372 E.EPTILIA. 



elephant's snout. This surface is rugous, and covered with a gelatinous 

 slime. The basis and true tongue or tip are united by an elongating 

 and contracting medium, which is very extensive. This length of tongue, 

 its extension or elongating, when contracted [transversely] is very 

 singular, and, if well understood, most probably very curious. The 

 cause and mode of the contraction of its length is not very evident, but 

 not uncommon : the elongation of the tongue is perhaps like nothing 

 we are acquainted with in an [any other] animal body. The apparatus 

 for this piu-pose is a small rounded body which passes from the apex of 

 the os lingua? to the bulbous part, and then through the centre of the 

 bulb. The part between bone and bulb consists of two different sub- 

 stances, one a whitish substance which is the firmest, and appears to be 

 capable of keeping its form, the other softer and more transparent. 

 That part which passes through the bulb, consists only of one substance, 

 and appears to be a sheath for the passage of the os lingua;. 



The first of these [i. e. the whitish, firmer substance] appears to be 

 composed of rings, or parts somewhat similar, placed obliquely in con- 

 trary directions, so as to appear to be two spirals crossing one another. 

 Whether the other, or softer substance, has any direction of fibres, I 

 could not observe, but I suspect it is muscular. If I am right in my 

 conjecture of this structure, and of its disposition, it will be no difficult 

 thing to show how it may be elongated ; for if these lings are placed 

 transverse, they may be brought so near to one another as to shorten 

 the whole very considerably ; and if they allow of being placed almost 

 longitudinally, they must of course lengthen it very considerably ; and 

 this position can be easily produced by muscles, which I take the pulpy 

 substance to be. 



Its [the tongue's] contraction is owing to a degree of elasticity, but 

 this appears to be only in the cellular membrane acting as an assistant 

 to the muscular. The muscular contraction is owing to two muscles, 

 one on each side of the tongue ; each arises from the os hyoides, on the 

 inside of the os linguale, and passes along the side of the tongue to its 

 bulbous part, but before it gets to the bulbous part it spreads itself all 

 round. 



In the centre of each of these two muscles passes a considerable nerve 

 to the bulbous part, and also two arteries. When those two contractions 

 [elastic and muscular] act they draw the tongue back upon the os 

 linguale, which, as it were, passes through the centre elongator, then 

 through the centre of the bulb, till the whole tongue is retracted. 

 Although this middle body is drawn upon the os linguae, yet it does not 

 appear to be a hollow, like a pipe : it rather appears to be filled with a 

 very ductile cellular membrane, as in every part of the elongating sub- 



