330 CLASS MAMMALIA. 



a rough tongue like a cat. It emits a sound occasionally 

 like the purring of that animal, whence its Linnaean appella- 

 tion is derived. In the structure of the teeth, &c, the Mo- 

 coco does not differ from the Mongous. Its elevation from 

 the ground is about a foot, and the length from tail to 

 occiput is the same ; the tail itself is about seven inches. 



The slow Lemur or Lori, {Lemur tardigradus) is also 

 called the Poucan, which is its name in Malay. Its indo- 

 lence and slowness are almost incredible. It walks with 

 constraint, and even when in haste, its gait does not exceed 

 a creeping pace. It is not, however, devoid of intelligence, 

 and appears susceptible of some education. D'Obsonville 

 speaks thus of one in his possession : " At the approach of 

 night it would rub its eyes" (for it sleeps all day) " then 

 looking attentively on all sides it would walk over the fur- 

 niture, or rather over the cords which I had disposed for 

 that purpose. Milk and very ripe fruits were not disagree- 

 able to it, but its chief food consisted of small birds or 

 insects. If it perceived any thing of this kind, which I used 

 to amuse myself by placing at the extremity of the room, 

 it would approach with a lengthened and circumspect pace, 

 like one who was groping his way in the dark. Arrived 

 within about a foot of its prey, it would stop; then raising 

 itself upright, would advance in that posture, stretching 

 out its arms gently, and would suddenly seize the object, 

 which it instantly strangled." Sir William Jones's inter- 

 esting account of a domesticated specimen of this species 

 has been too often told to bear repetition. 



The Galagos, are a sub-genus, as yet but moderately 

 known. Their discovery has served to fill up an hiatus 

 between the Tarsiers (so called from the excessive 

 length of the tarsus) and the preceding division of the 

 Lemur family. The Galago resembles the Tarsier in the 



