CARNIVORA. 



707 



the dark tints sometimes incline to reddish brown 

 but the paler one pass into flesh-red and reddish 

 white, and also into a colour intermediate betweer 

 ochre and wax-yellow. It also occurs sometimes 

 milk-white and olive-green. It generally has but one 

 colour ; frequently, however, it exhibits concentrically- 

 striped delineations, somewhat resembling fortifica- 

 tions, or red dendritic delineations. 



It occasionally occurs in rolled pieces, which 

 appear to have been original balls ; sometimes in 

 thin layers, and but rarely in kidney-shaped forma- 

 tions. The surface of the rolled pieces is rough and 

 reddish brown. It is frequently found in fibrous 

 concretions, which are straight, scopiform, closely 

 aggregated, and collected into long and wedge-shaped 

 prismatic and lamellar masses. A very perfect 

 example of the kidney-shaped form of the carnelian 

 is given in the subjoined wood-cut. 



The specimen from whence the above figure was 

 taken is of a deep blood-red colour, and the external 

 surface is semi-transparent. 



Carnelian is employed to a considerable extent by 

 the jewellers. It is cut into seal-stones, ring-stones, 

 bracelets, necklaces, brooches, and crosses ; and 

 figures are often engraved upon it. Artists dis- 

 tinguish three principal kinds of carnelian : the one, 

 named common carnelian, varies in colour from white 

 through yellow to red ; the second, sardonic, displays 

 on its surface an agreeable and rich reddish brown 

 colour, but appears of a deep blood-red colour when 

 held between the eye and the light ; the third, 

 named sardonyx, is composed of layers of white and 

 red carnelian. In the most esteemed carnelians of 

 the east, the colours are of a uniform tint throughout 

 the mass, without any undulations, and are free from 

 that rnuddiness to which the European varieties of 

 this stone are so liable. The most highly-prized 

 varieties are the white and red striped, or sardonyx, 

 Imd the blood-red ; the next in estimation are the 

 pale red ; and the least valuable are the yellow, white, 

 and brown. As it is a softer stone than common 

 calcedony, it is more easily cut, and splinters much 

 less when cutting and polishing; and hence, in- 

 dependent of colour, it has always been preferred by 

 artists to the common calcedony. The finest varie- 

 ties of carnelian are named by French artists those of 

 the old rock (vieille rochc), because they are no longer 

 to be found so perfect in colour and transparency. 

 The finest pieces of common carnelian are brought 

 from Arabia, and from Surat in India. 



Formerly, carnelians used to be imported from 

 Japan into Holland, and from thence carried to 

 Oberstein on the Rhine, in order to be exchanged 

 for the agates of that country, which were exported 

 to China. 



The carnelian was much esteemed by the ancients. 

 Many fine antique engraved carnelians are preserved 

 in collections, and these have been described bv 

 Count Caylus, De Geer, and others. The tardanyx 

 was cut into cameos, and afforded by far th^ most 

 beautiful articles of this kind. The finest antique 

 cameo at present known is in the French Imperial 

 Museum at Paris : it is cut in a sardonyx, is of an 

 oval shape, and is eleven inches by nine in breadth. 

 It represents the Apotheosis of Augustus. 



CARNIVORA. The third family of Cuvier's 

 great order of Carnatticrs ; these animals have the 

 teeth peculiarly adapted for wounding and killing, 

 and for tearing, cutting, and bruising flesh. For the 

 first of those purposes, they are provided with four 

 large and long canine teeth, two in each jaw ; between 

 those there are in each jaw six incisors in front, the 

 second of which in the lower jaw, is always more 

 deeply seated than the others. Their cheek teeth 

 never have their summits formed into small conical 

 points or tubercles, like those of the animals which 

 feed upon insects. A greater or smaller number of 

 them have always trenchant or cutting edges, or 

 ragged outlines, and are fitted for dividing tough sub- 

 stances. These, and not the canines or wounding 

 teeth, are the proper carnivorous ones, by which the 

 characters of the animals are best ascertained ; for 

 there are many vegetable feeding animals which have 

 large and strong canine teeth, with which they can 

 inflict more terrible wounds than many of the carni- 

 vora. But these last inflict those wounds only in 

 self-defence, in the reality or the anticipation of 

 danger ; and their wounding is indiscriminate as 

 compared with that practised by carnivorous animals. 

 The instinct of those always guides them to select 

 some vital part, or at all events some part which is 

 adapted for causing the death of the prey in the most 

 urnmary manner. Thus, the aim of the whole genus 

 canis is at the throat of their prey ; the weasel tribe 

 divide the blood-vessels in the side of the neck, even 

 of animals much larger than themselves, with as much 

 accuracy and neatness as if they had carefully studied 

 the anatomical structure of their prey ; and though 

 the larger cats throw themselves on the backs of those 

 animals which they are unable to beat to the ground 

 )y the force of their spring, they keep tearing the 

 nusclcs in those parts, on which this operation is 

 calculated to bring the animal easiest to the ground, 

 where they speedily despatch it by directing their 

 weapons against the vital parts. 



If the animals have several of the back teeth with 

 the crowns nearly flat, or only with low blunt tuber- 

 les, they can in part prepare the more succulent kinds 

 of vegetable matter for their stomachs ; but those 

 .vhich have have few teeth of this kind, prepare such 

 substances with much difficulty and labour. As even 

 those which are best adapted for living upon vege- 

 .able food, and live most upon it, have no grinding 

 motion of the jaws, they divide vegetable substances 

 vith much more difficulty than those races which 

 lave the grinding motion, and the short teeth true 

 nolars ; and, as the number of comparatively flat- 

 ened teeth diminishes, the difficulty increases. One 

 >ase of this gradation may be seen in the domestic 

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