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quadruped I have ever seen, which he very seldom opens entirely. His ears are broad and thin towards the tops, much like those of a hog, but have each a narrow round root with wrinkles about it. His neck is very short, being that part which lies between the back edge of the jaw and the fold of the shoulder: on this part there are two distinct folds which go quite round it, only the fore-one is broken underneath, and has a hollow flap hanging from it, so deep, that it would contain a man's fist. From the middle of the hinder of these folds arises another, which, passing backwards along the neck, is lost before it reaches that which surrounds the forepart of the body.

"His shoulders are very thick and heavy, and have each another fold downward that crosses the fore-leg, and almost meeting that of the fore-part of the body just mentioned; they both double under the belly close behind the fore-leg.

"His body in general is very thick, and juts out at the sides like that of a cow with calf. His belly hangs low, being not far from the ground, as it sinks much in the middle. From the highest point in his back, the fold of the loins runs down on each side between the last ribs and the hips, and is lost before it comes to the belly; but above the place of its being lost, another rises and runs backward, round the hind legs, a little above the joint: this I call the crural fold, which runs up behind till it meets another transverse one which runs from the side of the tail forward, and is lost before it reaches within two inches of that of the loins.

"The legs of the rhinoceros are thick and strong; those before, when he stands firm, bend back at the knee a great way from a straight line, being very round and somewhat taper downwards. The hinder legs are also very strong, bending backwards at the joint at an obtuse angle, beneath which the limb grows smaller, and then becomes gradually thicker as it approaches the foot; so also does that part of the leg. About the joint of each of his legs there is a remarkable fold when he bends them in lying down, which disappears when he stands.

"The tail of this animal is very inconsiderable, in proportion to his bulk, not exceeding seventeen or eighteen inches in length, and not very thick. It has a great roughness round it, and a kind of twist or stricture towards the extremity, ending in a flatness, which gave occasion to authors to compare it to a spatula. On the sides of this flat part a few nairs appeared, which were black and strong, not short. It is further to be observed, that the hairs on the left side grow out a great way up towards the root of the tail, whereas on

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the right side they grow no higher than the flat part. There is no other hair on this young rhinoceros, except a very small quantity on the posterior edge of the upper part of the ears. I have observed a very peculiar quality in this creature, of listening to any noise or rumour in the street; for though he were eating, sleeping, or under the greatest engagements nature imposes on him, he stops everything suddenly, and lifts up his head with great attention till the noise is over.

"The skin of the rhinoceros is thick and impenetrable. In running one's fingers under one of the folds and holding it up with the thumb at the top, it feels like a piece of board half an inch thick. It is covered all over, more or less, with hard incrustations like so many scabs, which are but small on the ridge of the neck and back, but grow larger by degrees downwards toward the belly, and are largest on the shoulders and buttocks, and continue pretty large upon the legs, all along down; but between the folds the skin is as smooth and soft as silk, and easily penetrated; of a pale flesh colour, which does not appear to view in the folds except when the rhinoceros extends them, but is always in view under the fore and hinder parts of the belly, but the middle is incrusted over like the rest of the skin.

"As to the performance of this animal's several motions, let us consider the great wisdom of the Creator in the contrivance that serves him for that purpose. The skin is entirely impenetrable and inflexible; if, therefore, it was continued all over the creature as the skins of other animals, without any folds, he could not bend any way, and consequently not perform any necessary action; but that suppleness in the skins of all other quadrupeds, which renders them flexible in all parts, is very well compensated in this animal by those folds; for since it was necessary his skin should be hard for his defence, it was a noble contrivance that the skin should be so soft and smooth underneath, that when he bends himself any way, one part of this board-like skin should slip or shove over the other, and that these several folds should be placed in such places of his body as might facilitate the performance of every voluntary motion he might be disposed to."

The rhinoceros utters a note like the grunt of a boar; it increases to a shrill sound when he becomes enraged. It will consume 124 pounds of vegetable food in the course of the day, and drink in proportion. The animal described by Dr. Parsons was fed with rice, sugar, and hay; "of the first he ate seven pounds to about three pounds of the sugar; they were mixed together, and he ate this quantity every day, divided into three meals, and about a truss of hay in the week, besides

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greens of different kinds, which were often brought to him, and of which he seemed fonder than of his dry victuals, and drank large quantities of water at a time,-being then, as I was informed by his keeper, two years old. It was said by those who took care of him, that from the time of his being first taken, to the time of his landing in England, his expenses amounted to one thousand pounds sterling."

In a state of nature the rhinoceros commonly lives in solitude, moves slowly, with the head hanging down, and often ploughs the earth with his horn, uprooting vegetables, and casting behind him very large stones. When he runs, the tail is stiffly extended like that of a bull. As the rhinoceros consumes an immense quantity of vegetables and of water, he can only exist in places where they abound. The animal which was preserved at Versailles used frequently to enter and roll about in the water of his bath. In their native haunts these animals, notwithstanding the thickness of their hide, are tormented by the stings and bites of numerous insects; therefore, as a means of defence, they roll in the mud and slime, which, hardening in the sun, forms a sort of cuirass to the naked skin.

The flesh of the rhinoceros, though coarse and fibrous, is said to be similar in its flavour to pork, and better than that of the elephant.

The horn of the rhinoceros is much esteemed by the Asiatics they make drinking-cups of them, believing them to be antidotes against poison: they are capable of a high polish, and are sometimes sculptured with considerable taste and delicacy. The hide is commonly employed to make whips.

An interesting memoir from the pen of M. Frederic Cuvier, has appeared in the splendid work published by him conjointly with M. Geoffroy St. Hilaire, on the animals in the menagerie in the Garden of Plants at Paris. It relates to the rhinoceros lately living in that establishment, and from which the figure was taken which serves to illustrate the present account.

"This rhinoceros was but young at the time that the figure was taken; and, contrary to the commonly received opinion, was habitually of a very gentle disposition, obedient to his keeper, and receiving his care and attention with a real affection. However, he would occasionally be seized with fits of fury, during which it was not prudent to come near him. No cause could be assigned for these violent paroxysms: one might say that a blind impulse or desire to regain a state of liberty, (which he had never enjoyed,) excited him to break

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his chains, and escape from the bondage in which he was retained. Bread and fruits, however, always pacified him; and the claims of hunger always silenced those of liberty; so that this resource against his fury was always kept in reserve. He knew those persons who most indulged him in his gourmandise, and they were received with the liveliest manifestations of affection: the moment he saw them he stretched towards them his long upper lip, opened his mouth, and drew in his tongue. The narrow stall in which he was confined did not allow him to manifest much intelligence; and his keeper took no other pains than to induce him to forget or misconceive his own strength, and to obey: but from the attention which he paid to everything which was passing around him, and from the readiness with which he distinguished individuals and recognised those circumstances which seemed the preliminaries of his receiving something agreeable to him, one can readily judge that his intelligence would have acquired a greater development under favourable circumstances. But his immense force, and the apprehensions constantly entertained that in one of his fits of passion he would break down his apartment, insured for him the most indulgent treatment; nothing was required of him without a reward; and the little degree of motion which was allowed him, was an additional reason for requiring from him no other actions than to open his mouth, turn his head to the right or to the left, hold up his leg, &c.

"This animal was brought from the Indies to England, from whence he was transported to Paris in 1815. He was thicker and still more unwieldy in his proportions than the elephant, although less in general size. His height at the highest part of his back was five feet six inches, and his length nearly eight feet; his head measured two feet including the ears. The whole body was covered with a thick tubercular and almost naked skin, which formed a number of deep folds, almost too irregular to be described. It was of a deep violetgray colour, which seemed almost black when oiled or greased; and this kind of lubrication was performed twice or thrice a week to prevent the skin drying and crackling. Beneath the folds the integument was of a flesh colour, and much softer than at the other parts. At certain parts, as the outer side of the limbs, the knees, and on the head, the tubercles of the skin had acquired such a length, as to resemble horny threads, closely arranged in a parallel manner one against the other, and it is these papillæ which some authors have termed excrescences. The few hairs that are observable, are chiefly situated on the tail and ears, and are stiff, thick, and smooth:

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some however of those which are met with on the rest of the body were curled; and although thick and hard, had a woolly appearance. His legs were bent inwards, which was without doubt owing to the close confinement he endured, and to the little strength his joints could acquire in the state of inaction in which he was kept. Each foot was composed of three toes, which were manifested externally only by the three nails with which they were furnished, and which had the form of hoofs, i. e. they defended the toes both above and below. The tail was habitually pendent, but was susceptible of voluntary movements to the right and left, and the animal made use of it to drive off from the skin whatever annoyed him.

"The eyes were very small, the eyelids simple, the pupil round, and no accessory organ was found there. The nostrils opened at the sides of the upper lip, and presented an aperture curved like the letter S, but more open in front than behind. The tongue was smooth, the lips entire, the lower one thick and rounded, the upper one very moveable, and susceptible of being extended, and curled downwards like a little proboscis. The ears were moderately large, moveable, and of very simple construction. With respect to the organ of touch, it can hardly possess much delicacy except in the upper lip.

"All the senses of this animal, save that of touch, appeared to be pretty delicate. He frequently made use of that of smell, and preferred sugared fruits and sugar itself over every other aliment. He collected together the smaller morsels of food with his moveable upper lip to carry them to his mouth: and when he ate hay, he formed it with his upper lip into little bunches, which he afterwards introduced between his teeth by means of his tongue.

"His horn is solid, attached to the bones of the nose, and composed of fibres of the same nature as the horns of goats and antelopes. It was short and blunt, and he made use of it to strike against objects at the moments of his rage, and even to tear up and destroy whatever he found could give way to his efforts. One might see that he was borne by an instinctive impulse to make use of that part in preference to every other whenever the employment of his strength was required."

The learned Bishop Heber confirms the supposition of Frederic Cuvier, as to the tractability of the rhinoceros. In his journey through India, he observes: "At Lucknow there were five or six very large rhinoceroses, the first animals of the kind I ever saw, and of which I found that prints and

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