158 INGENUITY OF A THRUSH. 



rings, with a spot in the middle ; the hunting leopard by 

 its full round spots not arranged in rings, (independently of 

 the peculiar form of the creature) ; the ocelots by their longi- 

 tudinal elongated ovals, linear markings, and small size; and 

 with the above characters of the panther and leopard, attend- 

 ing also to form, I think it would not be very difficult to 

 distinguish them. Occasional varieties of every species of 

 Felis will no doubt be met with, but it must be kept in mind, 

 that these are exceptions to the rule. 



Your obedient Servant, 



W. H. S. 



INGENUITY OP A THRUSH. 



[From a Correspondent.] 



During a visit to a lady in the country, I was walking in the 

 garden one day, and observed in several spots a large quan- 

 tity of broken snail shells in a circle, round some large stones, 

 which seemed to have served the purpose of an altar of sa- 

 crifice. Mrs. B. told me that she had frequently observed a 

 thrush hopping up with a snail in its beak to one of these 

 stones, against which it knocked the snail, broke the shell, 

 and then swallowed the slug. 



OBSERVATIONS ON THE LORIS, OR SLOW-PACED LEMUR. 



[From Sir William Jones's Works, vol. i. p. 544.] 



if In his manners he was for the most part gentle, except in 

 the cold season, when his temper seemed wholly changed ; 

 and his Creator who made him so sensible of cold, to which 

 he must often have been exposed even in his native forests, 

 gave him, probably for that reason, his thick fur, which we 

 rarely see on animals in these tropical climates : to me, who 

 not only constantly fed him, but bathed him twice a week in 

 water accommodated to the seasons, and whom he clearly 

 distinguished from others, he was at all times grateful ; but 

 when I disturbed him in winter, he was usually indignant, 

 and seemed to reproach me with the uneasiness which he felt, 

 though no possible precautions had been omitted to keep him 

 in a proper degree of warmth. At all times he was pleased 

 with being stroked on the head and throat, and frequently 

 suffered me to touch his extremely sharp teeth ; but at all 

 times his temper was quick, and when he was unseasonably 

 disturbed, he expressed a little resentment by an obscure nrw> 



