234 GENERATION. 



nipples. The last is for those that are intended to have many, so that 

 from seeing the situation of the nipples of animals in general, we may 

 judge whether they have one or more young at a birth ; but this is not 

 an absolute rule, for the guinea-pig has only two nipples, which are 

 at the under part of the belly, arising from a flat breast, and she has 

 generally four, five, or six at a birth 1 . 



Query, On the Suckling of the Whale-tribe. 



How does the young porpoise or whale suck the mother ? for in 

 whatever position they are put respecting the surface of the water, 

 that is, whether the mother has her back uppermost or undermost, the 

 nose of one must be under water. The only way I conceive that they 

 possibly can suck is by their having a turning motion, so that the back 

 of mother and young shall come up alternately 2 . 



Of the Effects that Castration and Spaying have upon Animals. 



In all animals we are acquainted with, we see distinguishing marks 

 between the male and the female, exclusive of the parts peculiar to 

 each. The males are generally strongest made, more compact, bony 

 and muscular, although not always the largest, and the parts made for 

 offence and defence are much stronger and fitter for such purposes. In 

 many of the feathered class the male has parts for such purposes pecu- 

 liar to himself, for instance, the spurs of the common cock. The male 

 has a degree of irresistible dignity superior to the female. The natural 

 covering, whether it be hairs, feathers, or perhaps scales, as in fishes, 

 are more in quantity, or more beautiful, especially in the feathered class. 

 The mind, like the body, has a superiority; as the body is capable of greater 

 execution, so the mind seems to be conscious of the superiority that the 



1 [The wild cavy or aperea (Cavia aperea, Linn, Rennger) breeds but once a year, 

 and then has but one or two young ; domestication and an abundance of food exceed- 

 ing that to be obtained, and with much more risk and labour, in the wild state, have 

 increased the powers of propagation beyond the natural limit, but have not led to 

 the development of additional nipples.] 



2 [They have been observed to he on the side, with the hind-part of the body a 

 little twisted upward, so as to expose the mamma of one side. — Wm. Clift. The 

 mammary gland in the whale-tribe has a large reservoir, and is covered by a strong 

 muscle. A quantity of milk may be injected from the lacteal reservoir down the 

 throat of the young animal, the larynx of which is defended by its peculiar form and 

 connexion with the soft palate. There is a similar mechanism of the larynx in the 

 mammary foetus of the kangaroo, and the mammary gland in that animal is sur- 

 rounded by a muscle for the purpose of injecting the milk down the throat of the 

 prematurely bom offspring. See Animal Economy, p. 392, and note. — R. O.] 



