INCISORS OF RODENTS 
the nature meted out to Box and Cox is adopted. While 
one beast sports in the water the other gazes enviously 
from the interior of a shed, and separated by a gate; 
otherwise misunderstandings might arise. Sea lions are 
fish eaters in a wide and non-zoological sense ; for they 
are partial to crustaceansaswell. Aningenious “dodge.” 
was adopted at the Zoo by the late Mr. A. D. Bartlett 
some years since to tempt the appetite of a sickly sea 
bear, which had been left for its health’s sake by a 
travelling menagerie. The otary was turned into the 
pond in company with some live eels ; and the pleasures 
of the chase induced it to make a hearty meal. The 
intelligence of a sea lion is on a fairly high level, and most 
persons have seen its dexterous catching of morsels of 
fish and its obedience to the commands of its keeper ; 
there will be some too, who remember Leconte, the 
old Frenchman who long presided over the sea lions at 
the Zoo. 
THE GNAWING MAMMALS, ORDER RODENTIA 
There is no difficulty whatever in recognizing a rodent, 
and in distinguishing it from any other group of existing 
mammals. There are only two living creatures which 
might cause confusion, and they are the Magadascar 
lemur, Chivomys, and the ungulate, Hyvax. But we have 
seen that there is no need to perplex ourselves over their 
correct placing. In all rodents the canine teeth are 
entirely absent, and in all of them there are but one pair 
of efficient incisor teeth in each jaw which are long and 
chisel-shaped and allow the rodent to perform its 
typical function, that of gnawing. It is true, that in the 
hares and rabbits there is a minute supplementary 
pair in the upper jaw ; but these are so small that they 
do not impair the general rodent-like aspect of the animal. 
There is an extraordinary variety of rodents, scattered 
practically over the whole surface of the world. They 
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