FLOOE.] 
MAIkOIALIA SALOON. 
7 
Wolverene, a very astute and ferocious animal, said to master even the 
iarge Elk, on which it drops from an overhanging branch of a tree ; 
the Cape Eatel, whose favourite food is honey, in getting which it shows 
a peculiar instinct; the Badgers, very strong creatures living in holes 
w^hich they dig in the ground ; the Skunks deriving their name 
(Mephitis) from the odious smell which they emit when provoked : they 
are natives of America. 
Case 45. The Otters, with short webbed feet and long bodies, inhabit 
rivers and lakes, and live on fish ; the skin of the American Sea 
Otter is greatly valued as a fur. 
Cases 45-50. The Bears are named Plantigrade from walking on 
the soles of their feet, unlike the Dogs, which are Digitigrade. or walk 
on their toes. Bears are more frugivorous than carnivorous ; but 
the Polar Bear, the tyrant of the Arctic seas, lives chiefly on seals 
and fish. The tropical Bears have generally short fur and long 
tongues. Most of the Bears can climb well, and balance themselves 
on the hind legs with ease. The American Raccoon has been called 
Lotor, or the Washer, from its habit of dipping its food in water before 
eating it. Cases 51-5^. The Coati, with its long snout, which is used 
for grubbing in the ground ; the Ailurus of Nepal, one of the most 
brilliantly coloured of quadrupeds, a very active creature among trees. 
Here are placed the Insectivora, such as the Moles, with their strange 
fore-feet used for digging ; the Golden Moles of South Africa, with 
iridescent fur, so rare among the Mammalia ; the Tanrecs of Mada- 
gascar and the Mauritius, which sleep during the intense beats 
.of summer ; the Hedgehogs, with their prickles, — they are useful to 
destroy cockroaches ; the Ptilocercus of Borneo, with its long feathered 
tail ; the Tupaia of Java; the long-nosed Elephant-shrews of Africa ; 
the little sharp-nosed Shrews ^vhich live on insects and worms; the 
Gymnura of Malacca, the largest of the group. 
Cases 53-64. The various kinds of Marsupial Animals, so called 
from the pouch in which the young are nurtured ; they are only 
found in Australasia and America : among them may be noticed the 
Petauri or Flying Phalangers ; the Cuscus, natives of New Guinea and 
the adjacent islands, with prehensile tails ; the dv.'arf Opossum Mouse 
and curious-footed Tarsipes of King George's Sound. The Koala, 
called by the Australian colonists the Monkey; the Phalangers; the 
Kangaroos, with long hind legs and large tails, useful to them in their 
flying leaps ; the Rock Kangaroo, and the Tree Kangaroo. The 
Bettongia, one of which makes a curious nest ; the tail-less burrowing 
Wombat with its thick skull ; the voracious Tasmanian Wolf, and the 
Dasyure or Australian Devil, which worries the sheep of the colonist ; 
the pretty-banded Myrmecobius. The Opossums of the New World, 
some of which feign death, and the little Pliilander, the young of 
which climb on their mother's back and twine their tails round that of 
the parent, for safety. 
Case 65. The Seals, the furs of which are used in making articles 
of dress. The Harp Seal and Southern Sea-hear may be noticed. 
Cases 60-81 contain the Glires, or Gnawim: animals, the mass of 
