1866.] MR. A. MURRAY ON GALAGO MURINUS. 561 



" Young ones of both species are brought to us about this period 

 of the year (July 26). Mr. Robb has a young specimen of the 

 smaller species just now, aud about this time last year I became 

 possessed of one of the larger. It was a most interesting and amu- 

 sing pet, not only quite tame, but manifesting strong attachment. 

 I had it for about six weeks in my possession, when, unfortunately 

 both for myself and it, it took a false leap into a water-barrel and 

 was drowned. It was a very epitome of zoology, of the size and 

 colour of a large rat ; it had the tail of a squirrel, the facial outline 

 of the fox, the membranous ears of the bat, the eyes and somewhat 

 of the manners of the owl in its cool odd way of peering at objects, 

 the long slender fingers of a lean old man, who habitually eats down 

 his nails, and all the mirthfulness and agility of a diminutive monkey. 

 It hated its cage at night, but delighted to leap among the bars of 

 the chairs ranged purposely round the table for it. It could clear a 

 horizontal distance of at least 6 feet at a leap ; and whenever it fell, 

 as during its short apprenticeship it often did, and from alarming 

 heights too, it gave expression to its parenthetic chagrin by a rough 

 sort of purring. It possessed a curious power of folding its mem- 

 branous ears back upon themselves, and somewhat corrugating them 

 at pleasure ; and it appeared to me that the palms of its hands, all 

 four, were endowed in some degree with the power of suction, such 

 as the walrus is said to possess in perfection. I have sefcn it main- 

 tain itself in positions where the mere lateral pressure of its limbs 

 appeared to be inadequate for the purpose ; and I once applied it to 

 the side of a cylindrical glass shade, of which it could not embrace 

 so much as a third of the circumference, and sure enough it main- 

 tained its position for some time, gradually sliding down until it gave 

 way. The palm was very much depressed, always clean and glisten- 

 ing, surrounded by five papilliform growths, those near the roots of 

 the fingers serving as points of opposition to them, the fingers never 

 closing beyond the palm. 



" Mr. Robb had one of your species in his possession for a consi- 

 derable while. It devoured grasshoppers and even the fierce Man- 

 tides greedily, as well as moths, little as it was ; but I never saw 

 mine muster courage enough to attack either grasshopper or Mantis, 

 though nearly twice as large as Mr. Robb's. No doubt mine would 

 by-and-by have become less particular and more daring. 



" With its friends the smaller species, which we have figured, was 

 very familiar, and used to run over their persons with perfect free- 

 dom. A favourite place of refuge was up the coat-sleeve of its 

 master ; and a still more frequent retreat was under his whisker, and 

 between it and his shirt-collar." 



This sufficiently shows the views of those who have seen these two 

 species in their native country. 



2. The next evidence I shall offer is the fact that the small ones 

 breed, which, although it may not absolutely indicate maturity, at 

 least implies nearly full size. 



My friend Mr. Thomson has been invalided, and is now in this 

 country. I have not had the pleasure of seeing him since his return; 



