NATURAL HISTORY. 
SO 
tlie “ Long-armed Apes ” ( Hylobatea ). But a careful examination proved that they belonged to on© 
particular species, the individuals of which differ greatly in their colour during different parts of their 
lives. The young were uniformly dirty white in colour, and had no black spots on their chests or heads. 
The females were white, with the fur of the back brownish-white, slightly waved, and there was a 
large black spot on the crown and one on the chest. On the other hand the male was black, and the 
back of the head, body, and legs gn yisli. The hands were white. This variation in colour at different 
ages and in different sexes in one kind should teach us that something more than mere outside distinc- 
tions are requisite for deciding the value of what are called species. The dark cap-like mass of hair 
on the head gives the name to this Ape. Evidently the animal is a puzzle and a source of the 
Tins iioolook. (JYom a stuffed specimen in the British Museum.) 
marvellous to the Chinese, for one of their gazetteers gives a mixture of correct information regarding; 
its natural history, and of what has been drawn from a very vigorous imagination. 
It is described in the following manner, as coming from the district of Hainan : — “ Yuen — male- 
black, female white, like a Macaque, but larger, with the two fore-arms exceedingly long. Climbs to 
tree-tops, and runs among them backwards and forwards with great agility. If it falls to the ground it 
remains there like a log ! Its delight is in scaling trees, as it cannot walk on the ground. Those 
desiring to rear it in confinement should keep it amongst trees, for the exhalations of the earth affect 
it with diarrhoea, causing death ; a sure remedy for this, however, may be found in a draught made of 
the syrup of the fried foo-tse ” (seeds of Abrus precatorius , the Indian liquorice). 
In a work called Pun Yu Hang che, the various kinds of Yuens are mentioned which are known to 
the author. “ There are three kinds of Yuens — the Golden-silk Yuen, which is yellow; the Jade-faced 
Yuen, which is black; and the Jet-black Yuen, which has the face also black. The Golden-silk and 
the Jade-face are both difficult to procure.” “Hainan has also the Bock Yuen; it is small, about the 
size of one’s fist. If allowed to drink water it grows in size. This is also called the Black Yuen, and 
