102 THE REASON WHY ! 



" Bchol<V yo^i mountain's hoary height, 

 '- o ^ i^HUy, higher with new mo'unts of snow ; 

 > 'Afti-i <oehjoW the winter's weight 



the labouring woods below." DRYDKX. 



whom was accompanied by a dog, one of which 

 was ;he remarkable creature whose services had been so valuable. Descending from 

 the convent, they were overwhelmed by two avalanches or heaps of falling snow, 

 end the same destruction awaited the family of the poor courier, who were 

 travelling up the mountain in the hope of obtaining some news of the husband 

 and father.* 



312. Why is the jackal called "the lion's provider?" 

 Because, when jackals hunt their prey, they make hideous 

 noises. The lion, knowing that these sounds are signs that the 

 jackals are on the bunt, prowls about in their wake, and when the j 

 have killed an animal, he puts them to flight, and feeds upon the 

 carcase. The jackals keep aloof until the lion has satisfied his 

 hunger, and then they return and devour the fragments that may 

 remain. 



313. The tiger, as well as the lion, follows the track of the jackal, and robs it of 

 prey. The idea that the jackal is instinctively " the lion's provider" is one of the 

 ingenious fictions that gather around every imperfect history. 



314. Why has the Nubian ferret valves to its ears ? 



Because it burrows in sandy ground ; the peculiar structure of 

 its ears is therefore adapted to preserve those most important 

 organs. 



315. The ferret has unusually large ears, which renders it more than ordinarily 



liable to inconvenience while bur- 

 rowing in sandy ground. The valve 

 of the ear, as it has been termed, 

 consists of a plait or fold, which 

 shows itself externally at the bottom. 

 The interior bo'rders of the ears are 

 covered with thick white hair, but 

 the middle part is bare, and of a pink 

 or rose colour. The auditory cells 

 of the ferret are larger than those 

 of the common fox, though the 

 former is two-thirds less than the 



fox in size. I* is probable that the ferret hears much more acutely than most 



quadrupeds. 



"Youatt on the Dog." 



