DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERS OF ANIMALS. 



191 



The SECOND ORDER, BRUTA, Or BRUTE-BEASTS, is distinguished by having no 

 forc'-teeth in either jaw. It includes the nine following kinds : rhinoceros, 

 sukotyro, elephant, trichecus, — the morse, walrus, manate or lamantin, the 

 dolphin of the poets of Greece and Rome, by whom it has been celebrated 

 for its lov-e of music, and perhaps not altogether without foundation ; — the 

 bradypus or sloth, the myrmecophagus or ant-eater, the manis or pangolin, 

 the dasypus or armadillo, and the platypus or duck-bill, the ornithorhynchus 

 paradoxus of Blumenbach ; that curious little quadruped which has hitherto 

 only been discovered in Australia, or the regions in and about New South 

 Wales ; and which seems to be a quadruped by its feet, a water-fowl by its 

 bill, and an amphibial by its fondness for water. It is not yet quite certain 

 whether this singular animal suckles its young, or has a mammary organ for 

 this purpose ; and if not, it must be discarded from its present situation, 

 though we should be at no small loss to know where else to place it. 



The THIRD CLASS of MAMMALS is denominated FERie or savage beasts ; and 

 is distinguished by having, in every instance, fore-teeth, above and below, 

 the number varying in different kinds, from two to ten ; and in possessing a 

 solitary tusk. The order comprises eleven kinds, the names of which are as 

 follows : the phoca or seal, a water-quadruped, whose skin is so useful to us 

 for various purposes ; and which, like the stag, is found to shed tears when in 

 trouble : the canis or dog-kind, including the numerous families of wolf, fox, 

 jackal, hyaena: the felis or cat-kind, including a variety of tribes of a some- 

 what similar appearance, but far mightier, and nobler in their powers, as the 

 lynx, the leopard, the panther, tiger, and lion, all of which have a power of 

 climbing trees, though the weight of the larger species makes them do it 

 very awkwardly, and only to a short height ; all of which pitch on their feet 

 in falling ; and all of which see better in the night than by day ; the viverra, 

 including the ichneumon, and several of the weasels : the mustela, including 

 other species of the weasels, the stoat, polecat, otter, ferret, sable, and 

 ermine ; to the two last of which we are indebted for the luxurious dresses 

 that pass under their name. Almost all of the mustelas have a power of se- 

 creting and discharging a most fetid and intolerable stench at their will ; and 

 many of them do it as a means of defence : and often so effectually that the 

 very beast that pursues them is compelled to relinquish the chase, so com- 

 pletely is he overpowered by its noisome vapour. The remainder of this 

 order are the ursus or bear ; the didelphis or opossum ; the marcopius or 

 kangaroo, which is now naturalizing in the royal parks of our own country; 

 the talpa or mole ; the sorex or shrew ; and the erinaceus or hedgehog ; which 

 last is capable of being tamed, and is actually tamed by the Calmucs, and 

 made a very useful domestic servant in destroying mice, toads, beetles, and 

 other vermin. 



The fourth order of mammalian animals is denominated glires, for which 

 we may use the words hibernaters, or burrowers. They are distinguished 

 by having two fore-teeth in each jaw, close to each other, but remote from 

 the grinders ; and being without tusks. They all, in a greater or less degree, 

 burrow in the earth, and almost all of them sleep through the whole, or a 

 great part of the winter. To this order, therefore, we can all of us, of our 

 own accord, refer the ten following kinds, which are the whole that are in- 

 cluded under it. The hystrix or porcupine; the cavia or cavy; the castor or 

 beaver; the mus genus, comprehending the numerous families of the mouse 

 and rat ; the arctomys or marmot ; the sciurus or squirrel, some of which 

 have a long flying membrane that enables them to vault from tree to tree, like 

 some species of the lemur; the myoxus or dormouse; the dipus or jerboa, 

 whose form resembles the kangaroo, but whose habits the dormouse ; the 

 lepus, comprising the hare and rabbit tribes ; and the hyrax or daman : with 

 most of which we are too well acquainted to require any detailed account in 

 so cursory a survey as the present. 



The PECORA or cattle kinds form the next or fifth order, and comprehend 

 those horned quadrupeds which are most familiar and most useful to us. To 

 this division, therefore, necessarily belong the bos, ovis, capra, and cervus 

 kinds ; or, in our own language, the ox, sheep, goat, and deer ; and as con- 



