AND THEIR FUNCTIONS. 181 



It is well known that snakes and many lizards have 

 forked tongues, and seals have a deeply notched tongue. 



The sense of taste, he says, is in the tip of the tongue, 

 for if anything is placed on the flat part of the tongue, the 

 sense of taste is not so delicate.* 



This statement needs to be modified. The sense of 

 taste, as far as the tongue is concerned, is developed most 

 in the upper part of the back of the tongue, and in its tip 

 and marginal parts. The middle part of the tongue is but 

 slightly sensitive, and this may be readily proved by placing 

 a little salt, chamomile infusion, or sugar thereon. 



He states that the tongue of the lynx (wryneck) is 

 peculiar, being like that of snakes, for its length, when 

 extended, is equal to four fingers breadth.! Except that 

 the tongue of the wryneck is not forked, but vermiform, 

 these statements are correct. 



He believed that birds with the broadest tongues could 

 talk. I Birds of prey, he says, generally have broad tongues, 

 and so has the PsittaJce (parrot), an Indian bird, which is 

 said to have a tongue like that of a man. 



He makes inconsistent statements about the tongue of 

 the crocodile. In P. A. iv. c. 11, 690&, he seems to say that 

 it has no tongue, but, in P. A. ii. c. 17, 660&, he admits the 

 presence of a tongue adherent to the lower jaw. This 

 statement is correct, for the crocodile has a large tongue 

 attached to the floor of the mouth in such a way that it 

 cannot be protruded but only raised. 



The tongue of the chamaeleon is very peculiar, being 

 very long, extensible, and clubbed at the free end, but, 

 strange to say, Aristotle says nothing about this, although 

 he knew this animal very well indeed. 



He says that fishes have a sense of taste, for many of 

 them delight in particular kinds of food, but that the 

 tongue of fishes is indistinct, being bony and adherent 

 to the mouth. |i 



It is not clear why Aristotle makes so little of the tongue 

 in fishes. The tongue is very conspicuous in many fishes, 

 e.g., the conger and bass, with which he was very well ac 

 quainted. In one bass, a 4-lb. fish, I found that the 

 free part of the tongue was wide and thick, and nearly an 

 inch long. 



* H. A. i. c. 9, s. 6. f Ibid. ii. c. 8, s. 2. 



I P. A. ii. c. 17, 660a. H. A. viii. c. 14, s. 6, 



|| H. A. iv. c. 8, s. 4 ; P. A. iv. c. 11, 6906, 



