338 Dr. T. Cantor on a sjiecies of Semnopitliecus. 



possessed none of the petulance^ mischievous curiosity and rest- 

 less activity of the Cercopithecs. In his predilection for the so- 

 ciety of man, in gentleness, in his cry and also in physiognomy, 

 he strongly resembles the Gibbons, which struck me so much the 

 more, as I at the same time had an opportunity of studying the 

 habits of a young Hylohates leuciscus, Ogilby (captured in the 

 Purlis territory on the Malayan Peninsula, which therefore must 

 be added to the habitats of that Gibbon). But with these points 

 the resemblance ceases, for the latter is active, nay even re- 

 markably so, when compared to Semnopithecus halonifer. A very 

 interesting feature in this monkey is its attachment to children, 

 whereas gibbons and monkeys, generally speaking, entertain a 

 marked aversion towards them. The one I am now describing 

 would go to my native butler^s daughter, a httle girl of five years, 

 in preference to any other person, and cling with its arms round 

 the child's neck as long as permitted. Leaves and young shoots* 

 of mulberry, coffee, jambu-trees and a kind of gossypium, as well 

 as the large pink flower of the latter, were his favourite food. Of 

 fruit he preferred plantains, jambu and mulberries ; but he would 

 also eat mangustin, mangas, rambutan and papayas, not however 

 unless the latter-mentioned fruits were opened or cut in small 

 slices. But a very small quantity was taken in the mouth at a 

 time, and in the absence of cheek-pouches it was slowly masti- 

 cated and swallowed. Insects and animal food of every descrip- 

 tion he refused. Occasionally he would swallow twigs or sand. 

 His beverage was water, which was taken after each meal in con- 

 siderable quantity, and he took more fluid than solid food. He 

 drank stooping to the water's edge, but not by means of the hand. 

 Having finished his meal, he would sit down, close the eyelids, 

 occasionally gnaw his fingers' ends, and slowly grind the teeth 

 and chew very small particles of the food regurgitated under fre- 

 quent eructations. Thus he would continue for a considerable 

 time till he fell asleep. Although a rumination takes place, it is 

 in a limited and far less degree than in Ruminants. In fact, it is, 

 as Prof. Owen has truly suggested, '^ analogous to rumination " 

 (Zool. Proceed. 1833, i. p. 75). The disparity between the ex- 

 tremities and the size of the stomach, which imparts a consider- 

 able corpulency even in early age, renders the monkey a ludicrous 

 object in his awkward movements on the ground. The back is 

 raised into a high arch, the centre of the back being elevated 

 above the vertex, while the long hair of the head and body is 



* A young male orang-outan, Simia Satyrus, from New Guinea (with the 

 nails and two joints of the hind thumbs perfectly developed) greedily devours 

 young shoots of plantain-trees and other plants, and it has therefore been 

 found desirable to watch his rambles in my flower-garden. 



