40 



L E N T I B U L A R 1 /E L E N T I C U L I N A. 



more or less of brownish a*h in their colouring ; but 

 it does not appear that there is any particular dis- 

 tinction in character or disposition that accompanies 

 this difference of colour ; and where the habits of 

 animals are so much alike as they are in all the 

 lemurs, mere difference of colour is of very little 

 consequence. 



THE MONGOOS OF BUFFON (L. mongoz) is rather a 

 questionable species, but it is usually characterised as 

 follows : length from the hind head to the tail rather 

 more than a foot ; length of the tail nearly two feet; 

 five fingers on all the feet, with the thumbs on the 

 hind ones much stronger and more developed than 

 those on the fore ; all the nails are flat, with the ex- 

 ception of that of the h'rst finger on the hind foot, 

 which is a slender and pointed claw, as may be ob- 

 served in the figure of the white-fronted lemur given 

 in the plate already referred to. The nostrils are 

 at the extremity of the muzzle, as is the case in the dog 

 family, and there is no doubt that the sense of smell- 

 ing assists the animal very much in finding its food 

 during the night. The ears are rounded externally, 

 and the opening is pretty large, so that the sense of 

 hearing is also acute. The naked skin on the under 

 side of the fingers is peculiarly delicate, and no doubt 

 forms a very efficient organ of touch. 



THE VARIEGATED LEMUR (L. macaco) is not very 

 well named, because all the lemurs are varied in the 

 colour ; but this one has the colours much more 

 varied than most of the others, by large spots of black 

 and white. The male has the sides of the nose, the 

 corners of the mouth, the upper part of the neck, the 

 back, and the flanks white ; and the top of the head, 

 the belly, the tail, and the insides of the legs black, 

 with the exception of a white bar across the middle. 

 It is said, that in this species the young females are 

 like the males, and afterwards changed to a different 

 colour ; which is different from most animals, as the 

 young male more frequently resembles the female, 

 and does not acquire the characteristic markings of 

 his sex until he arrives at maturity. 



THE DWARF LEMUR (L. nain) is much smaller 

 than any ot the species hitherto noticed; it is under- 

 stood to" be the animal which Buffon described under 

 the name of the Madagascar rat, and which has on 

 that account been sometimes called L. murinus ; but 

 it is not in any sense of the word a rat, or a murine 

 animal of any description, unless in its being of small 

 size, and having a long tail. In its organs of loco- 

 motion it resembles the larger and more characteristic 

 lemurs ; but its head is rounder, and its muzzle 

 shorter, and in this respect it bears nearly the same 

 analogy to them that the pug dog does to the fox. 

 It is al'so described as being more a nocturnal animal 

 than any of the others, with very large round eyes, 

 and a broad muzzle, with the nostrils in advance of 

 the jaws. The general covering is thick fur, greyish 

 fawn on the upper part, and whiliah on the under ; 

 and the face and naked skin of the hands are flesh 

 coloured. M. F. Cuvier has described an individual 

 of this species, the manners of which he watched with 

 much attention. It was placed in a nest of hay, 

 where it remained daring the day rolled up like a 

 ball, and in a state of the most profound repose, but 

 as soon as the night set in it was all life and activity. 

 It leaped along its cage with a rapidity equal to the 

 flight cf a bird, and it could bound vertically from 

 the ground to the height of six feet. This last evolu- 

 tion is rather a remarkable one when we consider the 



small size of the animal, for it is not above ten inches 

 long in the body, nor exceeding six inches high at 

 the shoulder. This is another instance of the neces- 

 sity of guarding against confounding the muscular 

 power or energy of an animal with the men; volume 

 of its muscles; for thi., the smallest of all the lemurs 

 is by far the most agile and energetic of the whole. 



There are various other species named by different 

 writers, but the history of the genus is still too im- 

 perfect, and the variations of colour to which the 

 same species is subject, are so ill made out, that some 

 of the distinctions which are drawn are means of 

 confusion, not of information. Years must elapse, 

 and the very singular physical character of Mada- 

 gascar and the adjoining islands, together with the 

 working of the several monsoons upon it, must bo 

 fully investigated, before vie can settle its natural 

 history. 



LENTIBULARI^E. A small natural order, con- 

 taining only two genera, viz., Pinguicula and Utricu- 

 laria of Linnaeus ; very pretty interesting aquatics, 

 which are with difficulty cultivated. The Pinguiculas 

 are either European or North American, inhabiting 

 elevated patches in bogs : the Utricnlarias are floaters, 

 found in marshes and little rills ; their flowers are 

 white, yellow, or blue. The Pinguicula;, or butter- 

 worts, have been so called from the greasy appearance 

 of their foliage. Like other marsh plants, they have 

 been accused of occasioning the flukes in sheep which 

 feed upon them. This is attributable rather to the 

 larvae of the fluke, or Jascicula ke/iatica, which abound 

 in marshy districts, adhering to the herbage, and thus 

 being conveyed into the alimentary canal, than to 

 the immediate agency of the Pinguicula. When 

 mixed with cow's milk, the juice of the leaves of these 

 plants acts like the common rennet. Utricularia is 

 physiologically interesting, from the many bone-like 

 vesicles that are developed on its immersed foliage, 

 and which serve to float the plant. During certain 

 seasons the Utricnlarias are wholly submerged, and 

 then the vesicles are full of water ; but when the 

 flovers begin to be developed, these bladders, the 

 apertures of which are closed by a curious valve, 

 contain only air. This is probably separated by the 

 vital energy of the plant ; and during its gradual 

 evolution the water is absorbed or expelled, and is 

 prevented returning, either by the mechanical struc- 

 ture of the valve, or by the constant evolution of air. 

 Hence the whole plant is buoved up, and gradually 

 rises to the surface ; the flowers, then expand, the 

 seed-vessels are fertilised, and the seeds ripened ; after 

 which the living energy of the plnnt flags, air no 

 longer is secreted in the vesicles; these again become 

 filled with water, the whole plant sinks to the bottom, 

 and the seeds are thus sown in their proper soil. 



LENT1CULINA. A genus of molluscs com- 

 prising many species, all of them microscopic shells. 

 They have been subdivided by De Montfort into 

 so many genera, that it became necessary to consoli- 

 date the species. In their general character they 

 partake of the formation of the Nautilus, being of a 

 compressed s v ub-discoid shape ; the centre smooth, 

 but more generally with small knobs ; the chambers 

 not very numerous, externally visible and lying in a 

 radiating position from the centre to the circumfer- 

 ence of the shell's disc ; some are umbilicated, others 

 not. The derivation of the name appears to be from 

 a little bean or grain of seed, which they may be said 

 to resemble. Shells of this genus are frequently 



