MANUAL OF NATURAL HISTORY. 9 



the most perfect form, the most delicate sensations, 

 pre-eminent intelligence, and being little dependant 

 on instinct. Those which follow are all found to be 

 endowed with faculties and forms admirably suited 

 to their modes of living, and to the vicissitudes to 

 which they may be exposed. Those singular ani- 

 mals, the Bats — whose noiseless flight and rapid evo- 

 lutions we witness in the summer evenings — may 

 well arrest attention, as amongst the many examples 

 affording proof of design and adaptation ; nor, as 

 we proceed, shall we be at a loss to find numerous 

 others equally striking. The Mole, doomed to live 

 a subterraneous life, and seek its food beneath the 

 surface of the soil, requires suitable adaptations ; 

 these it has to perfection in its fore feet, so admir- 

 ably formed for digging ; the Hedgehog, not endowed 

 with speed or strength to avoid a combat with an 

 enemy, rolls itself up, and presents a prickly ball, 

 which few dare touch, and as its food, chiefly con- 

 sisting of coleopterous insects, is only to be found 

 during the warmer seasons of the year, it passes the 

 winter in a state of hybernation, instead of being 

 subjected to the torture of a long fast. The Lion 

 and Tiger, with the rest of the cat tribe, intended 

 to live a rapacious life, possess great strength and 

 agility, with teeth and claws of a most formidable 

 nature; the latter, in order to preserve them with 

 constant sharp points, are ordinarily kept in a re- 

 tracted state, and are only thrust forward at the 

 will of the animal, when about to seize its prey, or 

 to act defensively; their habits too, being chiefly 



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