THE RHINOCEROS. 1 1 



5 



colour of which was brown, and its fubftance' 

 folid and hard. The eyes were fmall and pro- 

 minent, the ears large, and pretty fimilar to 

 ihofe of an afs. The back, which was hollow, 

 or deprelTed, feemed to be covered with a natu- 

 ral faddle. The legs were fhort and very thick. 

 The feet were rounded behind, and divided be- 

 fore into three hoofs. The tail refembled that 

 of an ox, and was garnifhed with black hairs at 

 the extremity. The penis lay along the tefti- 

 cles, and erected itfelf for the difcharge of urine, 

 which the animal threw out to a great diftance. 

 The point of it was alfo very remarkable, form- 

 ing a cavity like the mouth of a trumpet. The 

 fheath from which it ifTues is flefhy, and of a 

 vermilion colour, like the penis itfelf. This 

 flefhy fubftance, which formed the firft tube, 

 came out of a fecond fheath compoCed of fkin, 

 as in other quadrupeds. The tongue is fo hard 

 and rough, that it tears off the fkin of any per- 

 ibn whom it licks ; hence this animal eats large 

 thorns, without feeling any. pain. The rhino- 

 ceros requires one hundred and fixty pounds of 

 food every day. His flefh is much relifhed by 

 the Indians and Africans, and efpecially by the 

 Hottentots. If trained when young, he might 

 be rendered dnmeftic, and, in this ftate,he would 

 multiply more eafily than the elephant. 



4 I could never difcover the reafon (M. P. re- 

 * marks) why in Afia the rhinoceros is allowed 



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