428 CLASS MAMMALIA. 



also to roll in the mud, which, sticking to its naked skin, 

 serves to defend it from the burning sun of this clime. 

 In size it is nearly double that of the common R. Bicornis. 

 These two species are known by the Negroes and Hotten- 

 tots as distinct, under different names. The principal 

 specific character, next perhaps to size, is in the truncated 

 form of the lips and nose, whence Mr. Burchell names the 

 species R. Sinusis. The natives state that it feeds on 

 tender grass, while the other species eats branch and 

 bushes — a statement which seems verified by the dif- 

 ference in the form of the mouth of the two. The head, 

 separated from the first vertebra, was so heavy, that four 

 men could not raise it from the ground, and eight were 

 necessary to get it up into a waggon. In the character of 

 the double horns,, and in the absence of the remarkable 

 folds which distinguish the Asiatic species, this agrees 

 with the common African species. 



Some others are inserted in the Table, whose specific 

 pretensions are not altogether certain, and of whose general 

 history little is as yet known. 



If human passions could be imputed to the Author of 

 nature, we might well picture to ourselves the mixture of 

 ridicule and contempt with which he must frequently have 

 occasion to regard the pigmy efforts of us soi-disant lords 

 of the creation when we would subject organized creation 

 to artificial systems and arrangements. Any attempt to 

 divide living beings by distinct lines of demarcation, as we 

 mark out the minor divisions of a great kingdom on a map, 

 are hopeless, unless we submit to endless exceptions, to 

 frequent inconveniences, and occasional absurdities. 



Anatomy is certainly the surest guide in the arrange- 

 ment of the animal kingdom ; but, even if the osteology 

 of every animal were perfectly known, and the whole ac- 

 curately compared, there can be no doubt that in their 



