133 



tralized ; and even the subdivisions which they have introduced into 

 the so-called genus Antilopc, are less definite and comprehensive than 

 they might otherwise have been made. 



' ' The truth is, however, that the presence or absence of horns in 

 one or both sexes ; the substance and nature of these organs, whether 

 solid or concave, permanent or deciduary ; the form of the upper lip, 

 whether thin and attenuated as in the goat, or terminating in a broad 

 heavy naked muzzle as in the Ox ; and the existence of lachrymal 

 sinuses and interdigital pores, are the characters which really influ- 

 ence the habits and oeconomy of ruminating animals, and upon 

 which, consequently, their generic distinctions mainly depend. These, 

 with the assistance, in a very few instances, of such accessory cha- 

 racters as the superorbital and maxillary glands, the number of teats, 

 and the existence of inguinal pores, are sufficient in all cases to de- 

 fine and characterize the genera with the strictest reference to logical 

 precision and zoological simplicity. It is not my intention to discuss 

 the value of these characters, or to state the reasons which induced 

 me to adopt them in preference to those more generally employed in 

 this department of Mammalogy ; these will form the subject of a 

 future communication, and I shall content myself for the present 

 with observing, that the presence or absence of horns in the females 

 regulates, in a great measure, the social intercourse of the sexes , 

 that upon the form of the lips and muzzle, the only organs of touch 

 and prehension among the Ruminantia, depend the nature of the food 

 and habitat, making the animal agraze)- or a browser, as the case may 

 be ; and that the existence or nonexistence of interdigital glands, 

 the use of which appears to be to lubricate the hoofs, has a very ex- 

 tensive influence upon the geographical distribution of the species ; 

 confining them to the rich savannah and the moist forest, or enabling 

 them to roam over the arid mountain, the parched karroo, and the 

 burning desert. 



" Having thus briefly explained the necessity of reforming the 

 characters of the diflferent groups of the Order Ruminantia, as they 

 are at present constituted, and the nature and value of the principles 

 which I propose to employ for that purpose, I shall at once proceed 

 to their practical application, confidently anticipating that their 

 employment will remove the most serious objections which exist 

 against the present distribution of the order, and place our knowledge 

 of these interesting animals, in point of scientific accuracy, precision, 

 and affinity, on a par with the more generally cultivated departments 

 of zoology. 



Fam. I. CamelidvE. 



Pedes subbisulci, subtus callosi, digitis apice solo distinctis ; uu- 

 guise succenturiatse nuUse ; cornua nulla ; denies primores supr!> 

 duo, infra sex. 



2 Genera. 



I. Camelus, cujup charactcrcs sunt: 

 Digili conjuncti, immobilcs. 



