THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 181 



rable pores, through which exudes an oily, slimy sort 

 of fluid, which has the effect of preventing the water 

 from coming into absolute contact with the skin 

 itself. 



Soon after " Buckeet " had been established in the 

 Zoological Gardens, I had a talk with him and patted 

 him. I could not at the time but think of Sydney 

 Smith's remark upon some one who was patting a 

 tortoise, and whom he recommended to pat the dome 

 of St. Paul's, by way of gratifying the Dean and 

 Chapter. Unfortunately, I had not removed a pair of 

 new kid gloves, and, to my astonishment, I found the 

 right-hand glove hopelessly spoiled, being saturated 

 with the dark, oily secretion of the skin. 



Another point about the skin is its wonderful 

 flexibility. It is so hard and tough that when removed 

 from the animal, it has to be cut into lengths, like so 

 many planks, and so to be torn off by main force. 

 Its thickness and toughness are well shown by the 

 principal use to which it is put namely, the manufac- 

 ture of those terrible "jamboks^ or "cow-hide" 

 whips, which are so powerful that each stroke will 

 leave a groove in a deal board, and when employed on 

 the thick-hided draught oxen of Southern Africa, will 

 strike off a strip of skin along the whole back of the 

 animal. 



Yet, this skin, thick, tough, and hard as may be, 

 is, when on the living animal, as soft and flexible as 

 india-rubber, enabling the Hippopotamus to perform 

 those feats of agility in and out of the water which 

 have already been mentioned. 



Like many other animals which frequent the water, 



