664 



STreaguri? of Natural $t 



It is of a deep brown colour throughout, ap- 

 proaching to black i between three and four 

 feet in height, and from five to six in length. 

 The hair of the body is scanty, very short, 

 and closely depressed to the surface ; scarcely 

 distinguishable at a short distance. The 

 inmost recesses of deep forests are the chosen 

 haunts of this species, which is not grega- 

 rious, and shuns the society of man. It is 

 for the most part nocturnal in its habits, 

 sleeping or remaining quiet during the day, 

 and at night seeking its food, which, in its 

 natural state, consists of shoots of trees, buds, 

 wild fruits, &c. It is, however, when in 

 confinement, an indiscriminate swallower 

 of every thing, filthy or clean. Its enormous 

 muscular power, and the tough thick hide 

 which defends its body, enable it to tear its 

 way through the underwood in whatever 

 direction it pleases. Its ordinary pace is 

 a sort of trot ; but it sometimes gallops, 

 though awkwardly, and with the head down. 

 It is very fond of the w_ater, and frequently 

 resorts to it. Its disposition is peaceful and 

 I quiet ; and though it will defend itself vigor- 

 ously, and in so doing inflict severe wounds 

 with its teeth, it never attempts to attack 

 either man or beast, unless hard pressed. 

 The flesh is dry, and has a disagreeable fla- 

 vour. 



The MALAY TAPIR (Tapirus Sfalayamts) 

 in its general form resembles the American, 

 and has a similar flexible proboscis, which is 

 six or eight inches in length. Its general 

 appearance is heavy and massive : the skin 

 is thick and firm, thinly covered with short 

 hair ; the eye* are small j the ears roundish, 

 and bordered with white. The tail is very 

 short, and almost destitute of hair ; and it 

 has no mane on the neck. Legs short and 

 stout ; the fore feet furnished with four toes, 

 the hind feet with three. The general co- 

 lour is glossy black, with the exception of 

 the back, rump, and sides of the belly, which 

 are white, and separated by a defined line 

 from the parts that are black. It is a native 

 of Sumatra, and was first described by Sir 

 Stamford Raffles. 



TAPIRID^E. The first family of pachy- 

 dermatous quadrupeds, including the Rhino- 

 ceros, Tapir, Hyrax, and several extinct 

 genera occasionally found in a fossil state. 



TARANDUS. [See REINDEER.] 

 TARANTULA. (Lycosa tarantula.) A 

 species of Spider found in some of the warmer 

 parts of Italy, whose bite produces a train of 

 symptoms long believed to be only curable by 

 music (and still exercising the faith and 

 ignorance of the vulgar in some countries), 

 is the largest of all the European Spiders, 

 and is generally found in dry and sunny 

 plains. When full grown, it is as large as a 

 chestnut ; and, like all the Spiders, has a 

 poison-gland in its mandibles. It is of a 

 brown colour, with the back of the abdomen 

 marked by a row of trigonal black spots with 

 whitish edges, and the legs marked beneath 

 by black and white bars. In the present en- 

 lightened period it may be sufficient to observe 

 that the extraordinary symptoms supposed 

 to ensue from the bite of this insect, as well 



as their supposed cure, are entirely without 

 foundation. We may, however, be expected 

 to give some account of the nature of the 

 symptoms &c. formerly so generally attri- 

 buted to it : we therefore extract from the 

 pages of an old popular writer the following 

 particulars : " The bite of this creature oc- 



TARANTOLA. (I.TOO8A TARANTULA.) 



casions a pain which at first resembles that 

 of the stiug of a bee or an ant. In a few 

 hours the patient feels a numbness ; and the 

 part affected is marked with a small livid 

 circle, which soon after rises into a very 

 painful swelling : shortly after this he falls 

 into a profound sadness, breathes with much 

 difficulty, his pulse grows feeble, and his 

 senses fail. At length he loses all sense and 

 motion ; and, according to some naturalists, 

 expires, unless speedily relieved. But these 

 symptoms come on somewhat differently, 

 according to the nature of the Tarantula, 

 and the disposition of the patient. An aver- 

 sion for black and blue ; and, on the con- 

 trary, a predilection for white and red ; are 

 among the unaccountable symptoms of this 

 disease. All the medical assistance hitherto 

 discovered, consists in some chirurgical ap- 

 plications on the wound, and in cordials and 

 sudorifics which are of little service ; but 

 music, which reason perhaps never could 

 have pointed out, is said to be infinitely 

 more efficacious. No sooner has the person 

 affected lost his sense and motion, than a 

 musician tries several tunes on an instru- 

 ment i and when he has hit on one whose 

 tones and modulations suit the patient, he 

 is immediately observed to make a faint mo- 

 tion ; his fingers begin to move in cadence, 

 then his arms, next his legs, and by degrees 

 his whole body : then he rises on his feet 

 and begins to dance, his strength and acti- 

 vity still increasing. Some will continue to 

 dance for six hours without intermission. 

 After this the patient is put to bed ; and 

 when he is judged to be sufficiently recruited 

 from his first dance, he is allured out of bed 

 by the first tune, in order to a second. This 

 exercise is reiterated for several days suc- 

 cessively ; seven or eight at least j in which 

 time the patient finds himself excessively 

 fatigued, and unable to dance any longer, 

 the characteristic proof of his being cured ; 

 for, as long as the poison acts on him, he 

 would dance, if encouraged, till he fainted 

 through extreme lassitude. Perceiving him- 

 self thus tired, he begins to recover his 

 reason ; and awakes, as out of a profound 



