MONKEYS. 4 13 



arc left shivering outside. They keep up a pitiful howling 

 the whole night through. 



One family — the Marmosets — have, as has been remarked, 

 claws instead of nails. Others are covered with short, coarse 

 hair ; while others, again, have coats of a long, soft silky 

 texture. 



Some sport among the branches, seeking their food in the 



daytime ;. others, again, only come forth from the hollows of 



* 

 trees, where they have their beds during the night season — 



their eyes being formed, like those of owls, incapable of meet- 

 ing the glare of day. 



It is remarkable that the smallest of all — the Hapali 

 pygmseus, measuring only seven inches in length of body — 

 is among the most widely dispersed, having found its way 

 into Mexico : the only monkey known to have wandered far 

 from the great river-plain. 



All the monkeys of the New World are arborial ; as, indeed, 

 are many of the animals which, in other parts of the world, 

 live entirely on the ground. They are mostly furnished with 

 long, prehensile tails. Some have the under part of the ex- 

 tremity perfectly smooth, so as to serve the purpose of a fifth 

 hand, by which the creatures can swing themselves from 

 bough to bough, and hold on securely while their four hands 

 are actively employed. On passing through an Amazonian 

 forest, sometimes the branches of the trees are seen alive 

 with active little creatures swinging backwards and forwards, 

 climbing up the sipos with the agility of seamen on the rig- 

 ging of a ship, scampering along the boughs, playing all sorts 

 of antics, or engaged in plucking the juicy fruit or hard nuts 

 to be found in ample abundance, even on the tallest monarchs 

 of the woods. 



