TIGER. 343 



parts of Asia, and is principally found in India 

 and the Indian islands. The species extends, 

 however, as far as China, and Chinese Tartary, 

 the lake Ural, and the Altaic Mountains. Its 

 colour is a deep tawny, or orange-yellow; the 

 face, throat, and under side of the belly, being 

 nearly white: the whole is traversed by numerous 

 long black stripes, forming a bold and striking 

 contrast with the ground-colour. About the face 

 and breast the stripes are proportionally smaller 

 than on other parts: the tail is annulated with 

 black, and is shorter than the body. There seems 

 to be some variation in the proportion and num- 

 ber of the stripes in different individuals ; and the 

 ground-colour is more or less bright, according to 

 various circumstances of age and health in the 

 respective animals. Linnaeus calls the Tiger 

 " pulcherrimus quadrupedum.'" We must not 

 judge of the elegance of this animal's robe from 

 the specimens which are sometimes seen in mu- 

 seums, or even from such living ones as by long 

 confinement, and an alteration of climate, have 

 lost the native brilliancy of their colours. When 

 seen in perfection, and before its health has been 

 impaired by confinement, it is scarce possible to 

 conceive a more elegantly variegated animal than 

 the Tiger: the bright and intense orange-yellow 

 which constitutes the ground colour; the deep 

 and well-defined stripes of black, in some parts 

 double, in others single, the pure white of the 

 cheeks and lower part of the sides, over which a 

 part of the black striping is continued, form, al- 



