lOO NATURAL HISTORY ESSAYS 



the chest, is very deep from above downwards : 

 from before backwards, however, it is remarkably- 

 short. The upper Hp is thick, undivided, and 

 defended by a number of stout bristles : the 

 nostrils are S-shaped, and not linear, as always 

 misrepresented in books. The eyes are large and 

 lustrous : the upper eyelid is remarkably stout 

 and thick, and is ornamented with long lashes. 

 The centre of the forehead bears a more or less 

 prominent elevation, forming a horn in some 

 species and a rounded prominence in others. A 

 pair of short horns, covered with hair, and ahvays 

 uneqttal in size, surmounts the vertex of the head. 

 The ears are large and mobile. The tongue is 

 very extensile, about seventeen inches long,^ and 

 covered with black pigment, derived from the rete 

 mucostim : this organ can be coiled round various 

 objects like the trunk of a tapir. 



The neck of all giraffes bears a short mane, 

 extending from the occiput to the withers ; the 

 shoulder-blades project forward on each side of the 

 chest in a very prominent manner ; the knees are 

 protected by thick pads or callosities. The end 

 of the tail is laterally compressed and bears a long 

 tassel of hair, which grows from its zmder surface, 

 and does not encircle it as wrongly represented in 

 books. Giraffes, both wild and in confinement, 

 have a curious habit of pulling the hair out of their 



1 The tongue of a dead giratte, according to Sir Everard Home, 

 can be stretched to this extent. 



