THE RHINOCEROS. 95 



the body and limbs of the rhinoceios are covered 

 with a fkin fo impenetrable, that he fears neither 

 the claws of the tiger or lion, nor the fword or 

 (hot of the hunter. His fkin is blackiih, being 

 of the fame colour, but thicker and harder than 

 that of the elephant, and is not fenfible to the 

 flings of flies. He can neither extend nor 

 contract: his fkin, which is rolled up into large 

 folds at the neck, the fnoulders, and the crupper, 

 in order to facilitate the motion of his head and 

 limbs, which laft are maffy, and terminated by 

 large feet, armed with three great toes. His 

 head is proportionably longer than that of the 

 elephant ; but. his eyes are ftill fmaller, and fel- 

 dom above half open. The upper, which pro- 

 jects over the under lip, is moveable, and can 

 be firetched out about fix or (even inches in 

 length; and it is terminated by a pointed appen- 

 dix, w r hich gives this animal a power of collect- 

 ing herbage in handfuls, as the elephant does with 

 its trunk. This mufcular and flexible lip is a 

 kind of hand or imperfect trunk ; but it enables 

 the creature to feize any object with force, and 

 to feel with fome dexterity. Inftead of thofe 

 long ivory tufks which conuitute the armour of 

 the elephant, the rhinoceros has a formidable 

 horn, and two ftrong incihve teeth in each jaw. 

 Thefe teeth, of which the elephant is deprived, 

 are fituated at a great diftance from each other, 

 one in each angle of the jaw* The under jaw is 

 fquare before ; and there are no other incifive 



teeth 



