The mangabey was so called by Buffon from an erroneous idea that his specimens were obtained from the territory of that name in the Island of Madagascar: it appears, however, more probable that it is a native of the western coast of Africa. Its common English designation of the White eyelid' is certainly both expressive and appropriate; for although many others of the tribe-more especially among the baboons have the same remarkable absence of colouring matter in the skin of their upper eyelids, yet in none-excepting only in the following species has it a hue so perfectly dead-white or so strongly contrasted with the colour of the face. The latter was formerly regarded as a mere variety of the present; but the distinctions between them appear to be permanent and are quite sufficient to justify their separation. In the animal now under consideration the head, the whole of the upper surface and sides of the body, the tail, and the outsides of the limbs, are of one uniform deep grayish black, or more properly sootcolour, becoming deep black on the lower part of the legs and on the hands. On the under part of the moustaches which are bushy, spreading, and directed backwards the fore part of the chest, the under surface of the body, and the inside of the limbs, the general colour is of a light gray with only a slight mixture of a dusky hue. The fingers are long and slender; the ears rather small and blackish; and the whole face is livid, with a blacker tinge round the eyes, and on the nose, lips, and chin. The tail is thick and cylindrical, scarcely tapering towards the point, and generally turned back wards over the body, which it exceeds in length. This species is not destitute of intelligence, and is easily taught to perform a variety of antic tricks, to the effect of which the peculiar expression of its physiognomy greatly contributes. It is generally good-tempered, and tolerably well-behaved, although not without its fair share of petulance and caprice.

The collared white-eyelid monkey differs from the common white-eyelid monkey principally in the deep chestnut brown of the upper surface of its head, and in the collar of pure white crossing the fore part of its neck, and including the large bushy moustaches which extend forwards upon the cheeks and pass backwards beneath and behind the ears.

If elegance of form, grace of motion, gentleness of disposition, superior sagacity, and penetration, of physiognomy, presented characters to the naturalist proper for the purposes of classification, the mona, or varied monkey, would, incontestably, serve as a type for peculiar division. It is strikingly distinguished from the other guenons in general, by these qualities, and more especially from the malbrouk, the callitrix, and the grivet. Even the mangabey, though gentler tban the others, is less so than the varied monkey. But this animal has no physical character, to confirm and establish the peculiar distinction to which its moral qualities would seem to entitle it. In truth the species of the varied monkey does not differ essentially from the other guenons but by its colours, and in these we discover a variety, which we do not

The

The striated monkey is, in size, no larger than a squirrel. The tail is long, very thickly covered with fur, and beautifully marked through its whole length with alternate rings of black and white. The body is of a reddish ash-colour, slightly undulated with dusky shades. The face is of a dark flesh-colour, having on each side a very large and thick tuft of milk-white hair, standing out before the ears. paws, which are covered with hair, have sharp nails. In a native state, these very beautiful little creatures, like most others of their tribe, live in society, on trees, the females carrying their young ones firmly clinging to their backs. They are found in the woods and forests of South America, where they are believed to subsist chiefly on fruits and vegetables: those, however, which have been kept in a state of captivity, have been known to feed on fish, insects, and worms.

The entellus monkey is one of the most common monkeys both of the Peninsula of Hindostan and of the islands of the Indian archipelago; but it has seldom been brought alive to this country, and on the continent of Europe specimens appear to be almost equally rare. The species was first made known by N. Dufresne, in 1797, from a skin in his possession, which was shortly afterwards figured by Audebert in his large work on the monkeys, whence it was adopted by later zoologists. After an interval of more than twenty years, the arrival of a living individual, of small size and immature age, at the Jardin du Roi in Paris, enabled M. Cuvier to publish a second original figure, more valuable than the first.

The genus semnopithecus of Cuvier, of which the entellus offers a truly characteristic example, is distinguished from the other monkeys of the Old world by several remarkable characters, affecting not only its outward form but also some essential parts of its internal organization. In the degree of their intelligence, the form of their heads, and the general outline of their proportions, the species which compose it seem to occupy an intermediate station between two other purely Asiatic groups, the gibbons of Buffon, which are the hylobates of the modern systematists, and the macaques, of which the wanderow may be regarded as the type. Their bodies are slightly made; their limbs long and slender; their tails of great length, considerably exceeding that of the body; their callosities of small size; and their cheek pouches, in those species which appear to possess them, so inconsiderable as scarcely to deserve the name. The character, however, which at once distinguishes them from the cercopitheci, is found in their dentition, and more particularly in the form of the crown of the last molar tooth of the lower jaw, which, instead of four tubercles, one at each angle of the tooth as in the latter genus, offers five such projections on its surface, the additional one occupying the middle line of the tooth, and being placed posteriorly to the rest. The gib bons and the macaques are also furnished with this additional tubercle. The entellus is too distinct a species to be confounded with any other. It is of a uniform ashy-gray on the upper parts, becoming darker on the tail, which is grayish brown, of equal thickness throughout, and terminated by a few long hairs running out into a kind of point, but not forming a tuft. The under surface of the body is of a dingy yellowish white; and the fore arms, hands, and feet are of a dusky black.-Abridged from Griffith.

NOTE E.-The Loris and Lemurs.

The genus loris forms part of that division of the quadrumanous order which is essentially distinguished by an unequal number or irregular disposition of the incisor teeth in the two jaws; terminal nostrils with sinuous openings; and a long subulate or sickleshaped claw upon the fore-finger of the hinder hands, all the rest of the nails being flat and rounded like those of the greater part of the monkeys and of man. The loris differ from the other genera of this family in having four incisors in the upper jaw, placed in pairs with a vacant space between, and six in the lower, directed obliquely forwards; canines of moderate size; twelve molars above and ten below; a short rounded head; and little or no tail. Sometimes, it would appear, the lateral incisors of the upper jaw, which are always smaller than the others, are either entirely wanting or so minute as not to be easily seen. In addition to these primary characters the loris is distinguished by large prominent eyes, placed in front of the head, and at no great distance from each other; short ears, scarcely rising through the hair with which they are invested; a rough tongue; nostrils projecting beyond the mouth, and surrounded by a naked muzzle; and thumbs widely separated from the fingers both on the fore and hinder hands. Linnæus confounded both the well-authenticated species of this group, under the name of lemur tardigradus.

The slow-paced lemur is an animal of small size scarcely equal to that of a cat. The largest individual yet noticed appears to be that seen by Pennant, who states its length at no less than sixteen inches from the nose to the extremity of its back. Its proportions are short and thickset; and the apparent clumsiness of its form is much increased by the manner in which it usually contracts itself into a kind of ball. The habits of this singular creature are perfectly nocturnal. It sleeps throughout the whole of the day, unless when disturbed, either rolled up on the floor of its cage, or more commonly suspended by its paws from the bars, with its body drawn together and its head folded in upon the breast. Towards evening it rouses itself by degrees, and remains watchful during the night. Its first care on awaking is to make itself clean by licking its fur like a cat; and its next is to satisfy its appetite. Its natural food appears to consist of a mixture of animal and vegetable substances. The latter especially the sweeter fruits, and sopped bread sprinkled with sugar-have usually formed the principal part of the diet of those with whose history we have been made acquainted; but the smaller animals, whether mice, birds, or insects, appear to be more peculiarly acceptable. In its motions, it is excessively slow and languid. In consequence, as we may imagine, of this want of activity, the slow-paced lemur is peculiarly susceptible of cold, to guard it from which its thick fur, so unusual in the animals of a tropical climate, is beautifully adapted. Generally speaking it is a timid and even a gentle animal, rarely offering offence unless when provoked or hastily disturbed from its slumbers. On such occasions it will bite with considerable fierceness. But in cold weather, its anger is much more easily roused, and it evinces an excessive degree of irritability. In feeding it commonly seizes its food with both hands, and then consigns it to one, sitting upright on its haunches and generally suspended by its hinder paws to eat it. When a small live animal is placed within its reach, it relaxes its hold with its fore-paws, and seizing its victim with more rapidity than might be expected from its ordinary habits, destroys it with much dexterit and soon deposits the carcass in its stomach, devouring the bones as well the flesh, but rejecting the feathers of birds, which it previously plucks off.

The lemurs are all natives of Madagascar and of one or two smaller islands in its neighbourhood. We know but little of their habits in a state of nature, but they are said to live in large bands upon the trees feeding principally upon fruits; and its conformation renders this account extremely probable. They are almost equally agile with the monkeys; but are much more gentle and peaceable in their dispositions. In captivity they are generally good-tempered, but do not usually exhibit much playfulness or intelligence. Fruits and roots form the principal part of their nutriment; but dressed meat or even raw fish appear to be no unwelcome additions to their vegetable diet. Notwithstanding the thickness of their coats they are extremely chilly, and are very fond of basking in the sun or crouching by the fireside. In walking or leaping they usually raise their long bushy tails above the level of their backs; but when at rest they either suffer them to hang down, or coil them around their bodies to retain the warmth. In the red lemur the general colour of the upper surface of the body is of a bright rufous brown, and that of the under parts of a deep black. The former includes the sides of the face, the ears, the back and sides, and the outer surface of the limbs; the latter, the forehead, the naked face itself, the throat, breast, and abdomen, the inside of the limbs, and the entire feet with the exception of a narrow stripe of white passing across the upper surface of the hinder ones. tail is perfectly black throughout. A large oval patch of white occupies the back of the neck, extending from behind the ears to between the shoulders, and separating the black of the head from the red of the back. Upwards of a dozen species of lemurs have been described, but their differences have not yet been satisfactorily ascertained.-Abridged from Griffith.

NOTE F.-Pouched Animals.

The

Pouched animals were known at first only in America. All the species found on that continent agree so completely in general organization, as well as in this peculiar conformation of the genitals, that Linnæus found in them the elements of a single genus, which he called didelphis or double wombed. Afterwards from the East Indies, and still later from the regions of Australasia, animals arrived equally distinguished by the possession of the abdominal pouch; these were immediately set down as genuine didelphes, and Gmelin has bestowed on them the titles of didelphis orientalis, didelphis Brunii, &c. Even the tarsier of Daubenton he inscribed among them, under the name of didelphis macrotarsus. None, however, of these animals answer to the definition of Linne; all had less than six incisors above, and less than eight below, &c.: nevertheless, Fallas, Camper, and Zimmerman still preserved the appellation of Gmelin, and thus prolonged the abuse.

At first an opinion arose that the young of these animals were actually produced in the abdominal pouch beside the mamma of the mother. It is nearly two centuries since Marcgrave has said, "The pouch is properly the matrix of the carigueya (didelphis opossum). I have been unable to find any other; this is a point which I have ascertained by dissection. The semen is produced there, and the young are formed." Pison confirms the same facts, having, as he observes, dissected many of the carigueyas. Valentyn makes the same assertion, in his account of the Molucca Islands: "The pouch of the philanders is a matrix in which the young are conceived. This pouch is not what is usually supposed. The mamme are, with regard to the young, what stalks are to their fruits." The young remain attached to the mammæ, until they have attained maturity, and then separate from them as the fruit drops from the stalk. These notions

are also common in Virginia, even among physicians. Beverly says, that the young opossum exists in the false belly, without ever entering the true, and are developed on the teats of the mother. The Marquess of Chastellux makes a similar remark. Hence Pennant says, "That suspended to the mamma of the mother, they remain there at first without motion: this lasts until they have acquired some development and strength; but then they undergo a second birth."

M. Geoffroy, lamenting the vagueness and obscurity existing on the subject of pouched animals, wrote an article in 1819, with this query as title, "Are the pouched animals born attached to the teats of the mother?" His object was to call the attention of scientific men to the subject, and more especially of those who possess the means of investigation in those countries which form the habitat of the animals. His observations are highly interesting and important. On the pouch, he remarks that it is not in the adult female, a cavity of equal capaciousness at all times. M. d'Aboville observed it to increase in magnitude under the influence of the phenomena of generation, and M. Geoffroy himself has observed its relative dimensions in females of the same species. It is small previous to sexual intercourse, large to excess when the young ones are about to drop from the mammæ, and of a moderate size in the period immediately following. Thus the pouch cannot be considered merely as a second domicile, without spring or activity; it is a true place of incubation, extending by degrees, acquiring more and more volume, as happens to every other domicile of the foetus. Well, therefore, might it be called a second uterus, and the most important of the two. As to the mode in which the young are placed in the external pouch, or rather attached to the nipple, nothing is accurately known. Pouched animals derive their appellation of marsupiata, or, as some call them, marsupiales, from the character of the pouch. It may, however, be well questioned, whether as a generic or classic term, it be unobjectionable. There are many species in which this character of the pouch does not exist, while, on the contrary, there are none without the double matrix, which would render the Linnæan appellation of didelphis more universally suitable to all the species. Be that as it may, the marsupiata are unquestionably the most singular of all known quadrupeds. With the exception of the peculiarities of their generation, there is scarcely any character in common among them. The organs of locomotion and digestion vary considerably, and that in a manner so nicely graduated, that all the shades between the carnassiers, properly so called, and the genuine rodentia, are discoverable among the animals in question by the character of the teeth. Their extremities are equally modified from those which are designed to dig the earth, to those adapted for climbing with the utmost facility the loftiest trees.

The feet among some, as the phascolomys, are calculated for digging in the ground. In this case, there are five toes armed with powerful nails on the fore-feet, and four only on the hinder, with a small tubercle instead of thumb. With others (as the kangaroos, potoroos, and Perameles) the hinder feet are conformed for the execution of rapid leaps; and then they have but four toes, the second of which is very strong, longer than the others, and furnished with a nail almost as thick as a hoof. The two internal ones are small and connected. The metatarsus is very long, as well as the limb to which it belongs. The fore-paws are very short, and terminated by five toes furnished with tolerably long talons. In the phalangers, which are eminent climbers, the posterior thumb is considerably separated, and without a claw; the two toes which immediately follow it, are connected by the skin as far as the last phalanx. The

| toes of the fore-feet differ little from those of the common carnassiers, while in the koala these same toes are divided into two groups for the act of seizing; the thumb and index being on one side, and the three others on the opposite. The four hinder toes are connected two by two, and very distinct from the thumb. In the dasyuri, which run upon the ground like the martens, the fore-feet have five toes, and the hinder four, all separated and armed with curved claws, while the hinder thumb is but a simple tubercle. Finally, the didelphes which climb trees have toes like the dasyuri, except that the posterior thumb is distinct, and without a nail like that of the phalangers. The chironectes which swim, differ from the didelphis, only in having the hinder feet palmate. There is no tail in the phascolomys. In the koalas it is a simple tubercle, but considerably long in all the other genera. In the didelphis, the chironectes, and the true phalangers, it is naked, scaly, and prehensile. In the kangaroos and potoroos, it is strong, triangular, and conic, and concurs to locomotion with the long hinder limbs. The isoodonta and the peramelas have it of the same form, but much less robust. Finally, the dasyuri, and particularly the flying phalangers, have it much elongated, and more or less tufted. In the petaurista alone, we find the skin of the sides extended between the fore and hind legs, serving as a parachute after the manner of the galeopitheci and polatouches. The crab-eating didelphis, the kangaroo, the perameles, the isoodon, the potoroo, the phalangers, the petaurista, and the phascolomys alone, have the ventral pouch which has given a denomination to the entire tribe. In the rest the mammæ are visible without, and some have on each side the fold of skin which forms the pouch, but scarcely visible The number of the mamme vary, and is especially considerable among the didelphes.

The physiognomy of these animals is in relation to their natural habits and mode of living. The didelphes and dasyuri have a conic head, elevated ears, mouth deeply cut, and the aspect of carnivora. The perameles rather resemble rats, the long-legged kangaroos, hares, and the phascolomys the marmot. Some, such as the didelphis and dasyuri, are earnassiers, living on eggs, small birds, and corrupted flesh, and sometimes crustacea and insects. Others, as the kangaroo and phascolomys, are sustained purely on vegetables. The phalangers are probably both frugivorous and insectivorous. A very remarkable fact is, that the marsupiata have, as yet, been observed only in South America, New Holland, and some islands of the Indian archipelago. The didelphes, properly so called, or the sarigues, and the chironectes, are proper to the first of these countries. All the others, except the phalangers, with naked and scaly tails, are peculiar to the second; and those last-mentioned phalangers, and a species of the kangaroo, are alone to be met with in the Indian archipelago.

The Virginian opossum is an animal by no means eminent for intelligence. It digs a burrow or den, near thickets not too far removed from the habitations of men, and sleeps there the live-long day. Seeing but badly while the sun is above the horizon, it is in the night that it proceeds in search of food, and of the female during the season of its amours, It mounts trees, penetrates into farm-yards, attacks the small birds and poultry, sucks their blood, devours their eggs, and then returns to conceal itself at the bottom of its retreat. It frequently contents itself with reptiles and insects, and fruits occasionally form a portion of its food. Though its mode of life is very analogous to that of the foxes and weasels, it is considerably less sanguinary and cruel.

The Mexican opposum is about eight inches long, and the tail is about a foot. The muzzle is inclin

It would, therefore, be impossible to give an idea of this animal's figure by a description; which, even assisted by the art of the engraver, will but confusedly represent the original. In general, it may be observed, that the forehead is very high and rising, the ears very large and dependent, the eyes extremely small, the proboscis or trunk long, the body round and full, the back rising in an arch, and the whole animal short in proportion to its height. The feet are round at the bottom; on each foot there are five flat horny risings, which seem to be the extremities of the toes, but do not appear outwardly. The hide is without hair, full of scratches and scars, which it receives in its passage through thick woods and thorny places. At the end of the tail there is a tuft of hair, a foot and a half long. The female is less than the male, and the udder is between the fore-legs. But a more accurate, as well as a more entertaining description of the parts, will naturally occur in the history of their uses.3

Of all quadrupeds, the elephant is the strongest, as well as the largest; and yet, in a state of nature, it is neither fierce nor formidable. Mild, peaceful, and brave, it never abuses its power or its strength, and only uses its force for its own protection, or that of its community. In its native deserts, the elephant is seldom seen alone, but appears to be a social, friendly creature. The oldest of the company conducts the band; that which is next in seniority brings up the rear. The young, the weak, and the sickly, fall into the centre; while the females carry their young, and keep them from falling by means of their trunks. They maintain this order only in dangerous marches, or when they desire to feed in cultivated grounds; they move with less precaution in the forests and solitudes; but without ever separating, or removing so far asunder as to be incapable of lending each other any requisite assistance. Nothing can be more formidable than

3 There are two species of elephant,-the Asiatic and African. The Asiatic elephant is distinguished from its African congener, principally by the character of the teeth; the head moreover is oblong, the forehead concave, and the ears do not descend lower than the neck. This species is found in the whole of Southern India, and in the neighbouring islands. The African elephant is distinguished by a round or cylindrical head, with the face more protruded than in the Asiatic species, a convex forehead, and enormous ears which descend as far as the legs. The peculiarity of the cheek-teeth also separates it; and there is reason to think that three toes only of the

hind-feet have nails. The tusks are said to be of

equal size both in the male and female of this species, and the eyes are situate lower, nearer the mouth, and more forward in the African elephant than in its Asiatic congener.-ED.

4 I have extracted the greatest part of this description from Mr. Buffon. Where I add, I mark with commas, "thus."

in an African landscape; wherever they march, the forests seem to fall before them; in their passage, they bear down the branches upon which they feed; and if they enter into an enclosure, they destroy all the labours of the husbandman in a very short time. Their invasion is the more disagreeable, as there is no means of repelling them; since it would require a small army to attack the whole drove when united. It now and then happens that one or two is found lingering behind the rest, and it is against these that the art and force of the hunters are united; but an attempt to molest the whole body would certainly be fatal. They go forward directly against him who offers the insult, strike him with their tusks, seize him with their trunks, fling him into the air, and then trample him to pieces under their feet. But they are thus dreadful only when offended, and do no manner of personal injury when suffered to feed without interruption. It is even said that they are mindful of injuries received; and when once molested by man seek all occasions for the future to be revenged; they smell him with their long trunks at a distance; follow him with all their speed upon the scent; and though slow to appearance, they are soon able to come up with and destroy him.

In their natural state they delight to live along the sides of rivers, to keep in the deepest vales, to refresh themselves in the most shady forests and watery places. They cannot live far from the water; and they always disturb it before they drink. They often fill their trunk with it, either to cool that organ or to divert themselves by spurting it out like a fountain. They are equally distressed by the extremes of heat and cold; and to avoid the former, they frequent❘ly take shelter in the most obscure recesses of the forest, or often plunge into the water, and even swim from the continent into islands some leagues distant from the shore.

Their chief food is of the vegetable kind, for they loathe all kind of animal diet. When one among their number happens to light upon a spot of good pasture, he calls the rest, and invites them to share in the entertainment; but it must be very copious pasture indeed that can supply the necessities of the whole band. As with their broad and heavy feet they sink deep wherever they go, they destroy much more than they devour; so that they are frequently obliged to change their quarters, and to migrate from one country to another. The Indians and negroes, who are often incommoded by such visitants, do all they can to keep them away, making loud noises, and large fires round their cultivated grounds: but these precautions do not always succeed; the elephants often break through their fences, destroy their whole harvest, and overturn their little habitations. When they have satisfied themselves, and trod down or devoured whatever lay in their way, they then retreat into the