388 ANIMALS OF THE 



kinds, and to give the animal a different denomi- 

 nation. 



The cat kind are not less remarkable for the 

 sharpness and strength of their claws, which thrust 

 forth from their sheath when they seize their prey, 

 than for the shortness of their snout, the round- 

 ness of their head, and the large whiskers w r hich 

 grow on the upper lip. Their teeth also, which 

 amount to the number of thirty, are very formid- 

 able, but are rather calculated for tearing their 

 prey than for chewing it :* for this reason they 

 feed but slowly, and while they eat generally con- 

 tinue growling, to deter others from taking a 

 share. In the dog kind, the chief power lies in 

 the under jaw, which is long, and furnished with 

 muscles of amazing strength ; but in these, the 

 greatest force lies in the claws, which are extend- 

 ed with great ease, and their gripe is so tenacious 

 that nothing can open it. The hinder parts in all 

 these animals are much weaker than those before, 

 and they seem less made for strength than agility. 

 Nor are they endued with the swiftness of most 

 other animals, but generally owe their subsistence 

 rather to catching their prey by surprise than by 

 hunting it fairly down. They all seize it with a 

 bound, at the same time expressing their fierce 

 pleasure with a roar ; and the first grasp general- 

 ly disables the captive from all further resistance. 

 With all these qualifications for slaughter, they 

 nevertheless seem timid and cowardly, and seldom 



[* In quadrupeds of this kind the fore -teeth are equal, the grinders have 

 three points, the tongue is furnished with rough sharp prickles, pointing 

 backwards, and the claws are sheaihed and retractile. ] 



