GENERA L CHAR A CTERISTICS. 
7 
coat of hair in the former than in the latter season, of which we have an excellent 
example in the horse. In some Mammals, such as the hare and cat, the body is 
covered with only one kind of hair; but in other cases, as in the fur-seals, there is 
one kind of long and somewhat coarse hair, which appears at the surface, and 
another of a softer and finer nature, which forms the thick and warm under-fur. 
This under-fur is greatly developed in Mammals of all groups inhabiting Tibet, 
where it is locally known as ‘ pashm ’; and it is this pashm of the goat of these 
regions which affords the materials for the celebrated Kashmir shawls. Curiously 
enough, too, animals which usually do not develop pashm almost immediately tend 
to its production when taken to the Tibetan region, as is notably the case with 
dogs. Less frequently the hair of the body takes the form of stiff bristles, as on 
the pig; and still more rarely this thickening is carried to such an extent as to 
produce spines, of which we have the best instances in the porcupine and hedge¬ 
hog, belonging, it should be borne in mind, to distinct orders. 
The solid horns of the rhinoceroses, and the hollow horny sheaths of cattle 
and antelopes are very similar in their nature to hairs, and may indeed be com¬ 
pared to masses of hair welded together into solid structures. 
Although a fair idea of Mammals as a whole may be gained 
without investigation into the nature of their soft internal parts, yet 
any one who desires to obtain 
really accurate know- 
of them must make 
his mind to acquire at 
least some slight idea of the 
general structure of the bony 
skeleton, and also of the form 
and nature of the teeth, since 
these parts are of the highest 
importance in classification. 
We have already in¬ 
cidentally mentioned that the 
skull consists of two portions, 
— the skull proper, which 
contains the brain, and the 
lower jaw. It will suffice to 
mention, in addition, that the 
hinder part of the skull is 
known as the occiput, and that on the front surface the pair of bones roofing over 
the cavity of the nose are known as the nasals, while those behind them, forming 
the region of the forehead, are termed frontals. Further, in the upper jaw, the bones 
which carry the hinder or cheek-teeth are known as the maxillte, while those in 
which the front cutting-teeth are implanted are termed the premaxillae. All the other 
numerous bones of the skull have received distinct names; but the reader desirous 
of becoming acquainted with them must refer to other works. Our notice of the 
other parts of the skeleton must be equally brief. In the backbone or vertebral 
column, the first vertebra, or that which articulates with the skull is known as the 
The Skeleton. 
any 
ledge 
up 
SKELETON OF THE LION. 
sic. skull; zy. cheek-bone (zygomatic arch); cv. vertebrae of the neck ; 
cl. vertebrae of the back ; l. vertebrae of the loins ; s. sacrum ; cd. 
vertebrae of the tail; sc. shoulder - blade (scapula); h. arm - bone 
(humerus); r. u. bones of for,e-arm (radius and ulna); cp. wrist (carpus); 
me. metacarpus ; ph. toe-bones ; pv. haunch-bone (pelvis); fm. thigh¬ 
bone (femur); p. knee-cap (patella) ; tb. fb. bones of lower leg (tibia 
and fibula); Is. ankle (tarsus); m. metatarsus. 
