ON THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS, AND THEIR APPENDAGES. 129 



The tpngue, then, is a muscular organ, provided with a vast multi- 

 tude of vessels and nerves, and covered with a delicate humid epithe- 

 lium, .or membrane, closely investing its papillae. Beneath this delicate 

 membrane there is, in animals generally (and remarkably so in the rumi- 

 nants), a reticular layer, of soft texture, termed the rete (or mesh) of 

 Malpighi, pierced by the papillae, which are, in many animals, consider- 

 ably elevated. 



In numerous Mammalia the tongue is not only of use in turning the 

 food from side to side, or for assisting in deglutition, but it aids also in 

 collecting food : it acts as a feeler ; as a comb, or rasp ; and even as 

 an organ of prehension. 



The Ox, with his free tongue, rolls the herbage of the meadow into a 

 sort of tuft, before seizing it between the gum pad and the lower in- 

 cisors : he also rasps his own coat, or that of his companion, with its 

 rough surface. In the Dog and Cat it is the sole agent, by which fluids 

 are conveyed into the mouth, by that action of the tongue termed "lap- 

 ping." The Giraffe twists his long, black, extensible tongue round leafy 

 branches of trees, in order to draw them toward his lips. In the Ant- 

 eater, the tongue is a long, slender, cylindrical organ, capable of great 

 extension, and covered with viscid saliva ; and it is the principal instru- 

 ment for conveying food into the mouth. This animal, having made for- 

 cible entrance into the houses of the Termite-ant, darts its tongue among 

 these insects, picks them up, and withdraws it, the action being rapid in 

 the extreme. In the Pangolins (Manis), the tongue is similarly con- 

 structed. In the Armadilloes (Dasypus), it is, also, long, slender, and 

 extensible ; moderately broad at the root, and gradually tapering to the 

 extremity. The Dasypus Peba may be seen to apply this instrument to 

 substances presented to it, with a rapid vibratile motion, reminding the 

 spectator of the manner in which the Wryneck (Yunx torquilla) uses 

 its long slender tongue, a id, apparently, with the intent, either by its 

 feeling, or sense of taste, of ascertaining its suitableness for food. 



With respect to the sounds, or cries, uttered by the lower Mammalia, 

 the tongue has but little influence upon them ; its anterior portion, at 

 least, is but seldom, if ever, used, so as to produce a distinct consonant 

 utterance for the beginning or termination of any note or intonation. It is 

 otherwise in Man : here the tongue is an organ of speech ; not that it pro- 

 duces, but modifies, sound ; and the pronunciation of definite words, the 

 symbols of ideas, depends greatly upon its motions. In the formation of 

 consonant sounds, the lips, indeed, act a part, though a minor one, in com- 

 parison with the tongue. The consonant sounds of b, p, m, v, w, are 

 labial. Those of c, ch, s, sh, d, t, th, 1, r, tl, and others, which do not ob- 

 tain in our language, are produced by the pressure of the tongue against 

 the teeth, or the palate, with a discrimination acquired only by practice. 



