350 . THE HARMONIES OF NATURE. 



grass against the horny pad in the front part of the upper jaw, 

 upon which the incisors of the under-jaw perform their part ; 

 the sharp tongue of the felidse is furnished with rough horny 

 papillae directed backwards (these serve a very important pur- 

 pose in enabling the animal to scrape off the minute particles 

 of flesh adhering to the bones of its prey) ; and, finally, the 

 enormous soft tongue of the Greenland whale fulfils most ad- 

 mirably the office of crushing the numberless crustaceans or 

 pteropods that remain entangled in the fringes of the baleen. 



The tongue of the mammalians is generally endowed with a 

 wonderful delicacy of feeling. This enables it to detect any 

 extraneous matter a piece of bone or stone that may have 

 been mixed with the food, and thus it resembles a trusty door- 

 keeper, whose watchful attention prevents any unwelcome or 

 dangerous visitor from entering the mansion confided to his care. 



Several of the mammalia have received a most useful gift in 

 a pair of large cheek-pouches, serving as provisional storerooms. 

 The monkeys of the New World, luxuriating in the exu- 

 berant plenty of the boundless primeval forest, do not possess 

 them ; but they are frequent among the African monkeys an 

 organization which evidently indicates a home where fruit is 

 less abundant or more thinly scattered, and advantage must be 

 taken of a favourable opportunity for securing the supply of a 

 future repast. 



The cheek-pouches of the hamster are a great convenience 

 to this destructive animal for carrying home its winter-provisions. 

 They form two enormous sacks, extending from the cheeks to 

 the shoulders, between the skin and the muscles of the neck, 

 and when filled give the head a monstrously swollen appearance. 

 They will contain each about a thousand grains of wheat or rye, 

 and the hamster has merely to draw the ears of corn through 

 his rnouth to fill them, while they can be emptied with equal 

 facility by pressing them with the forepaws. 



The senses of the mammalia are developed in very different 

 degrees, but everywhere in perfect accordance with their indivi- 

 dual wants. Thus the carnivora, who are generally destined to 

 live upon a cautious, vigilant, and active prey, possess a very 

 keen sight, and even more so by night than by day ; their power 

 of hearing is delicate, while they also smell their victims with 

 incredible acuteness. 



