13() THE VITAL FUNCTIONS. 



In the animals belonging to the genus Felis, the 

 papillae in the fore part of the tongue are each 

 armed with a horny sheath terminating in a sharp 

 point, which is directed backwards, so as to detain 

 the food and prevent its escape. These prickles 

 are of great size and strength in the larger beasts 

 of prey, as the Lion and the Tiger ; they are met 

 with also in the Opossum, and in many species 

 of Bats, more especially those belonging to the 

 genus Pteropus : all these horny productions 

 have been regarded as analogous to the lingual 

 teeth of fishes, already noticed. 



The mouth of the Oimilhorliynchus has a form 

 of construction intermediate between that of 

 quadrupeds and birds ; being furnished, like 

 the former, with grinding teeth at the posterior 

 part of both the upper and lower jaws, but 

 they are of a horny substance ; and the mouth 

 is terminated in front by a horny bill, greatly 

 resembUng that of the duck, or the spoon- 

 bill. 



The Whale is furnished with a singular appa- 

 ratus designed for filtration on a large scale. 

 The palate has the form of a concave dome, and 

 from its sides there descends perpendicularly into 

 the mouth, a multitude of thin plates, set parallel 

 to each other, with one of their edges directed 

 towards the circumference, and the other towards 

 tlie middle of the palate. These plates are known 

 by the name of ^vhalehone; and their general form 



