THE MONKEY FAMILY. 



7 



no manner of use to it, did accident or misfortune 

 force the monkey to take up a temporary abode on 

 the ground. For several inches from the extremity, 

 by nature and by constant use, this tail has 

 assumed somewhat the appearance of the inside 

 of a man's finger, entirely denuded of hair or fur 

 underneath, but not so on the upper part. By 

 way of recapitulation then, let the young naturalist, 

 when he turns his thoughts on the monkey family, 

 always bear in mind, that, a monkey without a 

 tail, is a real ape, found only in the Eastern parts 

 of the old world : that a monkey with a short tail, 

 like that of a mutilated pointer dog, is a baboon 

 from the same regions : but that a monkey with 

 a long tail of common appearance, may be an 

 inhabitant either of the old world, or of the new ; 

 and lastly, that when a monkey presents itself 

 before him, with a prehensile tail, he may be as 

 sure as he is of the rising sun, it is from the never 

 ending forests of the new world. 



The termination of all the four limbs in every 

 known monkey, is pretty nearly the same, varying 

 only in some trifling particulars in certain species. 

 Thus, for example, the thumb is longer in some 

 than in others ; and in others again, the fingers of 

 what are usually styled the hands, from the knuckles 

 to the first joint, are connected, and give the hand 

 a somewhat unsightly appearance. 



