338 Dr. T. Cantor on a species of Semnopithecus. 
possessed none of the petulance, mischievous curiosity and rest- 
less activity of the Cercopithecs. In his predilection for the so- 
ciety of man, in gentleness, in his cry and also in physiognomy, 
he strongly resembles the Gibbons, which struck me so much the 
more, as I at the same time had an opportunity of studying the 
habits of a young Hylobates leuciscus, Ogilby (captured in the 
Purlis territory on the Malayan Peninsula, which therefore must 
be added to the habitats of that Gibbon). But with these points 
the resemblance ceases, for the latter is active, nay even re- 
markably so, when compared to Semnopithecus halonifer. A very 
interesting feature in this monkey is its attachment to children, 
whereas gibbons and monkeys, generally speaking, entertain a 
marked aversion towards them. ‘The one | am now describing 
would go to my native butler’s daughter, a little girl of five years, 
in preference to any other person, and cling with its arms round 
the child’s neck as long as permitted. Leaves and young shoots* 
of mulberry, coffee, jambu-trees and a kind of gossypium, as well 
as the large pink flower of the latter, were his favourite food. Of 
fruit he preferred plantains, jambu and mulberries ; but he would 
also eat mangustin, mangas, rambutan and papayas, not however 
unless the latter-mentioned fruits were opened or cut in small 
slices. But a very small quantity was taken in the mouth at a 
time, and in the absence of cheek-pouches it was slowly masti- 
cated and swallowed. Insects and animal food of every descrip- 
tion he refused. Occasionally he would swallow twigs or sand. 
His beverage was water, which was taken after each meal in con- 
siderable quantity, and he took more fluid than solid food. He 
drank stooping to the water’s edge, but not by means of the hand. 
Having finished his meal, he would sit down, close the eyelids, 
occasionally gnaw his fingers’ ends, and slowly grind the teeth 
and chew very small particles of the food regurgitated under fre- 
quent eructations. Thus he would continue for a considerable 
time till he fell asleep. Although a rumination takes place, it is 
in a limited and far less degree than in Ruminants. In fact, it is, 
as Prof. Owen has truly suggested, “ analogous to rumination ” 
(Zool. Proceed. 1833, i. p. 75). The disparity between the ex- 
tremities and the size of the stomach, which imparts a consider- 
able corpulency even in early age, renders the monkey a ludicrous 
object in his awkward movements on the ground. The back is 
raised into a high arch, the centre of the back being elevated 
above the vertex, while the long hair of the head and body is 
* A young male orang-outan, Simia Satyrus, from New Guinea (with the 
nails and two joints of the hind thumbs perfectly developed) greedily devours 
young shoots of plantain-trees and other plants, and it has therefore been 
found desirable to watch his rambles in my flower-garden. 
