458 THE MKCHANUAL FUNCTIONS. 



that they might not interfere with the motions of 

 the neck. In the vertebra of the back, on the 

 other hand, these processes are remarkably long, 

 especially at the part where the shoulder rests ; 

 their projection constituting what is called the 

 Withers. 



§ 7. Pachydermata. 



Fkom the hoise we pass by a natural transition to 

 the P achy derma la, a small group of animals inte- 

 resting by their peculiarities, and by their being 

 remnants of a very extensive tribe, which formerly 

 inhabited the earth, but have now almost entirely 

 disappeared. Although they feed on vegetables, 

 they do not ruminate, nor are they cloven-footed. 

 They are for the most part huge and unwieldy ani- 

 mals, with thick integuments, rendered tough by a 

 larse mass of condensed cellular substance, which 

 forms the chief defensive armour of those that are 

 destitute of either tusk, proboscis, or nasal horn. 



The most remarkable genus of this family is 

 the Elephant, the colossal giant of quadrupeds. 

 The many peculiarities which are observable in 

 the conformation of this animal have all an ob- 

 vious relation to the circumstances of its condition. 

 Formed for feeding on a great variety of vegetable 

 substances, and more especially on the tender 

 shoots of trees, fruits, and grains, as well as on 

 herbage, and succulent roots, its organs of mastica- 

 tion are powerful, and its teeth of great size. The 

 whole of this apparatus requires an immense de- 

 velopement of bone to render it efficient ; so that 



