sisto&Y. 



smell, lie in the upper and hinder part of each nasal cavity, but in front of them is a large 

 scroll' of bone, also covered by a membrane of exquisite sensitiveness, but not taking cognisance 

 of odours. This anti-chamber,, as it were, of the nose, is extremely sensitive, and its sensibility is 

 a safeguard against intrusive dust, and deadly disease-germs. It is the ffMftHN? region, and is the 

 natural and most careful porter of the gates of the breath. 



The way in which the eyes of the Camivora are set in their head indicates their habits of life 

 They look straight forward, and are expressive, in the nobler kinds, of the energy and cruelty of their 

 owner's disposition. As in many of the Lemurs, the eye possesses what is called a tapetum, a sort of 

 reflecting mirror in the bottom of the eye, which redoubles, as it were, the faint rays of evening, 

 evidently a very important thing for these, mostly nocturnal, animals. 



The sense of hearing is as perfect as that of sight ; not, perhaps, in the higher, musical sense of 

 the word, but for catching the faintest and feeblest undulations of the air. The Mole is supposed to 

 be most sharp of hearing; but it is a question whether he is quicker of hearing than his cruel 

 neighbour the Rabbit-killing Weasel. Any one who has watched a Cat sitting demurely by a Mouse- 

 hole, or a Terrier on the look out for a Rat, will give these Carnivores credit for the most acute sense 

 of sound. Anatomy corroborates what simple observation suggests, and the internal as well as 

 external organs of hearing in the Camivora are most exquisitely perfect. 



Many members of the group live in families, that is, a male and female with their young form a 

 little coterie by themselves, and associate very little with other families. Very few live in great 

 societies or herds, after the manner of the grass-eating animals, such as Oxen, Antelopes, or Wild 

 Horses, but an exception to this is afforded by the Wild Dogs of Constantinople, which roam the 

 streets in great numbers, and by Wolves, which invariably hunt in packs. 



The Dogs and Wolves, besides being gregarious, resemble the Herbivora in another and far less 

 amiable characteristic, that is, they do not choose a mate for life or even for a season, but let their 

 affections run wild and practise the most unmitigated polygamy and polyandry. Many of the larger 

 Cats, ou the contrary the Lion, for instance choose a mate, to whom they are wonderfully 

 faithful. 



The young are always born in a comparatively helpless condition, not able to run about at once 

 like a new-born Calf or Foal ; they are generally blind for some time after birth, and are entirely 

 dependent on the mother for food and warmth. 



The higher Camivora are most kind parents, and to the best of their ability, educate their young. 

 This was well known to the ancients : Ezekiel the prophet (xix. 2, 3) gives this character of the Lioness 

 in inimitable language : " What is thy mother 1 A Lioness : she lay down among Lions, she nou- 

 rished her whelps among young Lions. And she brought up one of her whelps : it became a young 

 Lion, and it learned to catch the prey ; it devoured men." All writers bear witness to the painstaking 

 way in which the parent Lion or Tiger trains up its young and practises them for their trade of 

 slaughter. Sometimes both parents, sometimes only one, go out with their offspring, and by example 

 and precept show them the safest places to hide, the proper moment to spring, the best place to 

 seize the victim, and so on. And the future tyrants are very apt, they thoroughly enjoy their 

 schooling, and make the best possible use of their opportunities ; so much so that the young of the 

 great Cats are far more dreaded than the old ones, as they not only kill to satisfy hunger, but commit 

 svholesale slaughter, simply for practice and to keep their paws in. 



The diversity of form and structure in the group of land Camivora is very great. We find, as 

 in the groups we have considered previously, many different kinds or species, amongst which are 

 creatures so different as the great and powerful Lion and the small and insignificant Weasel, the active 

 Tiger and Jaguar, and the lazy Glutton. These species, as very little observation shows us, naturally 

 fall into certain larger groups or genera, having important characteristics in common ; for instance, the 

 Lion, Tiger, Leopard, Jaguar, Lynx, and all the small Cats, are so much like one another, and so 

 different from all other animals, as to be put in the one genus Felis, which is distinguished by 

 having retractile claws, and by being quite devoid of true grinding teeth. Again, the Dog and 

 Wolf have so many points in common, that they are placed in the single genus Canis, the Dog 

 being called Canis familiar^, the Wolf Canis lupus. If a number of genera are found to 

 agree pretty closely with one another in essential matters, they are grouped into a family ; thus 



