32 NATURAL HISTORY IN ANECDOTE. 



The The fourth sub-family of the Cebidae includes 



Douroucouli. several genera and a number of species, of these 

 the Douroucouli {Nyctipitheciis felinus) is one of the most 

 interesting. It is a small monkey, measuring only thirteen 

 inches, apart from its tail, which is eighteen inches long: 

 It is catlike in some of its habits, sleeping during the day, 

 and prowling about at night in search of food, which it 

 finds in fruits, insects and small birds. It has a catlike 

 mew, though it often makes a louder cry more resembling 

 the noise of the jaguar. 



The Marmosets. The fifth family of the quadrmnana com- 

 prises the marmosets, of -which there are two genera — the 

 Hapale and the Midas. These are very small, measuring 

 about eight inches without the tail, which is eleven inches 

 long. The marmoset is one of the prettiest of the monkeys, 

 and, though at first shy, soon becomes playful and affection- 

 ate. Marmosets are one of the few species that breed in 

 confinement. Sir William Jardine describes a marmoset who 

 gave birth to three offspring in Paris. One of these, for 

 some reason, displeased her, and she killed it, but upon the 

 others beginning to suck the maternal instinct awoke, and 

 she became as affectionate as she was before careless. " The 

 male seemed more affectionate and careful of them than the 

 mother, and assisted in the charge. The young generally 

 keep upon the back or imder the belly of the female, and 

 Cuvier observed, that when the female was tired of carrying 

 them, she would approach the male with a shrill cry, who 

 immediately relieved her with his hands, placing them upon 

 his back, or under his belly, where they held themselves 

 and were carried about until they became 'restless for milk, 

 when they were given over to the mother who, in her turn, 

 would again endeavour to get rid of them." 

 SUB-ORDER II. The lemurs and their allied forms make up 

 The Lemurs, the remaining families of the quadrumana. 

 These are three. The Lemuridce, of which there are many 



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