HYS 



domestication is extremely cleanly and 

 alert. 



H. syriacus, or the bristly hyrax, is to 

 be met with particularly in Ethiopia and 

 Abyssinia, and particularly under the 

 rocks of the Mountains of the Sun. Its 

 full length is about seventeen inches. 

 These animals are called by the natives 

 of these countries Ashkokos. They are 

 gregarious, and, occasionally, seen in 

 companies of several scores, basking be- 

 fore the clefts of the rocks in the open 

 sunshine. They are gentle, weak and 

 fearful, but if handled with roughness will 

 bite with great severity. They are sup- 

 posed to live on grain, fruits, and roots, 

 and when kept in confinement, they will 

 live upon bread and milk. They feed 

 without any voracity, and even the pangs 

 of hunger could not impel them to at- 

 tack chickens or smaller birds, which 

 have been thrown to them in that state, 

 in the way of experiment. Their mo- 

 tion is not firm upon their legs, but ra- 

 ther by stealing along, by a few paces at 

 a time, upon their bellies, in the manner 

 of the bat in approaching its prey. For 

 the Hyrax, see Mammalia, Plate XII. 

 fig. 5. 



HYPTIS, in botany, a genus of the 

 Didynamia Gymnospermia class and or- 

 der. Natural order of VerticillatzE. La- 

 biatae, Jussieti. Essential character : ca- 

 lyx turbinate ; corolla with a very 

 spreading border; lower lip semibifid ; 

 anthers hanging down. There are two 

 species. 



HYSSOPUS, in botany, hyssop, a genus 

 f the Didynamia Gymnospermia class 

 and order. Natural order of Verticillatae, 

 Jussieu. Essential character: corolla, low- 

 er lip with a small middle crenate seg- 

 ment ; stamens straight, distant. There 

 are three species. 



HYSTERICS. See MEDICINE. , 



HYSTRIX, porcupine, in natural history, 

 a genus of quadrupeds of the order 

 Glires. Generic character: two fore- 

 teeth in the upper and the under jaw, 

 eut obliquely ; eight grinders : body with 

 spines and hair; toes four or five on the 



HYS 



forefeet. There are five species. H. 

 cristata, or the common porcupine, is 

 about two feet in length, exclusively of 

 the tail. It is found in Africa and India, 

 and isseen notunfrequentlyin the warmer 

 climates of Europe, particularly in Italy 

 and Sicily. It is covered on the upper 

 part of its body with variegated spines, 

 or quills, which are long and sharp, and 

 which, when irritated, it erects with par- 

 ticular intenseness, and a rustling and 

 alarming noise, giving the idea of for- 

 midable hostility. It was supposed by 

 the ancients to possess the power of dart- 

 ing these with unerring, and sometimes 

 fatal, aim against its adversaries ; but it 

 is ascertained to employ them merely to 

 repel an assailant. Its principal food 

 consists of the bark of trees, roots, and 

 fruit, and is almost universally collected 

 by it in the night. In the day it lies re- 

 tired, and sleeping in a subterraneous 

 habitation, which it is said to construct 

 with particular ingenuity, dividing it into 

 several apartments. It produces two at 

 a birth, and if taken young is tamed with 

 considerable facility. Its flesh is eaten, 

 not only in Africa but in Italy, and is 

 thought extremely luscious, on which ac- 

 count it can be taken by few in any large 

 quantity. See Mammalia, Plate XII. 

 fig. 3. 



H. prehensilis, or the Brazilian por- 

 cupine. This is about a foot long, and 

 its tail about a foot and a half, by which it 

 clings to the branches of trees, and facili- 

 tates its object of attack or escape. It is 

 covered with strong, short, and extremely 

 sharp spines, on most of those parts of its 

 body particularly exposed to assault. It 

 is found in the warm climates of Ameri- 

 ca, and particularly in Brazil, where it 

 inhabits the woods, and subsists not only 

 upon fruits and vegetables, like the 

 former species, but also on small birds. 

 Its sounds resemble the gruating of a 

 pig. It secludes itself during the day ia 

 the hollows of trees, or under their roots, 

 and by night engages in its excursions 

 and repasts. See Mammalia, Plate XIT. 

 fig. 4. 



VOL, VI. 



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