kinds, with which these uncultivated forests abound. As soon as it perceives a serpent, or a viper, it at once seizes it with its fore hoofs and teeth, skins it in an instant, and devours the flesh. This is often seen, and may, therefore, be readily credited; but as to its applying to a proper vegetable immediately after, as an antidote to the poison of the animal it had devoured, this part of the relation we may very well suspect.

The peccary, like the hog, is very prolific; the young ones follow the dam, and do not separate till they have come to perfection. If taken at first, they are very easily tamed, and soon loose all their natural ferocity; however, they never show any remarkable signs of docility, but continue stupid and rude, without attachment, or even seeming to know the hand that feeds them.

The peccary, though like the hog in so many various respects, is, nevertheless, a very distinct race, and will not mix, nor produce an intermediate breed. The European hog has been transplanted into America, and suffered to run wild among the woods: it is often seen to herd among a drove of peccaries, but never to breed from them. They may, therefore, be considered as two distinct creatures: the hog is the larger and the most useful animal; the peccary more feeble and local; the hog subsists in most parts of the world, and in almost every climate; the peccary is a native of the warmer regions, and cannot subsist in ours, without shelter and assistance. It is more than probable, however, that we could readily propagate the breed of this quadruped; and that, in two or three generations, it might be familiarized to our climate; but as it is inferior to the hog in every respect, so it would be needless to admit a new domestic, whose services are better supplied in the old.*

THE CAPIBARA, OR CABIAI-There are some quadrupeds so entirely different from any that we are acquainted with, that it is hard to find a well-known animal to which to resem

ble them. In this case, we must be content to place them near such as they most approach in form and habits, so that the reader may at once have some idea of the creature's shape or disposition, although perhaps an inadequate, and a very confused one.

Upon that confused idea, however, it will be our business to work-to bring it, by degrees, to greater precision-to mark out the differences of form-and thus give the clearest notions that words can easily convey. The known animal is a kind of rude sketch of the figure we want to exhibit; from which,

by degrees, we fashion out the shape of the creature we desire should be known; as a statuary seldom begins his work till the rude outline of the figure is given by some other hand. In this manner I have placed the capibara

*TRADE IN BRISTLES.-In the year 1828, 1,748,921 lbs. of bristles were imported into England from Russia and Prussia, each of which cannot have weighed less than two grains. From this we may fairly conjecture, that 13,431,713,280 bristles were imported in that year. As these are only taken from the top of the hog's back, each hog cannot be supposed to have supplied more than 7,680 bristles, which reckoning each bristle to weigh two grains, will be one pound. Thus, in Russia and Prussia, in 1828, 1,748,921 hogs and boars were killed, to furnish the supply of England with bristles.

THE CAPIBARA.-This animal is, by modern zoologists enumerated among the Cavies. It is extremely shy and timid, always going in pairs, and escaping but indifferently, on account of the length of its feet. It will sometimes sit up while feeding, like a squir rel, holding its food between its paws. The fore feet are divided into four toes, connected to each other by a small web at the base, and tipped with thick claws, or rather small hoofs, at the extremities; the hind feet are formed in the same manner, but are divided into three toes only.

TURTON.

among the hog kind, merely because it is more like a hog than any other animal commonly known; and yet, more closely examined, it will be found to differ in some of the most obvious particulars.

The Capibara resembles a hog of about two years old, in the shape of its body, and the coarseness and colour of its hair. Like the hog, it has a thick, short neck, and a rounded, bristly back; like the hog, it is fond of the water and marshy places, brings forth many at a time, and, like it, feeds upon animal and vegetable food. But, when examined more nearly, the differences are many and obvious. The head is longer, the eyes are larger, and the snout, instead of being rounded, as in the hog, is split, like that of a rabbit or hare, and furnished with thick, strong whiskers; the mouth is not so wide, the number and the form of the teeth are different, for it is without tusks: like the peccary, it wants a tail; and, unlike to all others of this kind, instead of a cloven hoof, it is in a manner web footed, and thus entirely fitted for swimming and living in the water. The hoofs before are divided into four parts, and those behind into three; between the divisions, there is a prolongation of the skin, so that the foot, when spread in swimming, can beat a greater surface of water. As its feet are thus made for the water, so it is seen to delight entirely in that element; and some naturalists have called it the water-hog for that reason. It is a native of South America, and is chiefly seen frequenting the borders of lakes and rivers, like the otter. It seizes the fish upon which it preys, with its hoofs and teeth, and carries them to the edge of the lake, to devour them at its ease. It lives also upon fruits, corn, and sugar canes. As its legs are long and broad, it is often seen sitting up, like a dog that is taught to beg. Its cry more nearly resembles the braying of an ass, than the grunting of a hog. It seldom goes out, except at night, and that always in company. It never ventures far from the sides of the river or the lake in which it preys; for as it runs ill, because of the length of its feet, and the sbortness of its legs, so its only place of safety is the water, into which it immediately plunges when pursued, and keeps so long at the bottom, that the hunter can have no hopes of taking it there. The capibara, even in a state of wildness, is of a gentle nature, and when taken young, is easily tamed. It comes and goes at command, and even shows an attachment to its keeper. Its flesh is said to be fat and tender, but, from the nature of its food, it has a fishy taste, like that of all those which are bred in the water. Its head, however, is said to be excellent, and in this it resembles the beaver, whose fore parts taste like flesh, and the hinder like the fish it feeds on.

THE BABYROUESSA, or INDIAN HOG.-The Babyronessa is still more remote from the hog kind than the capibara; and yet most travellers who have described this animal, do not scru

ple to call it the hog of Borneo, which is an island in the East Indies, where it is principally to be found. Probably the animal's figure upon the whole most resembles that of the hog kind, and may have induced them to rank it among the number: however, when they come to this description, they represent it as having neither the hair, the bristles, the head, the stature, nor the tail of a hog. Its legs, we are told, are longer, its snout shorter, its body more slender, and somewhat resembling that of a stag; its hair is finer, of a grey colour, rather resembling wool than bristles, and its tail also tufted with the same. From these varieties, therefore, it can scarcely be called a hog; and yet, in this class we must be content to rank it until its form and nature come to be better known. What we at present principally distinguish it by, are four enormous tusks, that grow out of each jaw; the two largest from the upper, and the two smallest

from the under. The jaw bones of this extraordinary animal are found to be very thick and strong; from whence these monstrous tusks are seen to proceed, that distinguish it from all other quadrupeds whatsoever. The two that go from the lower jaw are not above a foot long, but those of the upper are above half a yard: as in the boar, they bend circularly, and the two lower stand in the jaw as they are seen to do in that animal; but the two upper rise from the upper jaw, rather like horns than teeth; and, bending upwards and backwards, sometimes have their points directed to the animal's eyes, and are often fatal by growing into them. Were it not that the baby rouessa has two such large teeth underneath, we might easily suppose the two upper to be horns; and, in fact, their sockets are directed upwards; for which reason Dr. Grew was of that opinion. But, as the teeth of both jaws are of the same consistence, and as they both grow out of sockets in the same manner, the analogy between both is too strong not to suppose them of the same nature. The upper teeth, when they leave the socket, immediately pierce the upper lips of the animal, and grow as if they immediately went from its cheek. The tusks in both jaws are of a very fine ivory, smoother and whiter than that of the elephant, but not so hard or serviceable.

These enormous tusks give this animal a very formidable appearance; and yet it is thought to be much less dangerous than the wild boar.(g) Like animals of the hog kind, they go together in a body, and are often seen in company with the wild boar, with which, however, they are never known to engender. They have a very strong scent, which discovers them to the hounds; and, when pursued, they growl dreadfully, often turning back upon the dogs, and wounding them with the tusks of the lower jaw, for those of the upper are rather au obstruction than a defence. They run much swifter than the boar, and have a more exquisite scent, winding the men and the dogs at a great distance. When hunted closely, they generally plunge themselves into the sea, where they swim with great swiftness and facility, diving, and rising again at pleasure; and in this manner they most frequently escape their pursuers. Although fierce and ter

* HOG HUNTING IN THE EAST.-Perhaps no diversion requires more coolness and judgment than hog-hunting. Some are habituated to hunt in canes; some in underwoods; others entirely in grass covers; and as the modes of hunting are diversified in proportion, it requires some few days' practice, to chime well together, and to act in concert. In grass jungles the hog is allowed to run himself out of breath, the horsemen following his track; when he begins to slacken, the spear is thrown which pierces him to the heart. In grass covers, a hog is often started, hunted and killed without being seen till he is dead. In searching for a hog, the persons employed extend in a line, and proceed through the grass in silence, mounted on horses, elephants, &c. so that the game may not be roused too early, and steal off unperceived. The pariahs, or village dogs, soon discover by their yelping, the game. Hogs generally lurk in sugar canes or bunds, (covers of brambles, underwood and grass mixed,) some of which extend to fifty or a hundred acres. Hogs make for this cover when the canes are cut; and it is observed that they fall off in flesh greatly; the pampered boar is no longer seen, but a meagre, tall beast, whose speed is now as much

increased, as his bulk is reduced. They fatten again when the sugar canes are grown. When a hog gains a bund, he instantly repairs to some stream or pool. He is instantly attacked; for if he be allowed to be down or lap in the water, he gets recruited in a surprising manner, and gives a deal of trouble.

It frequently happens that, during a chase over a plain, many persons may be seen cutting the grass. The hog, indignant and vin. dictive, seldom fails to deviate from his course to visit the poor men in their occupations, frequently ripping them very severely. Hogs do sometimes take strange turns, and occasionally vanish, when it is extremely dif ficult to account for their disappearance. They have a trick of stopping short at speed, when they find a horseman gaining fast upon them in grass cover; and then they either squat perfectly quiet, or steal back into some thick tuft, in which they will lie. If however they should be espied and goaded, the hog darts forth, and upsets all he finds in his way. At the outset, they generally take a direct course, but change it as circumstances occur. A curious incident took place at Monghyr, where two gentlemen were pursuing a large boar, which ran down a watercourse leading to a nullah, or rivulet. One,

(g) Buffon, vol. xxv. p. 179.

rible when offended, yet they are peaceable and harmless when unmolested. They are easily tamed, and their flesh is good to be eaten; but it is said to putrefy in a very short time. They have a way of reposing themselves different from most other animals of the larger kind; which is by hitching one of their upper tusks on the branch of a tree, and then suffering their whole body to swing down at ease. Thus suspended from a tooth, they continue the whole night quite secure, and out of the reach of such animals as hunt them for prey.

The baby rouessa, though by its teeth and tusks seems fitted for a state of hostility, and probably is carnivorous, yet, nevertheless, seems chiefly to live on vegetables and the leaves of trees. It seldom seeks to break into gardens, like the boar, in order to pillage the more succulent productions of human industry, but lives remote from mankind, content with coarser fare and security.

Such are the animals of the hog kind, which are not distinctly known; and even all these, as we see, have been but imperfectly examined or described. I cannot conclude this account of those animals that are thus furnished with enormous tusks, without observing that there is a strong consent between these and the parts of generation. When castrated, it is well known that the tusks grow much smaller, and are scarce seen to appear without the lips; but what is still more remarkable, is, that in a boar, if the tusks by any accident or design be broken away, the animal abates of its fierceness and venery, and it produces nearly the same effect upon its constitution as if castration had actually taken place.(g)

CHAP. XI.

ANIMALS OF THE CAT KIND.*

WE have hitherto been describing a class of peaceful and harmless animals, that serve as the instruments of man's

happiness, or at least that do not
openly oppose him. We come now
to a bloody and unrelenting tribe,
that disdain to own his power, and
carry on unceasing hostilities
against him. All the class of the
cat kind are chiefly distinguished
by their sharp and formidable
claws, which they can hide and ex-
tend at pleasure. They lead a soli-
tary, ravenous life, neither uniting
for their mutual defence, like vege-
table feeders, nor for their mutual
support, like those of the dog kind.
The whole of this cruel and fero-
cious tribe seek their food alone;
and, except at certain seasons, are
who was pretty close at his heels, followed;
and the hog, disappointed of his drink, re-
ascended the bank to the right of the way by
which he had gone down; and then turning
again to his right, proceeded through the
grass across his former track, and leaped
over the ravine he had gone through, as the
other gentleman was galloping down it. The

(Cat.)

hog just passed between the horse's ears and the gentleman's head, and occasioned his hat to fly off him.-ORIENTAL FIELD SPORTSabridged.

*The quadrupeds of this family are distinguished by having six front teeth, the intermediate ones of which are equal: the grinders are three on each side in each jaw; the (g) Lisle's Husbandry, vol. ii. p. 329.

even enemies to each other. The dog, the wolf, and the bear, are sometimes known to live upon vegetable or farinaceous food; but all of the cat kind, such as the lion, the tiger, the leopard, and the ounce, devour nothing but flesh, and starve upon any other provision.'

They are, in general, fierce, rapacious, subtle and cruel, unfit for society among each other, and incapable of adding to human happiness. However, it is probable that even the fiercest could be rendered domestic, if man thought the conquest worth the trouble. Lions have been yoked to the chariots of conquerors, and tigers have been taught to tend those herds which they are known at present to destroy; but these services are not sufficient to recompense for the trouble of their keeping; so that ceasing to be useful, they continue to be noxious, and become rebellious subjects because not taken under equal protection with the rest of the brute creation.†

tongue is furnished with rough prickles pointing backwards; and the claws are sheathed and retractile, except in the lion, which has them retractile, but not sheathed.

* CHARACTERISTICS OF FELINE ANIMALS. -Animals of the cat kind are, in a state of nature, almost continually in action both by night and by day. They either walk, creep or advance rapidly by prodigious bounds; but they seldom run, owing, it is believed, to the extreme flexibility of their limbs and vertebral column, which cannot preserve the rigidity necessary to that species of movement. Their sense of sight, especially during twilight, is acute; their hearing very perfect, and their perception of smell less so than in the dog tribe. Their most obtuse sense is that of taste; the lingual nerve in the lion, according to Des Moulins, being no larger than that of a middle-sized dog. In fact, the tongue of these animals is as much an organ of mastication as of taste; its sharp and horny points, inclined backwards, being used for tearing away the softer parts of the ani mal substances on which they prey. The perception of touch is said to reside very delicately in the small bulbs at the base of the mustachios.-ARCANA OF SCIENCE, 1829.

ORIGINAL SOURCE OF THE DOMESTIC CAT. While speaking of the domestic cat, which is met with in every part of the globe where man, in different states of civilization, has been collected into societies, and has become accustomed to the use of fixed habitations, we may naturally consider the question of the origin of its domestication, and endeavour to ascertain the original or typical species to which the different races of it owe their existence. Many very judicious naturalists have had doubts respecting the source to which our cats have generally been refered. The opinion which has been received and adopted by the greatest number is, that the wild cat of the forests of Europe and Asia ought to be considered as the original stock of all the races of the domestic cats. But the consideration of this point gives rise to a doubt, which a comparison between our house cat and this, its supposed wild type, tends to strengthen.

When we attempt to trace the domestication of the cat up to its commencement, our thoughts are naturally directed towards those countries in which the earliest marks of civilization appeared. It was from the walls of the temples of Isis, and under the dominion of the Pharoahs, that the first rays of knowledge burst forth, which, after being so successfully cultivated by the Greeks in later times, was gradually transmitted from them to the countries which we now inhabit. Egypt, which beheld the beginning of this civilization, without doubt furnished its inhabitants with this useful animal. The ancient Egyptians would value the good qualities of the cat more than any other agricultural people. If, then, they were acquainted with it, (and everything leads us to believe that they were,) it is evident that a wild species peculiar to those countries has supplied the first domestic race.

In fact, the Egyptian cat, which we have described in this work under the name of Felis gauté (Felis maniculata), has a much greater resemblance to our house cat than the latter has to the wild cat of the woods; the height and the figures are perfectly similar, the tail is of the same length, and is thinner in both at the extremity than at the root. Our domestic cats of the largest kind are always smaller than the wild species, and there is also a permanent difference in the form of the tail. We know by experience, that a long-continued state of domestication affects the size and the whole physical system of an animal. A superabundance of nourishment and constant attention assist the developement of all their organs, and increase their size. All our animals removed from a wild state, and domesticated, furnish us with proofs of this. The domestic cat, upon the supposition that it is a descendant of the wild cat of the woods, would furnish a proof of the degeneration of its race, a constant forerunner of the entire destruction of it.

When we compare the exterior form of the domestic cat with that of the wild species, we invariably find that the former is smaller; that its tail is longer, and termi