236 STRUCTURE AND ADAPTATION OF TEETH 



of the upper lip, wliicli is thus preserved from 

 injury in seizing the prey, while the uncovered 

 array of teeth strikes the victim with a mortal 

 terror. 



Conscious of their powers, they instinctively 

 aim at some vital part, as the large blood-vessels 

 t)f the neck, and are thus enabled quickly to over- 

 power animals otherwise capable of effective 

 Iresistance. 



There is, however, a principle of compensation 

 iseen throughout all nature ; and, while in the 

 vegetable feeders we find numerous examples in 

 which incisors, canines, or molars, as they become 

 worn, are constantly renewed by the agency of 

 their persistent pulps, there is no such provision 

 made for the carnivorous animals. 



The teeth are subjected to much violence, and 

 are not endowed with a reparative power ; there- 

 fore the lion or tiger, as old age advances, is 

 compelled to seek for prey less able to resist the 

 attack. 



Unhappily for our species, the animals are 

 consequently induced to prowl about the abodes 

 of man ; and it has been observed, that the man- 

 eater in India invariably proves to be an old 

 tiger, whose teeth have been extensively worn 

 or broken. 



The dentition of the carnivorous mammalia 

 presents several modifications, adapted to the 

 special requirements of certain genera. 



