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NATURAL HISTORY. 



The Conies. 



In several places in the Old Testament the word ' shapan ' occurs, a 

 word rendered in our English version by ' cony.' This little animal is 

 not described with scientific precision, and hence it has made no little 

 trouble for commentators. For a long time it was supposed that it referred 

 to some of the hares ; but to-clay all are agreed that it is the little animal 

 figured here. From the various references found in Leviticus, Deuteronomy, 



Fig. 492. — Cony (Hi/rax syriacus). 



Proverbs, and Psalms, we find that the conies were a ' feeble folk,' making 

 their homes in the rocks, that they were small but wise, that their hoof 

 was not divided, and that they chewed the cud. All of these characters 

 and characteristics except the last are perfectly applicable to the form 

 now identified as the cony. This animal, however, does not really chew 

 the cud ; but when at rest, it keeps its jaws in such constant motion as to 

 convey the impression that it is chewing the dinner clipped some time 

 before. 



