A F R I C A, ijt 
rare that any remained, but fiich as had a wing 
broken, or were fliot through the head. Thofe 
that were wounded flew away with the reft ; 
but on lookuig after them, you would fee 
them from time to thue dropping v^ithout any 
fign of Ufe, and you might even trace them 
after they were out of light by the dead that 
lay in their track. 
What I have here faid of birds is equally 
appUcable to quadrupeds. Frequently there 
exifts a great diiierence of fenfibllity even be- 
tw^een animals that have an affinity to each 
other : for a flight wound in the body will de- 
flroy a panther or a leopard, while the cat, 
which is much fmaller, will live with broken 
ribs and a fradured flcull, and fpeedily recover. 
It is the bufmefs of the anatomift and the na- 
tural philofopher to inform us v/hat is the true 
caufe of this aftonifhing difference : I fhall 
only obferve, that there are individuals, the 
bodies of which exhibit at one and the fame 
time parts extraoVdinary fenfible, with others 
which are not at all fo. To mention but a 
fingle example: the porcupine of the Cape has 
the bones of its head fo fragile, that with a 
fingle ftroke of a O^vltch you can eafily fradure 
K 2 its 
