THE LION 



the earliest times," says the writer on this 

 subject in the " Encyclopaedia Britannica," " few 

 animals have been better known to man than the lion." 

 It is precisely because of this knowledge, for the most 

 part purely imaginary, that the real lion is less known than 

 almost any of the other great wild beasts. Not so much 

 in this case on account of the paucity of facts as from a 

 plethora of fiction, his actual character has very imperfectly 

 come to light. 



Since Aristotle there have always been naturalists who 

 contended for two species of these animals, and sometimes 

 more. 



In Greece, classification was made on the basis of size ; 

 in Rome, upon that of color. With regard to the first, 

 Sir Samuel Baker remarks that the lions of Cutch and 

 Guzrat are perhaps not so large as their African con- 

 geners ; but according to Dr. Jerdon (" Mammals of 

 India ") measurements show that they are fully equal in 

 this respect. Gerard, Livingstone, and others notice very 

 discernible local contrasts in bulk among them in different 

 parts of Africa itself, and it has been maintained by many 

 that the lion grows smaller as one goes south from the Atlas. 

 Major Smee has also been largely followed in his opinion 



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