THE SPfN'AL COLUMN OF QUADRUPEDS. 133 



the cervical vertebrae Avith the elevation of the 

 limbs, the lightness of the skull, and the pre- 

 hensile character of the tongue and Hp ; all 

 tending to fit it for browsing on the leaves of 

 the mimosa! From the length of the neck in 

 this animal, the spinous processes, as might be 

 expected, are extremely developed, and espe- 

 cially those forming the withers ; it is, in fact, 

 from the elevation of these processes that the 

 back of the giraffe declines gradually from the 

 shoulders to the crupper, producing, at a first 

 glance, an appearance as if the animal stood 

 higher before than behind, which is not really 

 the case. The cervical ligament is enormously 

 developed in the giraffe, and adds most 

 materially to the ease with which the flexures 

 of the neck are accomplished. 



It is not only in the giraffe that the vertebrse 

 of the neck are united by ball-and-socket 

 articulations ; we find in another long-necked 

 quadruped the same provision, namely, in the 

 camel; remarkable also for the fiexibiUty of 

 this portion of the frame. 



When we say that the cervical vertebrae are 

 seven in munber, we must not forget that there 

 are exceptions to this rule, both by way of 

 increase and decrease. The three-toed sloth is 



