164 NATURALIST'S CABINET. 



Acute sense of hearing General habits. 



mouth arid tongue, " but that/' says our author, 

 " might only serve to give a poignant relish to 

 the animal's palate, and might answer the same 

 grateful ends in seasoning his banquet, that spices 

 do in heightening ours." 



The eyes of the rhinoceros are small, and so 

 situated that he can only see what is nearly in a 

 direct line before him. But, as an equivalent 

 for this defect, Dr. Parsons remarks, that this 

 fenimal has a most acute and attentive ear. He 

 will listen with a deep and long-continued atten- 

 tion to any kind of noise; and although he be 

 eating, or lying down, he will raise his head, and 

 listen till the noise ceases. 



Notwithstanding the clumsy and unwieldy ap- 

 pearance of this quadruped, he is said to run 

 with great swiftness, and from his strength and 

 the impenetrability of his covering, he is capable 

 of rushing with resistless violence through woods 

 and obstacles of every kind; the smaller trees 

 bending like twigs as he passes them. In his ge- 

 neral habits and manner of feeding he resembles 

 the elephant : residing in cool sequestered spots, 

 near waters, and in shady woods. But he imi-? 

 tates the hog in occasionally wallowing in the 

 mire. 



In some parts of Asia, these animals are fre^ 

 quently tamed, and carried into the field of bat- 

 tle to strike terror into their enemies. They are, 

 however, in general so unmanageable, that they 

 injure the cause they are designed to serve, and 



