342 
LIFE, IN 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 lias been truly 
observed, that, in the limbs of the FeMce, 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, 
