|3cijwlar Sh'cticmarp of 



Mature. 557 



more tender-hearted than the rest, begged 

 the life of the fowl. I had no sooner, how- 

 ever, introduced my arm with that benevo- 

 lent intention, than throwing back its head, 

 and unwinding its body from its prey, ' the 

 spirited, sly snake,' as Milton would have 

 termed it, darted at my hand with the great- 

 est velocity, and held me fast with its teeth, 

 by the ball of the thumb, nor was it without 

 some trouble that I was able to extricate 

 myself, owing to the fact that the long, 

 sharp, curved teeth of a serpent all point 

 backwards. Some time after this event the 

 death-warrant of the poor reptile was sealed, 

 and I appointed myself his executioner." 



QUADIIUMANA. The name of an order 

 of Mammalia, characterized by the four 

 limbs being each terminated by a, hand ; as 

 the Ape, Baboon, &c. The term Quad- 

 rumana, or Jour-handed, does not, how- 

 ever, correctly apply to all the animals thus 

 designated ; the thumb on the hands, or 

 fore extremities, being wholly or in part 

 wanting in the monke.vs of the Western He- 

 misphere. There are very marked dif- 

 ferences among the tribes of this order, as to 

 the degree in wh ich they approach Man in 

 their general conformation ; some of them 

 bearing a strong resemblance to him in 

 structure, aspect, and gait ; whilst others 

 are but little removed from the ordinary 

 Mammalia. In their food and habits of 

 life, also, there is great variety. Some live 

 solitarily or in pairs ; but the larger pro- 

 portion congregate together : some dwell on 

 the ground or inhabit rocky heights, while 

 others are altogether arboreal, and spend 

 their lives among the branchy foliage of the 

 forest. The three families or tribes which 

 this order includes are thus distinguished : 

 1. SIMIAD.E, Monkeys of the Old World; 2. 

 CKBID.E, Monkeys of the New World; and 3. 

 LEMURID^E, tlw. Lemur tribe. But the reader 

 is referred to the words, APE, ORANG- 

 OUTANG, BABOON, MONKEY, &c., for further 

 information applicable to the particular 

 species. 



QUADRUPEDS. In this familiar term 

 is comprehended a large and most important 

 class of terrestrial animals ; whose essential 

 characters are that their bodies are co- 

 vered with hair ; that they have four feet ; 

 that the females are viviparous, or bring 

 forth their young alive j and that they 

 suckle them. 



Although the word Quadruped is not used, 

 in a strict zoological sense, as indicative of a 

 particular group of animals, yet a few ob- 

 servations under this head, though trite, 

 appear to be not wholly uncalled fo--. Widely 

 different from each other as many of the 

 renera are, no one can fail to notice how 

 admirably adapted they all are by Nature 

 to fill their respective stations. Some have 

 limbs formed to support a vast unwieldy 

 frame, and possess neither flexibility nor 

 beauty. The Elephant and the Rhinoceros 

 have legs resembling pillars : they are not 

 destined to pursue other animals for their 

 support ; and, conscious of their own su- 

 perior strength, there are none which they 

 study to avoid. Deer, Ilares, and other 



animals whose safety depends on flight, have 

 slender legs, and are so formed as to escape 

 from their pursuers by superior swiftness. 

 Beasts of prey have their feet armed with 

 sharp and powerful claws ; while, on the 

 contrary, animals of peaceful habits gene- 

 rally have hoofs. It is also ordained that 

 those animals which are large and formida- 

 ble produce but few at a time, while such as 

 are small are extremely prolific : were it 

 otherwise, many of the former would perish 

 for want of food, and life would be indulged 

 without the necessary means of subsistence. 

 Besides, did the Elephant or the Rhinoceros, 

 the Tiger or the Lion, possess the same de- 

 gree of fecundity with the Rabbit, all the 

 arts of Man would be unequal to the contest ; 

 and he who now styles himself " lord of the 

 creation," would soon become its most abject 

 slave. 



QUAGGA. (Asinus Quango,.) This ani- 

 mal is an inhabitant of the southern parts of ! 

 Africa, and bears a great resemblance to the j 

 Zebra. It is less, however, than the Zebra, : 

 with the hinder parts higher, and the ears j 

 shorter. The head, neck, mane, and shoulders i 

 are blackish brown, banded with white ; the j 

 ground colour gradually becoming paler, and ; 

 the bands less distinct and diffused, as we i 

 proceed along the back towards the rump, j 

 which is grayish ; the hind parts being rather 

 spotted than striped. The dorsal line is 

 black, margined on each side with a white 



line : belly, tail, and legs whitish ; ears with 

 two irregular black bands and white tip. 

 The Quagga is a social animal, living in 

 large troops, is much more tractable than 

 the Zebra, and is said to be occasionally used 

 at the Cape of Good Hope for domestic pur- 

 poses. Notwithstanding this mildness of 

 character when domesticated, it is exceed- 

 ingly fearless in its native plains, and is 

 even said to be more than a match for the 

 Hyaena, fighting desperately both with its 

 hoofs and teeth. Though it inhabits the 

 same parts of Africa, it never associates with 

 the Zebra. The Quagga has received a va- 

 riety of names from authors ; thus Pennant 

 terms it the Quacha, Masson the Opeagha, 

 and Sparrman the Quagga; a name, Mr. 

 Gray observes, derived from its voice, which 

 resembles the barking of a dog. 



QUAIL. (Coturnir. vulgaris.) This bird 

 greatly resembles the Partridge, but is 



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