38 



G RIVET, GREEN MONKEY, AND VERVET 



The first glance at one of these monkeys will detect a peculiar sheen of the fur, that bewilders 

 the eye and conceals the precise color. If, however, the hairs are examined separately, each 

 hair will be found to be varied in color several times, black and yellow being the principal 

 colors. First the hair will be black for a part of its length, then yellow, then black again, and 

 so on to the tip. As the black has something of a bluish tinge in it, the mixture of the yellow 

 and blue gives an undefined greenish hue, as to cause the name of Green Monkey to be given 

 to the animal. 



The Cercopitheci are remarkable for the singularly large development of the cheek pouches, 



which seem to possess an illimitable 

 power of extension, and to accumu- 

 late a strange medley of articles. 

 Supply one of these monkeys with 

 nuts or biscuit, and he will contrive 

 to put the greater part of the food 

 into his cheek pouches, only eating 

 a small portion at the time. 



I never knew but one instance 

 when the pouches were quite full, 

 and even then the monkey was a 

 small one, and the nuts were large. 

 The little creature was liberally 

 gifted with nuts, with the special 

 purpose of ascertaining the capabil- 

 ities of the pouches, and after dilat- 

 ing its cheeks to a wonderful extent 

 with large " cob " nuts, it was at last 

 compelled to empty them into its 

 hands. 



These pouches have been aptly 

 compared to the stomach of a rumi- 

 nant animal, and are employed in 

 much the same manner. By means 

 of the possession of these natural 

 cupboards, the monkey is enabled to 

 make little incursions, to eat as 

 much food as hunger demands, and 

 to carry away sufficient nourishment 

 for one or two meals more, without 

 being embarrassed in its retreat by 

 its burden. 



It is worth notice that the word "monkey" is derived from the name of this group, the 

 Mona. The diminutive of Mona is Monikin, the transition from which word to our "monkey " 

 is sufficiently evident. 



The GRIVET, or TOTA, as it is called by some writers, is of a sombre green color ; the green 

 being produced, as has been already mentioned, by the black and yellow hair. The limbs and 

 tail are of a grayer tint than the rest of the body, the yellow portion of the hair being changed 

 to a dull white. The inside of the limbs and the abdomen are slightly tinged with white. In 

 the male animal the canine teeth are rather protuberant, showing themselves beyond the lips. 

 The naked skin of the face, ears, and palms, is black, dashed with that deep violet hue that is 

 found in so many of the monkeys. At each side of the head, the white hairs stand out boldly, 

 whisker fashion, and give a very lively character to the head. It is an African animal, and 

 common in Abyssinia. 



The GREEN MONKEY, is sometimes called the Callithrix, or Beautiful-haired Monkey, on 

 account of the exquisitely delicate marking of each separate hair. The inside of the limbs is 



: 



GUEKKZA. 



guenza. 



