188 



THE REASON WHY : 



Whose hei<rht the riing forest overlooks ; 



And on tree-tops the eyp-sight downward casts; 

 Where distant rivers seem bestrided brooks." DAVENAXT. 



559. Why is the giraffe endowed with a long prehensibU 



tongue ? 



For the purpose of collect- 

 ing together the tender twigs 

 and leaves upon which it 

 feeds. But for this tongue, 

 which gathers the leaves into 

 large bunches, the giraffe 

 could only bite the single 

 ends of the sprays, and in 

 this way could obtain only a 

 limited supply of food. 



560. A giraffe more than two-thirds grown will eat daily in confinement eighteen 

 pounds of clover, hay, and eighteen pounds of a mixed vegetable diet, consisting of 

 carrots, mansrold-wurzel, barley, split beans, and onions ; and will drink four 

 gallons of water. 



561. WTiy is the head of the giraffe surmounted by short 

 erect horns ? 



These horns are occasionally used as weapons of defence. We 

 have seen them wielded by the males against each other with 

 fearful and reckless force ; and they are much dreaded by 

 the keeper of the present living giraffes in the Zoological 

 Gardens, because they are sometimes very suddenly put 

 into use. 



The giraffe does not butt by depressing and suddenly elevating 

 the head, like the deer, ox, or sheep, but strikes the callous 

 obtuse extremity of the horns against the object of his attack with 

 sidelong sweep of the neck. The female in the gardens of the 



