mm Treated for mold SIL Book Conservation Lab April 2016 V ■ . . . . . . . ■ ■ i ■ I Sj ■ ii1 I niHyi ■ - . • •* • .j ■ J , ' ' ' - ' • :• V ' SELMAR HESS, «jU(51-ISHER5 N, Y. TIGER %mlt Croatian; POPULAR EDITION OF “OUR LIVING WORLD,” A NATURAL HISTORY BY The Rev. J. G. Wood. REVISED AND ADAPTED TO j3.M2JRIC4.2sT ZOOLOGY, BY JOSEPH B. HOLDER, M.D., Fellow of the Jlew York ficademy of /Sciences ; JVtemher of the Society of Jlaturalists, E. U. S. ; JYember of the flmerican Oi'nitholo gists’ Union ; Curator of Vertebrate Zoology , Jlmerican f/Luseum of JIatural History, Central (Park, flew York. Fully Illustrated with Scientific Accuracy. VOL. I. NEW YORK: SELMAR HESS. COPYRIGHT, 1885, BY SELMAR HE55S. G -n: 1 ■ PREFATORY NOTE. — - ■ HE original text of tlie Rev. Hr. Wood’s Work on Natural History, well known as the most fascinating collection of description and anecdote ever published, was most wisely selected as a basis of a new issue, entitled “ Our Living World.” With the original text the writer has no connection, excepting so far as relates to American animals. Where the latter are treated the subject matter is revised, the . latest information is added in full, and the classification and nomenclature now most approved is adopted. The classification adopted by the writer for the American subjects, is as follows : — For the Mammals, Prof. Flower, of London Zoological Society ; for Birds, Robert Ridg- way; Nomenclature of Birds of North America, Smithsonian Publication. Works of Hr. Coues and Bail’d, Brewer, and Ridgway have been freely utilized. For Fishes and Reptiles, the works of Jordan and Gilbert have proved of great service, well-nigh indispensable. The Invertebrate Animals having during the last ten years received especial attention from officers of the U. S. Fish Commission, we have availed ourselves of their valuable publications and Yearly Reports. The immense amount of original work done by Prof. Verrill and his assistants in the Commission, and the exceptional opportunities for such work accorded natu- ralists by the courtesy of Prof. Baird, Chief of the Commission, are highly appreciated. For the very liberal use made of the above-mentioned works, the editor of this edition would express his grateful acknowledgments. J. B. H. ? * Voi.. 1. nJ PREFACE. IN' the present Volume I have endeavored to carry out, on a more extended scale, the principle which has been partially indicated in several of my smaller works; namely, to present to the reader the outlines of zoologic knowledge in a form that shall be readily comprehended, while it is as intrinsically valuable as if it were couched in the most repellent vocabulary of conventional technicalities. In acting thus, an author must voluntarily abnegate the veneration which attaches itself to those who are the accredited pos- sessors of abstruse learning, and must content himself with the satisfaction of having achieved the task which has been placed in his hands. In accordance with this principle, the technical language of scientific zoology has been carefully avoided, and English names have been employed wherever practicable in the place of Greek or Latin appellatives. Owing to the inordinate use of pseudo-classical phraseology, the fascinating study of animal life has been too long considered as a profession or a science restricted to a favored few, and interdicted to the many until they have undergone a long apprenticeship to its preliminary formula!. So deeply rooted is this idea, that the popular notion of a scientific man is of one who possesses a fund of words, and not of one who has gathered a mass of ideas. There is really not the least reason why any one of ordinary capa- bilities and moderate memory should not be acquainted with the general outlines of zoology, and possess some knowledge of the representative animals, which serve as types of each group, tribe, or family ; for when relieved of the cumbersome diction with which it is embarrassed, the study of animal life can be biought within the comprehension of all who care to examine the myriad varieties of form and color with which the Almighty clothes His living poems. The true object of Zoology is not, as some appear to fancy, to arrange, to number, and to ticket animals in a formal inventory, but to make the study an inquiry into the Life-nature, and not only an investigation of the lifeless organism. I must not, however, be understood to disparage the outward form, thing of clay though it be. For what wondrous clay it is, and how marvellous the continuous miracle by which the dust of earth is transmuted into the glowing colors and graceful forms which we most imper- fectly endeavor to preserve after the soul has departed therefrom. It is a great thing to be acquainted with the material framework of any creature, but it is a far greater to know something of the principle which gave animation to that structure. The former, indeed, is the consequence of the latter. The lion, for example, is not predaceous because it possesses fangs, talons, strength, and activity; on the contrary it Voii. L v n PREFACE. possesses these qualities because its inmost nature is predaceous, and it needs these appliances to enable it to carry out the innate principle of its being ; so that the truest description of the lion is that which treats of the animating spirit, and not only of the outward form. In accordance with this principle, it has been my endeavor to make the work rather anecdotal and vital than merely anatomical and scientific. The object of a true zoologist is to search into the essential nature of every being, to investigate, according to his individual capacity, the reason why it should have been placed on earth, and to give his personal service to his Divine Master in developing that nature in the best manner and to the fullest extent. What do we know of Man from the dissecting room ? Of Man, the warrior, the statesman, the poet, or the saint ? In the lifeless corpse there are no records of the burning thoughts, the hopes, loves, and fears that once animated that now passive form, and which constituted the very essence of the being. Every nerve, fibre, and particle in the dead bodies of the king and the beggar, the poet and the boor, the saint and the sensualist, may be separately traced, and anatomically they shall all be alike, for neither of the individuals is there, and on the dissecting table lies only the cast-off attire that the spirit no longer needs. What can an artist learn, even of the outward form of Man, if he lives only in the dissecting room, and studies the human frome merely through the medium of scalpel and scissors ? He may, indeed, obtain an accurate muscular outline, but it will be an outline of a cold and rigid corpse, suggestive only of the charnel-house, and devoid of the soft and rounded, form, the delicate tinting, and breathing grace which invest the living human frame. A feeling eye will always discover whether an artist has painted even his details cf attire from a lay figure instead of depicting the raiment as it rests upon and droops from the breathing form of a living model ; for such robes are not raiment, but a shroud. So it is with the animal kingdom. The zoologist will never comprehend the nature of any creature by the most careful investi- gation of its interior structure or the closest inspection of its stuffed skin, for the material structure tells little of the vital nature, and the stuffed skin is but the lay figure stiffly fitted with its own cast coat. The true study of Zoology is of more importance than is generally conceived, for although “ the proper study of mankind is Man,” it is impossible for us to comprehend the loftiness and grandeur of humanity, or even its individual and physical nature, without possessing some knowledge of the earlier forms of God’s animated organizations. We must follow the order of creation, and as far as our perceptions will permit, begin where the Creator began. We shall then find that no animal leads an isolated existence, for the minutest atom of animated life which God has enfranchised with an individual existence, forms, though independent in itself, an integral and necessary portion of His ever-changing yet eternal organic universe. Hence every being which draws the breath of life forms a part of one universal family, bound together by the ties of a common creaturehood. And as being ourselves members of that living and breathing family, we learn to view with clearer eyes and more reverent hearts those beings which, although less godlike than ourselves in their physical or moral natures, demand for that very reason our kindliest sympathies and most indulgent care. For we, being made in the image of God, are to them the visible representations of that Divine Being who gave the Sabbath alike for man and beast, and who takes even the sparrows under His personal protection. You L t \ \ CONTENTS. PAGE INTRODUCTION. 1 Order QUADRUMANA ; or THE MONKEY TRIBE. 13 Family Simiad^e : Gorilla — Troglodytes Gorilla 15 Orang-Outang — Simla satyrus 23 Siamang — Siamanga syndactyla 28 Gibbons — Hylobates 30 Colobus — Colobus. 36 Macaques — Madams 44 Baboons — Cynocephaius 55 Family Cebhle : American Monkeys. 72 Family Lemuridjk : Lemurs — Lemur 92 Family Galeopithecpile : Colugo — Galeopithecus volltans 101 Order CHEIROPTERA ; or WING-HANDED ANIMALS. 102 Vampire Bat — Vampyrus spectrum 104 Great Horseshoe Bat — lihinolophus ferrum equinum.. 107 Flying Fox — Pterqpus rubricollis 112 Order FERiE. Family Felidae ; or The Cat Tribe 116 Lions — Leo 117 Tigers — Tigris ISO Leopards — Leopardus 137 Cats — Felis 158 Lynxes — Lyncus 166 Che tali — Gueparda jubata 171 Family V iverridas : Hyenas — Mycena 173 Civets — Froteles 182 Genetts — Genetta 187 Ichneumon — Herpestes 189 Family Canid as ; or The Dog Tribe 198 Domesticated Dogs — Canis familiaris 200 Wild Dogs — Cams 255 Wolves — Gcmis 260 Foxes — Vulpes 267 Family Mustelhme ; or The Weasel Tribe 275 Polecat — Putorius 279 Weasels — Mustela 284 Ratels — Mellivora 297 Glutton — Gulo 299 Skunk — Mephitis 300 Badger — Meles 303 Otters— Lutra 305 Von. i, yii TJ. GE Bear Family— Ursid^i 311 True Beal’s — Ursus 312 Sun Bears — Helarclos 324 Aswa.il, or Lipped-Bcar — U. labiatus 326 Sea-Bears — Thalassarctos 328 Racoons— Procyon 332 Coaitis — Nasua 335 Kiukaj ou — Cercoleptes 336 Cat-Bears — Ailunis 837 INSECTIVORA ; or INSECT-EATERS. Family Talpiiue : Moles — Talpa 338 Tupaia-Tana — Cladobates tana 344 Pen-Tail — Ptilocercus Loioii 345 Long-Nosed and Long-Legged Shrews — Maeroscettd.es. 346 Shrews — Sorex 347 Water-Shrews — Crossopus 350 Soleuodon — Solcnodon paradoxum 352 True Hedgehog — Frinaceus europaeus 354 Thorny Hedgehogs — Centetes 361 Tribe Marshpialia ; Pouched Animals 363 Family Maoropodilue : Squirrel Petaurus — Rtaurus scvureus 365 Taguau — Petaurista. 366 Vulpine Phalangist — Phalangista vulpina 370 Koala — Phascolarctos cinereus ....... S71 Tree Kangaroo — Dendrologies ur sinus., 373 Kangaroo-Rats —Hypsipryrnnus 374 True Kangaroos — Macropus 376 Whallabee — Balmaturus ualabatus 380 Rock-Kangaroo — Fetrogale peuicillata 380 Wombat — Phascolomys latifrons 381 Sub-Family Saltatoria : Bandicoots 383 Chieropus — Chceropus castanotus 384 Sub-Family Dasyorid^e ; Dasyurines 385 Tasmanian Wolf — Thylacinus cynocephalus 385 Tasmanian Devil — Diabolus ursinns 387 Common Dasyure — Dasyurus vivernnus 389 Tapoa Tafa— Phascogale penicillata 389 Pouched Mice — Antechinus 391 My rmecobius — Myrmecobius fasciatus 391 Opossums — Didelphys 392 Yapock Opossum — Cheironectes varkgatus 897 Order PINNIPEDIA. Family PuooiDAi ; Common Seals 398 'Till CONTENTS. PAGE Sub-Family Phocina : Sea Leopard — Leptonyx leopardinus 400 Crested Seal — Cystophora cristata 402 Common Seal — Phoca vitulina 404 Walrus — Trichecus rosmarus 410 Sea Elephant — Cystophora proboscidea 413 Family Otariidr ; Eared Seals : Sea Lion — Otaria jubata . . 416 Sea Bear — Arctocephalus ursinus . 417 Order CETACEA. Family Balrnidr ; Whales 418 Greenland Whale — Balcena mysticetus 421 Hump-Backed Whales — Megaptera 425 True Carnivorous Whales— Balcenoptera 426 Rorqual — Physalus antiquorum 427 Sub- Order Odontoceti; Toothed and Sperm Whales 430 Spermaceti Whale — Catodon macrocephalus 431 Black Eish — Physeter tursio 434 Family Delfhinidr ; Dolphins 435 Narwhal — Monodon monoceros 436 White Whale — Beluga leucas 439 Sea Hog — Phoccena communis 441 Grampus — Orca gladiator 443 Dolphin — BelpMnus BelpMs 444 S oo s o o — Plata nis ta gangetica 446 Sub- Order Sirenia. . Manatees — Manatus 447 Dugongs — Falicore 448 Rytina — Bytina Stelleri 449 Order RODENTIA ; GNAWING ANIMALS. 450 Mouse Family ; Murid as : Black Rat — Mus rattus 451 Harvest Mouse — Micromys minutus 455 Hamster — Cricetus frumentarius 461 Lemming — Myodes lemmus 462 Sub-Family Castorina : Beavers — Castor 463 Racoonda — Myopotamus coypu 466 Ondatra — Fiber zibethicus 467 Beaver Rat — Hydromys chrysogaster 469 Sub- Family Echimyna ; Porcupines : Ground Pig — Aulacodus Swinderianus 469 Family Hystricidr ; Sub-Family Hystricina : Porcupine— Hystrix cristata 469 Sub-Family Cercolabina : Urson — Erethizon dorsatum 471 Coendoo— Cercolabes urchensilis 473 Sub-Family Subungulata : Agouti — Dasyprocta aguti. 474 Dusky Paca — Codogenys paca 476 Capybara— Hydrochoerus capybara 477 Guinea Pig — Cavia aperea 478 Family Leporidr ; Hares ; Hare — Lepus iimidus 479 Family Jbrboidr ; Sub-Family Chincillina : Chincilla — Chindlla laniger 484 Lagotis— Lagotis Cuvieri 485 Yon I. Sub-Family Dipina : Spring Haas — Pedetes caffer 486 Gerboa — Dipus cegyptius 487 Sub-Family Myoxina ; Dormice : Loire — Myoxus glis 488 Common Dormouse — Muscardinus avellanarius 489 Sub-Family Sciurina: Taguan — Pteromys petaurista 491 Assapan — Sciuropterus volucella 492 Black Squirrel — Sciurus niger. 493 Chipmuck — Tamias Dysteri 494 Prairie Dog — Cynomys ludovicianus 496 Hood’s Marmot — Spermophilus Hood'd 498 Bobac — Arctomys bobac 499 Family Aspalacidr ; Mole Rats 501 Slepez — Spalax typlilus 502 Canada Pouched Rat — Geornys bursarius 564 Order UNGULATA ; CATTLE, SHEEP, etc. 507 Tribe Bovina ; Sub-Tribe Bover : Domestic Ox — Bos i .......... . 508 Zebu— Bos indicus 512 Buffalo— Bos bubalus 514 Gaur — Bos Gaums 517 Bison — Bos americanus 518 Yak — Bos grunniens 520 Musk Ox — Ovibos moschatus 521 Musk Sheep — Ovibos moschatus. 523 Sub-THbe Antiloper ; Antelopes 523 Gazelle — Gazella dorcas 524 Spring-Bok — Antilope euchore 526 Chouka — Tetracerus quadricornis . 527 Duyker-Bok — Cephalophus mergens 528 Kookam — Oryx Gazella 529 Cabrit — Antilocapra americana. 532 Gnoo— Connochetes Gnu 534 Hartebeest — Bubalis caama 535 Bubale — Alcephalus bubalis 535 Sasin — Antilope bozoartica 536 Kainsi — Oreotragus saltatrix 538 Madoqua — Neotragus saltianus 538 Natal Bush Buck — Cephalophus natalensis 539 Sub- Tribe Caprer ; Goats and Sheep : Jemlah Goat —Hemitragus jemlaicus 543 Ibex — Capra Ibex 544 Angora Goat — Capra hircus angorensis 546 Sub-Tribe Over : Sheep — Ovis aries 547 Argali — Caprovis Argali 551 Aoudad — Ammotragus tragelaphus. . 553 Tribe Glraepina ; Giraffes 556 Tribe Cervina ; Deer 658 Sub-Tribe Alcer : Elk — Alee americanus .... 559 Sub-Tribe Rangerine Deer : Reindeer — Bangifer tarandus 561 Wapiti — Cervus canadensis 564 Fallow Deer — Dama vulgaris 566 Sub-Tribe Rusine Deer : Axis Deer — Axis maculata. 567 CONTENTS. PAGE Sub- Tribe Capreoline Deer : Roebuck — Capreolus caprcera 567 Carjacou — Cariacus virginianus 569 Tribe Moschina : Musk Deer — Moschus moschiferus 571 Kanchil — Tragylus pygmceus 572 Tribe Camel ina : The Camel 573 Bactrian Camel — Camelus bactrianm 576 Llama — Auchenia lama 577 Family Equidjs : Horses — Fqui 581 Ass — Fquus asinus 589 Family Elepiiantlele 597 Sub-Family Elephantine : Asiatic Elephant — Flephas indiem 599 Sub-Family Tapirina ; Tapirs 606 American Tapir — Tapirus terrestiis 607 Sub-Family Suina ; Swine : Swine — Sus 608 Emgalla — Phacochcerus africanus 613 Peccary — JMcolyles torquatus 615 IT PASS Sub-Family Rhinocerina : Rhiuoeeros 617 Hyrax — Hyrax abyssinicus 622 Sub-Family Hippopotamina : Hippopotamus 623 Order EDENTATA ; ARMADILLOS, ANT-EATERS, etc. 626 Sub-Family Manina : Phatagin — Mania longicaudata 627 Sub-Family Dasypina : Armadillo — I) any pus sexcinctus 628 Apara — Tatusia tricincta 629 Sub-Family Myrmecophagina : Aard Yark — Orycteropus capensis 632 Taman dua — Myrmecophaga tetradactyla 634 Family Bradypine ; Sloth : Two-Toed Sloth — Choloepus didactylus 636 Family Ornithorhyncina ; Monotremes : Mullingong — Ornithorhynchus paradoxus 637 Echidna — Echidna hystrix 639 VoL. i '■ ■ - • - ' . . ' 1 . ' ' . ■ . - . . ... ' ■ . ; H I . : , •- f LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. I ILLUSTRATIONS PRINTED IN COLORS. Chimpanzee. Tiger Leopard . . . Puma FAGS! 20 134 138 150 Sea Lion Harvest Mouse. Porcupine PAGE 416 456 470 Chillingham Cattle Stag, or Red Deer. Rhinoceros PAGE 508 558 618 FULL-PACE WOOD ENGRAVINGS. PAG® Gorilla 18 Green Monkeys 38 Kra, or Dog- Like Macaque 44 Barbary Lion 130 Jaguar 144 Striped Hyena 174 Wolf 262 PAGE Polar Bear 328 Kangaroo 376 Walrus 410 Beaver 464 Bison 518 Chamois. 530 Koodoo 542 PAGE Giraffe 556 Moose, or Elk 560 Fallow Deer 566 Camel 574 Asiatic Elephant 600 Wild Boar 610 ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT. MONKEYS. PAGE Skeleton of Man and Gorilla 14 Bushman 19 Orang-Outan 24 Lar Gibbon 30 Silvery Gibbon ; . 31 Budeng 32 Entellus 33 Kahau 85 Ursine Colobus and Black Colobus 37 Guereza 38 Patas 41 Diana 42 Sooty Mangabey 44 Macaques 45 Rhesus, or Bhunder Monkey 47 Magot, or Barbary Ape . . 49 Black Macaque 51 Pig-Tailed Macaque 52 Wanderoo 54 Baboons 56 Gelada 57 Chacma 58 Black Macaque 60 Baboons 65 Mandrill 68 Drill 71 Chameck 73 Coaita 74 Miriki 78 Howling Monkeys 81 Capucin Monkeys 83 Sai 84 Tee-Tee 85 Saimiri 86 Black Tarke 87 Cuxio, or Bearded Saki 88 Night Monkey, or Douroucouli 89 Yon. I.— Animate Creation. PAGE Group of Marmosets 90 Piuche 91 Marikina 92 Ruffed Lemur 93 Ring-Tailed Lemur 94 Propithece, or Diadem Lemur 95 Slender Loris 96 Kukang, or Slow-Paced Loris 97 Avalii, or Indii 98 Galago 98 Tarsier 99 Aye-Aye 100 Colugo 101 WING-HANDED ANIMALS. Group of Water Bats 102 Skeleton of Bat 103 Vampire Bat 104 Great Horseshoe Bat 107 Barbastelle 108 Long-Eared Bat 109 Noctule, or Great Bat Ill Edible Kalong 113 Hair of Indian Bat 114 FELINES. Jaws and Teeth of Lion 116 Claw of Lion H6 Tongue of Lion 117 South African Lion H8 Root and Nerves of Lion’s Whisker Hair 120 Tiger 131 Leopard 137 Black Leopard 140 Ounce 143 Serval 148 PAG* Puma 149 Yagouarondi 152 Marbled Cat 152 Ocelot 153 Margay 155 Rimau-Dahan 156 Chati 157 Pampas Cat 157 Egyptian Cat 158 Wild Cat 160 Domestic Cat 162 Manx Cat and Angola Cat 163 Chaus 165 Caracal 167 European Lynx 168 Southern Lynx 169 Canada Lynx 170 Booted Lynx 171 Chetah 172 HYENAS, CIVETS, GENETTS, AND ICHNEUMONS. Striped or Crested Hyena 176 Brown Hyena 177 Spotted Hyena, or Tiger Woif 178 Aard Wolf 182 Civet 183 Zibeth 185 Rasse 186 Delundung 186 Blotched Genett 187 Caxomixle 188 Banded Mungous 189 Garangan 189 Urva, or Crab-Eating Ichneumon 190 Ichneumon 191 Moongus 192 XI LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS, XU PAGE Meerkat 192 Zenick 193 Mampaion 194 Masked Paguma 195 Luwack 196 Musang 197 DOGS. Buansuah 200 Thibet Dog 201 Great Danish Dog 202 Greyhound 203 Irish Greyhound 203 Italian Greyhound 205 Newfoundland Dog 207 Esquimaux Dogs 209 Pomeranian Dog 211 Water Spaniel 213 St. Bernard’s Dog 215 Poodle 216 Bloodhound 218 Staghound 219 Foxhound 220 Beagle 223 Pointer 224 Dalmatian or Coach Dog 227 English Setter 228 Retriever 230 Shepherd’s Dog 233 Lurcher 236 Otterhound 238 Boarhound 240 Bull-Dog 241 Mastiff 243 Skye Terrier 247 Turnspit 251 Pug-Dog 252 Dingo 255 Jackal 257 Black-Backed Jackal 259 WOLVES, FOXES, Etc. Wolf 260 South American Wolf 261 Black Wolf 263 Prairie Wolf 264 Group of Foxes 267 Silver Fox of our Southern States 269 Arctic Fox 271 Otocyon 272 Fennec 273 Hyena Dog, or Hunting-Dog 275 WEASELS, SKUNKS, BADGERS, Etc. Pine Marten 276 Beech Marten 277 Sable 278 Wood-Shock, or Pekan 279 Polecat 280 Ferret 281 Mink 283 Weasel 285 Sc oat, or Ermine 290 Tayra 295 Honey Ratel 297 Skunk 300 Sand-Bear, or Balisaur 303 Badger 804 Sea Otter, or Kalan 305 BEARS. Brown Bear 314 Mn squaw, or American Black Bear 318 Grizzly Bear 320 Bruang, or Malayan Sun-Bear 325 RACOONS, COAITI, Etc. Coaiti 332 Racoon 333 Kinkajou, or Potto 336 Panda, or Wah 337 Vox,. I. INSECT-EATING ANIMALS. PAGE Mole 338 Cape Chrysoehlore, or Changeable Mole 343 Radiate Mole, or Star-Nosed Mole ..... 344 Tupaia-Tana 345 Elephant Shrew 346 Erd Shrew and Sondeli 347 Agouta, or Solenodon 352 Daesman 353 Hedgehog 354 Tanrec 862 KANGAROOS, OPOSSUMS, Etc. Sugar Squirrel, or Squirrel Petaurus. . . 365 Vulpine Phalangist 370 Koala, or Australian Bear 372 Tree Kangaroo 373 Young Kangaroo in its Mother’s Pouch 378 Whallabee 380 Wombat 382 Long-Nosed Bandicoot 383 Chaeropus 384 Tasmanian Wolf 386 Tasmanian Devil 387 Opossum 392 Crab-Eating Opossum 396 Yapock Opossum 397 SEALS, WHALES, Etc. Sea Leopard 401 Crested Seal 402 Skeleton and Teeth of Common Seal. . . 407 Harp Seal, or Atak 408 Skull of Walrus 411 Sea Elephant 413 Sea Lion 416 Sea Bear, or Ursine Seal 417 Skull of Greenland Whale 421 Atlantic Right Whale 424 Hump-Backed Whale 426 Pike Whale 427 Rorqual 428 Skeleton of Rorqual 429 Spermaceti Whale 431 Skull of Spermaceti WThale 432 Narwhal 437 Beluga 440 Porpoise 441 Grampus 443 Dolphin 444 Bottle-Nosed Dolphin 446 Soosoo 446 Manatee 447 Dugong 449 GNAWING ANIMALS. Black Rat and Brown Rat 451 Barbary Mouse 456 Hamster 461 Lemming 462 Copyu Rat, or Racoonda 467 Ondatra, or Musk Rat 468 Tufted-Tailed Porcupine 471 Canadian Porcupine, or Urson 472 Coendoo, or Brazilian Porcupine 473 Agouti 474 Mara 475 Dusky Paca 476 Capybara 477 Guinea Pig 478 Hare 430 Alpine Hare 481 Rabbit 482 Chinchilla 485 Lagotis 486 Spring Haas 487 Gerboa 488 Loire, or Fat Dormouse 489 Common Dormouse 490 Taguan ? . 491 Aggapan 492 Black Squirrel 493 Chipmuck 495 Prairie Dog 497 Hood’s Marmot 498 Bobac 500 Mole Rat, or Slepez 502 Canada Pouched Rat 504 CATTLE, SHEEP, DEER AND ANTELOPES. Banting 507 Skull of Ox * 508 Zebu 513 Yak 521 Musk Ox 522 Group of South African Antelopes 523 Gazelle 524 Spring-Bok. 526 Chousingha, or Chouka 527 Duyker-Bok 528 Gems-Bok 529 Oryx 530 American Spring-Buck 583 Gnoo 534 Hartebeest 535 Ibex, or Steinbock 544 Angora Goat 546 Sheep 547 Sardinian Moufl on 551 Argali 552 Big-Horn 553 Aoudad 554 Rocky Mountain Goat 555 Giraffe Grazing upon Level Ground 557 Reindeer 561 Caribou 563 Axis Deer 568 Carjacou, or Virginian Deer 569 Musk Deer 571 Kanchil, or Pigmy Musk Deer 572 CAMELS. Bactrian Camel 573 Vicugna 576 Yamma, or Llama 577 Alpaca, or Paco 578 HORSES, ASSES, Etc. Tarpan 580 Mustang 581 Arab Horse 583 Hunter 584 Shetland Pony 588 Ass 590 Dziggetai, or Koulan 593 African Wild Ass 594 Quagga 595 Zebra 596 TAPIRS, SWINE, ARMADILLOS, AND SLOTHS. American Tapir 607 Kuday-Ayer, or Malayan Tapir 608 Babyroussa 612 Bosch Vark 613 Vlacke Vark 614 Peccary 615 Hyrax, or Rock Rabbit 622 Phatagin 627 Bajjerkeit 628 Armadillo 628 Apara, or Mataco 630 Taton 631 Pichiciago 631 Aard Vark 632 Tamandua 634 Little Ant-Eater 635 Two-Toed Sloth 636 Duck-Bill, or Mullingong 638 Echidna. ,,,,,, 639 r INTRODUCTION. N order to understand any science rightly, it needs that the student should proceed to its contemplation in an orderly manner, arranging in his mind the various portions of which it is composed, and endeavoring, as far as possible, to follow that classification which best accords with nature. The result of any infringement of this rule is always a confusion of ideas, which is sure to lead to misappre- hension. So, in the study of living beings, it is necessary to adhere to some determinate order, or the mind becomes bewildered among the countless myriads of living creatures that fill earth, air, and water. That some determinate order exists is evident to any thinking mind, but the discovery of the principle on which this order is founded is a problem that as yet has received but a partial solution. We already know some of the links of that wondrous chain that connects Man with the microscopic animalcule, but the one plan on which the Animal Kingdom is formed, has yet to be made known. It is impossible to contemplate the vast mass of animal life without the conviction that the most supreme harmony has been observed in their creation, and the most perfect order exists in their connection one with the other. Whatever may be the key to this enigma, — and it is of a certainty a very simple one, possibly eluding us from its very simplicity — from the days of Aristotle to the present time zoologists have been diligently seeking for the true system of animated nature ; and until that auspicious discovery be achieved, we must be content with making as near an approximation as possible. As a general arranges his army into its greater divisions, and each division into regiments and companies, so does the naturalist separate the host of living beings into greater and smaller groups. The present state of zoological science gives five as the number of divisions of which the animal kingdom is composed, the highest of which is that in which Man himself is, by some, placed. These are called Vertebrates, Molluscs, Articulates, Radiates, and Protozoa. Of each of these divisions a slight description will be given, and each will be considered more at length in its own place. 1st. The Vertebrates include Man and all the Mammalia, the Birds, the Reptiles, and the Fish. The term Vertebrate is applied to them because they are furnished with a succession of bones called “vertebrse,” running along the body and forming a support and protection to the nervous cord that connects the body with the brain by means of numerous branches. The Vertebrates, with one or two known exceptions, have red blood and a muscular heart. 2d. The Mollusca, or soft-bodied animals, include the Cuttle-fish, the Snails, Slugs, Mussels, &c. Some of them possess shells, while others are entirely destitute of such defence. Their nervous system is arranged on a different plan from that of the Vertebrates. They have no definite brain, and no real spinal cord, but their nerves issue from certain masses of nervous substance technically called ganglia. 3d. The Articulates, or jointed animals, form an enormously large division, comprising the Crustaceans, such as the Crabs and Lobsters, the Insects, Spiders, Worms, and very many creatures so different from each other, that it is scarcely possible to find any common characteristics. It is among these lower animals that the want of a tine classification is most severely felt, and the present arrangement can only be considered as provisional. 4th. The next division, that of the Radiated animals, is so named on account of the 2 VERTEBRATES. radiated or star-like form of the body, so well exhibited in the Star-fishes and the Sea-anemones. Their nervous system is very obscure, and in many instances so slight as to baffle even the microscope. Many of the Radiates possess the faculty of giving out a phosphorescent light, and it is to these animals that the well-known luminosity of the sea is chiefly owing. 5th. The Protozoa, or primitive animals, are, as far as we know, devoid of internal organs or external limbs, and in many of them the signs of life are so feeble, that they can scarcely be distinguished from vegetable germs. The Sponges and Infusorial Animalcules are familiar examples of this division. VERTEBRATES. The term V ertebrate is derived from the Latin word mrtere , signif ying to turn ; and the various bones that are gathered round and defend the spinal cord are named vertebrae, because they are capable of being moved upon each other in order to permit the animal to flex its body. W ere the spinal cord to be defended by one long bone, the result would be that the entire trunk of the animal would be stiff, graceless, and exceedingly liable to injury from any sudden shock. In order, therefore, to give the body latitude of motion, and at the same time to afford effectual protection to the delicate nerve-cord, on which the welfare of the entire structure depends, the bony spine is composed of a series of distinct pieces, varying in form and number according to the species of animal, each being affixed to its neighbor in such a manner as to permit the movement of one upon the other. The methods by which these vertebrae are con- nected with each other vary according to the amount of flexibility required by the animal of which they form a part. For example, the heavy elephant would find himself prostrate on the ground if his spine were composed of vertebrae as flexible as those of the snakes ; while the snake, if its spine were stiff as that of the elephant, would be unable to move from the spot where it happened to lie. But in all animals there is some power of movement in the spinal column, although in many creatures it is very trifling. Anatomy shows us that, in point of fact, the essential skeleton is composed of vertebrae, and that even the head is formed by the development of these wonderful bones. The limbs can but be considered as appendages, and in many Vertebrated“ animals, such as the common snake of our fields, the lamprey, and others, there are no true limbs at all. The perfect Vertebra consists of three principal portions. Firstly, there is a solid, bony mass, called the centre, which is the basis of the whole vertebra. From this centre springs an arch of bone, through which runs the spinal cord, and directly opposite to this arch a second arch springs, forming the guardian of the chief blood-vessel of the body. Each arch is called by a name significative of its use ; those through which the spinal cord runs being termed the neural, or nerve arch, and that for the passage of the blood-vessel is named the haemal, or blood arch. There are other portions of the vertebra? which are developed into the bones, called “ processes,” some of which we can feel by placing a hand on any part of the spine. It will be seen that, strictly speaking, the vertebrae are not of so much importance in the animal as the spinal cord, of which the vertebrae are but guardians, and that the division should rather have been defined by the character of the nerve than by that of the bone which is built around it. Indeed, wherever the chief nervous column lies, it seems to gather the bony particles, and to arrange them round itself as its clothing or armor. This may be seen in a very young chicken, if the egg in which it is formed is opened during the first few days of incu- bation. The position of the spinal cord is always along the back in every Vertebrate animal. The insects, the lobster, and other invertebrate animals exhibit the principal nerve-cords running along the abdomen ; the position, therefore, of the chief nervous cord settles the division to which the animal belongs. This rule is of great importance in classification, because in every group of animals there are some in whom the distinguishing characteristics are so slight that they hardly afford a real criterion by which to judge. In the lower divisions the number of MAMMALIA. 3 these enigmatical animals is very considerable, and even in the highest of all, namely, the Ver- tebrates, there are one or two individuals whose position is but dubious. The best known of these creatures is the Amphioxus, a small, transparent fish, not uncommon on sandy coasts. In this curious animal the vertebral column is composed of, or rather represented by, a jelly- like cord, on which the divisions of the vertebrae are indicated by very slight markings. The spinal cord lies on the upper surface of this gelatinous substance, and there is no distinct brain, the nervous cord simply terminating in a rounded extremity. The blood is unlike that of the generality of Vertebrate animals, being transparent like water, instead of bearing the red hue that is so characteristic of their blood. Neither is there any separate heart, the circulation seeming to be effected by the contraction of the arteries. On account of these very great divergencies from the usual vertebrate characteristics, its claim to be numbered among the Vertebrates appears to be a very hopeless one. But the spinal cord is found to run along the back of the creature, and this one fact settles its position in the Animal Kingdom. It must be remembered that the Amphioxus is to be considered an exceptional being, and that when the anatomy of Vertebrate animals is described, the words “ with the exception of the Amphioxus” must be supplied by the reader. The character of the nerves, bones, blood, and other structures, will be shown, in the course of the work, in connection with the various animals of which they form a part. MAMMALIA. The Vertebrated animals fall naturally into four great classes, which are so clearly marked that, with the exception of a few singularly constructed creatures, such as the Lepidosiren, or Mud-fish of the Gambia, any vertebrate animal can be without difficulty referred to its proper class. These four classes are termed Mammals, Birds, Reptiles, and Fishes,— their prece- dence in order being determined by the greater or less development of their structure. Mammals, or Mammalia, as they are called more scientifically, comprise Man, the Monkey tribes, the Bats, the Bogs and Cats, all the hoofed animals, the Whales and their allies, and other animals, amounting in number to some two thousand species, the last on the list being the Sloth. The name by which they are distinguished is derived from the Latin word mamma , a breast, and is given to them because all the species belonging to this class are furnished with a set of organs, called the mammary glands, secreting the liquid known as milk, by which the young are nourished. The number of the mammae varies much, as does their position. Many animals that produce only one, or at the most two, young at the same birth, have but two mammae, such as the monkey, the elephant, and others ; while some, — such as the cat, the dog, and the swine, are furnished with a sufficient number of these organs to afford sustenance to their numerous progeny. Sometimes the mammae are placed on the breast, as in the monkey tribe ; some- times by the hind legs, as in the cow and the horse ; and sometimes, as in the swine, along the abdomen. The glands that supply the mammae with milk lie under the skin, and by the microscope are easily resolvable into their component parts. Great numbers of tiny cells, or cellules, as they are named, are grouped together in little masses, something like bunches of minute grapes, and by means of very small tubes pour their secretions into vessels of a larger size. As the various tube-branches join each other they become larger, until they unite in five or six principal vessels, which are so constructed as to be capable of enlargement according to the amount of liquid which they are called upon to hold. In some animals, such as the cow, these reservoirs are extremely large, being capable of containing at least a quart of milk. The reservoirs are much smaller towards the mamma itself, and serve as tubes for the conveyance of the milk into the mouth of the young. Of the milk itself we shall speak in another part of the work. The blood of the Vertebrate animals is of a light red color when freshly drawn from the arteries. This wondrous fluid, in which is hidden the life principle that animates the being, is of a most complex structure, as may be imagined when it is remembered that all the parts of 4 DESCRIPTION OF THE BLOOD. the body are formed from the blood ; and therefore to give a full description of that fluid would occupy more space than can be afforded to one subject. It is, however, so important a substance that it demands some notice. When it is freshly drawn, the blood appears to be of a uniform consistence, but if poured into a vessel and suffered to remain undisturbed it soon begins to change its aspect. A com- paratively solid and curd-like mass, of a deep red color, rises to the surface, and there forms a kind of cake, while the liquid on which it floats is limpid and almost colorless. The solid mass is called the clot, and the liquid is known by the name of serum. The whole time con- sumed in this curious process is about twenty minutes. While thus coagulating the blood gives out a peculiar odor, which, although far from powerful, can be perceived at some distance, and to many persons is inexpressibly revolting. The upper part of the clot is covered with a thick film of an elastic and tenacious nature, which can be washed free from the red coloring substance, and then appears of a yellowish white tint. It can be drawn out and spread between the fingers, as if it were an organic mem- brane ; and, as its particles arrange themselves into fibres, the substance is called fibrin. When a portion of fibrin is drawn out until it is much lengthened, the fibres are seen crossing each other in all directions, sometimes forming themselves into regular lines. The red mass, which remains after the fibrin and serum have been removed, is almost wholly composed of myriads of small rounded bodies, called corpuscules, which can be readily seen by spreading a drop of blood very thinly on glass, and examining it with a microscope. Some of the disc-like corpuscules are seen scattered about, while others have run together and adhered by their flat sides, until they look somewhat like rouleaux of coin. There is sufficient distinction between the blood corpuscules of the various Mammalia to indicate to a practised eye the kind of animal from which they were taken ; while the blood of the four great divisions of the Y ertebrates is so strongly marked, that a casual glance will detect the ownership of the object under the microscope. The blood corpuscules of the Mammalia are circular, while those of the other three divisions are more or less elliptical. That the blood contains within itself the various substances of which the body is composed, is evident to the intellect, although as yet no investigator has discovered the mode of its operation. How the blood corpuscules are generated from the vegetable and animal substances taken into the stomach, we know not ; but we do know that each globule possesses life, passing through its regular stages of birth, development, age, and death. When yet in their first stages of existence, the blood corpuscules are colorless, not taking the well-known ruddy tint until they have attained their full development. The living current that, passes through our bodies is truly a fathomless ocean of wonders ! Even the material formation of this fluid is beyond our present sight, which cannot penetrate through the veil which conceals its mysteries. Much less can we explain the connection of the blood with the mind, or know how it is that one thought will send the blood coursing through the frame with furious speed, crimsoning the face with hot blushes ; or another cause the vital fluid to recoil to the heart, leaving the countenance pallid, the eyes vacant, and the limbs cold and powerless, as if the very life had departed from the body. Hot without reason do the earlier Scriptures speak so reverently of the blood, accepting the outpoured life of beasts as an atonement for the sin, and witness of the penitence of man, and forbid its use for any less sacred office. Hor was it without a still mightier meaning that the later Scriptures endue the blood with a sacramental sense, giving even to its vegetable symbol, the blood of the grape, a dignity greater than that of the former sacrifices. A few words must also be given to the mode by which the blood is kept continually run- ning its appointed course through the animal frame. This process, commonly called cikcula- tiox, takes place in the following manner, Man being an example : — In the centre of the breast iies the heart, an organ composed of four chambers, the two upper being termed auricles, and the two lower being distinguished by the title of ventricles. These are only conventional terms, and do not express the office of the parts. The auricles are THE CAPILLARY VESSELS. 5 comparatively slight in structure, but the ventricles are extremely powerful, and contract with great force, by means of a curiously spiral arrangement of the muscular fibres. These latter chambers are used for the purpose of propelling the blood through the body, while the auricles serve to receive the blood from the vessels, and to throw it into the ventricles when they are ready for it. By the systematic expansion and contraction of the heart-chambers, the blood is sent on its mission to all parts of the body, through vessels named arteries, gradually diminishing in diameter as they send forth their branches, until they terminate in branchlets scarcely so large as hairs, and which are therefore called “ capillaries,” from the Latin word capillus , a hair. In the capillaries the blood corpuscules would end their course, were they not met and wel- comed by a second set of capillaries. These vessels take up the wearied and weakened globules, carrying them off to the right-hand chambers of the heart, whence they are impelled through a vessel known by the name of the “ pulmonary artery,” to be refreshed by the air which is supplied to them in the beautiful structure known as the lungs. Meeting there with new vitality — if it may so be called — the blood corpuscules throw off some of their effete portions, and so, brightened and strengthened, are again sent through the arteries from the heart to run their round of existence, and again to be returned to the heart through the veins. It is indeed a marvellous system, this constant circular movement, that seems to be in- herent in the universe at large, as well as in the minute forms that inhabit a single orb. The planets roll through their appointed courses in the macrocosmal universe, as the blood globules through the veins of the microcosm, man : each has its individual life, while it is inseparably connected with its fellow-orbs, performing a special and yet a collective work in the vast body to which it belongs ; darkening and brightening in its alternate night and day until it has com- pleted its career. In order to prevent other organs from pressing on the heart, and so preventing it from playing freely, a membranous envelope, called from its office the “pericardium,” surrounds the heart and guards it. The various operations which are simultaneously conducted in our animal frame are so closely connected with each other that it is impossible to describe one of them without trench- ing upon the others. Thus, the system of the circulatory movement, by which the blood passes through the body, is intimately connected with the system of respiration, by which the blood is restored to the vigor needful for its many duties. In order to renew the worn-out blood, there must be some mode of carrying oif its effete particles, and of supplying the waste with fresh nourishment. For this purpose the air must be brought into connection with the blood without permitting its escape from the vessels in which it is confined. The mode by which this object is attained, in the Mammalia, is briefly as follows : — A large tube, appropriately and popularly called the “windpipe,” leads from the back of the month and nostrils into the interior of the breast. Just as it enters the chest it divides into two large branches, each of which subdivides into innumerable smaller branchlets, thus forming two large masses, or lobes. In these lobes, or lungs, as they are called, the air-bear- ing tubes become exceedingly small, until at last they are but capillaries which convey air instead of blood, each tube terminating in a minute cell. The diameter of these cells is very small, the average being about the hundred and fiftieth of an inch. Among these air-bearing capillaries the blood-bearing capillaries are so intermingled that the air and blood are separated from each other only by membranes so delicate that the comparatively coarse substance of the blood cannot pass through, although the more ethereal gases can do so. So, by the presence of the air, the blood is renewed in vigor, and returns to its bright florid red, which had been lost in its course through the body, while the useless parts are rejected, and gathered into the air-tubes, from whence they are expelled by the breath. The heart is placed between the two lobes of the lungs, and is in a manner embraced by them. The lungs themselves are enclosed in a delicate membrane called the “pleura.” These 6 NUTRITION. two great vital organs are situated in the breast, and separated from the digestive and other systems by a partition, which is scientifically known by the name of “diaphragm,” and in popular language by the term “midriff.” This structure does not exist in the Birds ; and its presence, together with that of the freely-suspended lungs, is an unfailing characteristic of the Mammalian animal. Thus the entire structure bears the closest resemblance to a tree, growing with its root upwards and its leaves downward, — the trachea being the trunk, the branchial tubes the limbs, the smaller tubes are the branches, and the air-cells the leaves. A similar idea runs through the nerve system and that of the blood ; all three being interwoven with each other in a manner most marvellous and beautiful. The o egaxs or nuteition occupy the greater part of the space between the diaphragm and the lower limbs, and are composed of the following parts. The mouth receives and, in most cases, grinds the food until it is sufficiently soft to be passed onwards into the general receptacle, called the stomach. Here begins the process of digestion, which is chiefly carried on by means of a liquid called the gastric juice, which is secreted by glands within the stomach, and dissolves the food until it is of a uniform soft consistency. In this state the food is called “chyme,” and passes from the stomach into a tube called the “duodenum.” Here the chyme begins to separate into two portions ; one, an indigestible and useless mass, and the other, a creamy kind of liquid, called “chyle.” The former of these substances is propelled through the long and variously-formed tube, called the intestinal canal, and rejected at its outlet; while the chyle is taken up by numerous vessels that accompany the intestines, and is finally thrown into one of the large veins close by the heart, and there mixes with the blood. .There is another curious system called the “lymphatic,” on account of the limpid appear- ance of the liquid which is conveyed through the lymphatic vessels. These are analogous to the lacteals, but instead of belonging to the intestines, they are spread over the whole frame, being thickly arranged just under the skin. They are curiously shaped, being studded with small knotty masses, and fitted with valves which keep the contained liquid in its proper course. Both the lacteal and lymphatic vessels pour their contents into one large trunk, called from its position the thoracic duct. This vessel is about twenty inches in length, and when distended, is in its widest part as large as a common lead pencil. All these wonderful forms and organs would, however, be but senseless masses of matter, differing from each other by the arrangement of their component parts, but otherwise dead and useless. It needs that the being which is enshrined in this bodily form (whether it be man or beast) should be able to move the frame at will, and to receive sensations from the outer world. More than this. As all vertebrated animals are forced at short intervals to yield their wearied bodies to repose, and to sink their exhausted minds in the tempoiary oblivion of sleep, there must of necessity be a provision for carrying on the vital functions without the active co-operation of the mind. Were it otherwise, the first slumber of every being would become its death sleep, and all the higher classes of animals would be extirpated in a few days. The mind would be always on the stretch to keep the heart to its constant and necessary work ; to watch the play of the lungs in regenerating the blood ; to aid the stomach in digesting the food, and the intestinal canal in sifting its contents; together with many other duties of a character quite as important. Supposing such a state of things to be possible, and to be put in practice for one single hour, how terrible would be the result to humanity! We should at once degenerate into a mass of separate, selfish individuals, each thinking only of himself, and forced to give the whole of his intellectual powers to the one object of keeping the animal frame in motion. Society would vanish, arts cease from the face of the earth, and the whole occupation of man would be confined to living an isolated and almost vegetable life. This being the case with man, the results to the lower portions of the animal kingdom would be still more terrible. For their intellect is infinitely below that of the dullest of the human race, and they would not even possess the knowledge that any active exertion would SENSATION. 7 be necessary to preserve their lives. And for all living beings the wandering of the mind bnt for a few seconds wonld cause instantaneous death. All these difficulties are removed, and the animal kingdom preserved and vivified, by means of certain vital organs, known by the name of nerves. It is clear enough that mind does not act directly upon the muscles and the various organs of the material body, but recpiires a third and intermediate substance, by which it is enabled to convey its mandates and to receive information. The necessarily multitudinous channels through which this substance is conveyed are called “nerves,” and are of a consistency more delicate than that of any other portions of the animal frame. There is a rather striking and close analogy between the mode in which the three systems of mind, nerve, and muscle act together, and the working of a steam-engine. In the engine we may take the fire as the analogue of the mind ; the water, of the nervous substance — the water-tubes representing the nerves ; and the iron and brass machine as the representative of the bone and muscle. Thus we may make as large a lire as we like, heap on coals, and urge a fierce draught of air through the furnace, until the grate is filled with a mass of glowing white-hot matter. But the fire cannot act on the wheels without the intermediate substance, the water. This medium being supplied, the fire acts on the water, and the water on the metallic bars and wheels, so that the three become one harmonious whole. Towards the great nerve mass, called by the name of “brain,” tend the nerve-cords that supply the body with vital energy. It seems to be the nerve-heart, so to speak. From the brain, a cord of nervous matter, called the “spinal cord,” runs along the back, under the guardianship of the vertebrae, continually giving off branches of various sizes, according to the work which they have to fulfil. These branches ramify into smaller twigs, subdividing until they become so small that they almost even baffle the microscope. A familiar proof may be given of the wonderfully minute subdivision of the nerves, by trying to probe the skin with the point of a fine needle, and to discover any spot so small that the needle-point does' not meet with a nerve. The cause of the peculiarly delicate sensibility of the finger tips is shown by the accom- panying engraving, which exhibits the mode in which the nerve-loops are distributed. The object is greatly magnified, the two ridges being the enlarged representations of the minute raised lines which appear on the tips of the fingers and thumbs. That the nerves all find their way to the brain and issue from thence, is plainly shown by the well-known fact that if the spinal cord be injured all sensation ceases in the parts of the body that lie below the injury. And it is possible to deprive any limb of sensation by dividing the chief nerve that supplies that member with nerve-fibres. There seem to be two sets of nerves for the two purposes of conveying motive-power to the body and of bringing to the nervous centres the sensations of pain or pleasure felt by any part of the body. These are appropriately known as nerves of motion and nerves of sensation. Connected with these nerves is a second system of a very curious nature, known by the name of the “sympathetic nerve.” The greater portion of the sympathetic nerve in the human frame “communicates with the other nerves immediately at their exit from the cranium and vertebral canal. It is called the ganglionic nerve, from being constituted of a number of ganglia, and from the constant disposition which it evinces in its distribution to communicate and form small knots of ganglia.” * It is wonderfully interwoven with the vital organs, and from this disposition it is sometimes termed the “organic nerve.” Its functions are closely connected with the phenomena, of organic life, and it seems to be especially sensitive to emo- tional disturbances. There are several aggregations of the ganglia in various portions of the body ; the largest, which is known by the name of the “solar plexus,” is placed in the pit of the stomach or “epigastrium.” Its importance may be easily inferred from the extreme agony that is caused by the slightest blow near the region of that group of ganglia. A con- cussion that would hardly be felt upon any other portion of the body, will, if it takes place on the epigastrium, at once cause the injured person to fall as if shot, bring on collapse, deprive * Wilson. 8 STRUCTURE OF BONE. Mm of breath for some time, and leave Mm gasping and speecMess on the ground ; while a tolerably severe blow in that region causes instantaneous death. Anxiety seems to fix its gnawing teeth clfiefly in the solar plexus, causing indigestion and many other similar maladies, and deranging the system so thoroughly that even after the exciting cause is removed the effects are painfully evi lent for many a sad year. By means of this complicated system of nerves the entire body, with its vital organs, is permeated in every part by the animating power that gives vitality and energy to the frame so long as the spirit abides therein. TMs is the portion of the nervous system that never slumbers nor sleeps, knowing no rest, and never ceasing from its labors until the time comes when the spirit finally withdraws from the material temple in which it has been ensMined. It is the very citadel of the nerve forces, and is the last stronghold that yields to the conquering powers of death and decay. Thus it will be seen that each animal is a complex of many animals, interwoven with each other, and mutually aiding each other. In the human body there is, for example, the nerve- man, which has just been described ; there is a blood-man, which, if separated from the other part of the body, is found to present a human form, perfect in proportions, and composed of large trunk-vessels, dividing into smaller branches, until they terminate in their capillaries. A rough preparation of the blood-being may be made by filling the vessels with wax, and dissolving away the remaining substances, thus leaving a waxen model of the arteries and veins with their larger capillaries. Again, there is the fibrous and muscular man, composed of forms more massive and solid than those which we have already examined. Lastly, there is the bone-man, which is the least developed of the human images, and which, when stripped of the softer coverings, stands dense, dry, and lifeless the grim scaffolding of the human edifice. Although the bones are not in themselves very pleasing objects, yet their mode of arrangement, their adaptation to the wants of the animal whose frame they support, and the beautiful mechanism of their construction, as revealed by the microscope, give a spirit and a life, even to the study of dry bones. The larger hollows are caused by the minute blood-vessels which penetrate the bone throughout its substance, and serve to deposit new particles, and to remove those whose work is over. They are, in fact, a kind of lungs of the bones, through which the osseous system is regenerated in a manner analogous to the respiration which regenerates the blood. In order to supply a sufficient volume of blood to these various vessels, several trunk vessels enter the bones at different parts of their form, and ramify out into innumerable branchlets, which again separate into the hair-like vessels that pass through the above-mentioned canals. These are termed, from their discoverer, C. Havers, the Haversian canals, and their shape and com- parative size are most important in determining the class of beings which furnished the portion of bone under examination. In the human bone these canals run so uniformly, that their cut diameters always afford a roundish outline. But in the bird -bone, the Haversian canals frequently turn off abruptly from their course, and running for a short distance at right angles, again dip and resume their former direction. The reptiles possess very few Haversian canals, which, when they exist, are extremely large, and devoid of that beautiful regularity which is so conspicuous in the mammalia, and to a degree in the birds. The fish-bone is often totally destitute of these canals, while, in other cases, the bone is thickly pierced with them, and exhibits also a number of minute tubes, white and delicate, as if made of ivory. Returning to the human bone, the Haversian canals are seen to be surrounded with a number of concentric bony rings, varying much in number and shape, on which are placed sundry little black objects that somewhat resemble ants or similar insects. These latter objects are known by the name of bone-cells ; and the little dark lines that radiate from them are the indications of very minute tubes, the number and comparative dimensions of which are extremely various in different animals. STRUCTURE OF BONE. 9 Tims, it will be seen, how easily the observer can, in a minute fragment of bone, though hardly larger than a midge’s wing, read the class of animal of whose framework it once formed a part, as decisively as if the former owner were present to claim his property ; for each particle of every animal is imbued with the nature of the whole being. The life-character is enshrined in and written upon every sanguine disc that rolls through the veins ; is manifested in every fibre and nervelet that gives energy and force to the breathing and active body ; and is stereotyped upon each bony atom that forms part of its skeleton framework. Whoever reads these hieroglyphs rightly is truly a poet and a prophet ; for to him the “valley of dry bones” becomes a vision of death passed away, and a prevision of a resurrec- tion and a life to come. As he gazes upon the vast multitude of dead, sapless memorials of beings long since perished, “ there is a shaking, and the bones come together” once again; their fleshly clothing is restored to them ; the vital fluid courses through their bodies ; the spirit of life is breathed into them ; “ and they live, and stand upon their feet.” Ages upon ages roll back their tides, and once more the vast reptile epoch reigns on earth. The huge saurians shake the ground with their heavy tread, wallow in the slimy ooze, or glide sinuous through the waters ; while winged reptiles flap their course through the miasmatic vapors that hang dank and heavy over the marshy world. As with them, so with us, — an inevitable pro- gression towards higher stages of existence, the effete and undeveloped beings passing away to make room for new, and loftier, and more perfect creations. What is the volume that has thus recorded the chronicles of an age so long past, and prophecies of as far distant a future 1 Simply a little fragment of mouldering bone, tossed aside contemptuously by the careless laborer as miners’ “rubbish.” Not only is the past history of each being written in every particle of which its material frame is constructed, but the past records of the universe to which it belongs, and a prediction of its future. God can make no one thing that is not universal in its teachings, if we would only be so taught ; if not, the fault is with the pupils, not with the Teacher. He writes his ever-living words in all the works of his hand ; He spreads this ample book before us, always ready to teach, if we will only learn. We walk in the midst of miracles with closed eyes and stopped ears, dazzled and bewildered with the Light, fearful and distrustful of the Word ! It is not enough to accumulate facts as misers gather coins, and then to put them away on our bookshelves, guarded by the bars and bolts of technical phraseology. As coins, the facts must be circulated, and given to the public for their use. It is no matter of wonder that the generality of readers recoil from works on the natural sciences, and look upon them as mere collections of tedious names, irksome to read, unmanageable of utterance, and impossible to remember. Our scientific libraries are filled with facts, dead, hard, dry, and material as the fossil bones that fill the sealed and caverned libraries of the past. But true science will breathe life into that dead mass, and fill the study of zoology with poetry and spirit. 4 I \ 4 OUR LIVING WORLD QUADRUMANA; OR, THE MONKEY TRIBE. HE Quad rum an ous, or Four-handed animals, arc familiarly known by the titles of Apes, Baboons, and Monkeys. There is another family of Quadrumana, called Lemurs, which bear but little external resemblance to their more man-like relations, are comparatively little known, and have even been popularly termed “rats,” “cats,” or “dogs,” by travellers who have come in contact with them. Although these animals are capable of assuming a partially erect position, yet their habitual attitude is on all fours, like the generality of the mammalia. Even the most accomplished ape is but a bad walker when he discards the use of his two upper limbs, and trusts for support and progression to the hinder legs only. There are many dogs which can walk, after the biped manner, with a firmer step and a more assured demeanor than the apes, although they du not so closely resemble the human figure. However carefully a monkey may be educated, yet it never can assume an attitude truly erect, like that of man. The construction of its whole frame is such, that its knees are always bent more or less, so that a firm and steady step is rendered impossible. When in the enjoy- ment of liberty among their native haunts, none of the monkey tribes seem to use their hind legs exclusively for walking, although they often raise themselves in a manner similar to that of the bears, and other animals, when they wish to take a more extended view of the sur- rounding localities. On account of the structure of the limbs, the term “hand” is given to their extremities ; but hardly with perfect fitness. It must be borne in mind that the thumb is not invariably found on the fore extremities of these animals. In several genera of the monkeys, the fore- paws are destitute of effective thumbs, and the hand-like grasp is limited to the hinder feet. The so-called hands of the monkey tribes will not bear comparison with those of man. Although the thumb possesses great freedom of motion, and in many species can be opposed to the fingers in a manner resembling the hand of man, yet there is no intellectual power in the monkey hand ; none of that characteristic contour which speaks of the glorious human soul so strongly, that an artist can sketch a single hand, and in that one member exhibit the individuality of its owner! The monkey’s “hand” is a paw — a thieving, crafty, slinking paw, and not a true hand. So is his foot but a paw, and hot a true foot, formed for grasping and not for walking. Man seems to be the only earthly being that possesses true feet and hands. Some animals patter along upon their paws, some trot and gallop upon hoofs, others propel themselves with paddles, but Man alone can walk. Man is never so much Man as when erect, whether standing or walking. It is no mere figure of speech to say that man walks with Grod. In order to bring this point more clearly before the eyes of the reader, the skeleton of a man is contrasted with that of the gorilla, the most highly organized of all the apes. The heavy, ill-balanced form of the ape ; its head sunk upon its shoulders ; its long, uncouth arms, 14 MEN AND APES. with those enormous paws at their extremities ; its short, bowed, and tottering legs, unable to support the huge body without the help of the arms ; the massive jaw-bones and protruding face, put the creature at an unappreciable distance from humanity, even though it is repre- sented in an attitude as similar to that of the human being as the organization of the bones will permit. Any one who could fancy himself to be descended, however remotely, from such a being, is welcome to his ancestry. Contrast with the skeleton of the gorilla, that of man. Light in structure, and perfectly balanced on the small and delicate feet ; the slender arms, with their characteristic hands ; the smooth and rounded skull ; the small jaw- bones and regular teeth, all show themselves as the framework of a be- ing whose strength is to lie in his intellect, and not in the mere brute power of bone and mus- cle. There seems to be a strange eloquence in form , which speaks at once to the heart in lan- guage that can only be felt, and is beyond the power of analysis to re- solve. Thus, the con- trasted shapes of these two frames speak more forcibly of the immeas- urable distance between the two beings of which they form a part, than could be expressed in many pages of careful description. Strength for strength, the ape is many times the man’s superior, and could rend him to pieces in sin- gle combat. But that slender human frame can be so intellectually strengthened, that a single man could destroy a troop of apes, if he so desired, and without offering them the possibility of resistance. One great cause of the awkward bipedal walk of the monkey tribes, is the position of the orifice in the skull, through which the spinal cord enters the brain. In the human skull this orifice is so placed that the head is nearly equally balanced, and a considerable portion of the skull projects behind it ; but in the lower animals, this orifice — called the “ occipital foramen ” — is set so far back, that the whole weight of the brain and skull is thrown forwards, and so overbalances the body. Another cause is seen in the structure of the hind limbs These members are intended for progression among the branches of trees, and are so formed that, when the animal uses them for terrestrial locomotion, it is forced to tread, not upon their soles, but upon their sides,, The muscular calves, which brace the foot and limb, are wanting in the Quadrumanous animals ; and even when they are standing as uprightly as possible, the knees are always SKELETON— MAN. SKELETON— GOKILLA. H ANN 0\S VOYAGE. 15 partially bent. The monkeys, then, are just quadrupeds, although their paws are more per- fectly developed than those of the generality of animals. We will now proceed to our examples of the Quadrumanous animals. SIMIADiE, OR APES. The Apes are at once distinguished from the other Quadrumana by the absence of those cheek-pouches which are so usefully employed as temporary larders by those monkeys which possess them ; by the total want of tails, and of those callosities on the hinder quarters which are so conspicuously characteristic of the baboons. Besides these external differences there are several distinctions to be found in the interior anatomy both of the bones and the vital organs. The first in order, as well as the largest of the Apes, is the enormous ape from Western Africa, the Gorilla, the skeleton of which has already been given. This animal is compara- tively new to modern zoologists, and very little is at present known of its habits. The first modern writer who brought the Gorilla before the notice of the public, seems to be Mr. Bow- dich, the well-known African traveller ; for it is evidently of the Gorilla that he speaks under the name of Ingheena. The natives of the Gaboon and its vicinity use the name Gina, when mentioning the Gorilla. The many tales, too, that are told of the habits, the gigantic strength, and the general appearance of the Ingheena, are precisely those which are attributed to the Gorilla. Of the Ingheena, Mrs. Lee (formerly Mrs. Bowdich) speaks as follows: — “It is in equa- torial Africa that the most powerful of all the Quadrumana live, far exceeding the orang- outan, and even the pongo of Borneo. “Mr. Bowdich and myself were the first to revive and confirm a long-forgotten and vague report of the existence of such a creature, and many thought that, as we ourselves had not seen it, we had been deceived by the natives. They assured us that these huge creatures walk constantly on their hind feet, and never yet were taken alive ; that they watch the actions of men, and imitate them as nearly as possible. Like the ivory hunters, they pick up the fallen tusks of elephants, but not knowing where to deposit them, they carry their burdens about until they themselves drop, and even die from fatigue ; that they built huts nearly in the shape of those of men, but live on the outside ; and that when one of their children dies, the mother carries it in her arms until it falls to pieces ; that one blow of their paw will kill a man, and that nothing can exceed their ferocity.” Its existence was evidently known to some adventurous voyagers more than two thousand years ago, and a record has been preserved of these travels. Somewhere about the year 350 b. c., the Carthaginians, then a most powerful and flourish- ing nation, organized a naval expedition for the purpose of examining the coasts and of founding colonies. Tire command of the fleet, wliich consisted of sixty large vessels contain- ing nearly thirty thousand men and women, together with provisions and other necessaries, was entrusted to Hanno, who wrote memoirs of the voyage in a small work that is well known by the title of the “Periplus,” or the Circumnavigation of Hanno. In the course of this voyage he founded seven colonies, and after advancing as far as the modern Sierra Leone, was forced to return for want of provisions. Tlie whole treatise is one of great interest, especially in the present day, when travels of discovery in Africa have been prosecuted with so much energy. The passage, however, which bears on the present question is briefly as follows. After narrating the meeting with these creatures on an island off the west coast of Africa, he proceeds to say: — “There were many more females than males, all equally covered with hair on all parts of the body. The inter- preters called them Goeillas. On pursuing them we could not succeed in taking a single male ; they all escaped with astonishing swiftness, and threw stones at us ; but we took three females, who defended themselves with so much violence that we were obliged to kill them, but we brought their skins stuffed with straw to Carthage.” It is evident that Hanno (or 16 HABITS OF THE GORILLA. Annon, as Ms name is sometimes given) considered these Gorillas to be the veritable savage human inhabitants of the island ; perhaps rather more savage and powerful than ordinary, and rather less given to clothing ; wMch latter deficiency, however, was supplied by the natural covering of hair. Imperfect as is his description, yet it is of much interest, as it proves the existence of extraordinarily huge apes hitherto unknown even to the Carthaginians, the stuffed skins being visible tests. For two thousand years nothing was heard of the Gorilla except certain floating rumors of satyr-haunted woods, and of wild men who used to make their appearance at distant inter- vals and then to disappear ; “of which kind,” it is said, “there are still in Ethiopia.” But by degrees the truthfulness of the narrative was made clear ; detached bones were discovered and sent to Europe, and at last the complete animal made its appearance. Indeed, we are much indebted to this straightforward and simple-minded sailor, for his unadorned narrative, which forms such a favorable contrast to the travellers’ tales of later voyagers, who on some small substratum of truth raised such enormous fictions as the monopods, the pigmies and cranes, the acephali, and other prodigies. For a vivid description, and graphic though rude figures of these and many other monsters, the reader is referred to the “Nuremberg Chronicle.” P erhaps it may be of this animal that the following history is narrated : — “A certain ape after a shipwreck, swimming to land, was seen by a countryman, and thinking Mm to be a man in the water, gave him his hand to save him, yet in the meantime asked him what countryman he was, who answered he was an Athenian. ‘Well,’ said the man, ‘dost thou know Piraeus f ’ (which is a port in Athens). “ ‘Very well,’ said the ape, ‘and his wife, friends, and children ;’ whereat the man being moved, did what he could to drown him.” At present we have but a very slight acquaintance -with the mode of life adopted by the Gorilla in a wild state, or even with its food. For a knowledge of the habits of animals is only to be gained by a long residence in their vicinity, and by careful watching. With some creatures this is an easy task, but there are some which are so wary, so active, and so fierce, that a close inspection is almost an impossibility. Among the worst of such objects is the Gorilla. In the first place, it is only to be found in the thickest jungles of the Gaboon, far from man and his habitations. Then, it is wary, as are all the apes, and is said to be so fero- cious, that if it sees a man, it immediately attacks him, so that there would be little time for gaining any knowledge of the creature’s domestic habits, and scarcely any likelihood of surviving to tell the result of the investigation. To judge by the structure of the skeleton, and of the entire form, the strength of an adult male must be prodigious. The teeth are heavy and powerful, and the great canines or tusks are considerably more than an inch in their projection from the jaw. The jaw-bone, too, is enormously developed, and the strength of the muscles that move it, is indicated by the deep bony ridges that run over the top of the skull, and in different parts of the head. As is usual among such ammals, the tusks of the male Gorilla are nearly double the size of those of the female ape. Although the body is comparatively small, as are the hinder legs, yet the breadth of shoulder and length of arm are singularly great ; while an ordinary human hand placed on that of the ape, dwindles down to insignificance before the huge muscular paw. The thumb of the hinder paws is enormously large, as is