|30pnlar JBtctumarj) flf 



729 



and train their young for three or four weeks 

 after they are able to fly. As the winter 

 approaches they migrate from north to south. 



WAINSCOT [MOTHS]. A name given 

 by collectors to different species of Moths, of 

 the genera Nonayria and Leucasia. 



WALKING-LEAF. [See PiiYLLitTM.] 



WALRUS or MORSE. (Trichecus.') A 

 genus of the Phocitlce or Seal family, though 

 differing greatly from them in the cra- 

 nium and the teeth. The head is well pro- 

 portioned, round, obtuse, eyes small and 

 brilliant, upper lip remarkably thick, co- 



vered with large pellucid whiskers or bris- 

 tles. Nostrils large, rounded, placed on 

 the upper part of the snout : no external 

 ears. In the adult lower jaw there are 

 neither incisors nor canines, and the lower 

 jaw itself is compressed anteriorly so as to 

 : fit between the two enormous tusks (canines) 

 of the upper jaw, which are directed down- 

 wards, and are sometimes two feet long. 



.ICHECU8 RO8MARD8.) 



The great alveoli, or sockets for containing 

 these formidable teeth, produce the cha- 

 racteristic form of the skull of the Walrus, 

 and make the anterior part of the upper jaw 

 present an immense convex muzzle, the 

 nostrils having an upward direction, and 

 not terminating at the snout. It is evident 

 that there is a general resemblance between 

 the organization of the Walrus and that of 

 the Seal ; but the development of the brain 



is not so great in the former as it is in the 

 latter, and the Walrus appears to be gifted 

 with less intelligence. 



It is the opinion of most naturalists that 

 Walruses feed on shell-fish and marine vege- 

 tables which adhere to the bottom of the sea, 

 and that one of the uses of their tusks is to 

 root up their food from the spot to which it 

 is fixed ; and the probability is, that though 

 the Walrus does not abstain entirely from 

 carnivorous habits, marine plants form the 

 bulk of its food. They swim rapidly, but 

 their progress on land is awkward and te- 

 dious. They appear to be monogamous, and 

 the female is said to bring forth her young, 

 one only at a birth, either on shore or on the 

 ice. The flesh is highly valued by the in- 

 habitants of the arctic regions, and our own 

 northern voyagers have often found it a most 

 acceptable repast. According to Professor 

 Macgillivray a small specimen was shot on 

 the East coast of Harris, one of the Western 

 Isles, December 1817. It was formerly 

 abundant in the Norwegian seas, but is now 

 driven further north. 



WANDEROO MONKEY. (Ufacacus Si- 

 lenus.) A fine species of monkey, native of 

 Ceylon, which is of a deep black colour, ex- 

 cepting the long hairs about the head, which 

 are more or less of an ash colour, and some- 

 times almost white. This mane, as it may 

 be called, descends on each side of the face 

 like a ruff. The tail ends in a brush of tufted 

 hair. It is occasionally brought to this 

 country, but is by no means common in a ! 

 state of confinement. Father Maria has given 

 the following account, which we quote from i 

 Mr. Bennett. "There are found four sorts 

 of monkeys on the coast of Malabar ; the 



WANDEROO MONKEY. (MACiCOS Slt-ENUS.") 



first is quite black, with glossy hair and a 

 white beard round the chin measuring rather 

 more than a palm in length. The other 

 monkeys pay to this so profound a respect 

 that they are humble in his presence, as 

 though they appreciated his superiority. The 

 princes and mighty lords hold him in much 

 estimation for his endowments of gravity, 

 capacity, and the appearance of wisdom 

 above every other monkey. He is readily 

 trained to enact a variety of ceremonies and 

 affected courtesies, which he goes through 

 with so grave a face, and so perfectly, that it 

 is a most wonderful thing to see them so ex- 

 actly performed by an irrational creature." 

 We need hardly add that this monkey is not 



