the day, but their roar is subdued." It is well known that the power of the human voice is very efficacious NATURAL HISTORY. J7 z. alarming even the most savage wild beasts. .But I never remem-bei seeing it, mentioned, that it is not so much the sound of the voice, as the sound of the words that alarms these animals. Any one may test the fact for themselves, for whereas they may shout inarticulately without scaring away the wild birds and beasts of our own country, a lew words spoken in comparatively a low key, sends them off at once. Indeed we involuntarily use words on such an occasion, as for example, if we are attacked by a dog or a bull, we do not content ourselves with shouting, but speak words to it. The dumb brute seems to be cowed by the "winged words" of human reason. There is a remarkable instance of tins faculty in the work of the author whom I have before quoted. A lioness whom he had wounded was about to spring upon him, but as he stood quite still, and recom- mended her in a commanding tone to "take it easy," she halted and per- mitted her assailant to retreat, which he did very slowly, still continuing to talk to the lioness until he had made his escape. The opinion that lions will not touch a dead animal is erroneous ; as they were frequently shot by Mr. Gumming while devouring gnoos, &c. that had fallen by his rifle. Those lions who have once tasted human flesh are generally the most to be dreaded, as they will even venture to spring in among a company of men, and seize their victim. These lions are called Man-eaters. During the latter part of Cumming's residence in South Africa a dreadful instance of their ferocity occurred. While the hunt- ing party was encamped for the night in the territory of the Balakahari, a lion, taking advantage of the stormy night, suddenly sprang upon two men, Hendrick, the driver, and lluyter, the Bosjesman tracker, who were wrapped in the same blanket, by the fire. It seized Hendrick by the neck, and dragged him into the bushes, in spite of the blows which another man gave it with a burning brand, leaving lluyter unhurt except by a few scratches with its claws. Next morning it was shot by Mr. Gumming, who placed its skin in his magnificent collection, where lluyter points it out with great glee. The Lioness is much smaller than the Lion, and is destitute of the magnificent mane which is so great an ornament to her mate. As a general rule she is more fierce and active than the male, especially before she has had cubs, or while she is suckling them. She has usually from two to four cubs at a time. They are beautiful playful little things, and are slightly striped. They have no mane until about two years old. While her cubs are small the Lioness knows no fear, and will attack a company of men or a herd of oxen if they come too near her den. Her mate also ably seconds her endeavours, and has been known to keep the hunters at bay until she has withdrawn her cubs to a place of safety, after which he bounds off in the direction which she has taken. The cubs are remarkably heavy for their age. Many years ago, I had a pair of young lion cubs in my hands. They were about the size of ver v large cats, but weighed considerably more than their size led me to believe. 28 NATURAL Thev were playful Hi tic animals, but struck rather too hard to be ag:ee able. The Lion when young is easily tamed, and shows a strong attachment to its keeper. Tnose who have seen Van Amburgh will know what in- fluence man may obtain over this powerful creature. Many anecdotes Lave been told of the celebrated lion " Ke.ro," \vho would suffer even strangers to caress him, and carry children on his back with the greatest good-nature. Many naturalists, of whom Buffon is the chief, have fallen into errors concerning the contradictory dispositions of the lion and tiger. " The lion unites with a high degree of fierceness, courage, and strength, the more admirable qualities of nobleness, clemency, and magnanimity. Walking with a gentle step, he does not deign to attack man unless pro- voked to the combat. He neither quickens his step, iior flies, and never pursues the inferior animals except when urged by hunger;" while the tiger " presents a compound of meanness and ferocity ; he seems always thirsty for blood," &c. &c. Now nothing can be more erroneous than ihese sentences. The tiger is as tameable as the lion, the tiger and lion seize their prey with equal ferocity, and neither will attack a man or any other animal when satisfied with food. There is one remarkable difference in the characters of the feline and canine tribes. If a man is overcome by a wolf or a dog, the aniaial ceases not to mangle its vanquished foe until life is quite extinct. A dog kill- ing a rat is a good instance of this trait of character. But if a lion or any other feline animal vanquishes a man, it contents itself with the vic- tory for some time without making any attempt to injure him, unless he tries to escape, in which case lie is again dashed to the earth, and probably considerably bitten as a warning. A cat treats a mouse just as a lion treats a man. This propensity in the lion has been the cause of saving several lives, the men having been able either to destroy their foe by cautiously getting out a weapon, or by lying still until they were succoured. At the extremity of the lion's tail there is a small hook or claw, which has been represented as the means by which the animal lashes itself into fury, using it as a spur. This is impossible, as the claw or prickle is very small, not fixed to the bone as the claws of the feet are, but merely at- tached to the skin, and falls off if roughly handled. It is net present in all lions, as Mr. Wood only discovered it once out of numerous snecimeiis v/hieh he examined. As an example of the accuracy of the Nineveh sculptures we may notice that the little horny claw is faithfully represented. Indeed, the sculptures of hunting scenes are executed with wonderful spirit and truth, ^ven delineating the different attitude in which a bull and a lion fall in .teath. There is one group representing a combat between a lion and a b'lil admirably represented, the whole action of the lion being wouderfullv correct, although sli<;htlv exaggerated. NATURAL HISTORY. 29 TIGRIS. (Lat. a Tiger.) .1 llegalis (Lat. royal), the Tiycr. This magnificent animal is found only in Asia, Hiudostan being the part most infested by it. In size it is almost equal to the lion, its height being from three to four feet, and its length rather more than eight feet. It lias no mane, but to compensate for this deficiency it is decorated with black stripes, upon aground of reddish yellow fur, which becomes almost white on the under parts of the body. The chase of the TIGER is among the most exciting and favourite sports in India, A number of hunters assemble, mounted on elephants trained to the sport, and carry with them a supply of loaded rifles in their howdahs, or carriages mounted on the ele- phants' bucks. Thus armed, they proceed to the spot where a tiger has oeen seen. The animal i? usually found hidden in the long grass or jun- gle, which is frequently ei fc *ht or more feet in height, and when roused, it endeavours to creep away under the grass. The movement of the leaves betrays him, and he is checked by a rifle ball aimed at him through the jangle. Finding that he cannot escape without being seen, he turns round, and springs at the nearest elephant, endeavouring to clamber up it, and attack the wty in the howdah. This is the most dangerous part JO NATURAL H1STOJTS. of the proceedings, as many elephants will turn round and run away, regardless of the efforts of their drivers to make them face the tiger. Should, however, the elephant stand firm, a well-directed ball checks the tiger in his spring, and he then endeavours again to escape, but a volley of rifle balls from the backs of the other elephants, who by this time have come up, lays the savage animal prostrate, and in a very short time liis skin decorates the successful marksman's howdah. These hunts are not carried on without considerable danger, as in some cases the tiger has succeeded in reaching the howdah, and more than one hunter has beeq known to overbalance himself in his anxiety to get a shot at his game, and has fallen into the very claws of the enraged brute. Once a wounded tiger sprang at a badly trained elephant, wlio immediately turned round and made off. The tiger succeeded in reaching the elephant's tail, which t mangled dreadfully, but could climb no higher, partly on account of its wounds, and partly through the exertions of a native, who kept it back with a spear. The tiger hung in this way for the greater part of a mile, when another hunter succeeded in overtaking the terrified elephant, and with a single ball freed the poor animal from its tormentor. Of late years tiger hunting has become less dangerous, principally on account of tiie innate fear that all wild beasts seem to have of the power of fire-arms. "When mankind first waged war against the tigers, they did not heed the fire-arms, but experience has taught them a fear ol those terrible weapons, which appears to have been communicated to their pos- terity, just as the puppy of a retriever dog will plunge into the water and fetch a stick without being taught. Tigers are usually taken by the natives in pitfalls, at the bottom of which is planted a bamboo stake, the top of which is sharpened into a point. The animal falls on the point and is impaled. The general notion that tigers cannot be tamed is erroneous. They can be tamed as easily as the lion; but great caution must be used with all wild animals, as in a moment of irritation, their savage nature breaks out, and the consequences have more than once proved fatal. The me- lancholy death of the "Lion Queen," in Wombwell's Menagerie, is a recent example of this propensity. lu the British Museum are three cubs bred between a lion and a tigress. They are not unlike lion cubs, but the stripes are much darker, and the colour of the fur is brighter. The colouring of the tiger is a good instance of the manner in which animals are protected by the similarity of their external appearance to the particular locality in which they reside. The stripes on the tiger's skin so exactly assimilate with the long jungle grass amongst which it lives, that it is impossible for unpractised eyes to discern the animal at all. even wten a considerable portion of its body is exposed. NATURAL HISTOKY. LEOPAICDUS. (Lat. leo, a lion; pardus, a panther.) 'I/!.-. Varlus (Lat. varied), the Leopard, or Panther. The LEOPAKD is an inhabitant of Africa, India, and the Indian Islands. A black variety inhabits Java, and is not uncommon there. Its height is about, two feet. This and the following Felidse are accustomed to live much on trees, and are on that account called Tree-tigers by the natives. Nothing can be more beautiful than the elegant and active manner in which the leopards sport among the branches of the trees : at one time they will bound from branch to branch with such rapidity that the eye can scarcely follow them ; then as if tired, they will suddenly stretch themselves along a branch so as to be Lardly distinguishable from the bark, but start up again on the slightest provocation, and again resume their graceful antics. It is easily tamed, and expresses great fond- ness for its keeper, and will play with him like a cat. A remarkably beautiful specimen in Wombwell's Menagerie was exceedingly fond of playing with the tuft at the extremity of a lion's tail, and from the familiar manner in which he patted and bit it, he evidently considered it as manufactured for his own particular entertainment. This animal is exceedingly fond of some scents, especially preferring lavender water, by means of which predilection, it has been taught to perform several tricks. The Leopard and Panther are considered as the same animal, on th* Authority of Mr. Gray. NATURAL HISTORY. I.EOPAUDUS. IJncIa (Lat. uncia, an ounce), (lie Ounce. The OUNCE is a native of India, and has been often confounded with tlie Leopard. Its fur is much more rough than that of the leopard, and the tail is almost bushy, especially towards the extremity. Its body is marked with irregular wavy stripes, and the head is adorned with black spots. The general colour is a yellowish grey. It is easy to distinguish the Ounce from the Leopard, by the indis tinctness of the markings, and also by the roughness of the fur, which latter distinction, in the opinion of some naturalists, shows that it lives in mountainous regions. The habits and history of this animal are but little known. The JAGUAR inhabits America. It is larger and more powerful than the leopard, which it resembles in colour, but has a black streak across the chest, and a black spot in the centre of the rosettes. It is fond of climbing trees, and finds little difficulty in ascending, even when the trunk is smooth and destitute of branches. It chases monkeys successfully, and is said to watch for turtles on the beach, and to scoop out their flesh by turning them on their backs and inserting its paws between the shells. Nor does it confine its attention to the turtles themselves, for it watches them lay their eggs, and then scoops them out of the sand with its claws. It often makes fearful havoc among the sheepfolds, and is said to depart so far from the usual habits of the Felidfie, as to enter the water nftei NATURAL HISTOKY. fish, and to capture them iu the shallows by striking them out of the water with a liiuw of its paw. There have been instances of .the domestic cat acting iu the same manner. When it captures one of the larger animals it destroys it by leaping upon its % back, and twisting the head* of its prey round, until the neck is dislocated. The PUMA inhabits tne whole of America, where it is held in much dread by the natives. Its colour is an uni- form grey, fading into white on the under parts of its body, and thia similarity of colour is the reason that the name " concolor" has been given to it. It lives much on trees, aul usually lies along the Onca (Gr. O7a, a proper name), i branches, where its uniform dusky fur renders it so like the bark that it can scarcely be distinguished from the branch. This habit it preserves when in captivity, and many persons pass its den in the Zoological Gardens, fancying it empty, while the puma is lying along its shelf unobserved. Mr. Eaton Stone- the celebrated eques- trian who has tra- velled for many years in the wilder parts of America, told me that the puma is accus- tomed to follow men by scent, and to track them on their j ourney, waiting for an oppor- tunity to spring upon them unobserved. If ConcSlor (Lat. of the same cohw\ the Puna. the traveller Keeps uis eye on the animal it is perfectly harmless, but it LEOPARDUS. J4 NATURAL IIISTOUY. Pardalis (Gr. jrdpda\is, & pard), the Ocelot. will wait for the moment wheii his eye L withdrawn to spring upoij him. The Americans always speak of this animal as the panther, or "painter," as it is more familiarly pronounced ; and many authors still term it tht Cougar, a word contracted from the original elongated unpronounceable Mexican name, " Gouazouara." LEOPARDUS. The OCELOT, one of tin Tigerjcats, is a native ol Mexico and Peru. Its he'ght is about eighteen inches, and its length about three feet. It is a most beautiful animal, and is easily tamed. Wheu in a wild state it lives prin- cipally on monkeys, which it takes by stratagem. The domestic CAT was formerly supposed to be the same animal as the wild Cat, but it is now proved to be a distinct species, and the difference is seen at once bv the form of the tail. That of the domestic cat is long and taper, while that of the wild cat is bushy and short. To make the point clearer, it may be observed rtat domestic cats, which have made their escape into the woods and become wild, have retained their sleuderness of tail for several generations, while the wild cat on being domesticated never loses its characteristic roundness and shortness of tail. See the cut on page 36. The cat is an animal which, whether lying curled up ou the hearth-rug fast asleep and immersed in dreams of shadowy fat mice, or leisurely pacing the room, and complacently muttering its self-satisfied purr as it brushes softly against the legs of the table or chair, certainly succeeds in giving a great air of comfort to a room. On this account it is a general favourite, especially in houses where there are no children. Pussy, however, is not only ornamental, but useful also, as she is eager anJ successful in the pursuit of rats and mice. So strong, indeed, is the passion for hunting in the breast of the Cat, that she sometimes disdains- mice " and such small deer," and trespasses on warrens or preserves. A large tabby cat, residing at no great distance from White Horse Yale, was accustomed to go out poaching in the preserves of a neighbouring nobleman, and so expert was she at this illegal sport that she constantly returned bearing in her mouth a leveret or a partridge, which she insisted on presenting to her mistress, who in vain endeavoured to check her aiarauding propensities. These exploits, however, brought their cwn NATURAL HISTORY. 35 punishment; for one day, when in the act of seizing a leveret, she found herself caught in a vermin trap, which deprived her of one of her hind legs This misfortune did not damp her enthusiasm for hunting, as although the loss of a leg prevented her from chasing hares, and s>uch like animals, she would still bring in an occasional rat. This instinctive desire of hunting seems to be implanted in cats at a very early age. I have seen kittens but just able to see, bristle up at the touch of a mouse, and growl in a terrific manner if disturbed Weissenboru, in his Magazine of Natural History, gives the following interesting account of the propensity of the cat to hunt, and of the Dornestica (Lat. domestic), the Cat. mice to escape, both being at an age rendering it impossible that any instruction could have been given them by their parents. " That instinct is an inherent or innate quality of animals is clearly proved by experience. The cat possesses the instinei of catching and eating mice, and the mouse that of shunning the cat as its most dan- gerous enemy. Once, in Rome, I happened to open a drawer which I seldom had occasion to use, when I saw a jiiouse jumping out of it, and lound among the papers a nest with five ycung mice, naked and blind, and of a pale flesh-colour. I placed them on a table, handled them, &c , and they evinced no symptoms of fright, nor any inclination to get away, but only appeared eager to approach each other for the sake of warmth. There happened to be in the house a very young cat who had never tasted anything but milk. I placed it near the little mice by way of experiment, but to my astonishment it did not even look at them, nor perceive them, even when I turned its eyes in the proper direction, until at last, when I had repeatedly approached its nose to the mice, it sud- denly caught a scent which made it tremble with desire. The propensity o ? 36 NATURAL HISTORY. oceanic more and more violent, and the cat smelled at the mice, touching them with its nose, when all at once the pale-coloured creatures became suffused witli blood, and began to make great exertions to get out of the way of imminent danger, whilst the cat as eagerly followed them." The Cat displays a great affection for her kittens, and her pride when they first run about is quite amusing. "While I was an undergraduate at College, a eat belonging to the baker's department formed a great friend- ship for me, and used to come every morning and evening to obtain her share of breakfast and tea. She continued her attentions for some time, but oue morning she was absent from her accustomed corner, nor did she return until nearly a week had passed, when she came again, but always seemed uneasy unless the door were open. A few days afterwards she came up as usual, and jumped on my knee, at the same time putting a little kitten into my hand. She refused to take it back again, so I restored it to its brothers and sisters myself. A few hours afterwards, on going into my bedroom, I found another black kitten fast asleep on the bed. Cats are very fond of aromatic plants and several powerful scents. My own cat has just been discovered in the act of eating the green tops of a musk plant that was standing in the window. Valerian appears to he the great attraction for cats ; and any one who is disposed to place a plant of valerian in his garden must beware of the cats, for they will come in numbers, roll over it, and scratch up the plant until there is not (Turk, black ears.) a vest jg e of $ JH*' , Moi i e ' over they will light ior the fragments in various parts 01 tlie garden, and cause great confusion among the seeds. There are several varieties of the domestic cat, among which the Angora cats, with their beautiful long fur, and the Manx cats of the Char- treuse breed, which have no tails, are the most conspi cuous. Melanotis (Gr. u{\as, black the Caracal. The CARACAL is found in most parts of Asia and Africa. It derives its name from the oSs, an ear), black tips of its ears, which render it a very conspicuous 1 Tall of Domestic Cat ; 2. Tail of Wild Cat. NATURAL HISTORY. 37 animal. It is one of the group of the Lynxes, and is generally supposed to be the animal referred to by several ancient authors under the name of Lynx. It lives on the smaller quadrupeds and birds, which it pursues even to the tops of the trees. There are no records of its being tamed, as in every instance when confined it snarls at those who approach its cage. The length of its body is about two feet, and its height about fourteen inches. The CANADA LYNX is a native of North America, and is remarkable for its gait. Its method of progression is by bounds from all four fed at once, with the back arched. It feeds principally on the American hare, as it is not courageous enough to attack the larger quadrupeds. Its length is about three feet. The natives sometimes eat its flesh, which is white and firm, and not unlike that of the American hare itself. Its skin forms an important arti- cle in commerce, and between seven and nine thousand are imported yearly by the Hud- son's Bay Company, by whom the grey specimen in the British Museum was pre- sented. LTNCUS. (Gr. \vy, a Lynx.) Cauaclcnsis (Lat. of Canada), the Canada Lynx. The CHETAH, or HUNTING LEOPARD, as it is sometimes called, is one of the :nost elegant and graceful animals known. It is a native both of Ai r .ca and India, but it is only in the latter country that it is used for hunting game, as the Africans appear not to possess sufficient ingenuity to train the animal. The method of employing it is usually as follows --The Chetah is either led blind-folded in a chain, or placed upon a hackery, or native cart, and taken as near as possible to the place where antelopes or deer are feeding. When close enough, the hunter takes the band from its eyes, and directs its head towards the game. Directly the Chetah sees the deer, it creeps off the cart, and makes towards them as rapidly and silently as it can, carefully availing itself of the accidental cover of a bush, or stone, precisely as a cat does when stealing after a bird. When it has succeeded in unobservedly approaching the unsuspect- ing herd, it makes two or three tremendous springs, and fastens on the back of one unfortunate deer, brings it to the ground, and waits until its NATURAL HISTORY. keeper comes up, wi;o induces it to leave its prey by a ladle-full of tht blood, which lie takes care to have ready. The Chetah is then hooded strong, and furnished with heavy ridges for the support of the muscles which move the jaw. The hinder parts of the llyama are very small, and give it a strange shambling appearance when walking. The Hyaena is easily tamed, and even domesticated, so that the tales of its uritameable disposition are entirely erro- neous. The striped Hyaena is found m many parts of Asia and Africa, where it is both a benefit and a pest, for when deadanimals fail it, the flocks StriiiU (Lat. striped), the Striped Ilycena and herds are ravaged, and even man does not always escape. Sub-family c. Viverrina. VIVERRA. (Lat. a Femt.\ The VIVERRINA, or. CIVETS, are active little animals, averaging about Uvo feet in length. The whole group is celebrated for the perfume which is secreted in a grandular pouch near the tail, and is of some importance in commerce. If the Civet is kept alive, the perfume is obtained by enclosing it in a long narrow box so that it cannot turn round, and then scraping the secretion from the pouch with a spoon. If the creature is killed, the entire pouch is usually cut off, and bells for a higher sum than when the perfume is sold separately, as it is not so liable to adulteration. Civetta (Arabic Zlbelta, sceut), the Civet Cat. The Civet is only found in North Africa, especially in Abyssinia, where it takes up its abode on uncultivated and barren hills. It feeds npor NATURAL HISTORY. birds and the smaller quadrupeds, which it takes by surprise. As it pursues Us prey by night only, its eyes are formed for seeing in the dark, and gleam as do those of a cat. QENKTTA. (Fr. Oenette.) The GENET slightly re- sembles the cat, particularly in its spots, and the power of climbing trees. It inhabits Africa, and is not unfrequent- ly found in the south of I'Vance. At Constantinople it is domesticated, and keeps the houses free from rats and mice, which are said to be un- able to endure its scent, but it is much more probable that it frees the houses from mice by devouring them. Vulgaris (Lat. common), the Genet. The ICHNEUMONS, or MANGOUSTS, well deserve their name of Creepers, for with their long bodies and snouts, their short limbs and slender tails, they insinuate themselves into every crevice in their way in search HERPESTES. (Gr. fpir-ijariis, a creeper.) of their expected food. Few animals areiore useful tnan the Ich- neumons. Snakes, li- zards, crocodiles' eggs, or even young croco diles themselves, form their principal food, Ichneumon (Gr. Ixy evuwv, a tracker), the and their activity is so Egyptian Ichneumon. great that when these sources fail, they are able to secure birds, and even seize upon the swift and wary lizards, which, when alarmed, dart off like a streak of green light glancing through the bushes. The Egyptian Ichneumon, or Pharaoh's Rat, as it is sometimes called, is a native of North Africa, and is often domesticated for the purpose of destroying the various snakes, and other reptile annoyances, which are such a pest in the houses of hot countries. It principally seeks its prey by night, creeping along with such noiseless and snake-like progress, that not a sound warns the unsuspecting victim of its danger. Its slender snout enables it to suck out the contents of eggs with ease, and it destroys serpents by creeping behind them, and then suddenly leaping on their heads, which it instantly crushes between its sharp teeth. Its length without the tail is about eighteen inches. About twelve genera are omitted. NATURAL HISTORY. 41 THE DOG. We now arrive at the DOG FAMILY, which includes the Dogs, Wclves, Jackals, and Foxes. The first of the Dogs is the Kolsun, or Dhale, which inhabits Bombay and Nepaul. It hunts in packs, as most of the dogs do even in a wild state, and has been known to destroy tigers and chetahs. Let us pass to a more interesting animal, the Newfoundland Dog. This magnificent creature was originally brought from Newfound- land. It is often confounded with the Labrador Dog^ a larger and more powerful animal. Bol.h these dogs are trained by their native masters to draw sledges and little carriages, and on that account are highly esteemed. The Newfoundland dog is well known as a most faithful guardian of its Sub-family d. Canlna. (Lat. Canis, a Dog.) CANIS. Familiaris (Lat. familiar), the Newfoundland Dog. master's property. It is remarkably fond of the water, and will fetch out any article which its master indicates, and lay it at his feet. Many instances are known of this noble animal saving the lives of people that have fallen into the water, and must have perished but for its timely aid. There is an anecdote related of one of these dogs leaping over the parapet of a bridge, and rescuing a baby who had sprung from its purse's arms into the river. A gentleman who just came up, and was caressing the dog after its exploit, discovered, on seeing the child, that it was his 4'J NATURAL HISTOKY. owu. tie o lie red a large sum for the noble creature, but his master refused to part with him on any terms. This is one of the largest of the dogs, as it stands nearly two feel two inches in height. The WATER SPA- NIEL, as its name denotes, delights in plunging into water, especially if any game is to be found among the rushes that fringe the rivers. It is a most useful assistant when shooting wild ducks, or -water hens, as, when wounded, they conceal them selves so effectually, that, without a dog, discovery is almost impossible. It can also dive to some depth, and bring up THE WATER SPANIEL. in its moutn any small object from the bottom. KING CHARLES'S DOG. The KING CHARLES'S DOG is a diminutive breed of spaniels, first brought into notice by Charles the Second, who delighted in being accompanied by them in his walks, and was accustomed to admit them into his bedchamber, and even permitted their to lie on his bed. The BLOODHOUND. There are several varieties of this animal, in- habiting Cuba, Africa, and England. They all are endowed with a wonderfully acute sense of smell, and can trace a man or animal with almost unerring certainty. The Cuban Bloodhound was formerly em- ployed by the Spaniards to hunt down the natives while endeavouring to escape from their invasions. A few years since, one of these doga saved the life of its master, an American hunter, by boldly attacVinf NATURAL HISTORY. 43 a puma whicn had sprung on him in the darkness, and was lacerating him in a dreadful manner. The sagacious animal had been tied up at home, but apparently knowing the danger? of the forests through which his master was about to pass, he broke his chain, and arrived barely in time to save the hunter from a horrible death. The English Bloodhound is frequently mentioned by the older histo- rians. Bruce was repeatedly chased by bloodhounds, and at one time hf was so closely pressed that he barely escaped by leaping into a brook and wading a con- siderable distance up the stream, knowing that run- ning water would not retain the scent The bloodhounds led his pursuers as far as the place where he entered the water, but the stratagem of Bruce baffled them, and the pursuit was abandoned. The voice of these dogs is peculiarly deep, and may be heard at considerable dis- tance. Not very long since, a sheepstealer was detected by a bloodhound when every other means had failed. The dog, on being shown the foot- steps of the thief, at once set off on the track, and dashed into a cottage, where the unsuspecting robber was busily employed in skinning the sheep which he had stolen. The height of this splendid animal is about two IVet four inches, and its colour a reddish tan, becoming almost black along the back. THE BLOODHOUND. The FOXHOUND and BEAGLE are not very dissimilar in form or habits. They both follow game by the scent, and are used in hunting. The Fox- hound, as its name implies, is used for hunting the fox, and enters into the sport with extraordinary eagerness. These dogs are trained with great care : whole books have been written on their education, and met> are engaged at high salaries to train them to the sport. England possesses the finest breed of foxhounds in the world, and certainly no expense is spared to improve them, as one kennel is said to have COST nearly twenty thousand pounds. The height of the foxhound is abou* twenty-two inches. 14 NATURAL HISTORY. THE FOXHOUND. The BbAGi.K is used principally for hare hunting It is mud) smaller than the foxhound, and not nearly so swift, but its scent is so perfect that it follows every track of the flying hare, unravels afl het windings, and sel- dom fails to secure her at last. Sports- men usually prefer the smallest beagles obtainable. The most valuable pacK of these dogs known, used to be carried to a,nd froai tne field in a pair of panniers slung a- cross a horse's back. Unfortunately, this pack was so well known, that numerous were the attempts to gain possession of it. One ill-fated evening, as the dogs were returning in their panniers after the day's sport, the keeper was decoyed away by some stratagem, and when he returned, his dis- may was great to find that the dogs, panniers, and horse were all missing. No traces of them were discovered, and it was con jectured, that they must ( iave been sold on the Continent. 1 1 is a com- mon custom in tne military schools and sometimes at the universities, to follow the beagie c;i; Coot. There uas been for several years a society at Oxford, who thus nunt on foot. As too much time would be lost in looking for a living hare, a dead rabbit is trailed along the ground, and as its fur has been rubbed with aniseed, the dogs can follow it easily. The POINTER is used by sportstr.cn to point out the spot where the same lies. It ranges the fields until it scents the hare or partridge lying THE BEAGLE. NATURAL HISTORY. 4.5 close on the ground. It then remains still as it carved in stone, every limb fixed, and the tail pointing straight behind it. In this attitude it remains until the gun is discharged, reloaded, and the sportsman has reached the place where the bird sprung. It then eagerly searches for the game, and brings the bird in its mouth.* There are many anecdotes of its intelligence, among which the following is not the least interesting. In 1S29, Mr. J. Webster was out on a shooting party near Dundee, when a female pointer, having traversed ine field which the sportsmen were then in, proceeded to a wall, and, just as she made the leap, got the scent of some partridges on the opposite side of the wall. She hung by her fore-feet until the sportsmen came up ; in which situation, while they were at some dis- tance, it appeared to them that she had got her leg fastened among the stones of the wall, and was unable to extricate herself. But, on coming up to her, they found that this singular circumstance proceeded from her caution, lest she should flush the birds, and that she had thus purposely suspended herself in place of completing her leap. When badly trained, this dog is apt to make very absurd mistakes. A young pointer belonging to a friend disappointed him by most perversely pointing at a pig ; and on another occasion was discovered feasting on a dead sheep instead of attending to its business. THE POINTER. The group of the MASTiyp dogs is distinguished by the shortness of the nose and the breadth of the head. This group includes the mastiff, the bull-dog, and the almost obsolete absurd little pug-dog. The breadth of their heads is caused by the large muscles which move the jaw. The English Mastiff is generally employed as a house-dog, as its powerful frame and deep voice are well fitted to scare away marauders, or to repel them if they approach too near. It is by far the most saga- cious of the whole group, and exhibits much more attachment to its master than the others. This animal has been called by several names * Many dug trainers do not permit the dog even to touch the bird- 46 N'ATURAL HISTORY THE MASTIFF. of winch "Ban-dog" is the best known. Bewick thinks that the ban-dog is a separate species, of a lighter make than the ordinary English mastiff. The BULL-DOG is proverbial for courage and endurance. Unfortunately its social qualities are by nc means pleasing, as, although it has some attachment to its master, yet it is not always safe even for him to disturb it. This dog was extensively used in the cruel sport of bull- baiting, a recreation now ex- tinct. When opposed to the bull, the dog would ily at its nose, and there hang in spite of all the infuriated animal's struggles. So firm is its hold, that the owner of a bull-doj,' once laid a wager that when his dog had seized a bull he would cut off all his feet ii rut, BULL-DUG. succession without experiment was made, and himself, won his wager. inducing the poor beast to loose his hold. Tin L the cruel master, who deserved a similar fait NATURAL HISTORY. 47 The POO-DOG looks like a bull-dog in miniature. It was formerly in great request as a pet, but is now seldom seen. Its tail is curled over its back so tightly, that it is riot very difficult to believe the story of a pug-dog being lifted off his hind-legs by the curliness of his tail. THE ENGLISH TERRIER. The TERMERS never grow to any considerable size. There are severs breeds of terriers, among which the English and Scotch are most conspicuous. These dogs are principally used for destroying rats or other ver- min, and are so courageous that they do not hesitate to unearth the fox or the badger. Otters are also hunted by rJiem, but prove by no means an easy prey, as their snake- like body, sharp teeth, and amphibious habits, render them very difficult to seize, and their tenacity of life will frequently enable them to escape when the dog consi- ders them dead. The Scotch Terrier is a rough, wiry little dog, with hair hanging over its eyes, so that those organs are hardly visible, and when it is in the water its wetted hair quite obscures its vision. There is a smaller breed of these dogs called the " Skye Terrier," whose principal beauty seems to consist in their ugliness. Terriers are extremely at- tached to their master, and are capable of learning many amusing tricks. I had a terrier, said to be of Irish breed, who had imbibed many of the eccentricities of the Irish character. He was particularly fond of terrifying lapdogs, a species of animal which he held in supreme contempt. On one occasion, lie met a very fat lapdog, the property of an equally fat old lady, widdling along the street. Rory looked at it for i short time, ano THE SCOTCH TEKH1ER. 48 NATURAL HISTORY. then gave it a pat which rolled it over on its back. Its mistress immediately snatched it up, and put it on her muff, whereupon Itory erected himself on his hind-legs, an -art which lie possessed in great perfection, and walked along by her side, making occasional snatches at the lapdog. The terrified old lady struck at him with her boa, which Rory immediately caught in his mouth, and carried off down the street in an ecstasy of delight, ever and anon tripping over it and rolling head over heels. He had learned to shut the door, ring the bel!, bring the slippers, or put the cat down stairs, which he accomplished by push- ing her witli his nose down each successive stair. During hla residence at College he was accustomed to sit, dressed in a cap and gown, at the breakfast table, where his deportment was always most exemplary, and afforded a good example to many of the guests. Poor Itory is dead now, but there is a record of his life in the " Sketches and Anecdotes." The SiiEi'iiERD's DOG is a rough, shaggy animal, with sharp pointed ears and nose. It is an invaluable assistant to the shepherd, as it knows all its master's sheep, never suffers them to stray, and when two flocks have mixed, it will separate its own charge with the greatest certainty. It understands every look and gesture of its beloved master, and drives the Sock to any place which he points out. This is the dog alluded to by E'.irns in the following beautiful passage : "Man," said he, "is the god of the dog ; he knows no other ; he can understand no other. And see how he worships him ! with what reverence lie crouches at his feet ! with what love he fawns upon him ! with what de- pendence he looks up to him ! and with what cheerful ala- crity he obeys him ! His whole soul is wrapt up in his god! all the powers and faculties of his na- ture are devoted to his service ! and these powers and faculties are ennobled by the inter- course. Divines tell us that it ought just to be so with the Christian but the dog outs the Christian to shame." THE SHEPHERD'S DOG. NATURAL HISTORY. 49 The GREYHOUND is the swiftest of all the dogs, and is principally used in the pursuit ofc the hare, which amusement is termed coursing. It has but little delicacy of scent, and hunts almost entirely by sight. The hare endeavours to baffle it by making sharp turns, which the dog cannot do on account of its superior size, and has therefore to take a circuit, during which the hare makes off in another direction. The hare also hat the property of stopping almost instantaneously when at full speed. It puts tins manoeuvre into force, when it is nearing its favourite hiding place. It induces the dog to spring upon it, and then suddenly checks itself. The dog is carried twenty or thirty yards forward by its own momentum, and the hare springs off to her place of refuge. At Ashborne, in Derbyshire, there is a public-house sign representing a black and white greyhound chasing a hare. One greyhound was a little in advance of the other, and struck the game so forcibly with its nose that the hare was thrown over its back into the jaws of the other greyhound. This animal lias been known to exert rather an unexpect- ed talent, viz. re- tracing a journey during which it had been a close pri- soner. "The celebrated greyhound, Black- eyed Susan, was brought to Edin- burgh from Glasgow in the boot of a coach, on the night of Wednesday, the 13th May, 1835. On the following Sunday evening she made her escape, and in forty-eight hours reached her kennel, eight miles beyond Glasgow, being fifty-two miles in all. The road between Glasgow and Edinburgh she had never travelled on foot, and from the time taken she cannot have come direct ; but by what route or process this animal made her point good it is in vain to conjecture." I have lately made acquaintance with a very unique dog called "Quiz." I could not class him with any of the before-mentioned dogs, as no one has been bold enough to say exactly what kind of dog he is. Some say he is a poodle, some say he is a shock, while some give their opinion that he is a very small water spaniel ; but no one has as yet decided or THE GREYHOUND. 50 NVTURAI, HISTORY. the precise breed to which he belongs. At tirst sight, a stranger would say that there was no difficulty about the matter, as the object lying on the floor can be nothing more or less than two mops without handles. But the thrums appear too long even for a mop, and if the visitor looks close he may see two glistening specks buried beneath the bundle 01 woollen cords. These are the animal's eyes, and if the stranger speaks kindly to him, a slight agitation of the opposite extremity proclaims that a tail is situated in that vicinity. Without these tests it would be impossible to judge where his head or his tail were, or whether lie possessed such organs at all. Indeed one visitor did deliberately mistake his tail for his head. He is a wonderfully clever dog, and perfectly capable of appreciating nis own abilities. When told, he will play the piano and sing, the former feat being performed by beating the keys with his forefeet, while tl.e latter accomplishment is represented by a melodious howl, during the performance of which he throws back his head and looks at the ceiling iu the most approved style. He taught himself many of his tricks, and although my space will not permit me to give many lines to one animal, one of his eccentric accomplishments must be narrated. He is extremely fond of being noticed, and will play off all kinds of antics to draw atten- tion. Once liis mistress was unwell, and sent for her medical attendant who according to the received routine felt her pulse and inspected her tongue. This took place for several days in succession, and Quiz felt himself aggrieved that no notice should be taken of him. A few days afterwards Quiz was observed sitting on his hind legs, holding out his paw and putting out his tongue as he had seen his mistress do. I have seen him perform this feat several times. He lias not patience to keep his tongue out, but continues rapidly putting it out and then drawing it back again. Although so fond of attention he is a very modest dog in his way, and cannot endure that his face should be seen. If any one pushes aside the heavy mass of woolly ringlets which entirely obscure his head, he gives himself an impatient shake, and effectually conceals every particle of his countenance from the public gaze. I think that he must be ashamed of his nose because it is white, and not black like that of other dogs. It is amusing to note the comments which accompany his journeys through the streets. Some spectators express their opinion that he is a young lion, while others are as strongly persuaded that he is a bear. One gentleman, seeing the dpg in the arms of its mistress, took it for a muff of a novel and eccentric character. It is impossible to give any idea of his appearance when walking, except by returning to my first simile of t mop. The only image by which the appearance of this remarkable dog can be expressed, is by requesting the reader to imagine three or four double handfuls of mop thrums twice the ordinary length, trundling along the ground by some invisible power, and attaching to themselves all thi NATURAL HISTORY. 51 nils of stick, cried Done*, &c. that come in the path of the bundle. I might fill pages with descriptions of this funny animal and other dogs ntn whom I am acquainted, but my completed space forces me to post- pone such accounts to another occasion. The WOLF. Ferocity, craft, and cowardice, are the well-known traiti of the Wolf. Although one of the dog tribe, it is held in utter abl.oi ronre by the domesticated dogs. The stronger pursue and destroy it, the weaker fly from it in terror. In the earlier part of English history it is frequently mentioned as a common and dreaded pest. It was finally extirpated in England about 1350, in Scotland about 1000, and was not entirely destroyed in Ireland until the beginning of 1700. It is still found in parts of France, Russia, and the whole of Western Asia. These formidable creatures almost invariably hunt in bands, and display eery great cunning in waylaying and pursuing their prey. Winter is the time of year most dreaded by those who live in countries where wolves exist, as at that season hunger renders them exceedingly ferocious and daring. They will then attack sledges, or carriages, even when guarded bv aimed men. They are very CAMS. (Lat. a Dog.) wary, and dislike approaching any- thing at all resem- bling a trap. A traveller, aware of this habit, saved his life by trailing a cord from his carriage window. The wolvesthougl 1 1 that the cord look- ed suspicious, and before they had quite made up their minds about it, the traveller reached a station where he was in safety. The bite of the wolf is extremely dangerous, as its jaws are immense!) strong, and it generally brings away the part it seizes. It does not bits like any other animal, but maket a succession of short sharp snaps, each ol great power but very rapid. Those who have been chased by the wolves compare the snapping of their ja'vs to the clash of a steel trap when slipped. When young, the wolf can easily be tamed, and shows as rreat attachment to its master of anv dog will. It is very tenacious o' E9 Lupua (Lat. a Wolf,, the Wolf. NATURAL HISTORY. life. Parry relates an anecdote of a wolf that was caught in a trap, ami after being pierced with three bullets, and several thrusts of a sword, sprang at one of the officers, and actually succeeded in escaping, although Us hind-legs were firmly tied together. Almost every traveller who has journeyed out of the regular rail- road and diligence line has stories of the wolves, and in almost every case the feeling appears to be more of irritation than anything else. Either they have liunled the wolf until their horses were knocked up, while the animal still continues his provoking and lasting gallop, or a wounded wolf has succeeded in escaping, or the wolves have eaten all the leather straps from their carriages, or some such misfortune, appears to excite the most vindictive feelings against the wolves. The flesh of the wolf is considered rather good eating by those who have tried it, and at all events, as one hunter said, " it; is much nicer than lean decrs' meat." The JACKAL. This animal is found in North Africa, Persia, and India. It derives its name "aureus" from the yellow tint of its skin. It, like the wolf, unites in bands to hunt, and the prey which the pack has taken so much pains to secure is not unfrequently confiscated by the lion, who keeps the reluctant hunters at a distance until he has satisfied his own royal ap- petite. The Jackals, how- ever, often retaliate by assist- ing at the demolition of the larger prey which the lion destroys. It is very useful in the East, as it acts as scaven- ger, and consumes the offal which, in those not very cleanly towns, is cast into the streets, and would inevitably cause a pestilence, were it not for the assistance of the jackals and other creatures. Aur5us (Lat. golden), the Jackal. it is excessively fond of grapes, and makes dreadful havoc in the vineyards, so that the fable of the Fox and the Grapes might be quite PS appropriately related of this animal. While hunting, it utters most piercing shrieks, which have been compared by those who have heard them to the wailings of evil spirits, an association which the oriental tombs and ruins which it frequents, recalling to mind the mysterious Arabian Nights, are most fitted to produce. There are several kinds of Jackals, one inhabiting Scregal and anothei VULPES. (Lat. a Fox.) NATURAL HISTORY. OJ fne Cape of Good Hope. They are rather largei than the fox, but do not possess nearly so bushy a tail as that "brush" wherein sportsmen take so much delight. The Eox. This terror of hen-roosts and delight of sportsmen is found in most parts of England, and many other countries. It varies very much in colour ami size, according to the country where it lives. The habits of this animal are mostly nocturnal. It lies by day con realed in its burrow, if it be fortunate enough to possess one, or in the depths of some thicket, if it is not a householder. Towards evening it sallies out in search of food, and woe to the unfortunate hare, rabbit, pheasant, or fowl that comes in its way ! Reynard does not attempt to chase the hare, for it is too swift for him, nor the rabbit, as it would immediately dive into its hole; nor does he run at the pheasant, which would fly away, and probably only leave a tail leather in the fox's mouth. He knows his business too well. He creeps very quietly and slow- ly to some place where hares or rab- bits are likely to pass, and then springs on them as they run by him. One of his most ingenious de- vices to catch rab- bits is really quite mathematical. When the rabbit has young, she keeps them safe- ly at the end of the burrow. Now the burrow is too small for the fox to creep into, and it is so deep that even the six or seven young rabbits would not recompense him for the toil. So he traces them by scent, fixes on a spot over the termination of the ourrow, and by digging perpendicularly, attains his object with compara- tively little trouble. Sometimes he steals into the hen-roost, destroys and carries off most of its inmates, some of which he devours on the spot, others he carries home, and the remainder he buries for a future repast. "When irritated, the fox gives out a strong disagreeable scent, which lies so long on Ihe ground that it may be perceived for nearly an hour Vulgaris (Lat. common), the Fox. 54 NATURAL I1ISTOKT. after the fox lias passed. Tartly on this account, and partly on account ol its speed, endurance, and cunning, the chase of the fox is one of the most admired English sports. Many tales arc related of its cunning when pursued, such as driving another fox out of its Lome, and forcing it to substitute itself as the chase; diving into a heap of manure, so that the dogs could not perceive :!s scent; jumping over a wall, running a little way, coming back again, a;id lying under the wall until all the dogs had passed, and then leaping A second time over the same place where it had passed before, and making off on ils old track. A fox has been known to leap through a kitchen window, and hide itself behind the plates on the dresser, without the observation of the cook, to whose terror and consternation six or seven dogs have leaped through the same window, and dragged the fox from its lurking-place. The Eox appears to be the same crafty animal in all countries, there beii.g quite as many American tales of vulpine s;igacity as we can find in England. There are so many stories of this nature that it is impossible to give even a hasty account of them. I therefore select one of the shortest. On the banks of the Kentucky river rise huge rocky bluffs several feet in height. A fox that lived near this river was constantly hunted, and as regularly lost over the bluff. Now, nothing short of wings would have enabled the animal to escape with life down a perpendicular cliff. At last, a hunter, being determined to discover the means by which the animal baffled them, concealed himself near the bluff. Accordingly in good time the fox came to the top of the cliff as usual and looked over. He then let himself down the face of the cliff by a movement between a leap and a slide, and landed on a shelf not quite a foot in width about ten feet down the cliff. The fox then disappeared into a hole above the shelf. On examination, the shelf turned out to be the mouth of a wide fissure in the rock, into which the fox always escaped. But how wus he to get out again? He might slide down ten feet, bul he could never leap ten feet from a ten-inch shelf up the face of a per- pendicular rock. This impossibility struck the hunter's mind, so he in- stituted a search, and at length discovered an easier entrance into the cave from the level ground. The fox was too wise to use that entrance when the hounds were, behind him, so he was accustomed to cut short the scent by dropping down the rock, and then when all the dogs were at the edge of the clilf, Le walked out at his leisure by the other entrance. The Arctic Fox changes its fur, and becomes white during the winter The MUSTELINA, or WEASELS, are easily distinguished by their long slender bodies, short muzzle, sharp teeth, and predatory habits. They inhabit almost every part of the world, and procure their food by creep- NATUKAL 55 mg on the unsuspecting victim, generally a rabbit, rat, or bird, and then suddenly darting at it and piercing its neck with their sharp teeth. Almost all the weasels devour the brain and suck the blood of their prey, but seldom touch the flesh, unless they are pressed by hunger. Two kinds of MARTENS inhabit England, named, from their favourite haunts, the Pine and the Sub-family e. Mustelina.(La.t. Mustela a Weasel.) MARTES. (Lat. a Mai-ten.) AbiCtum (Lat. of the Pine-tree), the Pine Marten. Beech Marten. Some natu- ralists assert that these two martens are not distinct animals, but only varieties of the same jpecies. The Pine Marten is not uncommon in Derbyshire, where it is much too fond of chickens and ducklings to be a desirable neighbour. This animal, as well as the Sable, is much sought after on. account of its skin, which furnishes a beautiful fur, not much in- ferior to that of the Sable. The SABLE, long famous for its costly fur, which is thought worthy to adorn the coronation robes of a mon- arch, inhabits Siberia. The chase, or rather the search, after these ani- mals is attended with dreadful hardships and great danger. Sometime: a sable will not be seen for days ; sometimes the bait of the trap is eater. by other animals, such as MARTES. gluttons, &c.; sometimes the hunter's provisions fail; he spends days and nights in the midst of snow, surround- ed by interminable pine forests, and exposed to the piercing blasts of the tem- pest. Many hunters lose their lives in these terrible solitudes, overwhelmed by snow-storms, or famished Zibellma (from a Sclavonic word, from with hunger. which is derived our " Sable "), the Sable. A species of Sable (Maries leuctipus) inhabits North America. The hair of the sable will turn either way, and in this respect differs from the fur of other animals. The skins are very valuable, varying from one to ten pounds in price, according to the quality. PCTOKIUS. -(Lat. from puteo, to stink.) NATURAL HISTORY. The POLECAT, fitchet, foulmart, or "fommard," as the farmers call it, is very common in most parts of England. It is dreadfully destructive to the poultry, and destroys both old and young. William Ilowitt relates an interesting anecdote of his dog unearth- ing a polecat, and afterwards bringing out of its hole aa entire brood of ducklings that had most unaccountably dis- appeared from the premises of a farmer. Winter is the usual time for its appearance in the farmyard, as in the summer it Foettdus (Lat. fetid), the Polecat. obtains its food with less risk among the warrens. The FERRET is supposed to be a domesticated variety of the polecat, and a mixed breed is generally preferred by rat-catchers, who use the ferret, first muzzling it carefully, to drive the rats out of their holes, wnen they are either struck down with sticks or killed by terriers, who keep a sharp watch for them. This animal may be rendered very tame, but it is at all times to be handled with caution. I knew a lad who was very proud of a beautiful white ferret, and used to boast of its tameness. ' v ae day he was caressing the animal aud letting it kiss him as he called it, when he started back and threw down the ferret. His face was streaming with blood, the ferret having bitten both his lips through, and made four cuts like those of a sharp knife. Tlie hair, called Fitch, is much used for making paint brushes. The STOAT, or ERMINE, is also another common English animal. It Mu S TELA.-(Lat. a Weasel) If less than the polecat, but its habits are scarcely less predacious. Hares and rabbits fall easy victims to their little enemy, who dispatches them with a single bite, penetrating the brain. During the winter, the stoat becomes partially white, in northern countries wholly so, except the tip of the tail, which remains black. In this state it is called the t'lrmine, and is killed in great numbers for the sake of its beautiful and valuable fur. The WEASEL is the least of this tribe. It is excessively useful to farmers, as it wages unrelenting war on rats and mice, and in an incredibly Ermiuga. The Stoat. NATURAL HISTORY. 57 MUSTELA. short space of tue extirpates them from a barn or stack. It hunts by scent like dogs, and tracks the unfortunate rat with the most deadly certainty. On this account some farmers encourage it on their premises, but the generality destroy it, and nail its body on the barn door, forgetting that although it does sometimes abstract a chicken or an egg, yet it will not touch them as long as it can find rats or mice. It is a most courageous little animal, and will even attack men, who liave found it by no means a despicable antagonist, as its Vul g 5ns ( Lat - common), the Weasel instinct invariably leads it to dash at the throat, where a bite from its long sharp teeth would be very dangerous. Like aiany other little beings, it is very passionate and easily irritated, often maeed taking offence where none was intended. On one occasion a colony of weasels attacked an old woman who was returning from market with her basket of provisions, and had sat down upon a heap of stones in which the weasels had taken up their residence. The RA.TEL is a native of South Africa, and lives principally on the combs and honey of the wild bee, although it is very probable that much of its subsistence is derived from flesh and roots. It is said to be guided to the bee's nest by a bird called the Honey-guide, which, as the natives assert, being very fond of honey and unable to attack the hive by itself, seeks for the honey-ratel, and admonishes it by a peculiar cry that the desired honeycomb is not very far distant. MELLIVORA. -(Lat. mel, honey; voro. 1 devour.) Ratel (Native name), the Honey Ratel. The WOLVERINE, Glutton, or Carcajou, inhabits North America. Accounts vary respecting the habits of this animal. The older natu- ralists say that it ascends trees, and drops on the neck of any unfor- tunate deer which happens to pass beneath, and that having onc. secured its prey, it nearer leaves it until the last morsel is consumed 3iJ NATURAL HISTORY. Be tliis as it may, the Glutton is known to hunt after its prey, which iv follows for many miles at a slow but persevering pace, and seldom fails ol bringing it down at last. It is especially hated by the sable hunter, as it will follow him in his rounds, robbing the traps of the baits as it pro- GuLO.-(Lat. a Glutton.) ceeds > and should a sable be caught it generally tears it to pieces, or buries it in the snow. The hunter has some slight revenge in robbing it of its skin, as the fur is in some request, but the mis- chief it does him is not by any means counterbalanced by the value of its hide. n ^ It is a very determined LUBCUS (Lat. blinking), the Wolverine. an i ma ] anc l JW attacked ilIHIlullj dllU \VllCiI tll-ltU Ivi U defends itself vigorously, proving more than a match for a dog. The length of the glutton, without the tail, is about two feet six inches. Several genera are omitted. The BADGEK. This harmless and much injured animal (which is often subjected to such ill treatment that the term "badgering" a person is MELES. (Lat. a Badger.) used to express irritating , him in every possible way) is found throughout Europe and Asia. It is not now very common in England, but is frequently found in Scotland, where it is termed the "Brock," a name fami- liar to us all, through the means of Dandie Dinmont, who also immortalized the pepper and mustard terriers. The Badger lives at the bottom of deep burrows, which it excavates, and in which it passes all the day, sleeping on a very comfort- Vulgaris (Lat. common), the Badger. able ' b d of hay ^ grass< When the evening approaches it seeks its food, consisting of roots, fruit, insects, and sometimes young rabbits. It is also said to attack the wild bee,, and boldly to devour the honey and combs, its thick hair and skin rendering it utterly regardless of the stings of the enraged bees, who " might as well attack a barber's block." The cruel sport of baiting the badger is still continued, although not NATURAL HISTORY. 59 so openly or frequently as a few years back. The poor creature is placed inside a kennel, and dogs set, at it, who are not unfrequently worsted by the badger, as its bite is terrific, and its skin so tough, and hair so tliiek, that the bites of the dog do not take full effect. The pleasure of this "sport," as in many other diversions of the sporting world, appears to consist in trying whether the dogs or the badger will be most mangled in a given time. But this sport, cruel as it may seem, is not so cruel as the method employed for training young dogs to attack the badger, or as it is techni- cally called, entering them. The under jaw of the unfortunate animal is sawn off, and most of the remaining teeth drawn. In this state it is put into a barrel lying on its side, and the dogs are encouraged to attack the poor maimed animal, in order that they may be so inspirited by their impunity as to attack badgers armed with their full means of defence. The power of the badger's bite is caused principally by the manner hi which the under jaw is set on. Not only are its teeth sharp, and the leverage of its jaw powerful, but the jaw is so contrived, that when the creature closes its mouth, the jaw locks together as it were, and is held fast without much exertion on the part of the badger. Its skin is rattier valuable, the hair being extensively employed in the manufacture of brushes, and its fur being in some request for holsters. The omnivorous and thrifty Chinese eat its ilesh, as indeed they will that of most animals, and consider its hams a very great dainty. The length of the badger is about two feet three inches. The OTTEK seems to play the same part in tlie water as the polecat and the other weasels on the laud. Like the polecat, it is excessively rapacious; like the polecat, it destroys many more creatures than it can devour; and as the polecat only eats the brain and sucks the blood, so the other daintily eats the Hakes at the back of the fish's neck, and leaves the remainder for less fastidious animals. In Scotland, where the otter abounds, it is not uncommon to find a large fish, such as a salmon, lying ou the bank, perfectly fresh and entire, except a few inches along the back, which the otter has bitten out. So well do the poor people know this custom of the otter, that in sorne places they consider the otter's shell' as their larder, tnd go to _ook or the bank daily for their salmon, which is none the worse for then* fy.cause the otter had previously helped itself to a piece of the shoulder. It is extremely interesting to watch the actions of this almost amphi- bious creature. It slides noiselessly into the water, tuins and twist:- about below the surface with the same or greater ease than a fish, then, with a graceful sweep of the body, it glides to the surface and ascends the bank with almoit the same motion. While below the surface it bears a great resemblance to the seal, the method in which it dispose? its hind feet greatly assisting the effect. Its rapid and easy movement! 60 NATURAL HISTORY. in the water are mostly performed by the assistance of its powerful tapering tail. Otter hunting is a very favourite sport in Scotland, where almost every stream is furnished with its otter. At the sight of the footsteps T.rrn v-rt,at. an Otter.) . f the 1 the P P ula " tion round is m a com- motion, the dogs are as- sembled, guns and spears provided, and the hunters go out in sufficient nu mbers and with sufficient arms to kill a tiger ; and from all accounts it is quite as difficult an animal to de- stroy ; for by diving, and biting, and hiding among stones, added to its great tenacity of life, it gives the hunters no little trouble to secure it. The otter is easily tamed, and its predatory habits have been occa- sionally turned to account, as it is sometimes trained to catch fish and bring them to shore, precisely as the falcon is trained to catch terrestrial game. The Hindoos have brought the art of otter training to great perfection, and keep their otters regularly tethered with ropes and straw collars on the banks of the river. Several genera are omitted. Vulgaris (Lat. common), the Otter. Family II. . . UrsTdaa (Lat. ursus, a bear. Bear kind). Sub-family a. Urslna. The BEARS and their allies are mostly heavy, and walk with the whole foot placed flat on the ground, unlike the cats, dogs, &c., who walk with merely their paws or toes. All the bears are omnivorous, that is, they can eat either animal or vegetable food, so that a leg of mutton, a pot of honey, a potato, or an apple, are each equally acceptable. The BROWN BEAR inhabits the north of Europe, Switzerland, and the Pyrenees. It has been extirpated from England for many centuries, but is recorded to have been found in Scotland so late as 1057. The inha- bitants of Northern Europe hunt it with much skill, and take it in traps and pitfalls, availing themselves of its love for honey. It is said that there exists a practice of placing the hive in a tree, and planting long spikes round its foot. A heavy log of wood is then suspended by a cord just before the entrance of the hive, and the trap is complete. The bear scents the honey and comes to look at the tree. The spikes rather istonish him, but he sniffs his way through them, and commences the ascent. When he has reached the hive, he is checked by the Jog hanging NATURAL HISTORY. 61 bffore the entrance; this he finds is movable, arid pusnes aside, hut it is just so long that a mere push will not entirely remove it, so he gives it a tremendous pat, and looks in at the entrance. Just as he has succeeded in putting his nose to the hive, the log returns and hits him very hard uusus. Arctos (Gr. ApKros, a bear), the Bear. on the head. This makes him exceedingly angry, and he poKes it awaj harder than ever, only to return with a more severe blow than before, lie now has a regular fight with the log, hitting it first to one side and t lien to the other, the perverse block invariably striking his head every time, until at last a severer blow than usual knocks him fairly off the tn,-e on to the spikes below. In the time of Queen Elizabeth the bear used to be baited, that is to say, the bear was tied to a pole, and several dogs were set at him, the object being, to see whether the bear could bite tlfe dogs, or the dogs bite the bear with the greater force; but this cruel sport is now happily extinct. Two genera are omitted. TLe GRIZZIY BEAR. " Bemardin de Saint Piene dit, ' A la vue de 1'homme, les animaux sont frappes d'amour ou de crainte.' II laissait de cote une troisieme impression qu'eprouvent beaucoup d'animaux, H 62 NATURAL BISTORT. ['aspect du j'hoiiiine; c'cst la I'aini, et 1'envie de le manger."* Tiiis observation applies most fully to the Grizzly Bear, a native of North America. It is the most ferocious and powerful of its family, and is an animal which must either be avoided or fought, for there is no medium. If a Grizzly Bear once sees a man, it will probably chase him, and will do so with great perseverance. An American traveller told me lately, that lie had been chased nearly thirty miles by one of these bears, who would probably have kept up the chase as many miles more, had not my informant crossed a wide river, over which the bear did not choose to follow him. HorribTHs (Lat. horrible), t)ie Grimly Bear. Some writers have said, that the Grizzly Bear will run away if lie nomes across the scent of men. This, my informant, who is a practical man, strenuously dejiies, and states that the man is more likely to run away from the bear, than the hear from the man. The American Indians fear it so much, that a necklace of its claws, which may only be worn by the individual who destroyed the 'bear, is a decoration entitling the wearer to the highest honours. These formidable claws are five inches long, and cut like so many chisels, so that the Indian of former days, * " Eernardin rle St. Pierre said, ' At the sight of man, all animals are struck ci*' > with love or fear.' He forgot to mention a third impression inae on many anima> w;,-i they see a man, namely ' hunger, and a great desire to eat him.'" NATURAL HISTORY 6d armed only with bow, spear, and knife, fully deserved lionour, for over- coining so savage and powerful a brute. Since the introduction of lire arms, the Grizzly Bear affords a rather easier vic'-ory, but even to one armed with all advantage of rifle and pistols, the fight is sure to be a severe one, for when the bear is once wounded, there is no attempt to escape, but life is pitted against. life. Before tlit hunter commences the struggle he must have considerable confidence in his presence of mind, for every one knows how the least tremor of hand or eye, causes a rifle ball to wander far from its intended path, and a ball that docs not pene- trate a vital part only serves to irritate the bear. Sometimes, it is said, after a party of hunters have been combating one of these bears, it is impossible to find four square inches of sound skin in the animal's body, a ball through the brain, or heart, appearing to be the only safety on the part of the hunter. When a traveller is passing through a part of the country where lie is likely to fall in with these animals, he provides himself with a quantity of meat strongly impregnated with some pc/fume. If a bear sees the traveller, and charges him, he throws down a small piece of his prepared meat. The bear stops and sniffs at it, and is dubious about it for some time, but at last finishes by eating it. During the time in which he is undecided, the traveller has gained considerable ground, and by a repe- tition of the same ruse, either tires the bear out, or meets with a sufficient body of friends to render him independent of the animal. It is rather singular that this bear has the power of moving each claw separately, as we move our fingers. It is able to overcome and carry off the enormous bison, aud to dig a pit in which to bury it. The POLAR, or WHITE BEAR, called Ncnnook by the Esquimaux, lives in the Arctic regions, where it feeds on seals, fish, and even the walrus, but it dares not attack the latter animal openly. It is a formidable antagonist either by land or water, as it dives with great ease, and is able to chase the seal amid the waves. Nelson nearly lost his life by impru- dently attacking one of these animals with no weapon but a rusty musket, which could not be induced to fire ; and indeed had he not been separated from the infuriated bear by a cleft in the ice, he could hardly have escaped its claws. As the seals frequently crawl out of the water upou rocks or fragments of ice, the Polar bear is forced to swim after them ; but lest they should observe him he makes his approaches by a succession of dives, and contrives that the last dive brings him directly under the unsuspecting seal, who is immediately grasped and killed. Richardson Dtates that these bears arc often drifted from Greenland to Iceland on fields of ice, and that they-fmd the flocks and herds so very delicious after a long course of seal diet, that the inhabitants are forced to rise in a bcdy and put an end to their depredations. To give this animal, who is constantly running over fields of ice, a unn footing, the soles of its feet are thick.lv covered with long hair, on 64 NATUHAL, HISTOHY. TiiALiARCTO.s.-\Gr from 0Aa the heads of the murdered Sub-family c. Procyonlna. ROSYON. (Gr. ItpoKvtev, a constellation) fox, it Puot fowl. Like the prowls by night. When taken young it is easily tamed, but very fre- quently becomes blind soon after its capture. This effect is supposed to be produced by the sensitive state of its eyes, which are only intended to be used by night ; but as it is frequently awakened by day- light during its captivity, it suffers so much from the unwonted glare, that its eyes gradually lose their sight. it has been mentioned that the name in general use among the Americans of the present day is " 'Coon," a word whict strangely contrasts with its ancient Mexican name of Cioatlamacazque. Two genera are omitted. Lotor (Lat. a washer), tfie Racoon. Sub-family d. Cwcoleptina. NASUA. (Lat. from nasus, a nose.) The peculiarly long snout of the COATIS distinguishes them at once from the Ra- coons, which they resemble in some other respects. Their snout is very moveable, and is of great use to them in routing out the worms and insects which they dig up. The nostrils are placed on a sort of disk at the end of the snout, and give the Thole head a most exiracrdinary aspect. The Coatis live upon birds, eggs, insects,* and worms, and sometimes they will eat roots. They are tiocturnal in their habits, spending most of the day Fusca (Lat. fuscus, dusky), the Coati-mondi >n sleep, rolled up in a F 66 NATORAS, HISTORY. ball* In descending a tree they walk with their heads downwards, like the cat, which, however, they surpass in activity. These animals inhabit the warmer parts of America, but do not appear to be mucb sought after by hunters. The Brown Coati-mondi is the species repre. seiitec in the engraving ; there is another species, the lied Coati. The KINKAJOU is also an inhabitant of Southern America. It is not unlike the Coati in its habits, but is more active, as it possesses a prehensile tail, which it uses in the same way that the Spider Monkeys CERCOLEpTES.-(Gr.KeV/cos,atail; ^ J?"' 3 '. ' Ibe im $ u * \ Aeirros, thin. 1 ) khe Kinkajou is capable of being inserted into crevices, and drawing out any insects that may be lying concealed beyond the reach of its paws. The Spanish missionaries give it the name of Honey Bear, because it is a great devastator of the nests of the wild bee, using its long tongue to lick the honey Caudivolvulus (Lat. twisted tail), out of the cells. When in the Kinkajou. captivity it is very tame and gentle, and will play with an acquaintance as a cat will. It displays great address in capturing flies and other insects with its tongue, and it is amusing to watch how its eyes gleam directly that a fly settles within its reach. During the earlier part of the day it will not move, but towards dusk it becomes very brisk and animated, climbing about its cage, and swinging trom the top bars by its tail and hind paws. A sub-family is omitted. Family III. . . Talpidae. (Lat. talpa, a mole. Mole kind.) Sub-family a. . Talplna. The MOLE. Many ridiculous stories of the Mole and its habits may be found in several authors, among whom ./Esop stands very conspicuous. This much maligned animal is said to be deprived of eyes, to undergo unheard-of tortures in forcing its way through the earth, and to spend a life of misery in subterranean damp and darkness. But so far from being a miserable animal, the Mole seems to enjoy its life quite as much as any other creature. It is beautifully fitted for the station which it fills, and would be unhappy if removed from its accustomed damp and darkness into warmth and light. The eyes of the mole are very small, in order to prevent them from being injured by the earth through which the animal makes its way; * There are several fine specimens of this animal in the Jardin des Plantes at Pane. 1'hey are tolerably lively even during the day-time. NATURAL indeed, larger eyes would be useless underground. When, however, tlie mole requires to use its eyes it can bring them forward from the mass ol fur which conceals and protects them when not in use. The acute ears and delicate sense of smell supply the place of eyes. Its fur is very line, soft, capable of turning in any direction, and will not retain a particle ci mould. But the most ex- traordinary part of the mole is (lie paw or hand with which it digs. The two fore paws are com- posed of five lingers, armed with sharp, strong nails, in order to scrape up the earth ; and to prevent the accumulated mould from impeding the mole's pro- Eu ^ M . \ Q , A M> tke &krew Mouse - little animals may be seen lying dead, but what causes this destruction is not known. This is one of the numerous animals that have suffered by false reports, and have been treated with great cruelty on account of those fables. Rustics formerly believed that the poor little harmless creature paralysed their cattle by running over them, and that the only way to cure the diseased animal was to place a bough of shrew-ash on the injured part. The shrew-ash was made by boring a hole into an ash-tree, and then plugging up in the hole a living shrew-mouse. By the same process of reasoning a shrew cut in half, and placed on a wound supposed to be caused by its bite, was considered a certain remedy. The WATER SHREW fre- CUOSSOPUS. (Qr. Kpoairol, fringe ; iroZs, afoot.) quents brooks and clear running ditches, in the banks of which it lives. J t swims and dives with ,gre Fodlens (Lat. digging), th< Water Shrew. 70 NATURAL HISTORY. near Little Hinfon in Wiltshire, and often watched their elegant mo7e ments and gambols through the water. Its localities may be discovered by searching for ils "runs," which are tike those of the common water rat, but much smaller. One or two genera are omitted. The HEDGEHOG is remarkable as being our only English animal that is guarded with spikes. These spikes are fixed into the skin in a very beautiful and simple man- ERiNACEU S .-(Lat. a Hedgehog.) ^ When the ^ hog is annoyed it rolls itself up, and the tightness of the skin causes all its spines tc stand firm and erect, bid- ding defiance to an unpro- tected hand. While rolled up, even the dog and the fox are baffled by it ; but their ingenuity enables Europa;us (Lat. belonging to Europe), them to overcome the dif- the Hedgehog. ficulty by rolling it along until they push it into a puddle or pool, when the astonished hedgehog immediately unrolls itself to see what is the matter, and before it can close itself again is seized by its crafty enemy. Many more fortunate animals have outlived the aspersions cast upon their character by ignorant persons, but the prejudice against the hedge- hog is still in full vigour in thft agricultural districts. Scarcely a farmer or labourer will be persuaded that the hedgehog does not suck the cows. Now this is an impossibility for the hedgehog, but I have seen pigs not hedgepigs, but real bacon pigs suck the cows whilst lying down. Among other creatures' accused of this theft, are the slow-worm or blind-worm, a kind of legless lizard with an extremely small mouth, and the bird called the goatsucker. Really when a man relates that a bird sucks a cow, it reminds one of the brother philosophers, one of whom milked a bull while the other held the pail. The food of the hedgehog consists not of cow's milk, but insects, snails, frogs, mice, and snakes. I)r. Buckland placed a snake in the same box with a hedgehog. The hedgehog gave the snake a severe bite, and then rolled itself up, this process being repeated until the spine of the snake was broken in several places ; it then began at the tail, and ate the snake gradually, as one would eat a radish. White has seen it bore down and eat the roots of the plantain, leaving the leaves and stem untouched. The flesh ot the hedgehog is said to be good eating, and the gipsies frequently make it a part of their diet, as do the people in some parts oi Ihe continent. There is a peculiar method of preparing the animal for food, NATUUAJ., HISTORY. 71 reminding one of the earth ovens used by the Polynesians. The hecge- hog is simply wrapped up in a mass of clay and put on the fire. In process of time the clay is thoroughly baked, and cracks open, when the hedgehog is supposed to be cooked. On opening the clay, the skin conies off with it, while the insides of the animal have formed themselves into a hard ball, and are taken out entire. By this method of cooking, the juices are retained, and not suffered to dissipate as they would if it were roasted. During the winter it lives in a torpid state, in a hole well lined with grass and moss, and when discovered looks like a round mass of leaves as it has rolled itself among the fallen foliage, which adheres to its spikes. The engraving of the spine, or quill, of this animal shows the method by which it is retained in the skin. The quill is as it were pinned through the skin, and retained by the head. The curvature is such, that when the animal contracts itself, the quills are drawn upright, and form a strong and clastic covering, useful for more purposes than merely defence from foes. The hedgehog has been known to throw itself boldly from a considerable height, trusting to the elasiicity of the spring for breaking its fall. It will be seen that when the spines are upright, the force 8PIN op HBDOEHOO of the fall would not tend to drive the end of the quill upon the animal, but merely test the elasticity of the curved portion. Family V. . . Macropldse. (Qr. MaKpbs, long ; TTOVS, a foot.) Sub-family b. Macropina. , The KANGAROO. In the mole we saw that the power of the body was placed chiefly in the fore legs; we now come to a family which has the principal power placed in the hinder part of the body. In the Kangaroos the hind legs are very long and immensely powerful ; the fore legs are very small, and used more as hauds than for walking ; the tail also is very thick and strong, and assists the animal in its leaps. The Great Kangaroo inhabits New Holland and Van Diemen's Land. Its singular formation, peculiarly adapted to the country, calls forth & corresponding degree of ingenuity on the part of the natives, who live much on its flesh. Its method of progression is b^ojmcnse leaps from its long hind legs assisted by its tail. So rapidly are these leaps made, that the animal appears to alight on its hind legs after every leap, and uever to touch the ground with its fore legs at all. But this is only a deception caused by the rapidity with which the animal performs its move- ments. On alighting from a leap, it comes to the ground on its fore legs, and immediately draws up its hinder limbs. Indeed, the natural walking position of this animal is on all four legs, although it constantly sits up on the hinder legs, or even stands on a tripod composed of its feet and tail, in order to look out over the tops of the luxuriant grass among which it lives. The leaping movements are ^ NATURAL IIISTOHV required for haste or escape, the length of each leap being about iifteei feet. Of course this swiftness would soon leave its pursuers behind, but the Australian is able to break one of its limbs or strike it insensible to thf Major (Lat. larger), ilie Kangaroo. ground with his boomerang, the most wonderful weapon that uncivilized man ever produced. This extraordinary missile is a flat curved piece of wood, which the Australian natives can wield with wonderful skill, making it describe circles in the air, or rush at an object, and then return to its owner's feet ; or throw it at the ground and make it leap over a tree and strike an object at the other side. Many boomerangs have been made in England from models brought from Australia, and it is not very difficult to learn the turn of the wrist necessary to make them describe a circle and return, but no one except an Australian can perform the complicated evolutions which the natives force the weapon to describe. The English boomerangs are never certain. A purchaser may lay out his money on a dozen before he finds one that will fly, and when he has found a successful one, it is liable to lose its powers by damages rccei fed NATURAL UISTOKV. 72 111 its fall. In general, the English boomerangs are too much curved, and they are made with too little care, a very small shaving more or less>, making or destroying the character of the weapon. Hunting this animal is a very favourite sport with both colonists and natives. The natives cither knock it down with the boomerang, spear it from behind a bush, or unite together and hem in a herd, which soon fall victims to the volleys of clubs, spears, and boomerangs which pour in on all sides. The colonists either shoot it or hunt it \v-.tli dogs, a pack of which is trained for that purpose just as we train fox-hounds. The "ok man," or "boomer," as the colonists call the Great Kangaroo, invariably leads the dogs a severe chase, always attempting to reach water and escape by swimming. It is a formidable foe to the dogs whan it stands at bay, as it seizes the dog with its fore-legs, and either holds him under water until he is drowned, or tears him open with a well-directed kick oi ii.s powerful hind feet, which are armed with a very sharp claw. Tiie female Kangaroo carries its young about in a kind of pouch, from which they emerge when they wish for a little exercise, and leap back again on the slightest alarm. All the kangaroos and the opossums have this pouch, from which they are called "marsupiated " animals, from the Latin word marsupium, a purse or pouch. The length of the Great Kangaroo is about five feet without the tail, the length of which is about three feet. There are many species of kangaroo, the most extraordinary being the Tree Kangaroo, which can hop about en trees, and has curved claws on its fore-paws, like those of the sloth, to enable it to hold on the branches. Several genera and two sub-families are omitted. The OPOSSUM. This animal innabits North America, and is hunted with almost as much perseverance as the racoon, not, however, for the sake of its fur but of its flesh. When it perceives the hunter, it lies still between the branches, but if disturbed from its hiding place, it at- tempts to escape by dropping among the herbage and creeping silently away. Its food consists of insects, birds, eggs, &c., and it is very destructive among the hen-roosts. The Opossum uses its tail for climbing and swinging from branch to branch as the spider monkeys use theirs; but the Opossum uses its tail in a manner that the monkeys have never yet been observed to do, that is, making it a support ibr its young, who sit on its back and twist their tails round their mother's in order to prevent them from falling off. Lawson, in a passage quoted in the Museum of Animated Nature, gives the following quaint account of this animal : " If a cat has nine lives this creature surely has nineteen ; for if you break every bone in their skin and mash their skull, leaving them for dead, you may come an hour after, and they will be quite gone away, or, perhaps, you may meet them creeping away. I have for NATURAL HISTORY. DIDELPHYS. necessity in the wilderness eaten of them. Their flesh is very white and well-tasted ; but their ugly tails put me out of conceit with that fare." Tu Audubon's delightful work is a passage exhibiting exactly the same character on the part of the Opossum : "Suppose the farmer has surprised an opossum in the act of killing Sub-family e. Diddpkma.-(Gr. Als, Olie [ *?* best f ls - His double ; 8e\0i.s, a pouch.) angry feelings urge him to kick the poorbeast, which, conscious of its inability to resist, rolls off like a ball. The more the farmer rages, the more reluc- tant is the animal to manifest resistance ; at last there it lies, iiot dead, but exhausted, its jaws open, its eyes dimmed ; and there it would lie until the bottle-fly should oome to deposit its eggs, did not its tormentor walk off. ' Surely,' says he to himself, ' the beast must be dead.' But no, reader, it is only "possuming," and no sooner lias its enemy with- drawn, than it gradually gets on its legs, aud once more makes for the woods." The length of the Opossum is about twenty-two inches, and its height about that of an ordinary cat. When disturbed or alarmed, it gives out a very unpleasant odour. Several genera are omitted. Virginiana (Lat. belonging to Virginia), the Opossum. The COMMON SEA.L inhabits the coast of Europe, and is not uni're- quently found in many parts of the Scottish coasts, where seal-hunting is a favourite amusement. The young are taken by stretching nets across the narrow straits which they frequent, but the older and stronger animals are shot or knocked down with clubs when they attempt to scramble into the sea, as a blow on the nose instantly disables them. The fore-feet of the Seal are used as fins, and the two hinder feet almost as the tail of a fish, to assist and direct its course. On land the movements of this animal are very clumsy; it shuffles along by means of its fore-feet, or rather paddles, and drags its hind-feet after it. This seal, when taken young, is easily tamed. Edmonston gives the following amusing account of a seal named Finna, which he kept for about six months. " We had her carried down daily in a hand-barrow to the sea-side, where an old excavation admitting the salt water was abundantly roomy and deep for her recreation and our observation. Aftei NATURAL HISTORY. 7,'J snorting aim diving for some time, she would come ashore, said, seemed perfectly to understand the use of the barrow. Often she tried to waddle Irani the house to the water, or from the latter to her apartment; but finding this fatiguing, and seeing preparations by her chairmen, she would of her own accord mount her palanquin, and thus be carried as com- posedly as any Hindoo princess." This interesting animal, after living in the house for about six months, at last was decoyed away by some wild seals and did not return again. A young seal was tamed by the guard of a small island in the: Frith of Forth above Edinburgh. It seemed quite to consider Phocuh c .-(Gr. *rf,, a Seal. itself one of the party. Seal kind, would accompany their boat- across the water, and when Sub-family <>. Phoc'ma. the vessel was made fast, FHOCA. it used to take its station inside, and watch until the owners returned. It had the playful manners of a water dog, and would snatch a stick from its master's hand and dash into the sea with it, where it \vould toss and tumble about, sometimes approaching close to the yitullna (Lat. belonging to a calf), tJie Seal. shore, and swimming on again when, its master attempted to grasp the stick, but it invariably brought back whatever it had taken. It would also bring fish out of the water and give them to its owners. The length of the Common Seal is about four or five feet, and its weight often two hundred and twenty-four pounds. When surprised basking on the shore, it scrambles off towards the water; but if in- tercepted, dashes at its antagonist, oversets him if possible, and makes its escape as fast as it can. The ELEPJIAXT SEAL inhabits the Atlantic, Pacific, and Southern Oceans. It is very much larger than the Common Seal, being from twenty to thirty feet long. It derives its name from the long snout, something like the proboscis of the elephant, or rather the tapir, which it thrusts forward when angry, and snorts loudly. Only the males have this proboscis, and they do not attain it until they are three years old. Although its appearance is very formidable, it does not attempt to attack men ; but if it cannot frighten them by opening its mouth and displaying its teeth, it makes off towards the' water, but with great deliberation, as ivhen in good condition it is so fat that its body trembles like a mass of jelly, and will furnish seventy gallons of oil. This oil is the principal object of the Soutli Pacific seal fisheries : but tne skin of this seal is also 76 NATURAL, HISTORY. ProboscidSa (Gr. that has a proboscis or trunk). Three instances of this have happened, Orkney Isles, and a third in 1839 at Sub-family c. Triclieclna. TfUCHlcus. (Gr. rptxucos, hairy.) ttosmarua (Scandinavian, Rosmar,* the Walrus), the Walrus, or Morse. very valuable tor its strength, and is used in making har- ness. The seal skin is often used as fur. It is a migratory animal, and changes its residence several times in the year, the first migration taking place in June. There are many seals known, among which are the Sea Leopard, a spotted spe- cies ; the Harp Seal, so called because the markings on its back something resemble a lyre ; and the Sea Lion. The WALKUS inhabits the northern seas, but has been known to visit our coasts, one in 1817, one in 1825 at the the mouth of the Severn. The most remarkable point in the Walrus is the great length of two of its upper teeth, which extend downwards for nearly two feet, and resemble the tusks of the elephant. They furnish very fine ivory, and are extensively used by dentists in making artificial teeth, as teeth made from them remain white much longer than those made from the tusks of elephants. These tusks are used by the Walrus for climbing the rocks or heaps of ice, and also for digging up the. sea- weeds on which the animal mostly subsists. It will also eat shrimps and young seals. "In the Scandinavian tongue, the word 'Ros' signifies horse, and ' Mar ' sea. The rneaning of the word ' Rosmar' is thus "Sea horse." Sometimes the two syllables are transposed; making the word "Mar-ros," which we contract into " Morse.'' In the same manner "Walrus" is an Anglicism of Hval-ros. or Whale-horse. The tcder will notice the resemblance of these words to the corresponding words in German NATURAL HISTORY. 7? The Walrus is often hunted for the sake of its oil, its flesh, its skin, .nd its teeth. It is generally found in troops ; and if one is wounded, its companions rush to its rescue, and attack the enemy with their sharp tusks, which they have been known to drive through the bottom of a boat. Their skin is so strong and slippery that it is very difficult to drive the harpoon through it, and even a sharp weapon frequently glides oft without injuring the animal. The great enemy of the walrus is the polat bear, who does not always venture on an open battle, as, when a combal takes place, the walrus defends himself most vigorously with his curved tusks, and often inflicts (earful gashes ou the bear, forcing it to abandon the contest. The head of this animal is very small in proportion to the remaindei of its body, and often ueceives people as to its size, vhich is difficult to ascertain without examination. The stuffed specimen in the British Museum, although ji bad preservation, will give a tolerable idea of the animal. The expression of its countenance is very erocious, principally on account of the enormous size Df the upper lip and the thick bristles with which it is covered. . The length of the Walrus is about fifteen or sixteen feet, and it yields from twenty to thirty WALRUS'S SKULI gallons of excellent oil. The CETACEA, or WHALE tribe, closely resemble the fishes, and have }ften been placed among these animals by naturalists. They, however, Are distinguished by possessing warm blood, and in consequence, being forced to rise at intervals in order to breathe the air, instead of sepa- rating from the water, by means of their gills, sufficient oxygen for supporting life. Yet the whale remains under water for a time so much longer than could be borne by any other warm-blooded animal, that the most indif- ferent observer cannot fail to perceive that the whale is furnished with some plan for supporting life during its stay beneath the water. The manner in which this object is attained is at once beautiful and singular. Every one knows that the object of breathing is to oxygenize the blood, which in its course through the body becomes deprived of its uative qualities, and is actually poisonous. If the blood is not renewed, it causes apoplexy and death, as is the case when a person is strangled or drowned. The most natural way to supply this want in the whale would be to give it much more lungs, in order that it might take into its body a reservoir of air, from which the blood might be renewed. But if this were the case, the animal would be seriously inconvenienced by such an amouiu of air, which would make it too buoyant, and prevent it from diving into the depths of the sea. But there must be a reservoir somewhere, and, therefore, instead of a reservoir of air to arterialize the blood, there is a reservoir of blood already arterialized. 78 NATURAL HISTORY. Along the interior of the ribs there is a vast collection of blood-vessels, ramifying from one another, and capable of containing a large quantity of blood, having no immediate connexion with that portion of the blood which is already circulating in the body. As fast as the exhausted and poisonous blood returns from its work, it passes into another reservoir adapted for its necessities, while a portion of the arterialized blood in the arterial reservoir passes into the circulation. It will be seen from this statement, that the whale, and others of the same order, possess more blood in proportion than any animals. By means of this wonderful apparatus, a whale' can remain below the water for more than half an hour at a time. Order III. . . CETE. (Gr. KTJTOS, a Whale, or sea monster.) Family I. . . BalrcnicUe. (Gr. BaActim, a Whale. Whalfl kinfU Mysticetus (Gr. MiWa, a moustache ; KTJTOS, a aea monster), the WhaU. The depths to which the whale can descend are astonishing, wounded whales having been known to take down perpendicularly nearly SOO fathoms of line. The pressure of the water at this depth is very great, amounting, according to Scoresby's calculation, to 211,200 tons. This pressure would certainly cause the water to burst through their nostrils, and enter the lungs, were it not that the nostrils are formed so as to close themselves more firmly as the pressure of water increases. NATURAL HISTORY. 79 The great Greenland YVhaie is lound'in the Northern Oceans, living amid ice and perpetual cold. Many ships are annually fitted out for the capture of this creature, which, unhappily for itself, furnishes oil anc whalebone. The oil is obtained from the thick layer of fatty substance, called blubber, which lies immediately under the skin ; and the whale- bone which, by the way, is not bone at all is obtained from the inte- rior of the mouth, where it fringes the jaws, and acts as a sieve for the Whale to strain his food through. The throat of the Greenland Whals is so small that the sailors, who always use forcible expressions, say that a penny loaf would choke a whale. The greater proportion of its food consists of a little creature about an inch and a half long, called Clio borealis, one of the marine Mollusca, belonging to the class Pteropida. or wing-footed creatures, so called because it propels itself through the water with two wing-like organs. The Whale, when it wishes to feed, rushes through the water with its immense jaws wide open, enclosing a host of little sea animals, and a few hogsheads of water. As the Whale only wants the animals, and not the water, it shuts its mouth, and drives all the water out through the fringes of whalebone, leaving the little creatures in its jaws. For the capture of this animal, a number of ships leave England, France, and other countries, reaching the Polar Seas about the end of April. When arrived at tneir destination, a careful look-out is kept from the mast-head for " fish," which are usually first observed by the column of steam and water that the whale sends into the air from its nostrils. At the welcome sound, " There she blows," the whole crew starts into activity; the boats, which are always kept hanging over the side of the ship, furnished ready for action, are instantly manned and lowered into the water, and the boat springs off in chase of the whale. The harpooner, whose station is in the bow, examines his implements carefully, tries the edge of the harpoon, and sees that the rope is pro- perly coiled, as th<, slightest entanglement would upset the boat, or might even drag it below water. It will be as well just to notice the different weapons used in the whale-fishery. The tirst and most important is the harpoon, a kind of spear with a large barbed head, the shape of which is not very unlike the flukes of an anchor. The edges of the barbs are kept very sharp, as otherwise the harpoon would not penetrate beyond the blubber, and the whaie would consequently escape. The head of the harpoon is not made of steel, as inexperienced persons would imagine, but of soft iron, so soft that it can be scraped to an edge with a knife. This is fixed to a wooden handle, by which the harpooner holds it. In some vessels, the harpoon is fired at the whale from a small cannon placed in the bow of the boat. There are some very ingenious haipoons in the United Service Museum, one of which, intended to be fired from a gun, has its barbs joined to he head by a hinge, and held apart with a spring, so that when a whale is struck the barbs collapse until the force of the blow is expended when 80 NATURAL HISTORY. the spring expands them and holds the whale firmly. The common harpoon, however, is the weapon usually employed. To the harpoon is fastened a long and very tough line, about 4,000 feet in length. This line is kept ready coiled in a tub at the head of the boat, and groat care is taken to prevent it from being entangled. It runs over a kind of pulley, as the friction is so great when the alarmed whale starts off, that the rope when out of its place has repeatedly set the gun- wale of the boat on lire. At Deptford, some years back, might be seen a boat, the head of which had been quite cut off by the rope. A bucket of water is therefore always kept at hand to thrjw on the rope. When a whale is struck, it sometimes runs out with (he whole of the line, in which case the line of another boat is fastened to it, and sometimes a whale has carried off three miles of line with it. When the whale begins to slacken the line, it is immediately recoiled in the tub, so as to be always under the command of the pursuers The use of the harpoon is merely to hold tht whale ; it does not enter deeply, and causes the animal but little inconvenience, as a whale has often broken its line and escaped with the harpoon sticking in its back, and been afterwards recaptured, apparently none the worse for its adventure. In order to kill the whale the fishermen have another weapon, called a "lance." This is a long, slender, steel weapon, with a very sharp head, without barbs, as the men have to withdraw the lance as fast as they can after it has pierced a vital part. With these few and simple weapons the fishers contrive to secure the monster of the waters a oeautiful instance of the superiority of reason over brute strength ; for, as the expert angler secures a large and strong fish with a single hair, utterly inadequate to bear half the weight of the creature it holds, so the whale-fisher, with a few small weapons, achieves a task which may *)e compared to a mouse attacking and killing a wolf with a reel of oliread and a crotchet needle. The boats always approach the whale from behind, lest the expected j)rey should see them and escape. When within a few yards the har- pooner throws his weapon at the whale, so as to pierce through the mass af blubber, and hold last in the flesh. The wounded animal instantly dashes off, taking the line with it. When it has been under water for some time, it is forced to come to the surface to breathe. The fishers knowing the time that it can remain under water, and calculating from long practice the place where it will rise, are at, the spot ready to receive it as its huge body reaches the surface, and thrust their long lances deeply into its body, inflicting mortal wounds. Blood mixed with water is now discharged from the whale's nostrils or " blow-holes," a sure sign that it will soon die. Presently streams of blood are thrown up, colour- ing the sea and frequently drenching the crews of the boats, and after a few violent struggles the whale turns over on its side and dies. The enormous carcass is now joyously towed to the ship, and prepara tions are made for "flensing," or cutting off the useful parts. When NATURAL HISTORY. 8{ '.he carcass lias been brought alongside the ^hip, men wearing shoes armed with spikes, to prevent them from slipping off the oily back of the monster, commence the process by fastening ropes to its head and tail. A strong hook is then fixed into the fat near the neck, called the " kent," as it is used for " kenting," or turning over the whale. To this hook is fastened a rope passing through a pulley at the mainmast head, and fixed to a windlass on deck. The blubber is taken off the upper side by " blubber spades." The blocks of blubber, called " slips," are then hauled up on deck by means of ropes called " speck tackles," speck being the German word for fat or bacon. When the blubber is a!l stripped from the upper side, the men turn the whale partly round by aauliug at the rope fastened to the " kent." They then cut out the whalebone with knives made for that purpose. Lastly, the " kent " itself is stripped off, and the whale left to the sharks and gulls, who have been helping themselves very liberally while the flensing was going on, the shovel-nosed shark sometimes scooping out semicircular pieces as large as a man's head. The birds and fish hold grand festival OH. the body of the whale until it is so stripped that it sinks, when the sharks have it all to themselves. When the crew have leisure, the blubber, which has been meanwhile stowed away in a place with a not very polished name, is "made off," that is, carefully stripped of the pieces of skin and muscle adhering to it, cut into moderately sized pieces, and packed in casks until wanted. The oil is extracted by boiling the blubber in large coppers ; a most unsavoury occupation, but a very pleasant one to the crew, if they take that duty upon themselves. The refuse blubber is used as fuel, so that there is no waste. It is impossible to calculate on the amount or mode of resistance which may be met with from a whale when struck, for one whale will yield to a single harpoon loosely fixed, while another will break away and escape with five o'r six in his back, and two miles or so of rope trailing behind him. Some instances have been related of whales being killed without being struck at all. Scoresby tells us that on one me- morable occasion, after a whale had been killed, it sunk as whales some- times will do. While they were hauling it up, the line sometimes resisted, and sometimes came in easily. At last they drew up a whale with a coil of the rope round it, which they naturally thought to be the animal struck by them. After disentangling it they found to their surprise that the line still descended into the sea, and dragged as if there was a weight at its end; and so there was, for they found their harpooned whale still fixed to the weapon, and discovered that the other unfortunate animal had contrived to entangle itself in the line, and had thus drowned itself. Another anecdote of a similar character is related by Scoreshy. "A whale was struck from one of the boats of the shit) Nautilus, in Davis' Straits. It was killed, and as is usuai after the captuie, it waa disentangled from the line connected with the first ' fast o 82 NATURAL HISToRT. boat,' (the first boat which had struck it,) by dividing it at the splice of the fcreganger, (the part of the rope fastened to the harpoon,) within eight or nine yards of the harpoon. The crew of the boat from which the ' fish ' was first struck, in the meantime were employed in heaving in the lines by means of a winch fixed in the boat, for the purpose. On a sudden, however, to their great astonishment, the lines were pulled away from them with the same force and violence as by a whale when first struck. They repeated their signal indication of a whale being struck ; their shipmates flock towards them, and while every one ex- pressed a similar degree of astonishment with themselves, they all agreed that, a ' fish ' was fast to the line. In a few minutes they were agreeably confirmed in their opinion by the rising of a large whale close by them, exhausted with fatigue, and having every appearance of a 'fast tish.' It permitted itself to DC struck by several harpoons at once, and was speedily killed. On examining it after death, they found the line belonging to the boat in its mouth, where it was still firmly fixed by the compression of its lips. The occasion of this happy and puzzling inci- dent was therefore solved. The end of the line, after being cut, was sinking in the water the 'fish' in question, engaged in feeding, was advancing with its mouth open, and accidentally caught the line between its extended jaws "-a sensation so utterly unusual as that produced by the line, had induced it, to shut its mouth and grasp the rope which was the cause of its alarm so firmly between its lips as to produce the effect just stated. This circumstance took place many years ago, but a similar one occurred in the year 1814." The dai.gers undergone in this pursuit are very great. Sometimes the boat is dashed to pieces by a blow from the tail of the enraged whale; sometimes the crew are left on the ice for many hours, wet and frozen ; sometimes the ice-fields strike together, and crush the ship between them, although the vessel is strengthened in every possible way by cross-beams and treble sheathing; sometimes a fog comes on, and the boat and ship are separated, neither having any means of knowing where the other lies, for sound is much im- peded by fog, and even cannon are not heard when fired comparatively close. The Whale shows great attachment to its young, which is called the cub, and on the approach of danger, seizes it with its fin or nipper, and carries it down out of danger. The Whale b&a no fins, properly so called, as it is not a fish. Its flippers, which supply the place of fins, are in fact fore legs, furnished with a kind of OF THE WHALE. NATURAL HISTORY 83 hand covered with a thick skin. They seem to be principally employed in balancing the animal. The hind legs are concealed under the skin, as are those of the boa constrictor. The length of this Whale averages sixty feet. Its tail is placed transversely, and not vertically, as in the fishes. The CACHALOT. The chase of the Cachalot is similar to that of the Greenland whale, and need not be described. It is attended with more danger, as the terrific row of teeth with which the lower jaw of the Cachalot is armed, is not unfrequently employed in biting the boat. In the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford is an under jaw-boue of this while, sixteen and a half feet in length, containing forty-eight huge teeth. Besides this method of defence, it has a very unpleasant habit of su im- ming off to a distance, and then rushing at the boat with its head, thereby knocking it to pieces. One of these whales actually sank a ship by three or four blows from its head. PHYSMTER. (Or. *uo-rjTiJp, a blow-pipe, or bellows. } MacrocephJllus (Or. Ma/tpdy, long; teaA.rj, a bead), the Cachalot^ or Spermaceti Whale. Spermaceti is oUained from the head of the Cachalot, and it is this substance that causes the immence size of the head. When the whale 84 NATURAL HISTORY. is killed, a hole is made in the upper part of the head, and the sperma- ceti is baled out with buckets. When just procured it is almost fluid, but is rendered solid and transparent by being first drained of its oil, then boiled in water, and lastly set to cool in wide pans, where it soon assumes the white flaky appearance so well known in this country. The skull of the Cachalot occupies a comparatively small portion of the head, the huge mass at the end of the mouth beiug composed of a gristly kind of substance. The bone of the upper jaw occupies about one-fourth of the distance between the mouth and the top of the snout. It runs backwards nearly straight until just before the eyes, when it joins the remainder of the skull with a bold sweep. That part of the skull is called " Neptune's Chair" by the sailors, and is the part where the sper- nnceti is found. The layer of blubber is thin, but yields a fine and valuable oil. Ambergris, so long a riddle to all inquirers, is now found to be pro- duced in the interior of the Cachalot. This substance is of the consistency of wax, inflammable, and gives out a kind of musky odour. It was once in great repute as a medicine, but is now only used as a perfume. The Cachalot, although an inhabi- tant of the Arctic seas, has sometimes been found and captured off our coasts. The length of this whale is about seventy feet. JAW OF GREENLAND WHALE Those readers who have formed their ideas of DOLI-HINS from the very graceful and elegant creatures represented under that name in the pic- tures of the " old masters," Family II. Delphmldse. (Gr. AeA^t a Dolphin. Dolphin kind.) DELrin.vus - (Lat. a Dolphin.) or the statues of the ancient sculptors, will find that the real animal differs as much from the ideal, as the red and green lions wearing golden collars, re- presented in heraldry, dif- fer from the lion of Africa. Sad to say, almost the whole history of the Dolphin is imaginary very poetical, but very untrue. The red and blue colours of the heraldic lien are not less fabulous than the changing tints of the dying dolphin, so dear to poetry. Alas ! our unpoeticaJ Dolphin, when we have harpooned and brought him on deck, is only Delphis, the Dolphm. NATURAL HTSTORT. black and white, and all the change that he makes, is that the black becomes brown in time, and the white grey. The creature that really displays these colours when dying, is a fish called the Coryphene, and not a cetaceous animal of any kind. The sailors generally call (hem Dolphins, which has led to the mistake. We will leave poetry and its beautiful errors, and pass on to facts. The Dolphin is, like the whale, a warm-blooded animal, suckles its young, and is forced to come to the surface in order to breathe. Its snout is very long, and is apparently used for capturing such fish, and other animals, as live in the mud. The length is from six to ten feet. Several species of Dolphin are known, of which the British Museum possesses six. The PouroisE. These animals may be observed in plenty playing their absurd antics off every coast of England. There are numbers of them off the Nore, a place which they frequent greatly, as it is the mouth of a river, and they find more food there than in the open sea. They tumble at the surface of the water for the purpose of breathing. In the olden times, when glass windows were considered an effeminate luxury, and rushes supplied the place of carpets, the flesh of the Por- poise constituted one of the standard delicacies of a pub- PHOC^NA.- (Gr. QuKaiva, a Porpoise.) lie feast, but it has long since been deposed from its rank at the table. Like most of the cetacea, its flesh has a very strong oily flavour, which, however relished by an Esquimaux, is not agree- able to the palate of an European epicure of the present day. The voracity of the Por- poise is very great. It feeds Corumuiiis (Lat. common), the 1'urpousn, or Porpesse. on various fishes, but its great feasts are held when the periodical shoals of herrings, pilchards, and other fish arrive on the coasts. In the pursuit of its prey, it frequently ventures some distance up a river, and is then often taken in nets by the fishermen. The teeth of this animal are very numerous, and interlock when the jaws are closed, so that the fish when once seized cannot escape. Its length is about five feet, its colour a rich black; becoming white on the under side. The NAUWIIAL. Although the Narwhal has not suffered from false reports so much as many other animals, yet it has unwittingly con- tributed to propagate a very old error The spiral tusk of the Narvba? 6 NATURAL HISTORY. was accustomed to be sold as the real horn of the unicorn ; and as an accredited part of that animal, forming direct proof of its existence, it used to fetch a very high price. Of course, when the whale fishery was established, the real owner of the horn was discovered, and the unicorn left still enveloped in mystery. The name Monodon is not strictly correct, as the Narwhal possesses two of these tusks, one on each side of its bead. Only the left tusk projects, the other remaining within the head. Sometimes a specimen has been found with both tusks projecting, and some 1 hink that when the left tusk has been broken off by accident, the right one becomes large enough to supply its place. The use of these tusks is not known ; some supposing that they are employed to dig up sea-weeds, and other plants, on which the Narwhf.1 MOXODOS (Gr. M6vos, solitary; oSovs, or oStoi', a toothJ MonocCros (Gr. MOVOJ icl/xis, a horn), the Narwhal. feeds, and some imagining that the living prey is Crst transfixed and theii eaten. Be this as it may, as a weapon the tusk is not to be despised, as the strength and rapidity of the Narwhal are very great. Instances are on record, of the thick oak timbers of a ship being pierced by the ivory tusk of this creature. The Greenlanders employ this ivory in the manufacture of spears, arrows, hooks, &c. They take the Narwhal by \ kiad "V* harpoon attached to a line, with a buoy at its extremity. The NATURAL HISTORY. 87 use of the buoy is to harass and retard the Narwhal when struck, and to give notice when it is about to rise. Immediately on reaching the surface, a lance is thrust into it, which generally proves its death-blow. The adventurous Greenlander finds it a most welcome prey, as he obtains from it oil, food, weapons, and ropes. Although an inhabitant of the northern seas, it has several times visited our coasts. Its body is from thirty to forty feet in length, and its tusk from five to nine. The Manatees and Dugong are omitted from want of space. WE now arrive at the RODENTIA, or gnawing animals, so called from their habit of gnawing through, or paring away, the substances on which they feed. For this purpose their teeth are admirably formed, and by these teeth it is alwavs easy to ascertain a member of the Rodents. They have none of those sharp teeth called canine, such as are seen in the lions and in those animals which seize and destroy living animals, but in the front of each jaw there are two long flat teeth, slightly curved, and having a kind of chisel edge for rasping away wood, or other articles. The constant labour which these teeth (called incisors, from the Latin word, incido, I cut,) undergo, would rapidly wear them away. To counteract this loss, the teeth are constantly growing and being pushed forward, so that as fast as the upper part is worn away, the tooth is replenished from below. So constant is this increase, that when an unfortunate rabbit, or other rodent, has lost one of its incisors, the opposite one, meeting 'nothing to stop its progress, continually grows, until sometimes the tooth curls upwards over the lips, and prevents the wretched animal from eating, until it is gradually starved to death. An example of this preternatural growth may be seen in the vignette under the article Rabbit. The sketch was drawn from a specimen in the Anatomical Museum at Oxford. The Rodentia include the mice, beavers, rabbits, squirrels, and porcupines. The BROWN RAT, sometimes called the Norway Rat, is the species usually found in England. It was some years since imported into this country, and from its superior size, strength, and ferocity, has so com- pletely established itself, and expelled the original Black Rat, that it is ?cry dilncult indeed to find a Black Rat in any part of England, Waterton's sympathies are much excited in favour of the original rat, and his anger is great against the invader. He says of the Brown Rat : "Its rapacity knows no bounds, whilst its increase is prodigious, beyond all belief. But the most singular part of its history is, that it 'jas nearly worried every individual of the original rat out of Great Britain. So scarce have these last-mentioned animals become, that in ill my life I have never seen but one single solitary specimen. Tt was 88 NATURAL HISTORY. sent, some few years ago, to Nostell Priory, in a cage, from Bristol, and I received 'an invitation from Mr. Arthur Strickland, who was on a visit there, to go and see it. Whilst I was looking at the little native prisoner in its c;>ge, I could not help exclaiming, 'Poor in.ji.red Briton! hard, indeed, has been the OrderlV. .. GLTRES. (Lat. Glis, a Dor- f ate of thy family! in another generation, at furthest, it Family I. ... Murfdso. (Clr. MJS, a Mouse. - vin probaWy s ' m ^ down to Mouse kind.) the dust for ever !'" Sub-family a. Murma. TJle same amus i n g na t u .. ralist, being considerably annoyed by the depredations ou his provisions, and the unceasing clatter that they kept, up behind the panels of his sitting-room, after trying various plans to ex- tirpate them, at last thought of a method, rich in the same humour with which Decumfmus (Lat. tenth or large), Ike Rat. m t of his Actions are tinged, and as efficacious m its operation as amusing in its idea : "Having caught one of them in a box trap, I dipped its hinder parts into warm tar, and then turned it loose behind the hollow plinth. The others, seeing it in this condition, and smelling the tar all along the run through which it had gone, thought it most prudent to take themselves off: and thus, for some months after this experiment, I could sit and read in peace, free from the hated noise of rats. On moving the plinth at a subsequent period, we found that they had actually gnawed away the corner of a peculiarly hard-burnt brick which had obstructed their thoroughfare." It is at all times difficult to get rid of these dirty, noisy animals, for they soon learn to keep out of the way of traps, and if they are poisoned they revenge their fate by dying behind a wainscot or under a plank of the floor, and make the room uninhabitable. There are, however, two ways recommended to attain the desired object. Place a saucer containing meal in a room frequented by rats, letting them have free access to it for several days. They will then come to it in great force. When they have thus been accustomed to feed there regularly, mix a quantity of jalap with the meal, and put it in the accus- tomed place. This will give them such internal tortures that they will not come near the place again. The second plan is to use the same precautions, but to mix phosphorus with the meal and make it into a ball. The phosphorus is said not to '^PBOCTA.-(Gr. A, rough; vpwo i, but it appears that in Para- hindquarters.) ffiiay the flesh is not eaten. When pursued, it runs for a short time with much rapidity, but soon endeavours to con- ceal itself in a hole or under the roots of a tree, when it will suffer itself to be cap- tured without any resistance, merely uttering a plaintive cry. It feeds on vegetables, espe- cially yams and tubers, but A S fiti (Native name), the Agoutt. in the West India Islands it devours the sugar-canes, and is a great pest to the planters. The CAPYBA.RA or CHIGUIRA is the largest of all the Rodentia. At first sight it looks very like a pig, and its skin is covered thinly will Hydrocharlna. ndd to'the resemblance"^ a It inhabitTthe r o Tder S of lakes and rivers in many parts of Southern America. During the day, if, hides among the thick herbage of the banks, only wandering forth to feed at night, but when alarmed, it instantly makes for the water, and escapes by diving. It is Sri w is s t f remarkably good. The Jaguar appears to be of the same opinion, foi he is the most terrible enemy of this creature, destroying immense numbers. The food of the Capybara consists of grass, vegetables and fruits. Its length is about three feet six inches. The GUINEA-PIG or RESTLESS CAVY belongs to the sub-family Caviina It was originally brought from South America, and is frequently domes ticated in Jingland. Its beauty is its only recommendation, as it shows little intelligence, and ii never used for food. Children, however, and particularly schoolboys, are fond of keeping Guinea-pigs, as they an 96 NATURAL HISTORY. wonderfully prolific, easy to manage, and do not make niucn noise. They are popularly supposed to keep off rats, and are therefor. 1 ; usually patronised in connexion with rabbit-hutches. j'iimily III. Leporidse. (Lat. Lrpw, a Hare. Hare kind.} LEPtTR. Timldus (Lat. timid), the Hare. The HARE is one of our most common quadrupeds. It is constantly bunted both for the sport and for its flesh. When hunted with grey, hounds, the amusement is called coursing. Beagles are also used fbi the same purpose, but they do not catch the Hare by speed, but by patiently following its track, until the wearied animal is no lougei capable of escaping. It comes under the denomination of game, and is protected by the Game Laws, as are pheasants and partridges. When full grown, it is larger than the rabbit and exceedingly like that animal, but its colour is slightly different, and the black spot ou the extremity of its ears is a simple method of distinguishing it. The Hare does not burrow like the rabbit, but makes a kind of nest of grass and other materials. In this nest, called a " form," the Hare lies, crouclung to the ground, its ears laid along its back, and trusting to its conceal- ment, will often remain quiet until the foot of an intruder almost touches it. Many people can distinguish it when thus hidden by the sparkle of its eye. Innumerable foes besides man surround this animal. Foxes, ferrets, stoats, and all their tribe, are unmerciful enemies, and sometimes a largj hawk will destroy a leveret, as the young Hare is called. Although NATURAL HISTORY. 97 Destitute of all means of defence, it is often enabled to escape by Ihe quickness of its hearing and sight, ^i.ich give it timely warning of tht approach of an enemy, and enable >t vo escape to a place of safety. In cold countries LEPUS tne Hare changes its fur during winter, and j"--.. -^jpajp oecornes white, like /' tne Arctic fox and tue ermine. The Al- pine Hare, inhabiting tne northern parts of Scotland, is a ffood example of this change. The well-known RABBIT is rather smaller than the hare, but closely resembles it in form. It lives in deep holes, which it digs in the ground . When a number of these holes or bur- rows occur near each Variabllia (Lat. varying), the Alpine Hare. other, the place is called a warren. A loose dry soil, such as the soft red sandstone, if the delight of these animals, who may oe seen frisking about in great numbers outside their holes, but diving in on the slightest alarm. Poachers often take them in T.EPTTS. great numbers by spreading nets over the mouth of the holes, and sending a ferret carefully muzzled down one of the burrows. The terri- \| fled rabbits rush out at the sight of their dreaded enemy, and are caught in the nets. If the ferret were not muzzled, it would kill the first Babbit it caught, CunicQlus (Lat. a httle and remain in the hole, sucking the blood of its victim. The female Rabbit forms a soft nest at the bottom of her burrow, composed of fur torn from her body, of hay and dried leaves. Here tae young rabbits are kept until they jire strong enough to shift for them- stives, and make their owu burrows. 3 GROWN TEETH OF RABBIT.* NATURAL HISTORY. The tame Rabbit is only a variety, rendered larger by careful feeding and attendance. There are many breeds of domestic rabbits, some, as the fancy or lop-eared rabbits, being often 01 considerable value, thirty guineas having been refused for a particularly line one. When tame rabbits are suffered to go free, they speedily return to their wild habits and instincts. The CHINCHILLA. This pretty little animal is an inhabitant of the valleys in the mountain districts of South America. In such situations the cold is often very intense ; but the long soft fur of the Chinchilla forms an effectual protection against the frosts. The fur is extensively used for clothing, and celebrated for its soft and warm texture. Numbers of these animals are annually destroyed for the sake of their skins, and Coqnimbo appears to be the place where they are taken in the greatest numbers. The Chinchilla lives in Family IV. . . JerboKdao. (Jerboa kind.) Sub-family a. . Chinchillina. CHINCHILLA (Native name). society like the rabbit, and resides in burrows dug in the ground. Its food is en- tirely vegetable, and prin- cipally consists of bulbous roots. In captivity it is quiet and inoffensive, but seems to betray no particular attachment to its keeper; neither does it seem playful. Its tail, covered with long bushy hairs, is usually held turned up over its back, like LanKger (Lat. wool-bearing), the Chinchilla, that 'of the squirrel, and probably for the same reason. From the various specimens of fur sent to this country it would appear that there are two species of Chinchilla, but it is not quite certain. The length of the Chinchilla is about nine inches, exclusive oi its tail, which measures about five. The JERBOAS are celebrated for their powers of leaping. Their long hind legs enable them to take enormous springs, during which their tails serve to balance them. Indeed, a Jerboa, when deprived of its tail, is -fraid to leap. At first sight the Jerboa seems to alight on its hind feet, ES well as spring from them, but the fact is, that it alights on its fore feet and draws up the hind legs ready for the next leap with such rapidity that the eye can scarcely follow the movement ; as has beer before related of the kangaroo. * From the Anatomical Muieum, Oxford- NATURAL HI8TORY. 99 In the history of the polar bear it was mentioned that its feet were prevented from slipping on the ice by a coating of thick hair. The foot of the Jerboa is defended in the same manner by long bristly hairs, which Sub -family c. Dipina. Dipua. (Gr. Air, double; rrouy, a foot) not only give the creature a firm hold of the ground for its spring, but also defend the foot from the burning soil on which it lives. The timidity of the Jerboa is very great, and on the slightest alarm it instantly rushes to its burrow, but if intercepted, skims away over the plain with such rapidity that it seems to fly, and when at full speed a swift grey- hound can scarcely overtake it. Grain and bulbous roots are its chief food; while eating, it holds the food with its fore paws, and sits upright on its haunches, like the ' squirrels and marmots. The Jerboa does not bear confinement well ; it always appears uneasy and distrustful; it remains hidden during the day, and even when it emerges from its concealment towards the evening is always ready to retreat at the least alarm. There are many kinds of jerboa ; the Egyptian Jerboa is rather small, being about the size of a large rat ; its colour is a tawny yellow. The DOIIMOUSK is very common in all the warmer parts of the Continent, and is often found in this country, especially in the southern and midland counties. It lives in copses and among brush- wood, through which it makes its way with such rapidity that it is very difficult to be captured. During the. winter it licz H 2* ^Egypttus (Lat. belonging to Egypt), the Jerboa. Sub-family d. Myoxlna. MYOXDS. (Gr. Mvotfs, or Mvca^os, a Dormouse.) Avellanarfus (Lat. from Avettdna, a lilbcrt), the Dormouse. 100 NATUKAL HISTORY. torpid, but takes care to have a stock ot food laid up, 011 which it feeds during the few interruptions to its slumbers. A warm day in winter Mill usually rouse it, but during the cold weather it lies rolled up, with its tail curled round its body. While in this torpid state, a sudden exposure to heat kills it, but a gentle warmth, such as holding it in the hand, rouses it without injury. It lives principally on nuts, acorns, and grain. It brings up its young in a nest composed of leaves and hay, and seems to be fond of society in its household labours, as ten or tweive nests have been seen close to each other. The SQUIRREL is a very common animal in woods, where numbers may be seen frisking about on the branches, or running up and down the trunks. If alarmed, it springs up the tree with extraordinary activity, and hides behind a branch. By this trick it escapes its enemy the hawk, and by constantly slipping behind the large branches, frequently tires him out. The activity and daring of this little animal are extraordinary. When pursued, it makes the most astonishing leaps from branch to branch, or from tree to tree, and has apparently some method of altering its direc- tion while in the air, possibly by means of its tail acting as a rudder. Many boys, and men too, know the delights of a squirrel hunt. How the little animal is chased from tree to tree until it is driven into a soli- tary tree, from which it cannot leap into the branches of other trees; how some venturous climbers ascend the branches and try to shake the squirrel down upon the ground ; how the active little creature throws itself from branch to branch, baffling the attempts of its pursuers, until one lucky stroke sends it flying into the air, and it comes softly to the ground, there to be chased amid shores, tumbles, and laughter, until it is finally over- whelmed by a well-aimed cap, and made prisoner before it can disengage itself from the encumbrance. It ir, easily domesticated, and is very amusing in its habits when Sub-family e. Sciurina. suffered to go at large in a SCIURUS. (Gr. 2/cz, a shadow; ovpd, a tail.) room or kept in a spacious cage ; but when confined in a little cramped box, espe- cially iri one of the cruei wheel cages, its energies and playfulness are quite lost. Men, often go about with squirrels for sale, and generally cheat those who buy them. In the* first place, they constantly try to sell Europseue (Lat. European), the Squirrel. old squirrels for young, but this imposition may be detected by looking at the teeth of the animal, which are nearly white if young, but if old are of a light yellow. In the second plane, let the purchaser beware of very tanie and qviitt NATURAL niSTORY. 101 squirrels. These arc generally animals just caught and perfectly wild, but jiiade sedate by a dose of laudanum, which in many cases causes their death in a short time. One of my friends was deceived in this manner only a few months since, the squirrel dying in the course of the evening of the day on which it was purchased. The colour of the English Squirrel is a deep reddish brown, and its tail so large and bushy as to shade its whole body when carried curled over its back ; from whence it derives its name of Sciurus, or Shadow-tail Hie FLYING SQUIRRELS are well known by their power of making enormous sweeps through the air. They are enabled to make these leaps by a fold of skin at each side, which, when spread by the extended paws forms a kind of parachute, that supports them in their passage through the air. When they wisli to pass from one tree to another, they spring downwards from a lofty branch, stretch out all their legs, and sweep to '.heir mark with an upward curve. The species of Flying Squirrel here represented is a native of the Rocky Mountains in America, where it lives among the dense pine forests that abound there. Its colour is yellowish brown, and its length about a foot. Webber gives a very happy account of the domestic life of these creatures : "Then, when I went out by myself into the deep wood, I sat down on the moss at the root of an old tree to watch for the squirrel. When everything was still again, I would see him after a while PTEROMYS. (Gr. nrepJc. a wing; P Ci, poking his head out of the a mouse.) Hole, snuff! snuff! Then out his head would pop to rest his chin upon his fore paws, and he would look all around, above and below, very cunningly, to see if all was right. Then out, like a thought, he would glide, and I could see his lovely brush quickly curled and spread so grandly above his head, as he sat upon a limb, still for the moment. Lo ! there is another snuf- Gng nose, and then great shining eyes filling the round black knot hole, and out Alpmus (Lat. Alpine), the Flying Squirrel. another pops, and another and another. Such whisking of tails, dartini! <0ong limbs, and bounding from swinging twig to rustling tree tops, until thejr all neet. lOL> NATURAL HISTORY. "Now the frolic begins in earnest, and they dart round and round the trunks, rattling the bark down as they chase each other. Their tails are spread now as wide as they can, as if they were scared ; and that lady squirrel he makes love to, you may be sure, for now he has chased her out to the very end of a great high limb ; and hard pushed, here she comes right off into the air ! down almost into my face the white of her arms underneath, spread wide like her stiffened tail into the leaves head-foremost, and then up and away, patter! patter! patter! Here he comes too, sailing down after her, plump! and rattles off along the old logs and swinging vines in hot chase. "So they all would frolic, chasing one another, and one of them would see me, and stop and stamp his tiny feet and bark at me, jerking his tail in comic wrath." The ALPINE MARMOT is common in the mountainous districts of Europe. It lives in burrows dug in the ground. These burrows are something in the shape of a Y> one of the forks leading to its habita- tion, a kind of chamber lined with dry grass and mosses, and the oi her fork serving as a storehouse for food, as a provision against the winter months, when it re- ARCTOMYS.-(G^APKTO, ) a bear ; ,, ^ to its ^ doses ^ entrance, and becomes tor- pid until the commence- ment of spring. When it first retires for the winter, it is very fat, and is then killed and eaten in great numbers. The skin is also of some service. Many may be seen in England, carried about by the Savoyard boys, who Marmotta (from its native name), the Marmot. cat , ch + tbem ,, when EJTO and tame them. When domesticated they are mild and inoffensive, but no instruction entirely overcomes their abhorrence of a dog. When feeding in their native country, the marmots are very suspicious, and always station one marmot as a sentinel, and on his giving the alarm, the remainder instantly seek the protection of their holes, closely followed by their faithful sentinel. The Ox. The Ruminantia, or animals that chew the cud, include the oxen, sheep and goats, deer, giraffe, and camels. They have a peculiar construction of stomach, which receives the freshly-gathered food, retains it for some hours, and then passes it back into the mouth to be re-mas- ticstted. NATURAL HISTORY. 103 The Ox is spread widely over the eartb, scarcely aiiy country being without its peculiar breed. Li this country, where it is our most useful domesticated animal, there are nearly as many breeds as counties, generally distinguished by the length or shape of their horns. There is the " long-horned breed " from Lancashire, the " short horned" from Durham, the "middle- horned " from Devonshire, and the "polled" or hornless, breed. Each of these breeds has its particular value: some Order V. . . . UNGULATA. (Lat. possessing hoofs.) Family I. ... BovKdse. (Lat. Bos, an ox. Ox kind.) Sub-family a. Bovlna. Taurus (Lat. a Bull), the Ox. fatten easily, and are kept especially for the butcher ; others give milk, and are valuable for the dairy. The best dairy cow is the Alderney, a small, short-homed animal, furnishing exceedingly rich milk. In some parts of England, oxen are used to draw waggons, or to drag the plough. They are not so strong as horses, and their movements are much slower. Formerly, the cruel sport of bull-baiting was much practised in England, and bull-rings, that is, large iron rings firmly fixed in tho ground, may be seen in the market-place of many towns. The poor bull was fastened to the ring by a strong rope, and mangled by tho repeated attacks of large and fierce dogs. Sometimes the rope did not prove strong enough to restrain his frantic struggles, and the tortured animal chased and scattered the terrified spectators. In Spain, bull-baiting is a very popular sport. The Spaniards do not confine the animal with a rope, but turn him loose into a large arena, 10 1 SATUUAL HISTORT. where several men, armed with spears and darts, first goad him into madness, and then slaughter him. The death of the bull is, however, considered as a compliment due to the valour and endurance of the animal ; for if a bull is soon overcome, or refuses to attack his oppo- nents, he is driven out of the arena amid the hisses of the spectators, and suffered to prolong an ignominious existence. Every part of the Ox is of value. We eat his flesh, we wear shoes soled with his skin, our candles are made from his fat, our tables are joined with glue made from his hoofs, his hair is mixed with the mortar of our walls, his horns are made into combs, knife handles, drinking cups, &c., his bones are used as a cheap substitute for ivory, and the fragments ground and scattered over the fields as manure and soup is made from his tail. The young ox is called a calf, and is quite as useful in its way as the full-grown ox. The flesh is called veal, and by many preferred to the flesh of the ox or cow, which is called beef: jelly is made from its feet. The stomach is salted and dried, and is called rennet. Cheese is made by soaking a piece of rennet in water, and pouring it into a vessel of milk. The milk soon forms a curd, which is placed in a press, and the watery substance, called whey, squeezed from it. The curd is coloured and salted, and is then cheese. When a number of cows are kept in the same yard, the oldest cow always takes precedence, and pushes the others with her horns if they interfere with lid.-. She chooses her own rack, and if she sees another raJc. better furnished, she dispossesses the original proprietor, and witli an air of ridiculous complacency appropriates it to herself. None of the junior cows attempt to leave the yard or enter it until she has preceded them ; and so jealous is she of her authority, that if any enter before her she refuses to move until they have been turned out. She then looks round in a dignified manner, and marches in, followed by the rest of the troop. At Chillingham Park there is a breed of wild cattle, apparently the descendants of the original race that overran England in former years. They still retain their wild habits, and when any of them must be killed, thirty or forty men go out armed with rifles. A keeper mounted on a swift uorse separates the victim from the herd, and drives it by the concealed marksmen, who speedily lay it prostrate. The colour of the Chillingham breed is always white with dark red ears. The ZEBU or BRAUMIN BULL is a native of India. It is a very conspicuous animal on account of the hump on its shoulders. There are different breeds of it, some larger than the English cattle, and some hardly larger than an ordinary hog. The Hindoos treat it with great reverence, and will not suffer it to be molested. It is in consequence so tame and familiar that it will often walk down the streets, examine the uo('8, and perhaps help itself to some sweetmeats ; or it will lie down in NATURAL HISTORY. the narrow street; but no one must disturb it, they must either proceed by another road, or wait until the sacred animal is pleased to rise. With singular inconsistency, the Hindoo, although he honours the hull with such absurd reverence, yet lias no pity on the ox. While the Indtcus (Lat. Indian), the Zebu. consecrated bull wanders -with impunity through the streets, walks into shops, (cnina shops or otherwise,) and resents with a peevish push of its horns the slightest affront, the ox is fastened to the plough, urged on by the goad, and put to every kind of labour. The Zebu-cow, although not quite so well treated as the bull, yet enjoys more forbearance than the ox. The ASIATIC BUFFALO is a large and powerful animal with enormous horns. It closely resembles the domestic ox, but is larger and stronger. Its strength is so great that it is a formidable enemy even to the tiger. Captain Basil Hall gives an account of a battle between a buffalo and a tiger. The tiger, however, seemed to have been alarmed at the very unusual scene into which he had been transferred; but the readiness of the buffalo to attack, proves that it did not fear the tiger. " We were promised a grand day's sport one afternoon, when a buffalo and a tiger were to be pitted against each other. The buffalo entered the ring composedly enough ; but after looking about him, turned to one side, and rather pettishly, as if he had felt a little bilious, overturned a vessel of water placed there expressly for his use. The tiger refused for a long time to make his appearance, and it was not till his den was filled with smoke and fire that lie sprang out. The buffi'n charged his 106 NATURAL HISTORY. enemy in a moment, and by one furious push capsized him right over To our great disappointment, the tiger pocketed this insult in the shab- biest manner imaginable, and passing on, leaped furiously at the ropes, v/ith which his feet became entangled, so that the buffalo was enabled to punish his antagonist abo.ut the rump most ingloriously. When at length the tiger got loose, he slunk off to a distant part of the area, lay down, and pretended to be dead. The boys, however, soon put him up again, and tried to bring him to the scratch with squibs and crackers, and a couple of dozen dogs being introduced at the same moment, they all set at him, but only one ventured to take any liberty with the enraged BUBALUS. (Gr. Buv8a\os, a Buffalo.) BuffClus (Latinised corruption of Bou/3oAos), the Buffalo. animal This bold dog actually caught the tiger by the tail, but a slight pat of the mighty monster's paw crushed the yelping cur as flat as a board. The buffalo, who really appeared anxious to have a fair stand-up fight, now drove the dogs off, and repeatedly poked the tiger with his nose, and even turned him half over several times with his horns. " We had then a fight between two buffaloes, which ran their heads against each other with a crash that one could fancy shook the palace to its very foundation ; indeed, the only wonder was how both animals did not fall down dead with their skulls fractured. But there appears to be a wonderful degree of thickness or hardness in this part of the animal." The Buffalo has long been domesticated in India, and from its great strength is exceedingly useful. In its wild state it is always found in marshy grounds, where the air is sufficiently pestilential to destroy moat NATURAL HISTORY. 107 animals. There it will luxuriate through the hottest part of the day, with its entire body immersed in the muddy water, only leaving its muzzle above the surface. The hide of this animal is particularly thick and strong, and is in great request for making harness. The CAVE BUFFALO is a native of Southern Africa. It is exceedingly ferocious and cunning, often lurking among the trees until an unsus- pecting traveller approaches, and then rushing on him and destroying him. The ferocious creature is not content with killing his victim, but Caffer, the Cape Buffalo. stands over him mangling him with its horns, and stamping on him with its feet. Gumming shot several of these animals, and once or twice had narrow escapes from them, 'as they are difficult to kill. His description of their aspect is very good, and I cannot do better than give it in his own words: "Their horns reminded me of the rugged trunk of an oak-tree. Each horn was upwards of a foot in breadth at the base, and together they effectually protected the skull with a massive and impenetrable shield. The horns, descending and spreading out horizontally, com- pletely overshadow the animal's eyes, imparting to him a look the most ferocious and sinister that can be imagined." The BISON inhabits the plains or prairies of North America in count- less multitudes. Its enormous and heavy mane, its fierce eyes and lowering appearance, give this animal a most terrific aspect. The I OS NATURAL HISTORY. American Indians constantly hunt the Bison, which they call by the name of Buffalo. Their weapons are principally bows and arrows, ap- parently weak and small, but which, when wielded by a skilful band will strike the huge bison to the heart. In Catlin's account of his vvavels among the North American Indians are many most interesting accounts of " buffalo hunts." Mounted on a swift horse, and armed with a spear and bow and arrows, the Indians kill great numbers of these animals. They ride up close to the bison, and with the greatest apparent ease bury an arrow up to its feather in the creature's body. Indeed many instances are known where the slight Indian bow, drawn BISON. (Gr. P'urcai', a Bvffnlo.} Americanus (Lat. American), the Bison. without any perceptible effort, has thrown the arrow completely through tne body of the huge animal. There are many modes of destroying this nnimal in vogue among the Indians and white settlers. The skin is so valuable that every exertion is made to procure it. Of the buffalo's hide they make their wigwams or tents, their shields, their robes, their shoes, &c. The Indians can also sell the hides to the traders for a considerable sum, so ihat an Indian can almost measure his importance and wealth by the number of hides that he takes. The hunter? take advantage of the gregarious instincts of this animal, and hunt them when they are collected together in their vast herds, which blacken the face of the prairie for miles. Sometimes they form NATURAL HISTORY. 109 in line, and drive the herd to the edge of some tall cliff, over which they fall in hundreds, those behind pushing on those in the van ; or sometimes they form a large circle, driving the animals into a helpless and leaderlcss mass, into which the hunters spring, leaving their horses, and treading with the skill of rope-dancers on the backs of the bewildered bisons, Whom they slaughter as they pass, stepping from one to the other, and driving the sharp blade of their spear through the spine of the animal whose back they have just quitted. When only wounded the Bison is a most dangerous antagonist, and rushes on its enemy with the most determined ferocity. Richardson gives the following instance of its fury when wounded : " Mr. Finnan M 'Donald, one of the Hudson's Bay Company's clerks, was descending the Saskatchewan in a boat, and one evening, having pitched his tent for the night, he went out in the dusk to look for game. It had become nearly dark, when he fired at a bison bull, which was galloping over a small eminence, and as he was hastening forward to see if his shot had taken effect, the wounded beast made a rush at him. He had the presence of mind to seize the animal by the long hair on its forehead as it struck him on the side with its horn, and being a remark- ably tall and powerful man, a struggle ensued, which continued until his wrist was severely sprained, and his arm was rendered powerless; he then fell, and after receiving two or three blows became senseless. Shortly afterwards he was found by his companions lying bathed in blood, being gored in several places, and the bison was couched beside him, apparently waiting to renew the attacK nad he shown any signs of life." Despite the wholesale slaughter of this animal which is carried on annually by the Indians, there seems to be no decrease in their numbers. They are more wary than before, and have withdrawn themselves into more distant lands, but their dark masses still crown the plain as of yore, although it is now impossible to judge as men could do in former days of the various migrations which the herds would make. The dreaded fire- arms have had their effect on the bison as on every other animal, and it withdraws as far as possible from the haunts of civilized man. The improvidence of the Indians is much to be regretted. Myriads of these animals are slaughtered every year, merely for the sake of their skin, their " hump," or their marrow-bones, the remainder of the animal being left to the wolves and the birds. The principal use of the flesh of the bison is to make "jerked meat '* of it. This is made by cutting the meat into long narrow slips, and drying them in the sun. There is a peculiar art in the cutting these slips. The operator takes a large lump of the flesh, and holding his knife firmly in one hand, presses the meat against its edge with the other, continually turning it round and round, until the whole piece is converted into one long strip. The strips thus prepared are pegged out on stays, as washerwomen peg their clothes, or suspended in festoons on the branches of trees, like red snakes, until they are dry enough to be packed 110 NATURAL HISTORY. up. Three days is considered sufficient for the purpose. The cow is preferred to the bull for conversion into jerked meat, while the skin of the Dull is more valuable than that of the cow, from the mass of woolly hair about the shoulders. Mantles to keep travellers warm during the winter time, when sleighs are in the ascendant, are made from the hide of the bison. The strength and weight of the bison is enormous, and as it is a fierce as well as a powerful animal, it may seem singular that it should be so easily killed. The explanation of this question will be found in the structure of the animal. It will be seen from the engraving on p. 108, that the bison holds its head low, and cannot see much higher than the legs of a horse without exertion. In consequence, when enraged, it charges in a direct line, and thus the trained horses of the Indian hunters turn aside from its course, and contrive to place themselves close along- side the furious animal, sheering off with admirable dexterity as soon as the deadly arrow has sped from their masters' hands. Indeed a well-trained horse will unhesitatingly dash in among a whole herd of bisons, threading its way among them unscathed. The flesh of the Bison is tolerable eating, but the " hump " appears from all accounts to be unapproachable in delicacy. It is exceedingly tender, and possesses the property of not cloying even when eaten in PoEPHXous. (Gr. nJij, grass ; dxiyu, I eat.) Grunnlens (Lat. grunting), the Tdc.* excess The fat also is said to be devoid of that sickening richness whict is usually met with in our domesticated animals. The cow is smafler than the bull, and considerably swifter. She is also S-e page 1 1! NATURAL HISTORY. Ill generally in better condition and fatter than her mate, and in consequence the bunters who go to "get meat," always select the cows from the herd. The YAK inhabits Tartary. Of this animal in a native state little or nothing is known. The name of " grunniens," or grunting, is derived fi om the peculiar sound that it utters. The tail of the Yak is very long and fine, and is used in India as a fan or whisk to keep off the mosquitos. The tail is fixed into an ivory or metal handle, and is then called a chowrie. Elephants are sometimes taught to carry a chowrie, and wave it about in the air above the heads of those who ride on its back. In Turkey, the tail is called a "horse-tail," and is used as an emblem ol dignity. From the shoulders of the Yak a mass of long hair falls almost to the ground, something like the mane of a Lion. This hair is applied to various purposes by the Tartars. They weave it into cloth, of which they not only make articles of dress, but also tents, and even the ropes which sustain the tents. The MUSK Ox is a native of North America, and is not very unlike the Yak in appearance. It is covered with very long hair, which readies almost to the ground. Its flesh is tolerably good when fat, but at other times it smells strong- , T , , > ly of musk. The OviBos._(Lat. Sh.eep.Qx.} horns of this animal are united together at their base, forming a kind of shield or helmet covering the forehead. When the hunters wish to shoot the Musk Ox they conceal themselves, and fire without per- mitting the oxen to see them. The poor animals seem to fancy that the report of the guns is thunder, and crowd together in a mass, so that they afford a good mark. If, however, they catch sight of one of their assailanis, they instantly charge at him, and then are very dangerous enemies. Both this animal and the Yak are small, scarcely equalling in size the small Highland cattle, but the thick hair which covers them makes them look larger than they really are. Moschatus (Lat. musky), the Musk Ox. 112 NATURAL HISTORY. The GNOO, or WILDEBEEST, inhabits Southern jLfnca. At first sight it is difficult to say whether the horse, buffalo, or deer predominates in its form. It however belongs to neither of these animals, but is one o( the bovine Antelopes. The horns cover the top of the forehead, and then, sweeping downwards over the face, turn, boldly upwards with a sharp curve. The neck is furnished with a mane like that of the horse, and the legs are formed like those of the stag. It is a very swift animal, and when provoked, very dangerous. When it attacks an oppo- nent it drops on its knees, and then springs forward with such force that, unless he is extremely wary and active, he cannot avoid its shock. When first alarmed, its movements are very grotesque, and are thus described by Gumming : " When the hunter approaches the old bulls, they commence whisking their long white tails in a most eccentric manner ; then springing sud- denly into the air, they begin prancing and capering, and pursue each other in circles at their utmost speed. Suddenly they all pull up toge- ther, to overhaul the intruder, when two of the bulls will often commence fighting in the most violent manner, dropping on their knees at every shock; then quickly wheeling about, they kick up their heels, whirl their CATOBLEPAS. (Qr. Karc<>/3Ag7ra>j', looking down.) Gnu (Native name), the. Gnoo. tails with a fantas- tic flourish, and scour across the plain enveloped in a cloud of dust." When it is taken young, the Gnu can be domestica- ted, and brought up with other cat- tle, but it will not bear confinement, .and is liable to be- come savage under restraint. There are several species of this ani- mal, three being satisfactorily as certained, namely, the common Gnoo, represented in the accompanying engraving, the Cocoon, (CatoblSpas Taurlna,) and the Brindled Gnoo (CatoblSpaa Gorgon), as a specimen, all three animals being in the British Museum. The size of the Gnoo is about that of a well-grown ass, that is, about four feet in height. Its flesh is in great repute both among the natives %ud colonists. NATURAL HISTORY. The NYLGUAU, cue of the largest and most magnificent of the Ante- iopes, inhabits the forests of India. It is extremely vicious, and cannot he approached without danger. Its method of attack is similar to that of the Gnoo, namely, by dropping upon its knees and then springing violently PORTAX. (Gr. UJprat, a Calf.) Picta (Lat. painted) the Nylghau. forward. The tiger is its great enemy, and often destroys it in spite ot its courage. During the day the Nylghau conceals itself in the forests, and at night leaves its coverts to feed, often doing no inconsiderable harm to adjacent cultivated lands. The colour of this creature is a slaty blue; it has however several white spots, and from its throat and shoulders hangs a dense buncli of hair. It is about the same size as the gnoo, standing about four feet high at the shoulder. The KOODOO* is a native of South Africa, living along the wooded borders of rivers. It is chiefly remarkable for its beautifully shaped horns, which are about four feet in length and twisted into a large spiral of about two turns and a half. A bold ridge runs along the horns and follows their curvature. When hard pressed it always takes to the water, and endeavours to escape by its powers of swimming. Although a large animal, nearly four feet in height, it can leap with wonderful activity. The weight of the horns is very considerable, and partly to relieve itself of that weight, and partly to guard them from entangle- ment in the bushes among which it lives and on which it feeds, it carries Us head backwards, so that the horns rest on its shoulders. See page 114. I NATURAL IIISTOHY. The best and fullest accounts of the ELAXD* aud the OKYX are to be found in Harris and Gumming' s Adventures in South Africa. An extract from Gumming will be both interesting and accurate. Of the Eland, he writes : "This magnificent animal is by far the largest of all the antelope v tribe, exceeding a STRKPSICEROB. (Gr. Srpe^i s, a twisting ; epar, a horn.) [ arge ox i u s j ze> J[ also attains an ex- traordinary condi- tion, being often burthened with ft very large amount of fat. Its flesh is most excellent, and is justly esteemed a- bove all others. It has a peculiar sweet- ness, and is tender and fit for use the moment the animal is killed. Like the j^emsbok, the Eland is independent of water. It is general- ly diffused through- out all the wooded districts of the in- terior where I have hunted. Like other varieties of deer and antelope, the old males may often be found consorting to Kudu, (native name) the Koodoo. Aether apart from the females, and a troop of these, when in full con- dition, may be likened to a herd of stall-fed oxen. " I have repeatedly seen an eland drop down dead at the end of a severe chase, owing to his plethoric habit. The skin of the eland I had just shot emitted, like most other antelopes, the most delicious perfume of trees and grass." The height of the eland is fully five feet at the shoulders, and it* weight from seven to nine hundredweight. The horns ol the irale are about a foot and a half in length, while those of the female are smallc *. and sometimes without the spiral wreathing. The ORYX, also a South African animal, is well known among huntc " See page 115. NATURAL HISTORY tU>8ELXi>HUs. -(Or. Ox-stay.) llf. Oreas (Gr. 'Optias, belonging to the mountains), the Eland. as the mly antelope that revenges itself on the lion. When it sees the lion in the act of springing on it, it lowers its head, receiving the lion on the points of its sharp horns. It invariably perishes by the shock, but the lion also perishes with it. Their skeletons have more than once been seen lying together bleached on the plain. The description given of this animal by Gumming is highly graphic. " The oryx, or gems- bok, to which I was now about to direct my attention more particu- larly, is about the most beautiful and remarkable of all the antelope tribe. It is the animal which is supposed to have given rise to the fable of the unicorn, from its long straight horns, when seen in profile, so exactly covering one another as to give it the appearance of having but one. It possesses the erect mane, long sweeping black tail, and general appearance of the horse, with the head and hoofs of an antelope. It is robust in its form, squarely and compactly built, and very noble in its bearing. Its height is about that of an ass, and in colour it slightly resembles that animal. The beautiful black bands which eccentrically adorn its head, giving it the appearance of wearing a stall collar, together with the manner in which the rump and thighs are painted, impart to it a character peculiar to itself. The adult male measures 3 feet. 10 inches in height at the shoulder." The sharp horns of the oryx stand it in good stead, when pursued by 116 NATURAL HISTORY. OSYX. (Or. "Qpv, a word from HerodotuB, denoting a gazelle.) dogs, as it general!) kills several of them before it is van- quished, and if the hunter's rifle is not at hand, drives off the dogs and escapes. The SPRINGBOK, is one of the smaller South African ante- lopes. Its colour is a light cinnamon red on the back, fading into white on the under part of the body, a narrow band of red- -|p^\ dish brown separating ^gfs the two colours. For a description of the habits of the animal, I must again refer the reader to Gumming. During his early travels iu South Africa, the first object that met his eyss on waking one morning, was a herd of Springboks, which he thus describes : " On the 28th I had the satisfaction of beholding, for the first time, what I had often heard the Boers allude to, viz. a " trek-bokken," or grand migration of springboks. This was, I think, the most extraordinary and striking scene, as connected with beasts of the chase, that I have ever beheld. Tor about two hours before the day dawned I had been lying awake in my waggon, listening to the grunting of the bucks within two hundred yards of me, imagining that some large herd of springboks was feeding beside my camp ; but on my rising when it was clear, and looking about me, I beheld the ground to the northward of my camp actually covered with a dense living mass of springboks, marching slowly and steadily along, extending from an opening in a long range of hills on the west, through which they continued pouring, like the flood of some great river, to a ridge about a mile to the north-east, over which they disappeared. The breadth of the ground they covered might have been somewhere about half a mile. I stood upon the fore-chest of my waggon for nearly two hours, lost iu wonder at the novel and wonderful scene which was passing before me, and had some difficulty in convincinc LeucQryx (Gr. the white Oryx), the Oryx. NATURAL HIHTOKY. 117 myself that it was reality which I beheld, and not the wild and ex- aggerated picture of a hunter's dream. During this time their vast legions continued Streaming through GAZELLA. (Arabic, Gbazil, light or elegant.) the neck in the hills in one unbroken compact phalanx. "Vast and sur- prising as was the herd of springboks which I had that morning witnessed, it was infinitely sur- passed by what ] beheld on the march from my vley to old S weir's camp; for on our clearing the low range of hills through which the springboks had been pouring I beheld EuoUure v- 11 '- Lt/ > well i XPs, uauce), tlte byruiybok. the boundless plains, and even the hill sides which stretched away OH every side of me, thickly covered, not with herds, but with one vast herd of springboks ; as far as the eye could strain the landscape was alive with them, until they softened down into a dim red mass of living creatures." The Springbok is very fearful of man, and if it has to cross a path over which a man has passed before, it does not walk over, but takes a tremendous leap, ten or twelve feet high, and about fifteen long, at the same time curving its back in a most extraordinary manner. It is from this habit of leaping that the Dutch Boers who inhabit the Cape have given it the name of Springbok. The GAZELLE, so famous in Oriental poetry, inhabits Arabia and Syria. Its eyes are very large, dark and lustrous, so that the Oriental poets love to compare the eyes of a woman to those of a gazelle, just as Homer constantly applied the epithet ox-eyed f/3ow;rtf) to the more majestic goddesses, such as Juno and Minerva. It is easily tamed when young, and is frequently seen domesticated in the courtyards of houses in Syria. Its swiftness is so great that even a greyhound cannot over- take it, and the hunters are forced to make use of hawks, which are trained to strike at the head of the gazelle, and thus confuse it, ar.d retard its speed, so as to permit the clogs to come up. In several parts of Syria, the gazelle is taken by driving a herd into a large enclosure surrounded by a deep ditch. A few gaps are made, through which the terrified animals leap, and fall into the ditch, when they are easily taken. NATURAL GAZKLL/W The height of the ga- zelle is about one foot nine inches ; its. colour a dark yellowish brown lading into white on the under parts. The CHAMOIS is found only in moun- tainous regions, espe- .cially the Alpine chains of Europe and Western Asia. Jt lives on the loftiest ridges, display- ing wonderful activity, and leaping with cer- tainty and security on places where the eye can hardly discern room Ariel (Gr. proper name), the Gazette. for j ts fcet- The Cha- mois hunters are exposed to the most frightful dangers, to the chance of falling from terrific precipices, to hunger and cold, and every imagin- able hardship that days spent among Alpine precipices can suggest. Yet a kind of fascination urges them on, al- though fewChamois hunters finally es- cape the dangers that surround them. The skin of the Chamois is used ex- tensively by shoe- makers. Several genera are omitted. RUPICAPRA. (Lat. Rock-goat.) Tragus (Qr. Taayos, a He-goat;, the Chamois The IBEX inhab- its the Alpine re- gions of Europe and Western Asia. It is instantly recognised by its magnificent horns, which curve with a bold sweep from the head almost to the haunches. The horns are sur- rounded at regular intervals with rings, and arc immensely strong, NATURAL niSTORT. 119 serving, as some say, to break the fall of the Ibex when it make." a from a height. When chased it is a dan- gerous animal, as after it has led its pursuer over danger- ous heights and fearful chasms, it will frequently turn on him, and unless he can shoot it before it reaches him, will hurl him over the precipice. It is very wary, ind, like many other animals, fosts a sentry to keep watch, *vho, when he sees a sus- picious object, gives notice oy a kind of whistle, as a warning, on hearing which the whole of the herd in- stantly dash off to the high- est point they can find. The height of the Ibex is two feet six inches; the length of its horns often three feet. CAFRA. (Lat. a Ibex, the Ibex, or Steinbok. Hircus (Lat. a He goat), fa Goat, The common GOAT is not in much request in England, but in somf 120 NATURAL HiSTOUT. other .countries, as Syria and Switzerland, large herds of goats are kepi for the sake of their milk, and in fact almost entirely take the place of the cow. The most celebrated variety of this animal is the Cashmir goat, which furnishes the beautifully fine wool from which the costly Caslimir shawls are made. The shawls bear a high value even in their own country, but in Europe the price is much increased by the various taxes which are paid in every stage of the manufacture, the average number of taxes paid on each shawl being about thirty, several of which are limited only by the pleasure of the collector. The SHEEP. There are many kinds of Sheep, among which the common sheep, the long-tailed sheep, and the Wallachian sheep are the most conspicuous. Next to the cow, the sheep is our most useful animal. England produces better wool than any country; for although the wool of the Spanish sheep is finer than ours, it is much less in quantity. /T . , x The Merino, Ovi8.-(Lat. a Sheep.) ' ed, is annually conducted from one part of the country to another, and back again. The distance tra- versed is upwards of four hundred miles, and the time necessary to com- plete the journey about six or seven weeks. The pro- prietors of the flocks think that these periodical journeys improve the wool; but it Artes (Lat a Ram.) {& ^ ^ probabilitv a mistaken notion, as the stationary flocks of Leou and Estremadura produce quite as fine a fleece. Of course such a body of sheep nearly six millions do great damage to the lands over which they pass, and many fall victims to fatigue or are destroyed by wolves. The long-tailed sheep inhabits Syria and Egypt. Its tail is so large and so loaded with fat, that to prevent it from being injured by dragging on the ground, a board is fastened to the under side of it, and wheels are often attached to the board. The peculiar fat of the tail is con- sidered a great delicacy, and is so soft as to be frequently used as butter. The weight of a large tail is about seventy pounds. NATURAL HISTORY. 121 Sub-family b. Camelopardma. -(Gr. Ka/iTjAos, a camel ; irdp5a\ts, a pard.) The Wallacliiaiior Cretan sheep is found in Crete, Wallacliia, Hungary, and Western Asia. Its horns are exceedingly large, and are twisted in a manner resembling those of the Koodoo. It is very strong, and extremely vicious and unruly. In this and several other sheep the fleece is composed of wool and hair mixed. The hair of the Wallachiau sheep is long and silky like that of a spaniel, and of great length, falling almost to the ground. The GIRAFFE. This beautiful and extraordinary animal is found only in South Africa. As the gnoo seems to combine the properties of the antelope, horse, and buffalo, so the Gi- raffe appears to bear CAMELOPARDALIS.- the characteristics of the antelope and the camel. In the opinion of modern naturalists, it holds a place by itself between the deer and antelopes ; it forms, at all events, a group to which no other animals be- long. The height of the Giraffe varies from thirteen to eighteen feet. Its beautiful long neck enables it to browse on the leaves of the trees on which it feeds. It is very dainty while feeding, and plucks theleaves one by one with its long and flexible tongue. On its head are two very remarkable projections, closely resembling horns. These projections are not horns, but only thickenings of the bone of the skull, covered with skin, and bearing a tuft of black hair at the, extremity of each. The fore legs at first sight appeal longer than the hind ones, but this apparent difference is only caused by the great length of the shoulder-blades, as both pair of legs are of the same length at their junction with the body. Its eyes are very large and prominent, so that the animal can see on Giraffa (Arabic, Zarapha), tJte Giraffe. UI L OF THE GIRAFFE 122 NATURAL HISTOUY. every side wiiiiouo turning its head. Just over and between the eyes is a third bony prominence, resembling the projecting enlargements of the ?kull, called horns. The use oi these projections is not very well known, as although in play the Giraffe will swing its head round and strike with it, yet when it wishes to repel an assailant it has recourse to violent and rapid kicks from its hind legs. So light and swift are these kicks that die eye can scarcely follow them, and so powerful are they that the lion is not un frequently driven off by them. Vaillant relates that a Giraffe which he was hunting, kept off his pack of dogs by its rapid kicks. Indeed, it it were to venture its head too near the lion, a blow from his tremendous paw would in all probability lay the animal prostrate. The skin of this animal is an inch and a half in thickness, so that it is necessary for the hunter to make very sure of his aim before he fires at an animal so well defended. The Giraffe has much difficulty in reaching the ground with its mouth, nor does it often attempt to do so. unless it is bribed with some- thing of which it is very fond, such as a lump of sugar. It then straddles widely with its fore ^ e S s > anii ^^ some trouble succeeds in reaching the object aimed at. This attitude was noticed and copied in the Prsenestine pavement. The appearance of this animal in its native haunts is very magnificent. " These gigantic and exquisitely beautiful animals, which are admirably formed by nature to adorn the forests that clothe the boundless plains of the interior, are widely distributed throughout the interior of Southern Africa, but are nowhere to be met with in great numbers. In countries unmolested by the intrusive foot of man, the Giraffe is found generally in herds varying from twelve to sixteen ; but I have not unfrequently met with herds containing thirty individuals, and on one occasion I counted forty together ; this, however, was owing to chance, and about sixteen may be reckoned as the average number of a herd. These herds are com- posed of Giraffes of various sizes, from the young Giraffe of nine or ten feet in height, to the dark chestnut coloured old bull of the herd, whose exalted head towers above his companions, generally attaining to a height of upwards of eighteen feet. The females are of- lower stature, and more delicately formed than the males, their height averaging from sixteen to seventeen feet. Some writers have discovered ugliness and a want of grace in the Giraffe, but I consider that he is one of the most strikingly beautiful animals in the creation ; and when a herd of them is seen scattered tnrough a grove of the picturesque parasol-topped acacias which adorn their native plains, and on whose uppermost shoots they are enabled to browse by the colossal height with which nature has so admirably endowed them, he must, indeed, be slow of conception who fail? to discover both gracs and dignity in all their movements. There NATURAL HISTOttY. 123 can be no doubt that every animal is seen to the greatest advaiiage in the haunts which nature destined him to adorn, and among the various living creatures which beautify creation, I have often traced a remark- able resemblance between the animal and the general appearance of the locality in which it is found. " In the case of the Giraffe, which is invariably met witli among vene- rable forests, where innumerable blasted and weather-beaten trunks and stems occur, I have repeatedly been in doubt as to the presence of them, until I had recourse to my spy-glass ; and on referring the case to my savage attendants I have known even their optics to fail, at one time mistaking these dilapidated trunks for camelopards, and again confounding real camelopards with these aged veterans of the forest."* The first living Giraffes, in the possession of the Zoological Society, were brought by M. Thibaut in 1835. He succeeded in taking four, all of which he brought with him. One of them is still living. Prom this stock, several Giraffes have been born, some of which are now in England, and others have been sent to other countries. One of the four originals killed himself soon after his arrival, by striking his head against a wall as he was rising from the ground. An accident of the same nature happened recently to another animal, one of its horns being broken off, and bent backwards; but owing to the presence of mind of the keeper, who immediately pulled the horn into its place again, no bad results followed, the fractured parts uniting naturally. The tongue of the Giraffe is one of the most remarkable parts of its structure. It is very flexible and capable of great changes of form, the Giraffe being able to contract it so that its tip could enter an ordinary qirill. The animal is very fond of exercising its tongue, and sometimes pulls the hairs from its companions' manes and tails, and swallows them; no very easy feat, as the hair of the tail is often more than four feet long. The movements of the Giraffe are very peculiar, the limbs of each side appearing to act together. It is very swift, and can outrun a horse, especially if it can get among broken" ground and rocks, over which it leaps with a succession of frog-like hops. In this country it endures the climate well. The Giraffes in the Zoological Gardens which were born and bred in this country seem very healthy and are exceedingly tame, examining the hands of their visitors, and following them round the enclosure. They eat herbs, such as grass, hay, carrots, and onions. When cut grass is given to them, they eat off the upper parts and leave the coarse stems, just as we eat asparagus. The CAMEL. There is much confusion about the names of the Camels. The BACTRIAN CAMEL is distinguished by bearing *wo humps on -t,s back, the ARABIAN CAMEL by bearing only one. The ArahUu ew>o) * Cumruing's Adventures, vol. i. pp. 269, 270. 124 NATURAL HISTOUT. is sometimes, but erroneously, called the Dromedary, as the Dromedary, or El-Heirie, is a lighter variety of that animal, and only used wheu despatch is required. The Camel forms the principal wealth of the Arab ; without it he could never attempt to penetrate the vast deserts where it lives, as its remark- able power of drinking at one draught sufficient water to serve it for Sub-family c. Camdina. CAMELUS. (Gr. KdprjXos, a Camel.) Arabicus (Lat. Arabian), the Camel. several days, enables it to march from station to station without requiring to drink by the way. The peculiar structure of its stomach gives it this most useful power. In its stomach are a great number of deep cells, into which the water passes, and is then prevented from escaping by a muscle which closes the mouth of the cells. When the Camel feels thirsty, it has the power of casting some of the water contained iu these cells into its mouth. The habits of this animal are very interesting. A recent traveller, the liev. J. H. Pollen, most kindly forwarded to me the follow- ing interesting and amusing account of the habits of the Camel : " My principal experience in camels has been during my travels through the Arabian desert. I followed, after some interval of time, the route of the Hajji the Mecca pilgrimage. " The temper of the Camel is in general not very amiable. It is un- .vil'ing, jealous, and revengeful to the last degree. Of this latter quality NATURAL HISTORY. 12/5 curious tales are told : one, which was fully believed by the Aiab that narrated it to me, was as follows. A certain camel driver had bitterly insulted (i.e. thrashed in some ignominious way,) the animal under his charge. The camel showed no disposition to resent, but the driver, knowing from the expression of its eye what was passing within, kept on the alert for several days. One night he had retired for safety inside his tent, leaving his striped abbaya or cloak spread over the wooden saddle of the camel outside the tent. "During the night he heard the camel approach the object, and after satisfying Iiimself by smell or otherwise that it was his master's cloak, and believing that the said master was asleep beneath it, he lay down and rolled backwards and forwards over the cloak, evidently much gratified by the cracking and smashing of the saddle under his weight, and fully persuaded that the bones of his master were broken to pieces. After a time he rose, contemplated with great contentment the disordered mass, still covered by the cloak, and retired. "Next morning, at the usual hour. for loading, the master, who had from the interior of his tent heard this agreeable process going on, pre- sented himself to the camel. The disappointed animal was in such a rage, said my informant, on seeing his master safe before him, that he broke his heart, and died on the spot. " I had once to cross a very high range of rocks, and we had very great difficulty in getting our camels to face the steeper part of the ascent, though any horse would have made very light of it. All the riders had to dismount, and the laden animals made the bare rocky solitudes ring to the continual and most savage growls with which they vented their dis- pleasure. It is well on these occasions to keep out of reach of their long necks, which they stretch out and bring their teeth within dangerous proximity to the arm or side of any one but their master. "While being laden they testify their dislike to any packet which looks unsatisfactory in point of size or weight as it is carried past them, although when it is once on their backs they continue to bear it with the patient expression of countenance which I fear passes for more than it is worth. All camels are loaded kneeling, and can go from twenty-four to sixty hours without rest, or more than a few mouthfuls of food, which they can crop off a thorny bush as they pass, or a handful of barley given them by their master. Parts of the desert are strewn with small, dry, drab- coloured plants, thorny and otherwise, which the camels continue to crop as they walk, jerking the rider not a little. " They are very sparing of drinking. I have taken camels for eleven or twelve days without a drop of water. All of them did not drink ever, when we came to water, nor did any drink a large quantity, or seem disturbed by the want of it, although the sun was very powerful, and we travelled twelve or thirteen hours daily. " At first they are difficult to ride. The rider mounts while the animaj is kneeling, and sks like a lady, with the right leg round the fore pommel I 20 NATURAL HISTORY. of the saddle, lu rising, the Camel suddenly straightens its hind legs before moving either of the fore legs, so that if the rider is unprepared, he will be jerked over its ears. It moves the legs of each side alternately, occasioning a long undulating motion, which sways the rider to and fro from the loins. The motion, however, is soon learned, and when fatigued, the rider can change sides, or shift his posture in various ways. " Sometimes a traveller places his whole family, wife and children, in one pannier fastened to the saddle, puts himself in another pannier Bactrianus (Lat. Bactrian), the Bactrian Camel. fastened on the opposite side, and then falls in with a caravan and accompanies it. " DKOJIEDAMES the finer and better bred Camels have sparer frames and more endurance, and are principally led by the Bedouins of the deser'. They also object either to going up or down a hill. " They are fond of kneeling at night just behind the ring of Arabs who squat round the fire, and they stretch their heads over their masters' shoulders to snuff up the heat and smoke, which seems to content them vastly. " Between Cairo and Suez I saw more than one camel dead or dying. They seem very tenacious of life, as they remain unable to rise from a broken limb or other cause for very many days. 1 more than once NATURAL HISTORY. 1 C7 wished to go up and shoot the poor creatures to put them out ot their misery, but the Arabs have superstitious notions on this point, and would not suffer it. I did once find a camel that had been stabbed by its master, and once only. The poor beast had been exhausted, and the long, broad dagger struck into his heart. It must have been a very short time before I reached the spot, as the blood was almost fresh. " The Camels at Grand Cairo are remarkably large and pov erful, and my informant told me that they are very proud, and will only eat tueir food from their master's hand preferring to starve rather than receive It from any other source." The foot of the Camel is admirably adapted for walking on the loose sand, being composed of large elastic pads, which spread as the foot is placed on the ground. To guard it from injury when it kneels down to be loaded, the parts of its body on which its weight rests are defended by thick callosities. The largest of these callosities is on the chest, the others are placed on the joints of the legs. The Bactrian Camel inhabits Central Asia, Thibet and China. It is distinguished from the Arabian camel by possessing two humps. LLAMA. (Peruvian name.) Pacos (Peruvian \.ame), the Llama. The LLAMAS, of which there are several species, inhabit Amenca, and are used for the same purposes as the camel. When wild they are very timid, and fly from a pursuer the moment that they see him ; but their curiosity is so great that the hunter often secures them by lying on the ground and throwing his legs and arms about. The Llamas come to see what the extraordinary animal can be, and give the hunter an oppor- 123 NATURAL HISTORY. t unity of firing several shots, which the astonished animals consider ai part of the performance. The Llamas, like the camels, have a series of cells in the stomach for containing water, and can go for several days without requiring to drink. If too heavily laden, or when they are weary, they lie down, and no threats or punishment will induce them to rise, so that their masters are forced to unload them. When offended they have a very unpleasant habit of spitting at the object of their auger. Formerly it was supposed that their saliva was injurious, and produced blisters if it touched the skin. The fleece of the Llama is very long and fine, more resembling silk than wool. It is very valuable, and is extensively imported into this country for the purpose of making cloth and other fabrics. The fleece of the Alpaca is considered the best, as it is sometimes twelve inches in length, and very fine. In Chili and Peru the natives domesticate the Llama, which in a state of captivity frequently becomes,, white. It is by no means a large animal, as it measures about four feet six in height. In general shape it resembles the camel, but has no hump on its back, and its feet are provided with sharp hoofs for climbing the rocky hills among which it lives. In Peru, where it is most commonly found, there are public shambles established for the sale of its flesh. Sub-family d. MOSCIIOS. (Gr. MoscUna. Musk.) The MUSK-DEEB, inhabits many parts of India, and is famous for the scent which it produces. This scent, called Musk, is secreted in a kind of pouch, and is so very strong when recent) that the hunter, after killing the animal, is forced to bind his mouth and nos- trils with linen before he ventures to open the pouch, as the scent is so intolerably powerful that it causes violent bleeding MoschifSrua (Lat. musk-bearing), the Musk-deer. SKULL OF THE MUSK DEER. at the nose. When the merchants traflic for musk, they remain in the open air, holding a handkerchief over their faces, and even with these precautions it often causes headaches. The musk is never imported NATURAL HISTORY. 129 pure into this country, being always adulterated by the merchants. It is very costly, and forms an important, article of commerce in the East. The Musk-deer is about two feet in height at the shoulders. The male possesses two extraordinarily long teeth in the upper jaw, which project from the lips at each side of the mouth. The ROEBUCK was formerly common throughout the whole of England, but is now only found in Scot- Sul)-family e. Cervlna. land, north of the Forth. It is the smallest and most beautiful of our British deer. It is not at al'i adapted for confinement, as it is never induced to be familiar with its keeper, and will some- times attack any object which it dislikes with its horns and hoofs It does not live in herds like the Fallow-deer, but singlf, or in pairs, driving off its young when they are about nine or ten months old. It is very cunning, and, when hunted, sometimes baffles the dogs by making a few enor- mous leaps, waiting until the dogs have passed, and then re- turning on its previous traak. Its height is about two feet ; its horns are divided into three small branches, and are seldom more tiian a foot in length. CERVUS (Lat. a Stay). Capre51ua (Lat. a Wild Buck), the Roebuck. The RED-DEER, or STAG, is the largest of our deer. In the language, of hunters, it bears different names according to the size of its horns, which increase year by yetT. All the male deer have horns, which thej shed every year, and renevr again. The process of renewal is most inte- resting. A skin, filled witti arteries, covers the projections on which the horns rest. This skin, called the "velvet," is engaged in continually depositing bone Dn the footstalks, which rapidly increase in size. As the budding horns increase, the velvet increases also, and the course of the ar! cries is marked on the horn by lorg furrows, which are never ob- literated. When the horn has reached its full growth, it cannot be at once used, as the velvetis very tender,and would bleed profusely if wounded. The velvet cannot be suddenly removed, as the blood that formed the ar- teries would rush to the brain and destroy the animal. A ring of bone forms round the root of each horn, leaving passages through which the arteries pass. By degrees, these passages become narrow, and finally close 130 NATURAL HISTORY. entirely, thus gra- dually shutting ofl the blood. The vel- vet, being deprived of its nourishment dies and is peeled off by the deer, by rubbing against a tree, leaving the white hard horn beneath. Hunting the Stag is a very favourite amusement in this country, and packs of hounds, called stag- -. hounds, are kept ex- v press 1 " for that pur- pose. The WAPITI is one of the largest of the deer tribe, often growing to the height of our largest oxen. ,, a Stag), the Stag. Ifc , ^f^ 8 C f nada , and other parts of North America, and has been confounded with the Moose. Its horns are very large, measuring nearly six feet from tip to tip. The hunters are acquainted with its peculiarities, and chase it from their knowledge of its character. It is very fond of salt, and comes in great numbers to the saline marshes, for the purpose of licking the salt off the soil upon which it has settled. Such places are called " licks," and to them the hunters resort, lying in wait for the deer, who are sure to visit these places. It frequents the woods and copses, in which it lies so well concealed, that an inexperienced eye cannot perceive the animal even when it is pointed out to him, so well does its colour agree with the tints of the brush among which it hides. From the branching horns which it bears, one might suppose that it would find great difficulty in forcing its way through the woods; but, in fact, its horns are a defence instead of an incumbrance, and as it lays them flat on its back before plunging among the trees, they defend its back from the branches through which it forces its way. The skin of the Wapiti is very useful to the hunters, as they have i method of dressing it so that it does not become stiff and harsh after being wetted, but retains its original flexibility. This property makes it very valuable for hunting dresses, which are generally aaade of leather. NATURAL HISTORY. 131 It is very fierce, and boldly attacks an antagonist, especially if wounded. An example of its ferocity, when wounded, is given by Pal User in the follow- ing passage: "We CERVDS - were now about 150 yards from the nearest of the band. I chose a fine old stag, while Boucharville, with an eye to superior meat, singled out a doe. We drew up our rifles slowly, and both shots went off together. The smoke hung heavily for a second or two ; when it cleared away, we espied one of the Wapiti lying down : the next instant down rolled the stag also. We agreed to advance at the same moment, lest one or other of the animals should be able to get up and escape. On coming near my stag, he Cauadeusis (Lat. belonging to Canada), the Wapiti. struggled to rise, but unable to regain his feet, rolled back again. I looked towards the other, when what \vas my surprise at witnessing a regular combat between Boucharville and his wounded elk,* now transformed into a very formidable antagonist ! Springing on her haunches, she was striking furiously at him with her fore-feet ; one hoof missed him, but the other fell on his rifle, which he held up for his protection, and smashing^ both kis ramrod and his loading-stick, beat him down on his knees. Rising a second time, she was about to repeat the attack, when my ball caught her in the side of the head, behind the eye, and with a splendid bound she fell lifeless on the broad of her back. I had made a quick and necessarily a rather dangerous shot ; but I was in luck that day. ' Ah !' exclaimed Boucharville, as he half rose from the ground, but looking ai nothing till he had satisfied himself that his rifle was uninjured, ' Mais qui 1'aurait cru? Ma foi P continued he, 'j'ai bien e'chappe; une biche a une cote vi une balle a 1'autre !' " This animal is olten called an elk by the hunlrri K 2 132 NATURAL HISTORY. The Axis. This beautiful Deer is an inhabitant of India, especially of parts by the Ganges. It has frequently been domesticated in England, (Lat. the Axis Deer.) Maculata (Lat. spotted), the Axis. and thrives well even in open parks. The horns are slender, and are divided into three branches. Its usual colour is a fawn yellow, spotted regularly with white, and a black stripe runs down the back. The TALLOW-DEER are usually seen in parks, where they congregate in large herds, and form a most pleasing addition to the landscape when they are seen reposing under the trees, or chasing one another in graceful play. One peculiarly large buck always takes the lead, and suffers none but a few favourite does to approach his regai presence, all the other bucks running humbly away directly he makes his appearance. They are generally tame, and will suffer people to come very close to them ; but at certain times of the year they become savage, and will not permit any_ one to approach their domains. If an intruder is bold enough to venture within the proscribed distance, the buck will instantly charge upon him, and if he does not make his escape, will in &11 probability inflict considerable damage upon him. They soon HAIR OP DEF.R. NATURAL HISTOFY. 133 become familiar with those wlio treat them with kindness, and will eat ^rom their hands. At Magdalene College, Oxford, where there are some ji these deer, it used to be a common practice to let down a crust of DAMA. (Lnt. a Deer. Vulgaris (Lat. common), the Fallow-deer. bread by a string from one of the windows that overlooked the pane. The deer would speedily approach, and it was singular to see how they would take a large crust in their little mouths, and continue to bite it until they contrived to eat the whole of it without once letting it drop. The REINDEER is found throughout the Arctic regions of Europe, Asia, and America. The finest animals are those of Lapland and Spitz- bergen. The Laplander finds his chief wealth in the possession of the Reindeer, which not only serves him as a beast of burden, but furnishes bim also with food and clothing. A Laplander in good circumstance" possesses about three or four hundred deer, which enable him to live in comfort. The subsistence of one who only possesses one hundred is very precarious, and he who has only fifty, usually joins his animals with the herd of some richer man, and takes the menial labours upon himself. A gadfly ((Estrus Tarandi) annoys the Reindeer so much, that the Laplander is forced to make periodical migrations to the mountains in order to escape the dreaded gadfly, and the equally dreaded mosquitoes, which are more ferocious in the cold climates than in the Tropics. T** 1H4 NATURAL HISTORY. Reindeer feeds principally oil a kind of lichen, wliich it scrapes from beneath the snow. During the winter, its coat thickens, and assumes a lighter hue, many deer being almost white. Its hoofs are divided very . (Linncan generic name.)* Tarandus (Gr. TapavSos, a Reindeer), the Reindeer. high, so that when the animal places its foot on the ground, the hoof spreads wide, and as it raises the foot, a snapping noise is heard, caused by the parts of the hoof closing together. When harnessed to a sledge, it can draw from 250 to 300 pounds' weight at about ten miles an hour. The EUROPEAN ELK. inhabits the northern parts of Europe. It was considered at one time to be identical with the American Elk, but natu- ralists now believe it to be a distinct animal. Its usual pace is a high awkward trot, but when frightened, it sometimes gallops. It is very strong, and can destroy a wolf with a single blow of its large, and powerful horns. In Sweden it was .formerly used to draw sledges, but on account of the facility of escape offered to criminals by its g^reat speed, the use of it was forbidden under high penalties. The skin of the Elk is so tough that a regiment of soldiers was furnished with waistcoats made of its hide, which could scarcely be penetrated by a ball. * .I'ossibly a Latinized form of the Scandinavian word " Ren-dyr," the word " dyr" signifying " beast," like the Greek Qfo, to which it is evidently allied. NATURAL HISTORY. 135 T'te Scandinavians chase the animai through the deep snow, and sufcced in the chase, because they are mounted upon skidor, or wooden skates several feet in length, which Ai.CEB.-(Gr. AA,, an Elk.) as, an Elephant. Elephant kind.) Sub-family a. Elcpliantlna. Indlcus (Lat. Indian], tlie Indian Elephant. Of this magnificent animal, whose form is familiar to every eyr>.. two species are known, the Indian and the African. The anatomy of this huge quadruped is well worthy of consideration. Its head and tusus are so very heavy that no long neck would bear them ; the neck is therefore very short. But this shortness of neck prevents the ELEPHANT from putting its head to the ground, or from stooping to the water's edge. This apparent defect is compensated by the wonderful manner in which its upper lip and nose are elongated, and rendered capable of drawing up water or plucking grass. In the proboscis or trunk there are about forty thousand muscles, enabling the Elephant to shorten, lengthen, coil up, or move in any direction this most extraordinary organ. The trunk is pierced throughout its length by two canals, through which liquids can be drawn by sucf ion. If the Elephant wishes to drink, after drawing {he liquid into its trunk, it inserts the end of the proboscis into its mouth, and discharges the contents down its throat; but if it merely wishes to wash itself or play, it blows the contained liquid from the trunk with great violence. Through the trunk the curious trumpet-like voice of the Elephant is produced. At the extremity is a finger-like appendage, with vyhich it can pick up small objects. In order to sustain the muscles of NATURAL HISTORY. Hi the jaw aud neck, tlie head must be very large : were it solid, it would be very heavy. The skull is therefore Conned of a number of cells of boue, forming the necessary expanse without the weight, leaving but a very small cavity for the brain. This fact will account for the numberless bullet wounds which an ele- phant will endure in the skull. The ball, instead of penetrating to the brain, merely lodges among the bony cells, and does no great mischief. Not long since, a ball was found firmly imbedded in the tusk of an ele- phant ; it was thoroughly impacted, and there was no apparent opening by which it could have reached the place that it occupied. It was afterwards found that the ball must have struck the elephant at the base of the tusk, so as to have sunk among the soft and as yet unformed ivory. This by degrees was pushed on as the tusk grew in successive years, until it was at last surrounded closely by hard ivory. A spear- head has been also found similarly imbedded. The Indian Elephant is almost invariably taken from its native haunts and then trained. The Indian hunters proceed into the woods with two trained female elephants. These advance quietly, and by their blandish- ments so occupy the attention of any unfortunate male that they meet, that the hunters are enabled to tie his legs together and fasten him to a tree. His treacherous companions now leave him to struggle in impotenl rage, until he is so subdued by hunger and fatigue that the hunters can drive him home between their two tame elephants. When once captured he is easily trained. Bribes of sugar and arrack, a kind of spirit, are the; usual means of inducing an Elephant to attempt some new art, or to labour with particular assiduity. In its wild state it endeavours to gratify its taste for sweets, at the expense of the sugar planters. "The Elephant has a natural partiality for sugar, which he finds abundant means to gratify in the plantations of sugar-cane. A curious instance is recorded of his liking for sweetmeats, and of a method adopted in his savage state to gratify this propensity. It chanced that a Cooley, laden with jaggery, which is a coarse preparation of sugar, was surprised in a narrow pass in the kingdom of Candy by a wild elephant. The poor fellow, intent upon saving his life, threw down tne burthen, which ttie elephant devoured, and being well pleased with the repast, determined not to allow any person egress or ingress who did not provide him with a similar banquet. The pass formed one of the principal thoroughfares to the capital, and the elephant, taking up a formidable position at the entrance, obliged every passenger to pay tribute. It soon became generally known that a donation of jaggery would ensure a safe conduct through the guarded portal, and no one presumed to attempt the passage without the expected oiFcring." It has before been mentioned that the In-dian elephant is trained for tiger hunting. When the tiger springs, the elephant always raises his oroboscis out of reach of the tiger's claws and teeth. l:i captivity, it is very docile and gentle, but sometimes, when f,l> 142 NATURAL HISTORY. voted, will take a very ample revenge. Of this propensity, manv anec- dotes are told. "A very characteristic action of D'Jeck, the famous elephant of M. Iluguet, was lately near costing the life of a young man, a native of Bruges. The elephant, it is well known, is very fond of sweetmeats, and this young man amused himself at Madame D'Jeck's expense, baulking her by offering her some, which, whenever she reached out her trunk to take, he immediately withdrew. This trick having been noticed by M. Iluguet, he observed to the young man how foolish such conduct was towards an animal at onoe so susceptible and vindictive. But not taking warning from this remark, the Belgian again invited the elephant to approach, and not only again deceived her, but gave the sweetmeats to Mademoiselle Betsy. Madame D'Jeck now lost her patience, ami regardless of the presence of her master and a numerous assemblage of spectators, lifted her trunk and knocked the young man down, tearing open his cheek, and rending his clothes to tatters. Happily, M. Huguet interposed his authority, and the elephant left her hold, but the imprudent suiFerer was long confined to his bed from the effects of his absurdity." The tusks and teeth of the Elephant furnish exceedingly fine ivory, which is used for various purposes, such as knife-handlcs> combs, bLliard balls, &c. There is a great art in making a billiard ball. Some parts of the tusk are always heavier than others, so that if the heavy part should fall on one side of the ball, it would not run true. The object of the maker is either to get the heavier portion iu the centre, or to make the ball from a piece of ivory of equal weight. In either case, the ball is made a little larger than the proper size ; it is then hung up in a dry room for several months, and finally turned down to the requisite dimensions. It is rather singular that the substance of ivory is almost exactly imitated by a vegetable production, the ivory nut, just about half the size of a billiard ball, which when young is soft, but hardens as b becomes old, until it is as hard as real ivory, and closely resembles it. All elephants are fond of the water, and sometimes submerge them- selves so far, that nothing but the tip of the proboscis remains above the surface. In a tame state, the elephant delights in concealing itself below the water, and deluging the spectators with a stream sent from its trunk. The following account of Elephant catching in Nepal was sent to me by a medical gentleman residing at Segouly : " The whole batch, tame and wild ones, then rushed into a deep river close by, where it was a splendid sight to see them swimming, fighting, diving, plunging, kicking, and bellowing in a most frantic manner j the mahouts (the riders on the tame ones) sticking to them like monkeys, and dexterously taking the opportunity of the confusion to secure the Jreaded noose round their necks. "One of the wild elephants in the struggle got half-drowned, and then entirely strangled; she just staggered to the shore, and then dropped dead without a struggle. It was really quite piteous to see her poor NATURAL HtSTORT 143 tittle young oue, about ten days old ; she kept walking round the body, pushing it, and trying to coax her dead mother to rise up ; then uttering the most heart-rending cries, and lying down by her side as it were to comfort her. " When the contest was over, and the other elephants, tame ones, were brought up near the corpse, the poor little thing, with the most indignant, though, of course, unavailing valour, charged on all sides at any elephant who came near, determined evidently to defend its mother, even though dead, to the last. The tame ones, of course, were too saga- cious to hurt it with their tusks, and looked on with the most curious air of pity and contempt, as they gradually, despite its violent struggles, pushed it away from its mother to a place where it could be properly secured and taken care of. lleally its moans and endeavours to remain with its mother were quite affecting. It is too young to be weaned with safety, and will probably die ; at least I am very much afraid so. I shall always feel an interest in the poor little animal in future, should it live ; it was so devotedly and heroically brave, never attempting to leave its mother in order to procure its own escape, which it might easily have done unseen during the confusion." On this occasion Jung Bahadoor, the Nepaulese ambassador, distin- guished himself greatly by his dexterity and courage, and secured several elephants with his own hands. The AFIUCAN ELEPHANT. This species is distinguished from the Indian Elephant by the markings of its teeth and some differences in form. Much interesting information respecting the habits of this animal has been given by Gumming, from whose work the following extracts are taken : " The African Elephant is widely diffused through the vast forests, and is met with in herds of various numbers. The male is very much larger than the female ; consequently, much more difficult to kill. He is provided with two enormous tusks. These are long, tapering, and beau- tifully arched ; their length averages from six to eight feet, and they weigh from sixty to a hundred pounds each. " The females, unlike Asiatic elephants in this respect, are likewise provided with tusks. The price which the largest ivory fetches in the English market is from 2S/. to 32/. per hundred-and-twelve pounds. Old bull elephants are found singly or in pairs, or consorting together in small herds, varying from six to twenty individuals. The younger hulls remain for many years in the company of their mothers, and these are met together in large herds of from twenty to a hundred individuals. The food of the Elephant consists of the branches, leaves, and roots of trees, and also of a variety of bulbs, of the situation of which he is advised by his exquisite sense of smell. To obtain these he turns up the ground with his tusks, and whole acres may be seen thus ploughed up. Elephants consume an immense quantity of food, and pass the greater 144 NATURAL, IIISTOHY. part of the day arid night in feeding. Like the whale in the ocean, the Elephant ou land is acquainted with, and roams over, wide and extensile tracts. He is extremely particular in always frequenting the freshest and AfHcanus (Lat. African), the African Elephant. aiot verdant districts of the forests; and when one district is parched and barren, he will forsake it for years, and wander to great distances in quest of better pasture. "The Elephant entertains an extraordinary horror of man, and a child can put a hundred of them to flight by passing at a quarter of a mile t,o windward; and when thus disturbed, they go a long way before they halt. It is surprising ,iow soon these sagacious animals are aware of the presence of a hunter in their domains. When one troop has been attacked, all the other elephants frequenting the district are aware of the fact within two or three days, when they all forsake it, and migrate t,o distant parts." " They choose for their resort the most lonely and secluded depths of the forest, generally at a very great distance from the rivers and fountains at which they drink. In dry and warm weather they visit these waters nightly ; but in cool and cloudy weatner they drink only once every third or fourth day. About sundown the elephant leaves his NATURAL HISTORY. 145 distant midday haunt, and commences his march towards the fountain, which is probably from twelve to twenty miles distant. This he gene- rally reaches between the hours of nine and midnight; when, having slaked his thirst and cooled his body by spouting large volumes of water over his back with his trunk, he resumes the patli to his forest solitudes. Having reached a secluded spot, I have remarked that full-grown bulls lie dov/u on their broadsides, about the hour of midnight, and sleep for a few hours. The spot which they usually select is an ant-hill, and they lie around it with their backs resting against it ; these hills, formed by the white ants, are from thirty to forty feet in diameter at their base. The mark of the under tusk is always deeply imprinted in the ground, proving that they lie upon their sides. "The appearance of the wild elephant is inconceivably majestic and imposing. His gigantic height and colossal bulk, so greatly surpassing all other quadrupeds, combined with his sagacious disposition and pecu- liar habits, impart to him an interest in the eyes of the hunter which no other animal can call forth. The pace of the Elephant when undisturbed is a bold, free, sweeping step; and from the peculiar spongy formation of his foot, his tread is extremely light and inaudible, and all his movements are attended with a peculiar gentleness and grace. " The under skin is of a tough and pliant nature, and is used by the natives for making water bags, in which they convey supplies of water from the nearest vley or fountain 'which is often ten miles distant). They re- SKULL OF THE ELEPHANT. move this inner skin with caution, taking care not to cut it with the assagai ; and it is formed into water Dags by gathering the corners and edges, and transfixing the whole on a pointed wand." The TAPIR forms one of the links connecting the elephant with the hog. The snout is lengthened into a kind of proboscis like that of the elephant, but it is comparatively short, and has no finger-like appendage at the extremity. Many of the remaining links are supplied by the various species of the fossil genus Palseotherium. The Common Tapir is spread throughout the warmer regions of South America. It sleeps during the day, and wanders about at night in search of its food, which consists of water melons, gourds, and other vegetables, it is very fond of the water, and can remain below the surface for a considerable period. It is a very powerful animal, and as it is furnished with a very think hide, it plunges through the brushwood, breaking its way through any obstacles that may oppose its progress. Its disposition is gentle, but when annoyed, it sometimes rushes at its antagonist, and defends itself vigorously with its powerful testh L 146 NATUKAL HISTORY. Sub-family b. Tapinna. . (From Native name.) SKULL OF THE TAPIR. Malayanus (Lat. Malay.) The jaguar frequently springs on it, but is often dislodged by the activity of the Tapir, who rushes through the bushes im- mediately that its feels the claws of its enemy, and endeavours to brush him ofi against the thick branches. The height of the American Tapir is from five to six feet. The Malay Tapir is somewhat larger, and is known by the greyish white colour of the loins and hind quarters, which give the animal an appearance as if a white horsecloth had been spread over it. The BOAR. The animals composing the Hog tribe are found in almost every part of the globe. Their feet are cloven and externally resemble those of the Ruminants, but an examination of the bones at once points out the difference. The Wild Hog or Boar inhabits many parts of Europe, especially the forests of Germany, where the chase of the wild boar is a common amusement. It has become extinct in this country for many years. Its tusks are terrible weapons, and capable of being sed with fatal effect. They curve outwards from the lower jaw, and are sometimes eight or ten inches in length. In India, where the Boar attains to a great size, the horses on which the hunters are mounted often refuse to bring their NATURAL HIHTORT. 147 Scrofa (Lat. an old Sow), the Boar. riders withiu spear Sub-family c. Sufaa. stroke of the infuriated Sus. (Lat. a Sow.) animal, who has been known to kill a horse and severely injure the rider with cue sweep of its enormous tusks. The DOMESTIC HOG scarcely needs any de- scription. It is by no means the unclean and filthy animal that mo- ralists love to repre- sent it. It certainly is fond of wallowing in the mire, as are the elephant, tapirs, &c., out no animal seems to enjoy clean straw more than the Hog. We shut it up in a dirty narrow crib, give it any kind of refuse to eat, and then abuse it for being a dirty animal and an unclean feeder. While, however, it should be rescued from these unjust imputations, it should near the weight of an accusation never before made. I have seen pigs suck the cows in a farmyard while they were lying down and chewine the cud, nor did the cows attempt to renel them. The BABYROUSSA sus inhabits the Molucca Islands and Java. It is remarkable for pos- sessing four tusks, two of which proceed from the upper jaw, and do not pass out between the lips, but through an aperture in the skin, half way between the end of the snout and eyes. The sockets of the two upper tusks are curved upwards, and give a singular ap- pearance to the skuii of the animal. It looks a ferocious animal, nor do its looks contradict its habits, as it is very savage, and cannot be hunted without danger. Yet when taken young Babyrouasa (Native word, Hog-deer), the Babyrouasa. 148 NATURAL HISTORY. it can be tamed without much difficulty, and conducts itself much aflei the manlier of a well-behaved pig. Only the male possesses the remarkable double pair of tusks, the female being destitute of the upper pair, and only possessing those belonging to the under jaw in a rudimentary degree. It lives in troops, as do most of the hog kind, and thus does great damage to the culti- vated grounds, especially to the maize, a plant to which it is, unfortu- nately, very partial. It is a good swimmer, and often voluntarily takes to the water in order to cross to another island. The size of the animal when full grown, is about that of a very large hog. The COMMON, or COLLARED PECCARY, is an inhabitant of South America. This animal is both dreaded and hated by the residents, for it is so exceedingly ferocious, and so utterly devoid of all sense of fear, that it will always charge at any object that comes in its way ; an elephant would not scare it, if an elephant were to be transported tc Soutli America. So it puts to flight those whom it attacks, and they fly before it in mixed fear and wrath against the pugnacious little animals which are pursuing them. It is a small animal, rarely exceeding eighteen inches in height, and yet is not less dreaded than the most, savage wild boar would be. Its jaws are armed with tusks, like those of the boar, but they are straight instead of curved, are sharp at the edges, and although only about an inch and a Gr. 5 ;J , double; wrfcq, a hollow cup)* l, a lf in length, inflict horrible wounds, on account of the mus- cular strength of the creature's neck. When a body of them charge against an enemy, fancied or real, they will never be driven away, but will fight till the last is slain. On this account, no one will willingly Tajacu (Native name), the Peccary. OPP 08 ? il} > and . if a herd of Peccaries comes in the way, men, horses, and dogs, all fly in haste, as even the horses would be soon brought down, for their legs would be cut to pieces. The best method of attacking them is that described by Webbei in the following passage : " But with all its other peculiarities to answer for, the drollest i* yei In allusion to the hollow gland on the back. NATURAL HISTORY. 119 to come. 1 refer to their mode of sleeping. They usually frequent those heavy canebrakes, through which are scattered, at wide intervals, trees of enormous size and age. These, from their isolated condition, are most exposed to the fury of storms, and therefore most liable to be thrown down. We find their giant stems stretched here and there through the canebrakes of Texas, overgrown with the densest thickets of the cane, matted together by strong and thorny vines. In these old trees the peccaries find their favourite lodgings. Into one of these logs a drove of twenty or thirty of them will enter at night, each one backing in, so that the last one entering stands with his nose at the entrance. The planters, who dread them and hate them, as well on account of the ravages on their grain crops which they commit, the frequent destruction or mutilation by them of their stock their favourite dogs, and sometimes even their horses, as on account of the ridiculous predicaments, such as taking to a tree, or running for their life, to which they have been sub- jected themselves, seek their destruction with the greatest eagerness. " When a hollow log has been found which bears the marks of being used by them, the hunters wait with great impatience till the first dark, cloudy day of rain ; a dark drizzle is the best, as it is well known that on such days they do not leave their lodgings at all. The planter, con- cealing himself just before day carefully out of view, but directly in front of the opening of the log, awaits in patient silence the coming of sufficient light. Soon as the day opens, peering cautiously through the cane, he can perceive the protruded snout, and sharp, watchful eyes of the sentinel-peccary on duty, while his fellows behind him sleep. Noise- lessly the unerring rifle is raised, the ring of its explosion is heard, and, with a convulsive spring, the sentinel leaps forward out of the hole, and rolls in its death-struggle on the ground. Scarcely an instant is passed, a low grunt is heard, and another pair of eyes is seen shining steadily in the place the others had just held. Not a sound is heard, the planter loads again with such dexterity that not even a branch of the embowering cane is stirred. Again with steady nerve the piece is fired, out springs the second victim as the first had done ; then another takes its place, and so on to the third, fourth, fifth, and twentieth, even to the last of the herd, unless the planter should happen by some carelessness to make a stir in the cane around him, when out it springs with a short grunt, without waiting to be shot this time, and followed by the whole herd, when they make'a dash at the unlucky sportsman, who is now dad enough to take to his heels, and blesses his stars if he should be able to climh a tree or a fence in time to save his legs. If during the firing, the sentinel should happen to sink in the hole without making the usual spring, the one behind him roots out the body to take its place. They do not understand what the danger is, or whence it comes. Neither do they fear it, but face its mysterious power to the last. They never charge towards unseen enemies, until guided either by the sight of some disturbance caused by a motion iu the thicket or by those 150 NATURAL HISTORY sounds with which they are familiar, indicating their position. Incredible as this account may appear, it is actually the method in which the settlements along Caney Creelc and in the Brazos Bottoms have been of late vears in a great measure relieved of this dangerous annoyance." Tie Peccary alone of all animals appears to have resisted the terrors of the gun, and a herd of them will attack men with tire-arms, and only seem to be more enraged by the report and flash of the guns. The Indians eat the animal, but its flesh is not considered to be particularly excellent, especially as the gland which the animal bears in its haunches has an evil efl'ect on the meat, and causes it to become unfit for use in a very short time. Its colour is a greyish black, caused by the colour cf the bristles, which are ringed at intervals with grey, straw-colour, and black. Sub-family d. Ndnocerina. RHINOCEROS. (Gr. 'PiV, or fa, a nose; Kepas, a horn.) Unicornis (Lat. Unus, one ; cornu, a horn), the Rhinocvos. The KIIINOCEROS. There are, apparently, six species of this formidable animal. Their chief peculiarity, the so-called horn, is a mass of fibres matted together, and closely resembling the fibres of whalebone. Their feet are divided into three toes, incased in hoofs. The best description cf the various species of the African Rhinoceros is given in Gumming. ".Xf the Khinoceros there are four varieties in South Africa, distin- gnisned by the Bechuanas by the names of the ' borele,' or black rhino- NATURAL HI8TOBT. 151 2eros, the ' keitloa,' or two-horned black rhinoceros, the ' muchocho,' or common white rhinoceros, and the ' kobaoba,' or long-horned 'white rhinoceros. Both varieties of the black rhinoceros are extremely fierce and dangerous, and rush headlong and unprovoked at any object which attracts their attention. They never attain much fat, and their flesh is tough, and not much esteemed even by the Bechuanas. Their food tJicornis (Lat. bis, twice; cornu, a horn), the Two-horned Rhinoceros, or Rhinaster. consists almost entirely of the thorny Dranches of the wait-a-Oit* thorns. Their horns are much shorter than those of the other varieties, seldom exceeding eighteen inches in length. They are finely polished with con- stant rubbing against the trees. The skull is remarkably formed, its most striking feature being the tremendous thick ossification in which it ends above the nostrils. It is on this mass that the horn is supported. The horns are not connected with the skull, being attached merely by the skin, and they may thus be separated from the head by means of a sharp knife. They are hard, and perfectly solid throughout, and are a tine material for various articles, such as drinking cups, mallets for rifles, dandles for turners' tools, &c. &c. The> horn is capable of a very high * The reader must know that these are the thorns of a kind of acacia, which beinf? se- \ eral inches in length, very strong and very sharp, generally do cause any one who HAS fallen among them, to " wait a bit " until he finds himself free from them. 152 NATURAL HISTORY. polish. The eyes of the rhinoceros are small and sparkling, and do not readily observe the hunter, provided he keep to leeward of them. The skin is extremely thick, and only to be penetrated by bullets hardened with solder. During the day, the rhinoceros will be found lying asleep, or standing indolently, in some retired part of the forest, or under the base of the mountains, sheltered from the power of the sun by some friendly giove of umbrella-topped mimosas. In the evening, they com- mence their nightly ramble, and wander over a great extent of country. They usually visit the fountains between the hours of nine and twelve o'clock at night, and it is on these occasions that they may be most suc- cessfully hunted, and with the least danger. The black rhinoceros is subject to paroxysms of unprovoked fury, often ploughing up the ground for several yards with its horn, and assaulting large bushes in the most violent manner. On these bushes they work for hours with their horns, at the same time snorting and blowing loudly ; nor do they leave them in general until they have broken them into pieces. All the four varieties delight to roll and wallow in mud, with which their rugged hides are encrusted. Both varieties of the black rhinoceros are much smaller and more active than the white, and are so swift that a horse with a rider on its back can rarely overtake them. The two varieties of the white rhino- ceros are so similar in habits, that the description of one will serve for both, the principal difference consisting in the length and set of the anterior horn ; that of the common white rhinoceros averaging from two to three feet in length, and pointing backwards ; while the horn of the long-horned white rhinoceros often exceeds four feet in length, and inclines forward from the nose " Both these varieties of rhinoceros attain an enormous size, being the animals next in magnitude to the elephant. They feed solely on grass, carry much fat, and their flesh is excellent, being preferable to beef. They are of a much milder and more inoffensive disposition than the black rhinoceros, rarely charging their pursuer. Their speed is very inferior to that of the other varieties, and a person well-mounted can overtake and shoot them." Several travellers have mentioned that there are certain birds which constantly attend the rhinoceros, and give him warning of approaching danger. Their accounts were either received with silent contempt, or treated with open ridicule, as preposterous extensions of the traveller's privilege of romancing. Here, however, we find the same author who has just been quoted, corroborating in every respect these disbelieved tales. His description of these birds is so interesting that I give it entire. " Before I could reach the proper distance to fire, several ' rhinoceros birds,' by which he was attended, warned him of his impending danger, by sticking their bills into his ear, and uttering their harsh, grating cry. Thus aroused, he suddenly sprang to his feet, and crashed away through the jit'igle at a rapid trot, and I saw no more of him NATURAL HISTORY, 153 " Tliese rliinoceros birds are constant attendants upon the hippopota- mus and the four varieties of rhinoceros, their object being to feed upon the ticks and other parasitic insects that swarm upon these animals. They are of a greyish colour, and are nearly as large as a common thrush: their voice is very similar to that of the misseltoe thrush. Many a time have these ever-watchful birds disappointed me in my stalk, and templed me to invoke an anathema upon their devoted heads. They are the best friends the rhinoceros has, and rarely fail to awaken him, even in his soundest nap. ' Chukuroo ' perfectly understands their warn- ing, and, springing to his feet, he generally first looks about him in every direction, after which he invariably makes off." The organs of scent of the rhinoceros are very acute, and as the creature seems to have a peculiar faculty for detecting the presence of human beings, it is necessary for the hunters to use the greatest circum- spection when they approach it, whether to avoid or to kill, as in the one case it may probably be taken with a sudden fit of fury, and charge at them, or in the other case, it may take the alarm and escape. The Indian Rhinoceros is chiefly remarkable for the very deep foldings of the skin, which is so hard at the folds, that an ordinary leaden ball will often fail to penetrate sufficiently to cause a deep wound, and the hunters are consequently forced to harden their bullets with tin or solder It may be here remarked, that the so-called " horn" is not a true horu, being nothing but a procei.s from the skin, and composed of a vast assemblage of hairs. If a thin transverse section of the horn of a rhino- ceros is placed under a microscope, it will be seen that it is composed ot a series of minute tubes, exactly like those of hair. Indeed it is possible to make an artificial rhinoceros horn, by gluing together a bundle of hairs, and if a transverse section of this composition is placed under the microscope, it almost exactly resembles the section of the rhinoceros horn, liound the base of the horn, and wherever it has been injured, the broken ends of the hairs stand out separately, and can be cut off. The contempt with which the hunters, at all events the British hunters, appear to treat the rhinoceros is very amusing. If they want the skin or the horn, why, then they shoot it ; but if they do not stand in need of such articles, and a rhinoceros comes in their way, they are obliged to pelt it away or drive it off as they would a cow. Goblets, made of the horn, were formerly in high estimation as perservatives against poison. The Indian kings were accustomed to have their wine served up in these goblets, as they imagined that if any poison were introduced into the cup, the liquid would boil over, and betray its presence. The upper lip is used by the rhinoceros as an instrument of prehension, with which it can grasp the herbage on which it feeds, or pick up smal' 154 NATURAL HISTORY. fruit from the ground. The very tame rhinoceros in the Zoologica. Gardens will take a piece of bun or biscuit from a visitor's hand b; means of its flexible upper lip. The HIPPOPOTAMUS. There is, in all probability, but one species o! the Hippopotamus. It inhabits Africa exclusively, and is found in plenty Sub-family e. Hippopotamlna. HIPPOPOTAMUS. (Gr. "l-mros, a Horse; irora.fj.6f, a Rivor.) Amphibiua (Gr. 'A.u\ the space between the right and left legs causes the animal to place its feet so considerably apart, as to make a distinct double track. The teeth of the Hippopotamus are the mainstay of the dentist, who cuts from the tusk of a Hippopotamus those series of elegant teeth which replace those that age or accident has struck out of the human mouth. The ivory is exceedingly hard, and does not readily lose its beautiful whiteness, being properties which render it especially valuable for such purposes. This is supposed by many to be the animal called Behemoth ic Scripture. Family IV. BradypldaG (Gr. Bpaovs, slow; TTOVS, a foot.) BRAFiYPUS. Iridactylus (Gr. T/n5a;cTuAos, three-fingered), the Sloth. The SLOTH. The Edentata include the ant-eaters and the pangolins which possess no teeth at all, and the sloths, armadillos, &c., whose teeth are small and of peculiar structure. The Sloths form the first division of the Edentata the leaf-eaters. The Sloth or Ai', is another example of the errors into which even great naturalists are led from hasty observation. The great Cuvier himsell NATURAL HISTORY. 157 condemns the Sloth as a degraded and miserable animal, moving with pain, and misshapen in form. Yet no animal is more fitted for its position than the Sloth. " The Sloth," says Waterton, " in its wild state spends its whole life in the trees, and never leaves them but through fqrce or acci- dent, and what is more extraordinary, not upon the branches, like the squirrel and monkey, but under them. He moves suspended from the branch, he rests suspended from the branch, and he sleeps suspended frorc the branch." In fact, as Sydney Smith observes, he passes a life of sus- pense, like a young clergyman distantly related to a Bishop. To render it fit for this singular mode of life, its long and powerful arms are furnished with strong curved cla\vs, which hook round the branches, and keep the animal suspended without any effort. When on 1 he ground, these claws are very inconvenient, and it can barely shuffle along ; but when it is among its native branches, it moves with exceeding rapidity, particularly in a gale of wind, when it passes from branch to branch and from tree to tree with an activity which its movements on the ground by no means portend. It is gifted with great tenacity of life, surviving under injuries which would have proved instantly mortal to any other animal. It even sur- passes the opossum in endurance. Waterton gives an interesting account of a sloth which he kept in his house for some time. The animal usually lived on the back of a chair to which it slung itself by its curved claws. After keeping it for some time, he was desirous of killing it, as its skin was required for the purpose of stuffing, and the death warrant was issued against the sloth. But how to kill it was the difficulty: and its owner, being a naturalist and therefore a merciful man, in spite of popular pre- judices on the subject, was much perplexed in his mind. At last he determined on trying the effect of the wourali poison 5 used by the Indians to give their weapons of war and the chase a more deadly effect. Even a sloth could not resist the wourali. A very small wound was made through the animal's skin, and inoculated with the poison. Soon the sloth began to droop, its head sunk upon one side, and after a few minutes one of ivs ieet lost its hold of the chair on which it was hanging. The other f oot soon gave way under the influence of the poison, and the dying tnimal fell to the ground. It lay there perfectly quiet, and after a few minutes had elapsed, gently closed its eyes and was dead. Its whole demeanour was that of an animal overcome with sleep, and it never appeared to suffer the slightest paiu. Such indeed seems to be the effect of this singular composition upon any living creature. If an animal is wounded, although slightly by a weapon charged with this poison, it runs a few paces, staggers, and lies down as if to sleep, and in a few minutes is dead. The effect is the same upon man. Two Indians were hunting after birds, and one of them had just launched a poisoned arrow at a bird nearly above him. The arrow missed its mark, glanced against a bough, and in its fall struck into the arm of the man who had thrown it. He looked at his arm, took off his !58 NATURAL HISTORY quiver of arrows, remarked that he should never use them again, laid him- self down, and was dead almost immediately Family V. . DasypWfc. (Gr. Aa9 golins are furnished with powerful claws to tear dotrn the dwellings 01 their prey. The Long-tailed Manis is widely scattered through Africa, but is not very common. The length of its body is about two feet, and that of its tail ratner more than three. The Short-tailed Manis, or Bajjerkeit, is very common in India. Its entire length is about four feet. The ARMADILLOS live exclusively in the warmer parts of America. They eat carrion, insects, and sometimes fallen fruit. The great mainstay of these animals lies in the number of bisons annually slaughtered for the sake of their hides. The carcases of these animals are left to rot on the plain, and would speedily do so did not the combined effect of birds and beasts, soon destroy every trace of the animal and Sub-family b. Dasyplna. only leave a heap of DAS\PUS. (Gr. Aao-i's, hairy; irow, a foot.) bones. In this work the Armadillo takes his full share. The armour that covers them, instead of resem- bling scale armour like that of the Manis, for- cibly reminds the ob- server of the modified plate armour worn in the time of Charles I. They burrow with great ra- pidity, and can only be forced from their refuge by smoke or water. When they are hunted and are very close pressed, they either endeavour to escape their foes by rapidly burrowing into the earth, or try to oppose a partial resistance by rolling themselves up and trusting to the protection of their armour. The natives and colonists consider them great delicacies when roasted in their shells. The Armadillos are all small except the Gigantic Armadillo, which is well described in the following extract. " I found that an Armadillo of gigantic size had caused the commotion. It was lying a round, misshapen mass, its head partly buried under its armour, the feet drawn together, and its body pierced by numerous arrows. It offered not the slightest resistance to its tormentors, whom I desired to end its sufferings by a heavy stroke of a club. Two men were required to carry it, and Mr. Schomburgh estimated its weight at from 110 to 120 pounds ; its height was about three feet, its length five and a half. Its tail was about four- teen or sixteen inches long, and its root nearly as thick as a man's thigh, Sexcinctus (Lat. si&l>anded), the Armaditto. 160 NATURAL HISTORY. tapering very abruptly. The middle one of the five toes of the fore foot was seven and a half inches in length. In size it greatly surpasses the largest Giant Armadillo known (Dasypus gigantcus, DesmJ, though Mr. Schomburgh does not mean to assert it is a different^species from the giganteus ; yet its enormous size will attract the attention of naturalists and geologists 1o the fossil genera." Sub-family c. Myrmecophaylna. MTRMECOPHAGA. (Gr. Mi^urjJ, an Ant; a-/e7i/, to er,t.) Jubata (Lat. crested), the Ant-eater. The ANT-EATER. This curious animal inhabits Guiana, Brazil, and Paraguay. As its name imports, it lives principally upon ants and termites, which it procures in precisely the same manner as was related of the Manis. Its short legs and long claws would lead an observer to suppose that its pace was slow and constrained, but when chased, it runs off with a peculiar trot, and with such rapidity, that it keeps a horse to its speed to overtake it. The tongue of this animal looks exactly like a great red worm, and when the creature is engaged in devouring its food, the rapid coiling and twisting of the tongue add in no small degree to the resemblance. The claws are very long and curved, and as they are used in tearing down the habitation of tbe termites or white ants, as they are called, arc NATURAL HISTORY. 161 exceeding strong. They are placed on the foot in sueii a manner tha.'; when the animal is walking, its weight rests on the outside of the fore feet and the outer edge of the claws, which make a great clattering if the ant-eater is walking upon a hard surface. When it sleeps, it lies on one side, rolls itself up, so that its snout rests on its breast, places all its feet together, and covers itself with its bushy tail. The fur of the animal at all times resembles hay, and when it is thus curled up in sleep, it is so exactly like a bundle of iiay, that any one mii^lit pass it carelessly, imagining it to be nothing but a loose heap of that substance. Schoniburgh relates that a tame Ant-eater, in his possession, by no means restricted itself to ants, but devoured meat, when minced, with much avidity. The same naturalist also discovered a Julus, or Millipede, in the stomach of an ant-eater which he dissected. The ordinary length of this animal is about three feet seven inches, and its height about three feet. TAMAHDUA (Native name). The MIDDLE ANT- EATER, or Taman- dua, is not so large as the preceding ani- mal, from whicli it is readily distinguish- ed by the tail, which is long and tapering, and almost devoid of hair except at the base. The tail in- deed is used as an organ of prehension, to assist it in climb- ing trees, a feat which it sometimes performs, although not so often as the Little Ant-Eater. This animal pro- duces a strong scent of musk, which is generally excited when it is enraged. The scent is not pleasant, like that of the musk deer, but very disagreeable, and can be perceived at a considerable distance. The LITTLE ANT-EATER also inhabits Guiana and Brazil. The principal characteristics of this animal are the shortness of its muzzle, and the pre- hensile power of its tail, which it twists round the branches on which it principally resides. It often attacks the nests of wasps, pulling them tc Tetradactyla (Gr. four-fingered), the Tamomdua. 162 NATURAL HISTORY pieces with its claws, and devouring the grubs. The length of its bod\ , is ten inches. CYCLOTHURUS (Gr. KUK\OS, a circle, tivpa, a ^ e g^gjgtoj! O f this littie door, or boards put together like a door)-* animal presents a very sin- gular appearance, as its ribs are very flat and very wide in proportion to the size of the creature, and envelop each other in such a manner that the interior of the thorax is protected by a bony mail, no interstices being perceptible betweer the ribs. The DUCK-BILLED PLA- TYPUS, f Australia, where everything seems to be re- versed, where the north wind is warm and the south wind cold, the thick end of a pear is next the stem, and the stone of a cherry grows outside, is the residence of this most extra- ordinary animal. When it was first introduced into Europe, it was fully believed to be the Sub-family d. Orntthorhynchina. manufacture of some ORNITHORHYNCUS. (Gr.'Oom, a bird; fafx*> impostor, who with much ingenuity had fixed the beak of a duck into the head of some unknown animal. It will however be seen by the woodcut repre- senting the skull of the animal, that this duck-like beak realh belongs to the animal, and is caused by a pro- longation of some of the bones of the head. It lives by the banks of rivers, in which it burrows like the water Didactyla (Gr. AiSetaruAos, two-fingered), the Little Ant-eater. i'arudoxus (Lat. puzzling), the Duckbilled Platypus. In allusion to the form of the rib* t The -word " Platypus" signifies broad-fooled, and it derived from the Greek wordt xaTitt broad, and trovr, a foot NATURAL HISTORY. 163 rat Curiously enough, it finds no difficulty in this labour, although its house is always very deep, for the feet are so constructed that the animal can fold back the web at pleasure, and thus the foot is enabled to perform its task. It feeds upon water- insects and shell-fish, always rejecting the crushed shells after swallowing the inhabitant. Mr. Bennet attempted to rear some young ORNITHORHYNCI at Sydney, but they died in a short time. They were very fond of climbing between a press and the wall, placing their backs against the press and their feet against the wall. They used to dress their fur with their beak and itet, just as a duck prunes its feathers. The male lias a sharp spur on its hind feet. The learned have given the animal several names. Some follow Shaw, and call it Platypus Anatinus ; some give it the name of Ornithorhyncus rufus or fuscus, or crispus or brevirostris, with other titles. The native name for the creature is " Mullingong," a title which, although not euphonious, is perhaps little less so than the scientific names, while it certainly has the advantage over them in point of brevity. SKULL OF TUB 1' L ATY 1'li S. 164 NATUKAL HISTORY. Division II. AVES.-(Lat. Birds.) Order I. . . ACC"lPITRES.-(L&t. Hawks.) Sub-order I. AorrrptTRES DIDRKL (Lat. Hawks of the day.) Family I. . Gypaetida}. (Gr. Fity, a Vulture; 'Afro's, an Kagle Vulture eagle kind.) Barbatus (Lat. bearded), the Bearded VtiUure or Lammergeyer BIRDS are immediately distinguished from the Mammalia by theii general form, their feathery covering, and by producing their young enclosed in eggs. The different orders of birds are principally known oy the character of tne claws and beak, examples of which will be seen in the progress of the work. Before we pay attention to any individual species, we will first examine some of the structures common to all birds. One of the first great marks of distinction in birds is the wing. This organ is a modification of the arm or forelimb of mammalia, clothed with leathers instead of hair. The bones of adult birds are not filled with marrow like the bones of mammalia, but are hollow and filled with air, and are therefore rendered very light, a bone of a goose being barely half the weight of a rabbit's bone of the same size, after the marrow has been extracted. In this formatici, strength as well as lightness la consulted, as a tubular rod is well known to be very much stronger than the same quantity of matter NATURAL HISTORY. 10 r > termed into a solid bar. The bones forming the wing are worthy u notice for the beautiful manner in which they are jointed together, and arranged so as to give great strength together with lightness. Unscien- tific individuals are apt to make certain mistakes in their iiJeas of birds, and especially as regards the formation of their legs. Most persons s,eem to fancy that the foot of the bird is that part which grasps the branch, or by means of which it walks on the ground that the joint ahove that member is the knee and that the thigh is the feathered portion of the limb that proceeds from the bird's body. Now, all these ideas are wrong; with this method of arrangoment, the knee of the bird would bend backwards, a thing which no perfectly formed knee ever did or ever will do. The leg of a bird is formed on much the same principle as the hind le:; of a quadruped, the part that grasps the branches being composed of the toes, the so-called knee-joint being the heel-bone of the foot, so that the whole Coot reaches half-way from the perch to the bird. The knee-joint is placed high up against the body, and is buried in the feathers. In the following figure, the limbs of a man and of a bird are compared, the corresponding divisions of each being marked by similar letters. As many important characteristics are drawn from the plumage, it will be necessary to give a figure, (p. 166,) exhibiting the feathers of the different parts, together with their names : A, primaries, or great quill feathers of the wing; u, secondaries; c, tertials; D, lesser coverts; E, greater coverts ; r, winglet, or bastard wing ; G, scapularies ; H, upper tail coverts ; I, under tail coverts ; K, rectrices or tail-feathers. In the above engraving is also a figure, showing the method by which birds hold on the perch while sleeping. It will be seen that the great tendon A, which is connected with all the toes or claws, passes over the joints in such a manner that when the leg is bent, the tendon is short- ened and the claws drawn together, so that the weight of the bird while perched, pressing on the tendon, holds it firmly on the branch. Thld of the tendon is easily observed by watching a common fow' NATURAL HISTORY. At each step that it makes, on lifting its foot, the claws are seen to be draw^i together. It is partly by this power that the birds of prey are enabled to fix their talons so forcibly into the bodies of their prey When, for example an eagle wishes to clrive his claws into its prey, he CLAW AM) BEAK or RAPACIOUS BIKD. perches on it, and then sinks down with the whole weight of his body by which movement the tendon is shortened, and the claws forcibly pressed together. As the wing presents a very broad surface to the air, it is necessary that very powerful muscles must be used to move it with sufficient rapidity. The pectoral muscles are therefore enormously deve- loped, extending almost the whole length of the body, as every one who has carved a fowl must have seen ; and in order to form an attachment for these im- mense muscles, the ridge of the breastbone is equally enlarged. It is the want of these enlarged muscles that prevents man from flying, even when lie has attached wings to his arms. The principal characteristics of birds are taken from their foot and beak. I therefore give the reader a figure representing the general character of the head and foot of the rapacious birds. The LAMMERGEYER, (Germ. Lamb's-vullure,) or BEARDED VULTURE, inhabits most mountain ranges, and is very common in the Alps of Swit- zerland and Germany, where, from its depredations on the kids ana lambs, it has earned its name of Lammergeyer. Although called the Bearded " Vulture," it is not strictly a vulture, as its head and neck are feathered, and it rejects putrid flesh, unless hard pressed by hunger. It destroys hares, and young or sickly sheep and goats, .aor, when rendered fierce by hunger, does it fear to attack the adult chamois, or even man. It is said to destroy the larger animals by watching until they are near the brink of a prezipice, and then suddenly driving them NATURAL HISTORY. 167 over the rocks by an unexpected swoop. In this manner the strong and swift chamois fulls a victim to the craft of its winged foe, and instances are not wanting where the chamois hunter himself has been stmck from a narrow ridge into the valley beneath by a blow from this ferocious bird. It is exceedingly bold, and shows but little fear of man. While Bruce was preparing his dinner on the summit of a mountain, one ot these birds, after scalding its feet in seveiaJ unavailing attempts to extract some meat out of the boiling water, actually seized a piece from a platter, and went off with it. The name of "Bearded" Vulture is given to it on account of the long tuft of hairs with which each nostril is clothed. The length of its body is about four feet, and the expanse of its wings from nine to ten. The second and third primary feathers are the longest. It lays two eggs, white, marked with brown blotches. Family II. Sarcorhampbldse. (Gr. 2a'p|, flesh; SARCOBHAMPH08. y, beak.) Gryphon (Gr. Fpvifi, a Griffon), the Condw. The CONDOR, The Sarcorhamphidse are distinguished by a fleshy tuft growing on their bealcs, somewhat resembling the wattles of a turkey, 168 NATURAL HISTOBY. SATCCORHAMPHOS. The genus Sarcorhamphos includes the Condor, the King Vulture, and the Californian Vulture. These birds are distinguished t>y the wattles on their beaks, their naked necks, and the size of the, nostrils. The third primary feather is the longest. The Condor inhabits the Andes of South America, always choosing its residence on the summit of a solitary rock. It appears that this bird does not build any nest, but lays its two white eggs on tne bare rock after the manner o( many sea birds. It is a very large bird, but by no means the gigantic creature some former naturalists relate, with wings twenty feet in length, and powerful enough to carry off a horse. The real expanse of wing is about nine or ten feet, and the length of the bird about four feet. It is, however, exceedingly strong and tenacious of life. Two Con- dors will attack and kill the llama, or even the puma ; for by their re- peated buffeting and pecking they weary it so completely that it yields to their perseverance. Papa, the Kiwj V-uilure. The KING VULTURE is also a native of South America, seldom if ever being seen north of Florida. Travellers relate that this species keeps the other vultures under subjection, and does not suffer them to approach a dead animal until he has completely satisfied his own appetite, which is certainly none of the smallest. We now arrive at the true VULTURES. These birds are the repre- sentatives of the carrion-devouring animals, such as the hyenas, wild dogs, &c. They however do not, as the hyenas and wild dogs, attack living animals. The neok of the Vulture is almost naked, very slightly sprinkled with down, and from the formation of the lower part of the neck, the bird is enabled to draw its head almost under the feathers of its shoulders, so that a hasty observer would conclude that the creature had no neck at all. The marvellous quickness with which the vultures discover a dead animal has caused many discussions among naturalists as to the sense employed ; some, as Audubon, declaring entirely for sight, and others, as Water ton, asserting that the scent of putrid animal matter leads the ~*ltures to their prey. NATORAJ. HISTORY. 169 lie especially ridicules one experiment tried by Audubon, by stuffing a deer's hide, and placing it in the open air. The cultures soon came to the stuffed skin, and one of them tore open the skin, just as if the animal had been really lying dead, and continued to pull out large quan- tities of straw until it became tned and went away. Audubon argues from this experiment, that the vultures were led to the bait by the sight, and not by the scent, or they would not have been so taken in as to Family III. . Vulturfdae. (Lat. Vvltw. Vulture kind.) Sub-family a. VuUurlnas. Fulvus (Lat. tawny), the Qriffon Vulture. work for so long a time at a stuffed skin. However, few people see the same incident in the same light, and Waterton's inferences are widely different from those drawn by Audubon. He declares that the experi- ment of stuffing a deer's hide, and placing it exposed in the open air, was by no means conclusive, as the hide, however dry, must have given out some odour, and the vulture certainly acted very properly in pull- ing out the straw, ar.d endeavouring to get at the inside. The probability is that both senses are used, one aiding the other; for in another experiment, where a dead hog was hidden under canes and briars, numbers of vultures were seen sailing in all directions over the 170 NATURAL HISTORY. spot, evidently directed by the scent, but unable to discover by their eyes the exact position of the animal. The olfactory nerves of the Vul- ture are beautifully developed, so that Waterton had reason for his pathetic remark, " I never thought I should have lived to see this bird deprived of its nose." The GRIFFON VULTURE* is found in almost all parts of the old world. It is one of the largest of its group, measuring upwards of four feet in length. Like most of the vultures, it does not appear to move its wings while flying, but soars on expanded pinions in large circles, apparently gaining the necessary impetus by the movements of its head and body, just as an accomplished skater uses but little force in his various evolu- tions an imperceptible inclination of the head, or sway of the body, sufficing to keep up the impetus gained at starting, and to bring him round in any direction he chooses. Vultures are generally protected by the natives of the countries where they reside on account of their great utility in clearing away the putrid animal matter, which would otherwise be exceedingly injurious as well as disagreeable. The Turkey Buzzard or John Crow (Cathartes Aura), or Jamaican Vulture, is protected by a fine of five pounds, inflicted on any one who destroys the bird within a certain distance of the principal towns. Waterton's account of this bird is very interesting, and well worthy of notice. There are many species of vultures inhabiting dif- ferent countries, but their habits as well as their forms are so similar that a detailed description of each is needless. EAGLES. The Vultures seem to hold the same place among birds as the Hyenas among the Mammalia ; and in like manner the JFalconidse fill the same position in the ornithological kingdom, as do the Felidae among the quadrupeds. The beak of this family is strong and curved, and the feet furnished with sharp talons, just as the Felidse are armed with long sharp teeth and powerful claws. The Ealconidse differ from the Vul- turidse in having feathered necks, and in killing their prey themselves, and devouring it while fresh. At the head of the Falconidae the EAGLES are placed. In them the wings are large, powerful, and slightly rounded, the fourth primary feather being longest. The feet of the genus Aquila are feathered to the toes. The Golden Eagle is found in most parts of Europe, and is not un common in Great Britain, especially in the mountainous parts of Scotland and the Hebrides. The flight of this magnificent bird is peculiarly beautiful and imposing, but its gait when on land is> rather awkward ; for its long talons encumber it in the same manner that the Sloth and Great Ant-Eater are impeded by their long curved claws when they attempt tc walk with anv rapidity. See p. 169 NATURAL, HISTORY. 17] Its food is usually sea birds and the smaller quadrupeds, such as hares, rabbits, &c., but it does not hesitate to carry off young lambs, or some- times to destroy a sickly sheep. Some instances have been related of children that have been carried away by this eagle, but they are very doubt i'uL Eagles certainly have pounced upon children, and carried them Family IV. ... Falconldae. Sub-family a. . , Aquillnce. A.QUILA, (Lat. an Eagle.) CbrysaGtos (Gr. Xpucatroy, Gulden Eagle), the Golden agle. a little way, but there are no authenticated accounts of children having oeen actually taken to the eagle's nest, although there are many pretty stories founded on such a supposition. It generally hunts in pairs, one eagle watching from some height while the other courses along the ground, and drives the game from the bushes. The male and female remain together all the year, and very probably for life. It lays two eggs of a yellowish white colour with pale brownish spots, on a nest composed of a great mass of sticks, rushes, and grass, and the young are fledged about the end of July. While the young are in the nest it is very dangerous to approach the spot, as the Eagles are then extremely fierce and daring. 172 NATURAL HI8TOUY. The Rev. Mr. Inglis gives the following account of an adventure with an eagle : " The farmer of Glenmark, whose name was Miln, had been out one day with his gun, and coming upon an eagle's nest, he made a noise to start her and have a shot. She was not at home, however, and so Miln, taking off his shoes, began to ascend, gun in hand. When about halt'- way up, and in a very critical situation, the eagle made her appearance, bringing a plentiful supply to the young which she had iu her nest. Quick as thought she darted upon the intruder, with a ter- rific scream. He was clinging to the rock by one hand, with scarcely any footing. Making a desperate effort, however, he reached a ledge, while the eagle was now so close that he could not shoot at her. A lucky thought struck him : he took off his bonnet and threw it at the eagle, which immediately flew after it to the foot of the rock. As she was returning to the attack, finding an opportunity of taking a steady aim, te shot her." The eye of this bird, and of most of the birds of prey, is provided with an arrangement for enabling it to see an object near or at a great dis- tance. The old tale of the eagle delighting to gaze at the sun is equally poetical and false, the true fact being that the eye is shaded from the sun by the projecting eyebrow. As to the nictitating membrane, which some assert to be given to the PANDION (Or. Proper name). Eagle in Qrder to "^ ft ^ gaze at the sun, all birds have it. and the owl, who is blinded by ordinary daylight, possesses it in perfection. The feet of the genus Pan- dion are naked, armed with very long curved talons, the outermost of which can be drawn together, so as to hold their slippery prey. The wings are ample, and the second and third primary feathers the longest. The OSPREY, or FISHING HATVK, is spread over the whole of Europe, part of Asia, and some portions of North Ame- rica. As its name imports, its food consists entirely of fish, which it obtains by dashing into the water, and seizing them witli its curved talons. The Osprey, although it takes the fish, is not the only bird that has a predilection for that diet, as the bald-headed eagle frequently waits until the osprey has seized the prey, and then deprives him of it. I should like to present HoliaStus (Gr. "A\s, the sea, dfros, an Eagle), the Osprey. NATURAL HISTORY. 173 ,iiy readers with the entire spirited passage from Wilson's Ornithology, describing the chase and capture, but as want. of space compels me to compress as much as possible, there will only be room for a very small extract. He relates that the eagle v after watching the osprey as it dashes into the water after its finny prey, starts off in pursuit as it emerges, bearing a fish in its talons. " Each exerts his utmost to mount above the other, displaying, in these rencontres, the most elegant and sub- lime aerial evolutions. The unencumbered eagle rapidly advances, and is just on the point of reaching his opponent, when, with a sudden scream, probably of despair and honest execration, the latter drops his fish: the eagle, poising himself for a moment, as if to take a more certain aim, descends like a whirlwind, snatches it in his grasp ere it reaches the water, and bears his ill-gotten booty silently away to the woods." When the Osprey plunges after its finny prey, it never attempts to seize them while they are leaping out of the water, but plunges down- wards with such force, that it disappears below the surface, throwing up the foam around it. Its nest is made of an enormous heap of sticks, grass, &c., laid among the brandies of a tree, and large enough to make a fair cart-load. In this nest it lays its eggs, which are a yellowish white, sprinkled with brown blotches. The length of this bird is about two feet, and the expanse of its wings about five feet and a half. Its feet are of a pale greyish blue colour, which unfortunately fades in a stuffed spe- cimen. Indeed, it is generally useless to attempt to obtain the slightest conception of the colours of mem- brane or skin from stuffed animals. The ears, lips, and eyelids of quad- rupeds, always present a most miserable appearance, while the legs and heads of birds look equally wretched from the same cause. The skin not only loses its colour, and assumes a dingy brown hue, but it also shrivels up, and is puckered up in to wrinkles, that entirely obliterate it former appearance while the airimal was living ; even a very few hours will make this change. The WHITE-HEADED EAGLE, or BALD EAGLE, as it is called by Wil- Leucocephalus (Gr. Aeu/co/c^o/vos, son, inhabits most parts of America, white-headed), the White-headed Eaglt. and especially frequents the cataract of Niagara. It is very accommo- dating in its appetite, and preys indiscriminately on lambs, pigs, swans. HALIAETUS. 174 NATURAL Buteo, a Buzzard.) and the fish whi:h, as related above, it takes awav irom the unfortunate osprey. Sometimes it can take fish honourably for itself in shallow water, by wading as far as it can, and snatching up the fish with its beak. Audubou gives a splendid.description of the chase of a swan by' an eagle, but want of space again prevents its insertion. Like the Golden Eagle, this bird lives constantly with its mate, and hunts in company. It lays from two to four eggs, of a dull white colour, in a huge nest placed on a tall tree. The claws of this bird are grooved beneath, and the hind claw is the longest. The feet are half-feathered, and the fourth primary feather of the wing is the longest. When full grown, the general colour of the bird is a deep brownish black, but its head, neck, tail, and upper tail coverts are white. TUB BUZZARD. The family of the Buzzards are distinguished by their short beaks, large rounded wings, and squared tails. They all live on small animals, reptiles, and various insects. The Common Buzzard occurs through- Sub-family c. Buteonlnce. (Lat. out most of Europe and part of Asia, being frequently found in England. When searching for food, it rests upon some high branch, keeping a keen watch on the ground, and waiting patiently until some small animal, such as a rat or young rabbit, makes its appearance, when it instantly sweeps down from its elevation, seizes its prey without set- tling on the ground, and returns, if not disturbed, to the same spot, very much in the same manner that the fly-catcher may be observed to act. It generally builds in high trees, but lias been known to make its nest among rocks. Its eggs are usually three in number, of a whitish colour, spotted with pale brown, and almost devoid of the peculiar red tinge that generally characterises the eggs of the diurna. birds of prey. The length of this bird is from twenty to twenty-two inches : the fourth primary feather is the longest Vulgaris (Lat. common), the Buzzard. *- 1 J E JioNEY BUZZARD. The genus Perm's is distinguished by the feathered loriuii or band round tne eyes. The HONEY BUZZARD is found in the warmer parts of Europe and in Asia, seldom visiting our shores. NATURAL HISTORY. 175 Mtb-family d. Miioliue (Lat. Milvus, a Kite). PEKNIS (Gr. vtpvris, wifch cnormoua eyes looking forward, is a distinguishing mark of the Owl family. Many species possess two feathery tufts plac d on the head, greatly .VATUHAL HISTORY. 183 TORN I. Family I. Strigkke. (Lat..Sh-ir, a Screech-owl. Screech-owl kind.) Sub-family a. Surnlnce. resembling horns. The Owls are nocturnal birds, pursuing their prey by night, and sleeping during the day. In order to enable them tc see their prey, their eyes are enormously lame, and capable of taking in every Sub-order II. ACCIPITRES aoo- ** . I- I , L ,pi e n'ni>T>TT ray of light. I heir power ot vision is also increased by the method in which the eye is fixed in a kind of bony socket, just like the watchmaker's glass. The nictitating membrane is very conspicuous in these birds. The power of hearing is also very delicate, and greatly assists them. In order to protect them from the cold, they are furnished with a dense covering of downy feathers, which also prevent the movements of the wing from being heard by the wary mouse; and so noiseless is their flight that they seem to be borne along by the wind like a tuft of thistle-down. The HAWK, or CAN ADA OWL, inhabits the arctic portions of Asia and America. Its head is not so round, nor its face so broad, as those of the other owls, from which it is also distinguished by its habit of limiting by day. In face it bears some resemblance to the harriers. It Guilds in trees, aud lays two eggs- white, as are those of all owls. The eggs of owls are easily distinguished from other white eggs by a peculiar roughness of surface, which cannot be mistaken. The length of the Hawk- Owl is from Gfteeii to eighteen inches. Ulflla (Lat. howling), the Hawk- owl. The SNOWY OWL* is properly an inhabitant of the north of Europe, but has more than once been discovered in Great Britain. It is also found in North America. Wilson relates that it is a good Wisher, snatch- ing its prey from the water by a sudden grasp of the foot. It also preys on lemmings, hares, ptarmigans, &c., chasing and striking at them with its feet, it makes its nest on the ground, and lays three or four white eggs, of which more than two are seldom hatched. Its length is from twenty-two to twenty-seven inches, the expanse of wing four feet ; the third primary feather is the longest. The BURROWING OWL accompanies the prairie dog, and wherever thai * See pag 184. 184 NATURAL HISTORY. NTCTKA. (Gr. NtWios, nightly.) Nivea, (Lat. snoiuy), the Snowy-owl. animal chooses to live, there is the Burrowing Owl. This singular little ATHENE. (Gr. proper name.) bird finds that to take possession of the ready-made burrows of the prairie dog is much more agreeable than to dig a hole for itself; so it takes unfurnished lodgings in a deserted dwelling, undisturbed by anything except a casual lizard or rattlesnake. So numerous are these little owls, that they may be seen in small flocks seated on the tops of the mounds in which the entrance of the burrows is formed. It is said that the owls, marmots (or prairie-dogs), lizards, and snakes, all live harmoniously in one happy family. Such, however, is not really the case, as the Bur- rowing Owls prefer holes unoccupied by any other tenant, and have been vUnicularla (Lat. of the Rabbit), the seen with something most suspi- Burrowing Owl. ciously like a young snake struggling NATURAL HISTORY. Sub-family b. JBubonince. EPHTALTF.S. (Gr. proper name.) BuBO.--(Lat. an Owl) in tneir mouths. The bottom of its hole is generally comfortably filled with dried hay and roots. The legs of this bird are longer than those of other owls. It is by no means largo, measuring but ten inches in length. The SCOPS EARED-OWL has been once or twice found in Yorkshire, but usually resides in the southern parts of tlie Continent. It is re- markable for the regularity with which it utters its monotonous cry, as if a person were constantly repeating the letter Q, at regular intervals of two seconds. It docs not seem to prey upon mice and other animals, like most of its rela- tions, but feeds on large insects, Scopg (Gr< 2 , fa ^ an "owl), the Sco],> such as beetles and grasshoppers. Eared-owl. The size of this owl is very small, as it only measures seven inches in length ; the third primary feather is the longest. It lays from two to four white eggs in a sim- ple nest made in a hollow tree or in a cleft in the rock. The GREAT EARED- OWL or EAGLE OWL, is the largest of the family. This powerful bird, not satisfied with the " rats and mice and such small deer" which content the English owls, boldly attacks young fawns, hares, and rabbits, together with small birds. It inhabits the Maxlmus (Lat. greatest), the Great Eared-owl 186 NATURAL niSTOPT. north of Europe, but has been several times observed in Great Britain, ft Inys its eggs iu the clefts of rocks or in ruined buildings. The length of tiiis bird is upwards of two feet. Sub-family d. Striglnce. x. (Lat. a ScrcecJi-owl.} The BARN O\VL affords another instance of mistaken persecution. This beautiful and most useful bird, whose carcase we so often see tri umphantly nailed to the barn, actually feeds upon and destroys in incal culable numbers the rats and mice which bear it company in its unde- served punishment. Waterton remarks, " "When farmers complain that the Bam Owl destroys the eggs of their pigeons, they lay the saddle on the wrong horse. They ought to put it on the rat. Formerly 1 could get very few young pigeons till the rats were excluded from the dovecote. Since that took place, it has pro- duced a great abundance every year, although the barn owls frequent it, and are encouraged all around it. The barn o\\i merely resorts to it for repose and concealment. If it were really an enemy to the dove- cote, we should see the pigeons in commotion as soon as it begins its evening flight, but the pigeons heed it not, whereas if the sparrow-hawk or hobby should make its appearance the whole community would be up at once. ... I am amply repaid for Haiumua (Le&.jlaminrj), the Barn-owl. the P ain s I have taken to protect and encourage the bam owl ; it pays me an hundred fold by the enormous quantity of mice which it destroys throughout the year." It also devours great numbers of beetles and other insects. It is possible that it may, also, destroy young birds, but not probable, as feathers and birds' bones are never found among the rejectamenta. It will, however, when domesticated, devour a dead sparrow or linnet when presented to it. .Few people know what a little bird this owl really is. The thick loose plumage is so deceptive, that no one unacquainted with the structure of the bird would imagine that it is hardly so large as a pigeon. The head, too, when deprived of its feathery covering, completely loses its previous aspect, being long and narrow, like that of a hawk. In fact,* few creatures look more contemptible than an owl stripped of its feathers. The domestic habits of the bird are very curious. VVheu irritated or NATURAT, HISTORY. 187 alarmed, it has a liabit of snapping its beak loudly, and making a hissing sound, something like that of a cat when very much provoked. Indeed, there is something very cat-like in the whole aspect of the owl. Its round soft looking face, in which are set two great eyes that shine in the dusk of the evening with an almost phosphoric gleam, and are capable of taking in every feeble ray of light; its noiseless movements in pursuit of its prey, all strongly remind the observer of the feline character. The plumage of this bird is very thick, in order to defend it from the cold night air, and very soft, in order to admit of its flight with such silence that even the quick and wary ear of the timid field-mouse may riot perceive the approach of its enemy. This noiselessness is caused by the formation of tiie feathers, which, instead of being stiff and smooth, like those of the diurnal birds of prey, are loose and furnished at their extremities with a delicate fringe, which completely prevents that rushing sound which accompanies the night of the eagle or the hawk. White, in his Natural History of Selborne, gives some interesting accounts of the habits of this owl. He watched them leave their homes about an hour before sunset in search of the mice, which begin to run about at that time, and saw them quartering their ground like a pointer dog, with the greatest regularity. He had the curiosity to cousit the number of mice caught by a single pair, and found that upon the average, one was brought to the nest every five minutes. With his usual accuracy of observation, he noted the mannnr in which the birds were enabled to reach their nests, although encumbered with a mouse. Their nest was made under the roof of the church, so that the owls had to crawl up by their feet in order to rise under the eaves. This they managed by perching on the church roof, shifting the mouse from their claws to their bill, and thus leaving their feet at liberty. Its method of devouring a mouse is quite different from the mode in which it eats a bird. If a mouse is given to an owl, the bird seizes it across the back, and gives it one or two smart bites, much as a terrier handles a rat. The mouse is then jerked upwards, and caught again head downwards. A second jerk sends the mouse half down the owl's throat, while its tail remains sticking out of the side of its bill, where it is rolled about as if the owl were smoking. After some time has been spent in this amusement, another jerk causes the mouse to disappear altogether, and the owl looks very happy and contented. But if a small bird is presented to 1 it, the owl tears it up and devours it piecemeal. Such, at least, was the conduct of a barn-owl belonging to myself. This bird is easily tamed, if taken young, and is a valuable assistant in a garden, only a place of refuge must be provided for its retreat during the day-time, or the little birds will mob it unmercifully. The Barn Owl lays three or four eggs upon a mass of those pellets which all the owls disgorge. There is n rough chalky look about the eggs of the owl, which renders them different from the eggs of all other birds, from which they can be distinguished by the touch alone. There 188 NATURAL HISTORY. is a peculiarity in the domestic economy of this owl, for it often has at the same time in the nest, young owls almost fledged, and eggs on which the hen bird is sitting. The length of the bird is rather more than twelve inches ; the second primary feather is the longest. Its colour is a bright yellowish brown, marked with dots and lines of various tints, the lines being generally dark, and the dots light. The under parts of the bird are very variable, and seldom exactly the same in any two individuals, the white feathers being sometimes greyish white, sprinkled with brown dots; sometimes pure white, without any marks at all ; and sometimes white very slightlj dotted indeed. When it is threatened or attacked, it throws itself ou its back and fights vigorously with its claws and bill. Order II. ... PASSERES. (Lat. Sparrow kind.) Tribe I FISS1ROSTBES. (Lat. Split-bills.) Sub-tribe I. . . FISSIKOSTRES NOCTURNE. Family I. ... Caprimulgidse. (Lat. Goat-sucker kind.} Sub-family a. . CaprimulglWE. CAFIUMULGUS. Europseus (Lat. European), the Goat-sucker. THE Accipitres, it will be remembered, possess strong hooked beaks ind sharp curved claws. The foot and head of the Passeres are entirely NATURAL HISTORY. different ; the beak being without the formidable curved tip, and the claws being of a quiet and peaceful character. The first tribe of this order, the Fissirostres, are so called from the peculiar formation of their mouths, which appear as if they had been slit up from their ordinary termination to beyond the eyes, much resembling the mouth of a frog. In the insect-eating Fissirostres this formation is admirably adapted for capturing their active prey, and in the Kingfishers it is equally adapted for securing the slippery inhabitants of the waters. The Caprimulgidse arc nocturnal in their habits, chasing their insecf prey by night or at the dusk, when the chaffers and large moths are on the wing. In order to prevent the escape of the insect when taken, the mouth is fringed with long stiff bristles, called " vibrissse." The name of Goat-sucker is derived from a silly notion that they suck goats, a piece of credulity only equalled by the hedgehog's supposed crime of sucking cows, and the accusation against the cat of sucking the breath of children. The genus Caprimulgus is furnished with a kind of comb on the middle claw of its foot, but for what purpose is not clearly ascertained. The power of wing in these birds is very great, and hardly surpassed by that of the swallow, both birds obtaining their food in a similar manner. The Nightjar, or Goat-sucker, sometimes called the Fern Owl, is spread over Europe, and is tolerably common in England. It may be seen at the approach of evening, silently wheeling round the trees, capturing the nocturnal moths and beetles; then occasionally settling and uttering its jarring cry. When flying, the bird sometimes makes its wings meet over its back, and brings them together with a smart snap, it arrives in this country at the beginning of May, and leaves in December. It makes no nest, but lays two mottled eggs on the bare ground. Its length is ten inches. The Whip-poor-Will and the Chuck- Will's- Widow both belong to this family. These two birds derive their singular names from their cry, winch is said closely to imitate the words that have been assigned to them as their names. Of course the English language must feel itself highly honoured that an American bird should prefer the language of tin "Britisher" to that of the Delaware or the Sioux. Both the birds flj by night, or rather in the dusk of the evening, aad like the owl are ir.ucil distressed by being forced to face a brilliant light. The Chuck- Will's- Widow is partially migratory, and dwells in the more southern parts ol America during the winter. Audubon relates that this bird applies its enormous mouth to rather an unexpected use, viz. that of removing its eggs if it finds that they have been disturbed. Of this curious circumstance he was an eye-witness. He saw the bird that first discovered that an intruder had touched the eggs wait for its mate, and then saw each of them take an egg in its mouth and convey it off. MARTINS. The Hirundinidse are remarkable tor their great power of * I have seen it near Amiens, accompanying a train, and apparently hawking after the oioths that were attracted by the lights. 190 NATURAL HISTORY. wing, their wide mouths, and short legs. In the genus Cypselus, the toes arc all directed forward, and the tarsus is thickly feathered. The whole of their plumage is constructed with a view to rapid and active motion. The feathers of their bodies are firm and close, so as not tc impede their passage through the air ; their wing feathers are long, stifl and pointed, and their tails are long and forked ; all which properties we know to belong to great speed. Sub-tribe II. . . FISSIROSTKES DIURN>E. Family II. ... HirundinYdtc. (Lat. Hirundo, a Swallow. Swallcw kind! Sub-family a-. . Ci/pnHna. CYPSELUS. (Gr. KityeAos, a Martin.) Melba. (The Alpine Swift.) The ALPINE SWIFT has several times been found in England, and is therefore admitted into the calendar of British birds. It may at once be distinguished from the common Swift by the white throat and abdo- men, its breast being crossed by a brown band. Its nest is generally built in the crevices of lofty towers, and is made of straw and moss, glued together and hardened by some matter fur- nished by the bird, which when dry forms a compact mass. The leJigth of this bird is rather more than eight inches. NATURAL HI8TOKTT. 191 The COMMON SWIFT, popularly called "Jack Screamer," is the largest and swiftest of the British Iliruudiiiidse. It seems to spend the whole day on the wing, wheeling with wonderful velocity, and occasionally soaring until it is hardly perceptible, but screaming so shrilly that the sound is plainly heard. The number of insects wuiuh it destroys is almost incredible ; they are retained in a kind of pouch uiuier the tongue, and when taken out, can hardly be pressed into a tea-spoon. These Apus (Gr. &KOVS, without feet), the Swift. are intended for the young, and the supply is constantly renewed. It lays from two to four long white eggs, on a nest composed of grass, straws, feathers, silk, &c. The colour of this bird is a dusky black. The length is eight inches, the expanse of wing eighteen inches, and its weight barely one ounce. The foot of the Swift is of a singular form, unlike that of any other bird. All the toes are directed forward, there being no hinder toe at all. Some naturalists say that the object of this formation is that the bird may be enabled to climb up the eaves under which its nest is made. If, however, that is the case, we may ask, Why is not the same shape of foot found in the sparrows and other birds, which build in precisely similar localities ? The CHIMNEY MARTIN or SWALLOW is the most common of its family, and too well known to need much description. When skimming ove Sub-family 6. Hirundinince. HIRUNDO. (Lat.) 192 NATURAL HISTORY. ponds or rivers in search of insects, the snap with which it closes its bill may easily be heard. In the course of '*,s flight over the surface, it also dashes up the water with its wings, which action gave rise to the opinion that Swallows passed the winter under water, and rose in the spring. It is so eager after its prey, that it may be easily caught with a rod and line baited with a fly, after the manner of anglers. When I was at school, we used to knock down plenty of swallows with stones in the follow- ing manner. We went to a bridge, or some such place, where many swallows were flying about. Where they ap- peared in the greatest Rustica (Lat. rustic), tiie Oldmney Martin. numbers we threw a small white stone, and immediately hurled a larger one after it. The swallows all dashed at the little stone, taking it for some entomological luxury, and one or two were generally struck down by the big stone following in its wake. It breeds twice in the year, building a nest of mud against a wall or other convenient situation, and laying five very pale pink eggs, spotted with reddish brown, the pink of which vanishes when the egg is emptied of its contents, as it is caused by the light passing through the yolk, and has to be renewed by artificial means if the egg is placed in a collection. Such is also the case with most small light- coloured eggs. The bird appears regularly to return, year by year, to its old nest. The whole of its upper surface is a deep purplish black, its forehead and throat chest- nut. Humboldt, in his " Travels," relates that he saw a swallow perch on the rigging of the vessel when it was one hundred and twenty miles from the land. The SAND MARTIN is the smallest of our British Swallows, but makes its appearance before any of its brethren. It principally builds in cliffs of sandstone, boring holes three feet or more in depth, and often winding in their course, most probably to avoid a casual stone or spot too hard for its bill, which, although small and apparently unfitted for the task, makes its way through the sandstone with extraordinary rapidity. Where a convenient sand-cliff exists, hundreds of these pretty little birds iay be seen working away at their habitations, or dashing about in the NATURAL niBTGKT. 193 air, looking at a distauce like white butterflies, and occasionally returning to the rock, which is often completely honeycombed by their labours. Near Ashboura iii Derbyshire there are plenty of these rocks, where the Sand Martins build in, myriads, tolerably Co T Ii, B .-(Qr. K^Aos, twittering.) safe except from the school-boy, who will clamber up and down the crumblijg surface, and thrust his arm into the holes, perfectly re- gardless of the danger, and content with grasp- ing a tuft of grass or a root of blackberry as an anchorage. 1 have seen the Sand Martins there engaged in mobbing a . sparrow - hawk, who, Rl P aria ( Lat - f a bank), the Sand Martm. after being buffeted about for some time, retaliated by seizing a toe daring Martin and carrying it off, when the whole scene was changed the triumphant jeerings turned into cries of fear, and the place was deserted except by the crafty hawk and his screaming prey. The eggs are five, pinkish white, with an almost imperceptible dotting of red. The MARTIN or WIN- DOW SWALLOW reaches this country a little after the swallow, and almost invariably takes possession of its old nest, which it repairs about May. It lays five eggs closely resem- bling those of the sand martin. About Septem- ber immense numbers may be seen perched upon houses and trees CHELIDON. (Gr. XeAi5, a Swallow.) Radcliffe Library at Oxford is a favourite assembling place lor these birds, where they may be seen lingeiing for several days after most of their fellows have vanished. At these times every available point is covered with them. The dome of St. Paul's is also a favoured spot. o 194 NATURAL H1STOKY. The ESCULENT SWALLOW, whose nests are considered such a delicacy among the Chinese, builds its singular habitation in the sides of almost inaccessible cliffs, so that the business of procuring them is a most dangerous task. The nature of the jelly-like transparent material of which the nests are made is not jet known. The nests are found in Java. Family III. . Coracildse. Sub-family a. Coraciince. COKAOIAS. (Gr. KopaKlas, like a Raven.) Garrfila (Lat. talkative), the Roller. 'The ROLLEB. is plentifully found in most parts of Europe, but has seldom been seen in England. Its mouth is slightly furnished with vibrissse or long bristly hairs, like those of the nightjar. It is a very shy bird, frequenting the depths of the forests. It builds its nest in hollow trees some say in banks and lays from four to seven white eggs, very like those of the kingfisher. Its legs are short, and the upper mandible is bent over the lower at the extremity. The colouring is brilliant, shades of blue and gre'en prevailing. Its length is about thirteen inches. The TROGON. The magnificent family of the Trogons stands preemi- nent in beauty and brilliancy of plumage, the usual tint being a metallic golden green, boldly contrasted with scarlet, black, and brown. The toes are placed two behind and two before, like those of the woodpeckers. The Resplendent Trogon is the most gorgeous of all this gorgeous NATURAL HISTORY. 195 ramily. Its long and gracefully curved tail, nearly three feet long ; the whole of the upper surface, and the throat, are a glowing green ; the breast and under parts are bright crimson ; the middle feathers of the tail black, and the outer feathers wnite. This splendid bird is an inhabi- tant of Mexico, and was used by the Mexican nobles as an ornament to their head-dress. From the feathers of these and other Trogons the mosaic pictures of the Mexicans were made. One of these, most delicately and beautifully Family IV. Trogomdae. TaoaoN. (Gr. Tf>coyci>, I gnaw.) Respleudens (Lat. shining), the Resplendent Trogon. executed, containing ii^any figures, is now in the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford, and is there said to be made of humming-birds' feathers. The subject is " Christ fainting under the cross." The whole picture is about the size of the palm of the hand, and the figures are barely half an inch in height. This is a very difficult bird to stuff, on account of the delicate texture of the skin, which is so fragile, that it tears almost as easily as wet blotting paper. o 2 196 NATURAL H18TOBY. The KINGFISHER. The peculiarities of their form immediately distin- guish the Kingfishers from other birds. The disproportionate length ol the bill is their chief characteristic. The Common Kingfisher is found in most parts of England. Scarcely anything more beautiful can Family V. AlcedinMre. (Lat. Alcedo, a Kingfisher.) Sub-family a. Alcedinlnte. Hisplda (Lat. rough), the Kingfisher. be conceived than the metallic glitter of its plumage as it shoots along the banks of the river, or darts into the waterafter its strugglingprey. Its usual method of fishing is by placing itself on a stump or stone overhanging the water, from which spot it watches for the unsuspecting fish beneath. After a fish is caught, the bird kills it by beating it several times against its resting-place, and then swallowing it, head foremost. Sometimes it does not exercise sufficient caution in its devouring propensities. A heedless Kingfisher was exhibited at the Ashmolean Society, which had been found dead with a peculiarly large minnow firmly fixed in its throat. It lays its eggs in holes bored in the banks of rivers or ponds, and appears to build no nest. A pair of kingfishers, for two successive years, inhabited a bank of a very small stream, little more than a drain, at Little Hinton.Wiltshire, where no fish lived, nor were there any to be found within a considerable distance. The eggs are from four to seven in number, of a pearly whiteness, and remarkably globular in shape. In many parts of the country it is fully believed that if a kingfisher is dried and suspended by the beak, the breast will always turn in the direction of the wind. This belief has caused the death of no few kingfishers, whose suspended bodies may be seen in many a cottage, their brilliant blue and red plumage rotating in a most im- partial manner. The length of this bird is seven inches. The BEE-EATER is common on the Continent, but seldom visits this country. In appearance it is not very unlike the kingfisher, both in shape and its Brilliant colours. It has long been celebrated for the havoc it causes among the inhabitants of the hive, although it does not restrict itself to those insects, but pursues wasps, butterflies, &c., on the NATURAL HISTORY. 19? wing, with great activity. Like the kingfisher, it lays its eggs in holes bored in banks. The eggs are white and from four to seven in number Its ler.gth is eleven inches. Family VI. . . MeropWae. Sub-family . . Meroplncp. MEROFS.-- (Or. Apiaster (Lat. Bee-eater}. The HOOPOE,* one of the most elegant birds that visit this country, is unfortunately a very rare guest, and seldom, if ever, breeds here. Its beautiful crest can be raised or depressed at pleasure, but is seldom displayed unless the bird is excited from some cause. Its food consists of insects, -which it first batters and moulds into an oblong mass, and then swallows, with a peculiar jerk of the head. In Yarrell's British Birds, there is a very interesting account of a tame Hoopoe in the possession of Mr. Bartlett. In Prance Hoopoes are very common, and may be seen examining old and rotten stumps for the insects that invariably congregate in such places. There they may be seen in flocks, but they never seem to come over to England in greater numbers than one pair at a time. M. Bechstein gives a curious account of the attitude assumed by tne Hoopoe on perceiving a large bird in the air. " As soon as they per- ceived a raven or even a pigeon, they were on their bellies in the twink- ling of an eye, their wings stretched out by the side of the head, so that the large quill feathers touched the head, leaning on the back with the bill pointing upwards. In this curious posture they might be taken ibi an old rag ! " * See page m. 198 NATURAL HISTORY. These birds of which he is speaking are two young Hoopoes whom he, nad taken from the nest and was rearing. They lived for some time, but both died of civilization. The ,..,,. 3 (Lat. Slen- fema j e liad a j, a j,i t O f drag . r-oiUed.) m n g i ier food about the floor, ipiajc.- -(Qr. oviroib, contracted ">\ , , v Jrim 6 "E^} the Hoopoe, Hoopoe kind.) s tlmt , . ! fc . be ^ me f C0ver , ed Sub-family a. Upuplnce. wlth ^bbish. Ihis formed a hard mass nearly the size of an ordinary nut in the bird's stomach, something like the balls of hair found in the stomach of a cow, and soon killed the poor Hoopoe. The male bird lived through the winter, but becoming attached to the warmth of the stcve, its beak became so unnaturally dry, that the two mandibles separated from each other and curved out- wards, having an interval ol nearly an inch between their tips. The bird of course soon died of absolute starva- tion. The Hoopoe lays from four to seven grey eggs in the hollow of a tree. Its length is one foot. Epops (Or. "Eiroif'), the Hoopoe. The HUMMING-BIRD. These little living gems are exclusively found in the New World, especially about the tropical parts, becoming gradually scarcer as we recede from the tropics in either direction. Only two species are known to exist in the northern parts, but in the central portions and in the islands about Florida they absolutely swarm. They glance about in the, sunshine, looking like streaks of brilliant light, and so rapid is the vibration of their fine and elastic wings, that when hover- ing over a flower, a humming or buzzing sound is produced, from which peculiarity the name of Humming-bird has been given them in almost every language. Waterton's description of the appearance of the Humming-bird in the suu is very characteristic. "Though least in size, the glittering mantle of the Humming-bird NATDRAT, HISTORY. entitles it to the first place in the list of the birds of the New World. It may truly be called the Bird of Paradise ; and had it existed in the Old World, it would have claimed the title instead of the bird which has Family II. Trochilidse. TROCHILUS. (Gr. Tpox^os now the honour to bear it. See it darting through the air almost as quick as thought ! now it is within a yard of your faee in an instant gone now it flut- ters from flower to flower to sip the silver dew it is now a ruby now a topaz now an emerald now all burnished gold." It is a singular fact, that a common insect called the Humming-bird Moth is form- ed on precisely the same principle, and flies in just the same manner. This moth is furnished, like the Hum- ming- oird, with rigid sharp wings' instead of the Ion;' Colubris (Lat. like a snake), the Ruby-throated lender bill and longer tongue Humming-bird. jf the Humming-bird, the moth is furnished with an exceedingly long and flexible proboscis, which it uses in the same manner, i.e. in thrusting into the interior of flowers while the crealure is hovering above them. The moth also possesses a kind of moveable tail, wherewith to direct its course. The description of a Humming-bird hovering over a flower will exactly serve for the moth, save that the moth lacks the brilliant plumage of the bird. Gardens are a great attraction to this moth, and if the ob- server is very quiet, while, looking 'at a flower, he suddenly sees an insect apparently suspended over it exploring the flower with its proboscis. It moves from blossom to blossom, always balancing itself over them by its wings. Let the observer move but his hand, and it is gone has van- ished as mysteriously as it came. In the same way, the Humming-bird hovers over flowers, not only to extract the honey and dew, but to search for the little insects that are always to be found in such places. Speaking of the Huby-throated Humming-bird, Waterton observes : '* It seems to be an erroneous opinion that the Humming-bird lives entirely on honey-dew. Almost every flower of the tropical climates contains insects of one kind or other ; now, the Humming-bird is most busy about the flowers an hour or two after sunrise, and after a shower of rain, and it is just at this time that the insects come out to the edge of the flower in order that the sun's raos, a crest), the Double-crested Humming-Bird. The tongue of the Humming-bird is formed much like that of the woodpecker, being curled round the head, under the skin, and thus capable of being darted to a considerable distance. There is a fable of a wren and an eagle. The two birds entered into a contest respecting the height to whicli they could severally attain. A day was fixed, and the birds started. Away went the eagle, soaring in lessening spires, until his form was lost in the clouds. But where was the wren ? The eagle had lost sight of his pigmy opponent long ago, but in his pride to show what he could do, he still soared on and on until the lighter air would scarcely bear his weight. As he hovered with wearied and rapidly beating wings, unable to gain another yard, up sprang the wren from among the eagle's feathers, where it had sat very comfortably all the while, and fluttered above his head with a song of triumph. NATURAL FTTSTORY. 201 But truth, as has been often said, is stranger than fiction, as appears from the fact that the eagle can be vanquished by a more insignificant foe than even the wren, by the Humming-bird, which is not content with a mere racing victory, but drives the eagle before it. The Ruby-throated Humming-bird has been seen to dart between the wings of a flying eagle, to perch upon its head, deliberately to strip oft 7 the feathers, and send them floating in a stream after the flight of the persecuted eagle, which seemed almost driven to madness by its tiny foe. Like many other little creatures, the assurance and impudence of the Humming-bird is remarkable. It is easily tamed for that very reason, and has been known to domesticate itself in an hour from the time of its capture, and even when released, it has returned again to partake of the dainties which it had tasted during its captivity. There are an immense number of species of these exquisite birds, vary- ing from the size of a swift to that of a humble bee. Any description of them is impossible they must be seen. Fortunately, the magnificent collection brought to England by that most indefatigable and enterprising naturalist, Mr. Gould, places it in the power of every one to view these living gems in all the attitudes of life, and surrounded with the appro- priate vegetation. They need nothing but motion. Jt appears that cold is destructive to the Humming-birds. Wilson says : " This little bird is extremely susceptible of cold, and if long deprived of the animating influence of the sunbeams, droops, and soon dies. A very beautiful male was brought me this season, which I put into a wire cage, and placed in a retired shaded part of the room. After fluttering about for some time, the weather being uncommonly cool, it clung by the wires, and hung in a seemingly torpid state for a whole forenoon. No motion whatever of the lungs could be perceived on the closest in spection ; though at other times this is remarkably observable ; the eyes were shut, and when touched by the finger it gave no signs of life or motion. I carried it out to the open air, and placed it directly in the rays of the sun in a sheltered situation. In a few seconds respiration became very apparent ; the bird breathed faster and faster, opened its eyes, and began to look about with as much seeming vivacity as ever. After it had completely recovered I restored it to liberty ; and it flew of! to the withered top of a pear-tree, where it sat for some time, dressing its disordered plumage, and then shot off like a meteor." Fear will also produce the same effect, as they have repeatedly died when caught in a common gauze net, which does not injure even the delicate scales of the butterfly's wing. They are very quarrelsome litt'e creatures, and frequently fight with expanded crests and ruffled feathers until they fall exhausted to the ground. The nests are very neat and beautiful, and, as may be imagined from the diminutive size of the little architect, exceedingly small. They are composed of down, cotton, &c., and are sometimes covered on the outside with mosses and lichens. Waterton relates a curious formation of the 202 NATURAL BISTORT nest of oiie particular species, whose habitations are built at the ex- tremity of thin branches. "Instinct teaches one species, which builds its nest on the slender branches which hang over the rivers, to make a rim round the mouth of the nest, turned inwards, so as to prevent the eggs from rolling out. . . The trees on the river's bank are particularly exposed to violent gusts oi cviud, and when I have been sitting in the canoe and looking on^ I have seen the slender branch of the tree which held the Humming-bird's nest so violently shaken, that the bottom of the inside of the nest has appeared, and had there been nothing at the rim to stop the eggs, they must in- evitably have been jerked out into the water." The CREEPERS are remarkable for their long slender bills and claws. Family III. . Certttfdas. (Or. KlpOias. Creeper adapted for climbinK kind.) Sub family a. Certhlnce. CERTHYA. Pamiliaris (Lot. familiar), the Creeper. trees, and capturing in- sects. The common Creeper may often be seen in this country, running spirally up the trunks of trees, and pro- bing the bark with its bill, and so firmly do the claws hold, that when shot it ,does not always _ ,. _ . - . * fall, but remains clinging to the tree. The nest of this elegant little bird is made in a decayed tree. The eggs are from sever to nine in number, grey with dasky spots. The NUTHATCH. The term Nuthatch well explains the habits of this interesting little bird. As may be imagined from its name, nuts form a considerable portion of its food, but it also feeds largely on insects, pecked from the bark of trees. While searching after insects, it displays an activity even surpassing the creeper, as it runs up and down the trunk, mostly descending with its head downwards, a feat beyond the capacity of either creeper or woodpecker. In order to break the shell of the nuts, it contrives to fix the fruit in some crevice, and then grasping with its powerful feet, it swings its beak against the nut with the wnole force of its body, and soon splits the shell in pieces. In spots frequented by this bird, heaps of nut-shells may be seen, as it usually resorts to a place where it has found a convenient resting-place for the nut, just e NATURAL HISTORY 303 Sub-family b. . Sittmce. SITTA. (Gr. SI'TTTJ.} neaps of snail-shells may be often found by stones which the thrush has found fitted for breaking them. _ It has hitherto been found impossible to keep the Nuthatch in cap- tivity. Its restless spirit and obstinate perseverance in pecking at its prison speedily kill it ; and although several Iwe been placed in confine- ment, none have been re- corded to survive beyond the third day. The Rev. Mr. Bree relates that the bill of a Nuthatch which he had taken in a common brick trap was worn away to barely two- thirds of its usual length by the unremitting attempts ol the bird to escape from its prison. The nest of this bird is usually made in a hole in a decayed tree, and as is usual with nests made in holes, it is a very rough fabrication, com- posed of a few dried leaves. The bird is also remarkable from its habit of plastering up the hole with mud when it is too large to suit it. The eggs are from five to seven in number, of a whitish colour, spotted with reddish brown. The WREN shares with the robin some immunity from juvenile sports- men. Although it may be fearlessly hopping about in the hedge, jerking its funny little tail, and playing its antics just at the muzzle of the gun, few boys will fire at it a privilege for which it is difficult to give a reason,, except, perhaps, the very incomprehensible assertion that " The robin and the wren are God Almighty's cock and hen ;" although why these two birds, both proverbially quarrelsome and pugnacious, should be selected, to the exclusion of others, is difficult to say. Perhaps the robin enjoys his immunity from the "Babes in the Wood," and the wren uinkes a convenient rhyme. Be this as it may, it is to be wished that a similar rhyme existed, including the owl and the kestrel. A singular anecdote is related of this bird. "In the end of June, 1835, a person was shooting in the neighbour hood of Bandrakehead, in the parish of Colton, Westmoreland : he killed a brace of blue titmice (Parus cesruleus), which some time before bad been observed to be constructing a nest, in the end of a house be- longing to a Mr. Innes of the same^)lac. In the course of the day, it Europaja (Lat. European), the Nuthatch. 204 NATURAL HISTORY. was ascertained that the titmice had completed the time of incubation, and that their death had consequently left their offspring in a state of utter destitution. This, Sub-family c. Menurlnce. (Gr. M^i/iJaj, I dis- however was not lone play ; ovpd, a tail.) permitted to continue, for TROGLODYTES. (Gr. TpcayKoSur^, a creeper the chirping of the young into caves.) birds attracted the atten- tion, and excited the com- passion of a wren ; which, since that period, adopted the nestlings, and was daily engaged in rearing nnd feeding them, with the affectionate kindness iind unremitting assiduity of a parent bird." The nest of the Wren is built in any conve- nient cranny ; an ivy- covered tree, the thatch of a barn, or a warm scarecrow, are all used by The nest is usually of an oven-like shape, always covered on the out- DENTIROSTRES. (Lat. tooth- side with some material re- billed.) sembling the colour of the LuscinMse. (Lat. Luscinia, a objects round it, such as Nightingale. Nightingale kind.) green moss if built among Parvulus (Lat. very small), the Wren. :his fearless little bird. Tribe III. Family I. Sub-family a. Lusclnince. CALA.MODYTA. (Gr. KaXa/ioSy'-n;?, a diver into reedfO ivy, or brown lichen if built on a rock or in the fork of a withered branch. The eggs are six or eight in. number- white, speckled with reddish brown. Locustella, the Orauhopper Warbler. The GRASSHOPPER WAR- BLER. While walking along the hedges during the spring, an incessant cry, closely resembling that of the grass- hopper, and easily to be taken tor it, is heard proceeding from the hedge. This cry proceeds from a little bird, called on that account the NATURAL HISTORY. 205 I.USCTNIA. Grasshopper Warbler. The -little creature keeps so close that it is very difficult to catch even a casual glance at it, as it flits along the bottom of the hedge. The nest is carefully concealed, and very difficult to find. It is com- posed of dried grass, and is usually hidden by the tufts of herbage among which it is built. The eggs are from five to seven in number; white, speckled with red. The length of the bird is five inches and a half ; the third primary feather is the longest. The NIGHTINGALE. " Tiuu tiuu tiuu tiuu Spe tiu zqua Tio tio tio tio tio tio tio tix Qutio qutio qutio qutio Zquo zquo zquo zquo Tzii tzii tzu tzti tzu tzii tzii tzii tzii tzi (iuurror tiu zqua pipiquisi Zozozozozozozozozozozozo zirrhading ! &c. &c.'' So does a well-known naturalist endeavour to express the wild and spiritual melody of this most exquisite of British song-birds, the NIGHT- INGALE. And in truth it is perhaps as good a description as can be given without the aid of music. Even its own marvellous notes sound comparatively weak un- less backed by the ac- companiments of night and tranquillity ; for the inimitable song of this Mendelssohn among birds loses great part of its beauty when uttered by day, deadened and con- fused with other sounds. There are some people who cannot appreciate the song of this bird. Philomela ((Jr. 4>iAo^Aa, proper name), lite There is a story that a Nightingale. man who was engaged as gardener in a gentleman's family, was permitted to live within the grounds. In a short time he asked to be allowed to change his house, and on being asked his reason for giving up so good a situation, answered that he could get no sleep at night, because those nasty Nightingales kept up such a continual guggling. In some counties of England it is never found, but in many its nightly strains are frequently heard. The fields and College gardens of Oxford are full of Nightingales, whose songs add greatly to the effect of the scene. Well may Isaak Walton say in his delightfully quaint language : " But tke Nightingale, another of my airy creatures, breathes such sweet, loud music out of her instrumental throat, that it might make mankind to think that miracles are not ceased. He that at midnight, 206 NATURAL HISTORY. when the very labourer sleeps securely, should hear, as I ha^e very often, the clear airs, the sweet descents, the natural rising and falling, the doubling and redoubling of her voice, might well be lifted above earth, and say, ' Lord, what music hast thou provided for the saints in Heaven, when thou affordest bad men such music on earth /'" It must be borne in mind, that not only in this bird, but in other singing birds, the male is the vocalist, so that Milton's address to the " sweet songstress " is unfortunately not quite so correct as poetical ; a misfortune of frequent occurrence. SYLVIA. (Proper name. ) ,, . , - Undata (Lat. W avy), the Dartford Warbler, SYLVIA. Ciaerga (Lat. oaky), the Whitctkroat. The WAKBLERS are spread over almost the entire globe, and many gladden this coun- try with their pleasant songs. The Dartford Warbler de- rives its name from the place where it was first noticed as a British bird. It is ex- tremely small, hardly larger than a wren, but the length of its tail increases its apparent size. Furze-bushes form its usual residence. There it may be seen hovering over the tops of the bushes, uttering its curious quavering song, at the same time erecting the ts throat. It lays its eggs in a nest carefully con- cealed in the centre of a furze-bush. The eggs are of a greenish white, speckled with brown spots. Its length is five inches. The pretty little WHITE- THROAT is one of the migra- tory birds, remaining with us during the summer. Few copses are without the sin- gular and pleasing song of the Whitethroat. It derives its name from the white colour of its throat and abdomen, which renders it a conspi- VATURAL HISTORY. 207 cuous bird, ana even if that proof were wanting, its curious habit of flying upwards from its perch, and again descending on the same spot, immediately points it out. It builds a small nest, mostly among brambles or on a stump densely covered with weeds. The eggs are five in number a greyish white thickly spotted with brown. The length of the bird is not quite six inches. The BLACKCAP, almost a rival to the nightingale, is at once recognised by the black colour of the crown of the head. Only the males, however, are thus decorated, the crown SYLVIA. of the head of the female being dark brown. Its sweet notes are poured forth from the concealment of some thicket or tuft of trees, where it trusts to the density of the foliage to elude disco- very. Like the mocking-bird of America, it can imitate the songs of other birds with such perfect inflection that it is almost impossible to detect the imposture. Among bushes and bram- bles it builds its nest, which is made of dried grass, moss, and hairs. The eggs are five Atricapilla (L&t.-blackhaired), the Blackcap in number reddish brown, Warbler. marked with dark spots. The length of the bird is nearly six inches ; the third primary feather is the longest. The GARDEN WABBLER. This bird is one of our sweetest songsters, and is supposed by some to be little inferior to the Nightingale itself. So we may well pardon its occasional depredations on our garden fruit for the sake of its melody. It is a migratory bird, arriving in England in April, and leaving towards the end of August or the beginning of September. Almost every part of England is visited by this bird, and especially those counties where are thick woods and plenty of water. The colour of this Pettichaps is an olive green, shot, as the ladies say, with a greyish shading ; while some parts of the body, such as the sides of the neck, the throat, and under parts, are either ash grey or greyish vhite. The length of the bird is about six inches. Its nest is built in hedges, and situated near the ground. In it are 208 NATURAL HISTORY. laid four or five eggs, of a whitish grey colour, spotted with brown, thf spots being collected towards the larger end. SYLVIA. SYLVIA. Hortensis (Lat. belonging to the garden), the Garden Warbler, or Greater Pettichaps. Tliis is the Beccafico of the Italians, so celebrated as a dainty for t0e table. The CHIFF-CHAFF, so called from its peculiar cry, is almost the first oi the Warblers that visits us in the spring, and one of the last to leave us in the autumn, sometimes remaining here until the middle of October. This little bird is found in most of the southern counties of England, and in Wales, but has not been noticed north of Northumberland. On its first arrival it feeds on the leaf-rolling caterpillars that infest the leaves and early buds of trees, thereby doing great service to the gardener, Rufa (Lat. ruddy), the Chiff-chaff. Sp , es P eciallv detests all "blight," as he calls these insidious little devourers. The nest of the Chiff-chaff, like that of the wren, is oval or rounded, and entered by a hole at the side. It is placed near the ground in a bush, or sometimes resting on the hedge-bank. Its eggs are six in number, speckled with purplish red on a white ground. The length of NATURAL HISTORY. the bird is not quite five inches are the longest. The WILLOW WARBLER, or WILLOW WREN, is one of our early visitors, reaching this country at the same time as the blackcap. It much resembles the chiff-chaff and the wood warbler, but may be distinguished from the former by the comparatively light tint of its legs, and from the latter by the yellow tinge of the under parts. It is an useful bird to the gardener, as it is entirely insectivorous, never touching the fruit or seeds, and should, therefore, be protected by him. Its nest is oval or roundish in its form, and is entered by a little hole in the side. 209 the third ;md fourth primary feathers SYLVIA. Trochllus (Gr. Warller. the Willow Fir plantations are its favourite REGULUS. (Lat.) The GOLDEX-CRESTED UEGULUS, as it ought properly to be called, is one of the smallest of British birds, resort, and there it may be seen hopping about the bran- ches, or running round them, head downwards, in search of the insects hidden beneath the bark. Its name is derived from the orange-coloured tuft of feathers on the crown of its head, for which reason it is often called the Kinglet. Its note is weak, but very pleasing, and much resembles that oi' the common wren. ^Mk The female is very bold while ^$)| n sitting, and will permit close observation without quitting the nest. The nest itself is an object of great beauty. It is usually placed on the under CristatiiB (Lat. crofcd), the Golden- fretted side of a far branch sheltered Wren. 210 NATURAL HISTORY. by the overaanging foliage, and sometimes further protected by a large bunch of cones forming a kind of roof over it. The eggs are from six to ten in number, very small, and of a reddish white colour. The length of the bird is three inches and a half. The fourth or fifth primary feather is the longest. Sub-family b. Erytliaclnce, (Gr. 'EplOaKos, a Redbreast). SAXICOLA. (Lat. Stone inhabiting.} The WHEATEAR is one of our early visitors, appearing at the beginning of March. It is a very con- spicuous bird, and can be readily distinguished by the black mark that surrounds the eye, and stretches from the base of the bill, to beyond the ear coverts. It is a very pretty songster, its notes being soft and sweet, although wanting in power. It is killed in great num- bers for the lable, as its flesh is so delicate as to entitle it to the name of the English Ortolan. In the proper sea- son, the bird is covered with fat to such an extent, that the plumage is often spoiled by the fat running from the holes caused by the shot. The nest of the Wheatear is made of the usual materials, and is placed in some shel- tered spot where it is well concealed from prying eyes. The eggs are five or six in number, of a delicate faint bluish tinge, and very smooth on the exterior. (Euauthe (Gr. olvavdni), the Wheatear. The REDSTART derives its name from the bright reddish chestnut colour ot the upper tail coverts and tail feathers, which appear very conspicuous as the bird flits from one tree to another, or dashes off when startled. It inhabits the skirts of forests, copses, gardens, and especially frequents old ivied walls, where numbers of the nests may be found. In 1847, 1 found a Redstart's nest built in a hole of a wall, forming one side of a narrow passage in Merton College, Oxford. The eggs were nearly hatched, and the birds did not seem to be disturbed by the constant passing of servants with their paraphernalia of brooms, pails, and other implements. The nest was so placed that every passer by could not fail to perceive it, but the birds sat on their eggs quite unconcernedly. The song of this bird is not very powerful, but the notes are peculiarly NATORAL HI8TORT. 211 . (Lat. spaikling.) sweet._ While singing, it often changes its situation, occasionally singing as it flies. The nest is placed usually in a hole in a wall, or in a hollow tree. The eggs are five in number, of a greenish blue colour, closely resembling those of the Hedge Accentor. The length of the bird is rather more than five inches. The fourth primary feather is the longest. The REDBREAST, or ROBIN REDBREAST, as it is affection- ately termed, has, by its fear- less conduct, earned itself golden opinions from all kinds of men. Every nation seems to protect it. Even the Ameri- can Redbreast lives unharmed, possibly on account of its con- nexion with its English rela- tion, whose oft-told charity to- wards the Babes in the Wood has turned aside from its posterity even the unsparing hand of the sporting schoolboy. In the winter, when the berries are gone, insects dead, and the worms i'liumieura (Gr. Qxlvto, I display ; oiiau., a tail), the Redstart. hidden under the hard frozen E RYTHXcus.-(Gr. soil, then the Robin flies for refuge to the habitations of man for shelter and food. It is very amusing to see the half trusting, half fearful look with which it hops to the window-sill for the first time. After a while, it be- comes bold, and taps at the window, if the expected crumbs are not thrown out. Before very long, it ventures to enter the room, hops about on the table, and quite seems to consider as a right what was first merely a favour. When once established, it is ,, a Redbreast.) Rubecttla (Lat. a Jteabreatt}, This word ought properly to be spelled EBITHACUS, but I have taken the etymologj f the Tritish Museum Catalogue. P 2 212 NATURAL HISTORY. very jealous, and will not suffer a friend to be partaker of the same comforts, but attacks him with the greatest fury; so the unfortunate second comer has to v/ait shivering outside the window, with his feathers puffed up, and his little bright eye glancing from the depths of the plumage. About the year 1843, a llobin used to frequent our house. He was so tame as to answer to his name " Bob," and continued his attachment even through the summer. When the rabbits were fed, Bob always came to assist, and usually contrived to perch on the edge of the pan from which the rabbit was eating. Both parties seemed perfectly satisfied, and Bunny and Bob always continued very good friends. The nest of this bird is built in a crevice of an old ivied wall, in a bank, sheltered by the roots of trees, or in a mass of ivy clinging to ac old tree. The eggs are five in number, of a pale grey colour, profusely marked with reddish spots. Sub-family c. Accentorlnce. ACCENTOR. (Lat. a Sinycr.) The HEDGE ACCENTOR, or HEDGE Sr/Aimow, is one of our commonest English birds, closely resembling the com- mon sparrow ill appearance. The nest is built in holes, and contains five blue eggs like those of the Redstart, but stouter in shape, and of a deeper blue. It is often very bold when engaged in sitting, and will permit a near approach with- out leaving the nest. I have repeatedly visited the nest of of one of these birds while the female was sitting, and have parted the boughs of the shrub where the nest was placed, in order to get a good view, while the hen bird still sat quietly in the nest anxiously watching every movement, but not. attempting to stir. The TITS. The birds of the family of the Tits are remark- able for their active habits among the branches of trees. There are few who have not seen these beautiful and interesting little birds twisting round the branches, perfectly unconcerned at the presence of the spectator, sometimes hanging, head downwards, sometimes chasing iu umucky beetle along the bark, and invariably catching it, in spite of its swift limns and active wings ; sometimes twisting off a bud, and ModularluB (Lat. warbling), the Hedge Accentor. NATURAL HISTORY. 213 Sub-family d. Parlnce. PAHUS. (Lat. a Titmouse.} Major (Lat. greater), the Great Titmouse. pulling it to pieces with marvellous rapidity, in order to secure the lurk- ing caterpillar within ; sometimes pecking away at a piece of loose bark, and extracting an un- willing spider by one of its legs left incautiously projecting from its lurk- ing-place. Pity it is that their funny little sharp beaks should ever be put to worse, uses ; but they lie under a grave impu- tation of using these very beaks in the slaughter of the defenceless young of other birds. The GIIEAT TITMOUSE is common in this country, frequenting gardens orchards, copses, &c. During the spring it is very active in the capture of insects, but in autumn and winter it is forced to content itself with grains and seeds of various descriptions. Gilbert White, in his " Sel- borne," mentions that he has seen the Great Tit " while it hung with its back downwards, to my no small delight and admiration, draw straws lengthwise from the eaves of thatched houses, in order to pull out the flies that were concealed among them, and that in such numbers that they quite defaced the thatch, and gave it a ragged appearance." The nest of this bird is built in a hole of a wall, or a decayed tree, and in it are placed six or eight eggs, of a white colour, spotted with reddish brown. The length of the bird is about six inches. The little BLUE TITMOUSE is so well known as hardly to require any description. It is most amusingly courageous, and from the strenuous resistance it offers to its capturer, has acquired from rustic boys the name of "Billy-biter." The angry hiss ot the female has frequently caused an intruding hand to be rapidly withdrawn, for the sound is so exceedingly like the hiss of an irritated snake, and the little beak is so sharp, that few have tho courage to proceed with their investigations. A. pair of these birds built their nesi in the coping of the Great Western Railway, at the Shrivenham station, not two feet from the fiery and noisy engines, which were constantly passing. The men respected the courage of the little birds, and this whole brood was hatched, and suffered to fly at liberty. The utter contempt which this bird entertains for fire-arms often leads lo its destruction, for when he disappointed schoolboy has been wasting NATURAL HISTORY. CoerulCus (Lat. blue), the Blue Titmouse. his powder and shot in at- tempting to hit larks and such large game, he con- soles himself by. shooting the unfortunate Titmouse, who will allow him to come so close that few vestiges of it remain ex- cept a tuft of blue feathers. The eggs of the Blue Titmouse are from six to eight in number, white, marked with reddish brown spots. Its length is about four inches and a half. The LONG-TAILED TITMOUSE is another well-known species of this amusing family. Unlike the other Tits, it does not frequent human _ A1?TTa habitations during the winter, but may be seen in great numbers twisting and creeping about the branches of hedge-rows and field trees. In the summer they are quite as bold as their relations, and and devour, thereby drawing upon them- selves the vengeance of the gardener, who prepares his gun, fires at the supposed de- predators, and possi- bly succeeds in killing them ; but he has also succeeded in doing more damage to the healthy buds by sis spare shot, than a score of Tits would injure during the entire s*vjson. Tne beautiful and elaborate nest which this bird constructs is one of its chief peculiarities. It is oval in shape, and entirely closed, except oue small hole at the side, iust large enough to admit the bird. The Caudatus (Lat. tailed), the Long-tailed Titmouse. NATURAL HISTORY. 215 Sub-family e. Motacillince. (Lafc. a Wagtail.) 3xterior of the nest is usually covered with lichens, and it is lined with a thick layer of soft feathers. In this warm and elegant habitation are laid from ten to fourteen eggs, which are small and very delicately spotted. The entire length of the bird is about five inches and a half. The PIED WAGTAIL. The Wagtails, so named, from the almost incessant vibration of their tails, are exclusively confined to the Old World. The Pied Wagtail is the most common of its race. We often see it pass rapidly, with its peculiar dipping flight ; it settles on the ground and wags its tail it runs a few paces, and wags its tail again; pecks at an insect, and its tail again vibrates. It does not hop, like the war- blers, finches, &c., but runs with great rapidity, and altogether looks very like a diminutive mag- pie. Sand banks by the sides of rivers are the usual resort of these birds, where they may almost always be seen, running about by the o water s edge, sometimes snatching at an incau- tious may-fly, sometimes wading into the water after a caddis-worm or a stray grub, or pecking at an unfortunate little minnow, which has come too near the surface and then it flies off to another spot to repeat the same manoeuvres. This bird also greatly frequents pastures, and may be seen running about among the cows in the most nonchalant manner imaginable, catching the llies that torment those animals in the summer, or flying off to its unfi- nished nett with a beak full of hairs. Their nests are built near the water, in crevices among stones, or in the hole of a wall. Frequently when stones are piled by a wet quarry, several nests may be found in one heap of stones. The eggs are four or five in number, of a dusky white colour, spotted with ashy brown. The length of the bird is seven inches and a half. The YELLOW WAGTAIL* is very similar in habits to the more common Pied Wagtail, but the yellow tints of some of its feathers, somewhat resembling those of the Yellow Hammer, at once distinguish it. Yarrellii (Lat. of Yarrdl), ike Pied Wagtail. Sfie page 216. NATURAL HI8TOK\. MOTACILLA. Flava (Lat. yellow), Yellow Wagtail. The MEADOW PIPIT, more commonly called the Titlark, resembles the rue Larks in the long hind claw and peculiar plumage, but is pointed out as distinct, by the dif- ANTIIL-S. (Lat. a Titlark) f erent C0 l ur of the bill Like the skylark, it sings while in the air, but some- times also pours forth its musical strains while set- tled upon the ground. It feeds principally on slugs, worms, and insects, which it chases with much acti- vity, after the manner of the wagtails, even vibrating its tail like them. Hilly grounds, commons, and meadows are its chief re- sort in summer, but during September and October flocks of these birds may be seen congregated in turnip fields, and in the winter they seek the protection of the warm hedge-rows. The nest of the Titlark is made on the ground, and concealed by a tuft of grass. There arc usually five or six eggs, light brown in colour, spotted with a darker tint. The length of the bird is six inches. Pratensis (Lat. of a Meadow), the Meadow Pipit. The WATER OUZEL, or DIPPED, is one of the most interesting of oui uative birds. It is found principally in hilly places where there are clear and rapid streams, such as in Derbyshire and \orkshire. There it raaj NATURAL HISTORY. 21? be seen to go through Family II. ... Turdldso. (Lat. Turdus, a its far-famed movements Thrush. Thrush kind.) under the water, which Sub-family a. . Formicarlnce. (From Lai For have given rise to so much controversy. It dives for considerable distances with apparent ease, and has a habit c! dipping and rising re- peatedly, from which practice its name has been derived. The nest is usually built by the water side, and is most carefully concealed. In general appearance it is not un- like that of the wren, being made of inter- twined mosses, with an entrance at the side. It mica, an ant.) HYDKOBATA. (Gr. "T5o>p, water ; Baivta, I Ciuclus (Gr. Kiyic\os), the Dipper. lays five largish eggs, of a pure white. The length of this bird about seven inches. TheMissEL,orMis- SELTOE THRUSH, or STOKMCOCK, accord- ing to Waterton, " surpasses all other thrushes in size, and is decidedly the larg- est songster of the European birds. He remains with us the whole of the year, and he is one of three birds which charm us with their melody iuring the dreary nonths of winter, when the throstle and lark are silent, and all the migratory birds have left us, to sojourn in warmer climates. He appears Sub family b. Turdiruz. TUBDC9. at. Viscus, a Misseltoe ; voro, I derour), f imitating with deceptive fidelity every sound it hears. To its flexible organs, the harsh setting of a saw, the song of a nightingale, the creaking of a wheel, the whistled tune of a passer-by, the full and mellow notes of the thrush, the barking of a dog, the crowing of a cock, and the savage scream of the bald eagle, are each equally easy of execution, and follow one anotlier with such marvellous rapidity that few can believe that the insignificant brown bird before them is the sole author of these varied sounds. The Virginian nightingale and the canary hear their exquisite modulations performed with such superior execution, that the vanquished songsters are silent from mere mortification, while the trium- phant Mocking-bird only redoubles his efforts. Wilson, whose animated description of this bird has never been surpassed, says ; " His ex- panded wings and tail glistening with white, and the buoyant gaiety of liis action arresting the eye, as his song does most irresistibly the ear, he sweeps round with enthusiastic ecstasy, and mounts and descends as his song swells or dies away. He often deceives the sportsman, and sends him in search of birds that are not perhaps within miles of him, NATURAL HISTORY. 221 but whose notes he exactly imitates : even birds tl.emselves are fre- quently imposed upon by this admirable mimic, and are decoyed by the fancied calls of their mates, or dive with precipitation into the deptli of thickets at the scream of what they suppose to be the sparrow-hawk." While sitting on its eggs it is an exceedingly courageous bird, at- tacking without discrimination man, dogs, or any animal who may approach too near the nest. But the black snake is the special object of its vengeance. The snake, who has perhaps just arrived at the vicinity of the nest, and is contemplating a pleasant breakfast on the young o^ eggs, is violently attacked by the enraged Mocking-bird, who, by re- peated blows on the head, generally destroys its enemy, and then mounting upon a bush, pours forth a triumphant song of victory. ORPHEUS. (Gr. proper name of a famous musician.) Polyglottus (Gr. no\vs, many ; y\