262 



0f 



an inch board. Notwithstanding those na- 

 tural arms of hoofs and horns, the Giraffe 

 does not turn to do battle except at the last 

 i extremity ; where escape is possible, it seeks 

 it in flight. This is extremely rapid, espe- 

 ! cially along rising ground ; but cannot be 

 ; maintained for a sufficient period of time to 

 i enable it to escape the Arab mounted on his 

 j long-winded steed. The paces of the Giraffe, 

 j owing to the disproportion between his long 

 j legs and short body, are very peculiar: when 

 walking at a brisk rate, it seems to move 

 ! forward simultaneously the two legs of the 

 j same side, as noticed of old by the learned 

 I bishop of Sicca, in his account of the pre- 

 sents brought to Hydaspes by the Abyssinian 

 ambassadors." " In the sanded paddock 

 appropriated to the Giraffes in the Zoolo- 

 gical Gardens, they exhibit in the warm 

 days of summer all their various and sin- 

 gular paces. In the simple walk, the neck, 

 which is then stretched out in a line with 

 the back, gives them a stiff and awkward 

 appearance ; but this is entirely lost when 

 they commence their graceful undulating 

 canter." " The tongue is an organ exqui- 

 sitely formed for prehension ; it is used to 

 hook down the branches which grow beyond 

 the reach of the muzzle of the Giraffe, and 

 the animal in captivity instinctively puts it 

 to use in a variety of ways. We have seen 

 the Giraffe> in the Jardin des Plantes at 

 Paris, stretching upwards its neck and head, 

 and protruding its tongue to the full extent, 

 to hook out single straws, which were platted 

 into the partition, separating it from the 

 contiguous inclosure. In our own mena- 

 gerie at Regent's Park many a fair lady has 

 been robbed of the artificial flowers which 

 adorned her bonnet, by the nimble filching 

 tongue of the rare object of her admiration. 

 The Giraffe seems, indeed, to be guided more 

 by the eye than the nose in the selection of 

 objects of food ; and if we may judge of the 

 apparent satisfaction with which the mock 

 leaves and flowers so obtained are masti- 

 cated, the tongue would seem by no means 

 to enjoy the sensitive in the same degree as 

 the motive powers. The difference in the 

 size of the nerves of sensation and motion 

 which we observed in the dissection of the 

 tongue accords with these habits of the living 

 animal. From the same dissection it was 

 proved that the movements of the tongue, 

 both those of extension, prehension, and re- 

 traction, were due to muscular, and not, as 

 Sir Everard Home supposed, to vascular ac- 

 tion. Observations of the living animal, 

 and dissection of the dead, have at length 

 dispelled most of the errors and doubta 

 which obscured the exact knowledge of the 

 nature and zoological affinities of the Gi- 

 raffe." "A Giraffe more than two- thirds 

 grown will eat daily in confinement eighteen 

 pounds of clover hay, and eighteen pounds 

 of a mixed vegetable diet, consisting of car- 

 rots, mangel-wurzel, barley, split beans, and 

 onions ; and will drink four gallons of water. 

 They copulate in March. The female has 

 four inguinal udders : she brings forth one 

 young at a birth ; and the period of gesta- 

 tion is fifteen months. The new-born Gi- 

 raffe measures six feet from the fore-hoofs 



to the top of the head. In a few hours it is 

 able to follow the dam. It resembles the 

 mature animal in the markings of the hide. 

 The first Giraffe known to have been pro- 

 duced in captivity was brought forth in 

 June, 1839, at the gardens of the Zoological 

 Society of London." BraiicU? s Diet. Two 

 varieties of this curious animal are known ; | 

 one of them peculiar to Nubia, Abyssinia, ' 

 and the adjacent districts ; the other a native j 

 of Southern Africa. 



The remains of an animal closely allied to I 

 the Giraffe has been found in a fossil state, ! 

 by Capt. Cautley and Dr. Falconer, in the 

 Seewalik Hills in India. They have de- 

 scribed it under the name Sirathcrium. The 

 head is a gigantic resemblance of that of the 

 Giraffe ; as may be seen in the fine specimen \ 

 preserved in the gallery of the British ' 

 Museum. 



GLASS-SNAKE. The name given in j 

 North America to a species of lizard, the ! 

 OPHISAURUS VEXTRALIS. It belongs to the 

 family ZONURID^E of Mr. Gray, and has 

 doubtless acquired its name from its " brittle- j 

 ness," a habit not uncommon with lizards 

 of allowing their tails to be left in the hands 

 of any who surprise them. 



GLAUCOPIS. A genus of birds belonging 

 to the family CORVID^E ; the only known spe- 

 cies being the GLAUCOPIS CINEKEA, or NEW 

 ZEALAND CKOW. This bird, which has all 

 the habits of a crow, is called by the natives 

 of New Zealand Kokako. Its plumage is a 

 very dark green, not much varied in any 

 part of the body ; the legs are black and 

 coarse, the claws long. It has a strong black 

 beak, a little curved ; and a small brilliant 

 light-blue flap hanging down on each side 

 from the ear : the colour of these flaps fades, 

 however, immediately the bird is dead, and ! 

 becomes of nearly the same hue as its plu- 

 mage. 



GLATJCUS. A genus of molluscous ani- 

 mals found in the warmer latitudes floating in 

 the open sea, and remarkable for their beau- 

 tiful azure blue and silvery tints. They are 

 about one inch and three quarters in length, 

 with a subcylindrical body, and the tail 

 terminating in a sharp point, the head fur- 

 nished with four very short tentacula, and 

 the sides of the bodj r having tufts or branchise 

 disposed in pairs, surrounded by digitated 

 appendages, fitted for swimming. 



GLIRES. (Lat. glis, a dormouse.) The 

 fourth order of Mammalia in the Linnaean 

 system, distinguished by two flat incisors in 

 each jaw. They are also called RODENTIA, 

 or GNAWERS. 



GLOBE-FISH. [See DIODOJT and TETKA- 

 ODON.] 



GLOMERIS. A myriapode bearing a 

 strong resemblance to the woodlouse, in its 

 oval form, and its habit of rolling itself into 

 a ball. [See MYRIAPODA and ZEPHRONIA.] 



GLOW-WORM. (Lampyris noctiluca). 

 This curious and interesting insect (the fe- 

 male of which, being expressly called by this 

 name), is seen during the summer months, 



