HABITS AND FOOD OF THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 



349 



each jaw, are conical, sharp-edged, and resemble those of the Hogs. The skeleton is very Hog-like, 

 and the stomach is divided into four compartments. The liver has a gall-bladder, and the kidneys are 

 divided into lobes. 



The Eiver Horse is nocturnal in its habits, frequenting rivers and lagoons, and rarely leaving them 



BASE OF SKULL OF HIPPOPOTAMUS, 

 SHOWING DENTITION. 



LOWER JAW OF HIPPOPOTAMUS, 

 SHOWING DENTITION. 



or their immediate neighbourhood except at night, when it will go considerable distances in search ot 



food, sometimes causing great damage to cultivated crops, which may be estimated from the fact that 



its stomach is capable of holding from 



five to six bushels. Its food consists 



principally of grass, young shrubs, and 



water plants, and it is particularly fond 



of green corn. When in the water 



its slow respiration enables it to remain 



for a long time beneath the surface 



without coming up to breathe ; and 



the means of closing both its ears and 



nostrils against the access of water, 



before alluded to, is admirably suited 



for its aquatic habits. 



The first and only time in which 

 any animal at all answering the descrip- 

 tion of the Hippopotamus is mentioned 



in the Bible is under the designation - - oesophagus ; du, duodenum. 



of Behemoth (Job xl. 15 24), and even 



then there is room for doubt as to whether the description may not be nearly as applicable to the 



Elephant, though on the whole it certainly suits the Hippopotamus better. 



STOMACH OF HIPPOPOTAMUS. (After Clark.) 

 abed, the four divisions in their order ; p, partition in interior of division ; 



