THE YOICE. 83 



touch is an attribute of man rather than of other animals ; for 

 among these latter, scarcely any, except the monkeys, have 

 the faculty of touch in their hands, or, as it is technically 

 termed, of palpation. 



176. In some animals, this faculty is exercised by other 

 organs. Thus the trunk of the elephant is a most perfect or- 

 gan of touch ; and probably the mastodon, whose numerous 

 remains are found scattered in the superficial layers of the earth's 

 crust, was furnished with a similar organ. Serpents make use 

 of their tongue for touch ; insects employ their palpi, and 

 snails their tentacles for the same purpose. 



6. THE VOICE. 



1 77- Animals have not only the power of perceiving, but 

 many of them have also the faculty of producing sounds of 

 every variety, from the roaring of the lion to the song of the 

 bird as it salutes the rising sun. It is moreover to be remarked, 

 that those which are endowed with a voice, likewise have the 

 organ of hearing well developed. 



178. Animals employ their voice, either for communica- 

 tion with each other, or to express their sensations, en- 

 joyments, or sufferings. Nevertheless, this faculty is pos- 

 sessed by a small minority of animals : with but very few 

 exceptions, only mammals, birds, and a few reptiles, are en- 

 dowed with it. All others are dumb. Worms and insects 

 have no true voice ; for we must not mistake for it the buzzing 

 of the bee, which is merely a noise created by the vibration 

 of the wings ; nor the grating shriek of the locust, caused by 

 the friction of his legs against his wings ; nor the shrill noise 

 of the cricket, or the tell-tale call of the ratydid, produced, by 

 the friction of the wing covers on each other. And in nu- 

 merous similar cases which might be cited. 



179. Consequently, were mammals, birds and frogs, to 

 be struck out of existence, the whole animal kingdom would 

 be dumb. It is difficult for us, living in the midst of the 

 thousand various sounds which strike the ear from all sides, 

 to conceive of such a state. Yet, such a state did doubtless 

 prevail for thousands of ages on the surface of our globe, when 

 the watery world alone was inhabited, and before man, the 

 mammals, and birds were called into being. 



G2 



