170 GUIDE TO THE 
ciency is still further secured by the circumstance that 
the tips of their fingers and toes are enlarged into fatty 
cushions or discs, acting as fine organs of touch and 
thus supplementing their vision in the dimness of twi¬ 
light or in the darkness of night. The toe next the 
great toe differs from the others in having a sharp claw 
quite unlike the flattened nails of the other toes and 
fingers. There is also a peculiarity in regard to their 
blood-vessels, as, in some Lemurs, the veins and arteries 
of the limbs break up into masses of parallel branches. 
It will be noticed that the Lemurs have very large eyes, 
with a vertical slit, indicating their nocturnal habit of life. 
The Madagascar Lemurs are exhibited in one or more 
of the wall-cages, whilst Galago garnetti of Africa, and 
Loris gracilis and Nycticebus tardigradus of Asia occupy 
some of the table-cages. These African and Asiatic forms 
are more or less insectivorous, or even carnivorous 
in their habits, chiefly killing and eating birds which 
they devour with avidity, head first. It is curious to 
watch the slow Loris seizing its food, especially if it is 
a living thing. Its hands are moved slowly and tremu¬ 
lously forwards, almost as if they were paralytic, but 
gradually and surely approaching its prey which it finally 
seizes with a sudden and rapid grasp. It is known in 
Bengal as the ‘bashful cat/ but of course it has no 
affinity whatever with a cat. In Chittagong there is a 
belief prevalent among natives that its bite is poisonous. 
Two Families of Mammals very different from the 
foregoing are generally to be seen in this house. The first 
of these is the Binturong, an example of the Viverridce; 
the other the Cat-Bear, an illustration of the ALluridce. 
The Binturong is a very remarkable-looking animal 
