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LIFE, lis ITS HIGHER FORMS. 



are forcibly thrown forward. The last joint of each toe, 

 the tip of which is encased by the claw, is, in rest, drawn 

 back, either upon, or at the side of, the preceding joint, 

 by the force of two elastic ligaments. From this position 

 it is in an instant extended, by the contraction of a muscle 

 beneath the toe, the tendon of which passes under the head 

 of the last joint, as under a pulley, and is attached to the 

 base of the claws. When the contraction ceases, the claw 

 again springs back to its place, and lies concealed in a 

 deep fold of the skin. 



The ordinary mode in which a feline animal, from the 

 Lion down to the House-cat, disables its victim, is by a 

 sudden powerful blow with the fore-paw. To make this 

 stroke effective, it is necessary that the arm should be 

 moved by vigorous muscles. Perhaps some of our readers 

 may have felt, to their cost, how stinging a blow can be 

 inflicted by the paw of an angry Cat. It has been truly 

 observed, that, in the limbs of the Felidce, we behold the 

 finest display of muscular development which can be con- 

 ceived. The dissected arm of a Lion or Tiger is a subject 

 worthy the study of an artist. The muscles are dense, 

 well-knit, short, but peculiarly thick and firm, and they 

 are arranged for flexure or extension, for turning the face 

 of the paw upward or downward, for the forward, lateral, 

 or downward stroke, exactly as they are in man. The 

 Tiger has been known to fracture the skull of a man with 

 one stroke of its paw. 



The Cats do not in general pursue their prey by the 

 exercise of speed, but either creep up stealthily towards it 

 until they arrive near enough to make the fatal bound, or 

 lie in wait for its approach. Then, when the keen eye, 



