THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 623 



with great ease. It is rather hot in its temper, and if irritated, becomes highly excited, and 

 moves its teeth and feet with remarkable activity and force. 



THE SYRIAN HYBAX is the animal which is mentioned under the name of "coney" in 

 the Old Testament, and is found inhabiting the clefts and caverns of rocks. In its habits and 

 general appearance it is very similar to the Cape Hyrax, and needs no farther description. 

 Although it will bite fiercely when first captured, it is sufficiently docile in disposition, and 

 soon learns to obey its keeper, towards whom it displays an affectionate disposition if it be 

 rightly treated. The color of both species is dark brown, but the Syrian animal can be distin- 

 guished from the Cape Hyrax by the presence of a great number of very long black hairs, 

 which are thickly scattered over its body, and penetrate through the shorter fur. Its native 

 name is Ashkoko. 



THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 



THE last on the list of the pachydermatous animals is the well-known HIPPOPOTAMUS, or 

 RIVER HORSE. 



This enormous quadruped is a native of various parts of Africa, and is always found either 

 in water or in its near vicinity. In absolute height it is not very remarkable, as its legs are 

 extremely short, but the actual bulk of its body is very great indeed. The average height of 

 a full-grown Hippopotamus is about five feet. Its naked skin is dark brown, curiously marked 

 with innumerable lines like those on "crackle " china or old oil-paintings, and is also dappled 

 with a number of sooty black spots, which cannot be seen except on a close inspection. A 

 vast number of pores penetrate the skin, and exude a thick, oily liquid, which effectually 

 seems to protect the animal from the injurious effects of the water in which it is so constantly 

 immersed. The author once spoiled a pair of gloves entirely by patting the male animal at 

 present in the Zoological Gardens. The mouth is enormous, and its size is greatly increased 

 by the odd manner in which the jaw is set in the head. 



Within the mouth is an array of white, gleaming tusks, which have a terrific appearance, 

 but are solely intended for cutting grass and other vegetable substances, and are seldom 

 employed as weapons of offence, except when the animal is wounded or otherwise irritated. 

 The incisor teeth of the lower jaw lie almost horizontally, with their points directed forwards, 

 and are said to be employed as crowbars in tearing up the various aquatic plants on which the 

 animal feeds. The canines are very large and curved, and are worn obliquely, in a manner 

 very similar to the rodent type of teeth. Their shape is a bold curve, forming nearly the s half 

 of a circle, and their surface is deeply channeled and ridged on the outer line of the curve, and 

 smoother on the face. The entire tooth, when it has been removed from the animal and thor- 

 oughly dried, is covered with a series of fine, superficial cracks, which intersect each other 

 diagonally with much regularity, being a veritable example of nature's "cross-hatching." 



The tooth is very solid in its substance and close in its grain, and as it retains its color 

 under very trying circumstances, is admirably adapted for the manufacture of artificial teeth. 

 Throughout the greater part of its length it is quite solid, but bears a conical hollow about 

 three or four inches deep at the extremity which enters the socket. The extreme whiteness 

 of the ivory obtained from the Hippopotamus' teeth renders it peculiarly valuable for the deli- 

 cate scales of various philosophical instruments, and its natural curve adapts it admirably for 

 the verniers of ship sextants. The weight of a large tooth is from five to eight pounds, and the 

 value of the ivory is from four to five dollars per pound. 



With these apparently combined teeth the Hippopotamus can cut the grass as neatly as if 

 it were mown with a scythe, and is able to sever, as if with shears, a tolerably stout and thick 

 stem. 



Possessed of an enormous appetite, having a stomach that is capable of containing five or 

 six bushels of nutriment, and furnished with such powerful instruments, the Hippopotamus is 



