GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS. 



coat of hair in the former than in the latter season, of which we have an excellent 

 example in the hoi-se. In some Mammals, such as the hare and cat, the body is 

 covered with only one kind of hair ; but in other cases, as in the fur-seals, there is 

 one kind of lone and somewhat coarse hair, which appeai-s at the surface, and 

 another of a softer and finer nature, which forms the thick and warm under-fur. 

 This under-fur is oreath' developed in Mammals of all groups inhabiting Tibet, 

 where it is locally kno\vn as ' pashm ' ; and it is this pashm of the goat of these 

 retrions which afibnls the materials for the celebrated Kashmir shawls. Curiously 

 enough, too, animals which usually do not develop pashm almost immediately tend 

 to its production when taken to tlie Tibetan region, as is notabl}^ the case with 

 dogs. Less frequently the hair of the body takes the form of stiff bristles, as on 

 the pig : and still more rarel}' tliis thickening is carried to such an extent as to 

 produce spines, of which we have the best instances in the porcupine and hedge- 

 hof', belonging, it should be home in mind, to distinct ordei-s. 



The solid horns of the rhinoceroses, and the hollow hornj' sheaths of cattle 

 and antelopes are very similar in their nature to hairs, and maj'^ indeed be com- 

 pared to masses of hair welded together into solid sti'uctures. 



Althoucdi a fair idea of Mammals as a whole may be gained 

 THe Ske eton. .^..j^j^^^^ investigation into the nature of their soft internal parts, yet 

 any one who desires to obtain 



any really accui-ate know- 

 ledge of them must make 

 up his iiiinil to acquire at 

 least some slight idea of the 

 general structure of the bony 

 skeleton, and also of the fonn 

 and nature of the teeth, since 

 these parts are of the liighest 

 importance in classification. 



We have already in- 

 cidentallj' mentioned that the 

 skull consists of two portions, 

 — the skull proper, which 

 contains tlie brain, and the 

 lower jaw. It will sufiice to 

 mention, in addition, that the 

 hinder part of the skull is 

 known as the occiput, and that on tlie front surface the pair of bones roofing over 

 the cavity of the nose are known as the nasals, while those behind them, fomiing 

 the region of the forehead, are termed frontals. Further, in the upper jaw, the bones 

 which carry the hinder or cheek-teeth are known as the maxillas, while those in 

 which the front cutting-teeth are implanted are termed the preniaxillfe. All the other 

 numerous bones of the skull have received distinct names : but the reader desirous 

 of becoming acquainted with them must refer to other works. Our notice of the 

 other parts of the skeleton must be equally brief. In the backbone or vertebral 

 column, the first vertebra, or that which articulates with the skull is kno\vn as the 



SSELETON OP THE LIOX. 



sk. skuU ; zy. cheek-bone (zygomatic arch) ; m. vertebrffl of the neck ; 

 d. vertebrae of the back ; /. vertebrae of the lonis ; s. sacrum ; cd. 

 vertebrre of the tail ; sc. shoulder - blade (scapula) ; h. arm - bone 

 (humerus) ; r. u. bones of fore-.arm (radius and ulna) ; cp. wrist (carpus) ; 

 inc. metacarpus ; ph. toe-bones ; pv. haunch-bone (pelvis) ; fm. thigh- 

 bone (femur) : p. knee-cap (patella) ; lb. fh. bones of lower leg (tibia 

 and libula) ; fc. ankle (tarsus) ; m. metatarsus. 



