LEAVES FROM THE NOTE-BOOK OF A NATURALIST. 



59 



muzzle only for the necessary air-supply, and then 

 down again. Thus, if the animal be on its guard, 

 presenting no mark for a rifle, even if the hand 

 that bore it could " haud out " like that of the 

 Master of Ravenswood.* 



Professor Owen, in a most interesting account 

 lately published,! states that the skin is almost 

 flesh-colored round the eyelids, which defend the 

 peculiarly situated and prominent eyes, and that 

 there is a single groove or fold above the upper 

 eyelid and two curved grooves below the lower 

 one. At first sight, he truly says, they seem de- 

 void of eyelashes ; but on a close inspection a few 

 very short hairs may be seen on the thick rounded 

 margin of the upper lid. He further observes, 

 that the protruding movement of the eyeball from 

 the prominent socket shows an unusual proportion 

 of the white, over which large conjunctival vessels 

 converged to the margin of the cornea, and that 

 the retraction of the eyeball is accompanied by a 

 protrusion of a large and thick palpebra nictitans, 

 and by a simultaneous rolling of the ball obliquely 

 downwards, and inwards, or forwards. There is, 

 he adds, a caruncle, or protuberance, on the mid- 

 dle of the outer surface of the nictitating lid. The 

 color of the iris he describes as dark brown, the 

 pupil as a small transversely oblong aperture, 

 and the eyeball as relatively small and remarkable 

 for the extent of the movements of protraction and 

 retraction. 



* Take the evidence of one who would have struck the 

 dollar from between the finger and thumb of the keeper, 

 as cleverly as ever Edgar could have done the feat. 



" Seleka had sent men down to the river to seek. 

 sea-cows" the name by which the hippopotami are 

 known to the colonists "and they soon came running 

 after me to say that they had found some. I accordingly 

 followed them to the river, where, in a long, broad, and 

 deep bend, were four hippopotami, two full-grown cows, 

 a small cow, and a calf. At the tail of this pool was a 

 strong and rapid stream, which thundered along, in High- 

 land fashion, over large masses of dark rock. 



"On coming to the shady bank, I could at first see 

 only one old cow and calf. When they dived I ran into 

 the reeds, and as the cow came up I shot her in the head ; 

 she, however, got away down the river and I lost her. 

 The other three took away up the river, and became very 

 shy, remaining under the water for five minutes at a time, 

 and then only popping their heads up for a few seconds. 

 I accordingly remained quiet behind the reeds, in hope 

 of their dismissing their alarms. Presently the two 

 smaller ones seemed to be no longer alarmed, popping up 

 their entire heads, and remaining above water for a minute 

 at a time ; but the third, which was by far the largest, and 

 which I thought must be a bull, continued extremely shy, 

 remaining under the water for ten minutes at a time, and 

 then just showing her face for a second, making a blow- 

 ing like a whale, and returning to the bottom. I stood 

 there with rifle at my shoulder, and my eye on the sight, 

 until I was quite tired. / thought I should never get a 

 chance at her, and had just resolved to fire at one of the 

 smaller ones, when she shoved up half her head and 

 looked about her. I made a correct shot ; the ball 

 cracked loudly below her ear, and . the huge body of the 

 sea-cow came floundering to the top. I was enchanted ; 

 she could not escape. Though not dead, she had lost her 

 senses, and continued swimming round and round, some- 

 times beneath and sometimes at the surface of the water, 

 creating a fearful commotion." The victim was after- 

 wards secured, and " her flesh proved most excellent." 

 Five years of a Hunter's Life in the Far Interior of 

 South Africa, &c. By Roualevn Gordon Gumming, 

 Esq., of Altyre. 2 vols. 8vo. London : John Murray, 

 Albemarle street. Every page of the book of this 

 mighty hunter teems with moving incidents. 



T In the Annals and Magazine of Natural History for 

 June, 1850. 



The nostrils, (continues the professor,) situated 

 on prominences which the animal has the power 

 of raising, on the upper part of the broad and mas- 

 sive muzzle, are short, oblique slits, guarded by 

 two valves, which can be opened and closed spon- 

 taneously like the eyelids. The movements of these 

 apertures are most conspicuous when the beast is 

 in his favorite element. The wide mouth is chiefly 

 remarkable for the upward curve of its angles 

 towards the eyes, which gives a quaintly comic 

 expression to the massive countenance. The short 

 and small milk-tusks project a little, and the minute 

 deciduous incisors appear to be sunk in grooves or 

 pits of the thick gums ; but the animal would not 

 permit any close examination of his teeth ; with- 

 drawing his head from the attempt, and then 

 threatening to bite. The muzzle is beset with 

 short bristles, projecting at pretty regular dis- 

 tances ; several of them appearing to be split into 

 tufts or pencils of short hairs. Extremely fine and 

 short hairs are scattered all over the back and 

 sides ; which are not very obvious, except upon a 

 close inspection. The tail is short, rather flattened, 

 and gradually tapering to an obtuse point. 



The animal, when just out of the water, appeared 

 to me to be of a bluish black color above except 

 the ears, which were flesh color, and which it 

 moved in a vivacious manner and of a ruddy 

 flesh color below. There was a scar on the lei't 

 side. 



The rictus of the mouth was very grotesque, 

 and made a sharp angle upward when the creature 

 gaped. The skin was dotted at short intervals 

 with the apertures of the muciparous glands exu- 

 ding the liquor for lubricating the hide. Though, 

 at first sight, the hide looks hairless, it has, now, 

 a short coat of minute hair, as fine as floss silk, 

 or more like the down upon the lip of a youth, or 

 of a very young man. When it was at the bottom 

 of the water I thought the animal looked more 

 blue, or somewhat lighter, and the spots denoting 

 the presence of the muco-sebaceous pores were 

 very conspicuous. 



The amphibious character of the animal's life 

 induces us to look for some machinery which ena- 

 bles it to remain below the surface of the water. 

 The venous reservoirs of the seals, and the arterial 

 plexiform receptacles of the whales, will instantly 

 occur to the physiologist. The latter are most 

 complex and ample, as might be expected of 

 organs fitted to secure a supply of aerated blood to 

 the brain, derived from a heart that sends out 

 some ten or fifteen gallons of blood at every stroke, 

 through a tube of a foot in diameter, with immense 

 velocity. One hour and ten minutes ordinarily 

 elapse from the time of a whale's descent below 

 the surface to that of his rising again to breathe, 

 and Leviathan has been known to remain under 

 for an hour and twenty minutes. It has been 

 calculated that about a seventh of his time is con- 

 sumed in respiration. The seals in their natural 

 state have been known to remain under water for 

 periods varying from a quarter of an hour to five- 

 and-twenty minutes ; but, it has been observed, 

 that a seal in confinement has remained asleep 

 with its head under water for an hour at a time. 

 The period during which a hippopotamus can 



