THE GIBBONS. 1 65 



with a serious face, that it had the power of drawing into its 

 body its long arm-bones, and that when it drew in one arm, it 

 pushed out the other to such an extraordinary length, that he 

 believed the two bones united in the body; and he said that 

 the bones of the arm were used for chop-sticks." Mr. Swinhoe, 

 however, published, in 1870, some curious extracts from the 

 Chinese gazetteer of the Kiung-shan district of Hainan, which 

 with little doubt relate to this interesting animal, of which 

 skins have, since he wrote, been received at the British Museum, 

 while a young individual lived for some months in 1893 in the 

 Zoological Gardens of London, where it attracted much atten- 

 tion. The gazetteer says as follows : " Yuen : male black, 

 female white ; like a Macaque but larger, with the two fore-arms 

 exceedingly long. Climbs to tree-tops and runs among them 

 backward^s and forwards with great agility. If it falls to the 

 ground, it remains there like a log. Its delight is in scaling 

 trees, as it cannot walk on the ground. Those desiring to rear 

 it in confinement should keep it among trees ; for the exhala- 

 tions of the earth affect it with diarrhoea, causing death ; a sure 

 remedy for this, however, may be found in a draught made of 

 the syrup of fried Foo-tsze (seeds oi Abrus precatorius^ Linn.)." 

 The gazetteer then continues : " Hainan has also the Rock 

 Yuen. It is small, about the bigness of one's fist. If allowed 

 to drink water, it grows in size. This is also called Black 

 Yuen, and is now likewise difficult to obtain." 



Those who had an opportunity of observing the specimen 

 that lived in the Zoological Gardens, will recall its extraordinary 

 acrobatic feats, which were performed with marvellous precision 

 and certainty, either with one or with both hands, and yet with 

 the most careless air. It offered a striking contrast to an 

 Orang-utan, which occupied the adjoining cage. This more 



