TIGER. 
S43 
parts of Asia, and is pTincipally found in India 
and the Indian islands. The species extends, 
however, as far as China^ and Chinese Tartary, 
the lake Ural, and the Altaic Mountains. Its 
colour is a deep tawny, or orange-yellow; the 
face, throat, and under side of the belly, being 
nearly white : the whole is traversed by numerous 
long black stripes, forming a bold and striking 
contrast with the ground-colour. About the face 
and breast the stripes are proportionally smaller 
than on other parts : the tail is annulated with 
black, and is shorter than the body. There seems 
to be some variation in the proportion and num- 
ber of the stripes in different individuals ; and the 
ground-colour is more or less bright, according to 
various circumstances of age and health in the 
respective animals. Linnaeus calls the Tiger 
pulcherrimus quadrupedum.'' We must not 
judge of the elegance of this animal's robe from 
the specimens which are sometimes seen in mu- 
seums, or even from such living ones as by long 
confinement, and an alteration of climate, have 
lost the native brilliancy of their colours. When 
seen in perfection, and before its health has been 
impaired by confinement, it is scarce possible to 
conceive a more elegantly variegated animal than 
the Tiger: the bright and intense orange-yellow 
which constitutes the ground colour; the deep 
and well-defined stripes of black, in some parts 
double, in others single, the pure white of the 
cheeks and lower part of the sides, over which a 
part of the black striping is continued, form, al- 
