Francis Trevelyan Buckland

“ I placed the cream-can on the floor, and it was fun to see Jemmy try to force it open with his teeth, to get the cream out; he used quite to lose his patience with this metal cream-can.
After breakfast, Jemmy generally had a stand-up fight with the monkeys. He would inspect (from the outside) the bottom of the monkey-cage. If he discovered any portion of the monkeys' breakfast which he thought might suit him, he would immediately try to steal it by thrusting his arms through the bar. The monkeys invariably resented this indignity. ”

“ The cat's-meat man comes punctually every day at half-past one; when the cats hear the cry "meat," they rush down into the area, and Master Jemmy, seeing them bolt, would run also, his object being to steal the ration of meat from one of the cats. By instinct or experience he had somehow found out that the cat's claws are very sharp, and whereas his mode of attack upon the monkey was face to face, the monkeys being clawless, he attacked the cats by ruffing his hair up and pushing himself backward. ”

“ He knows his keeper very well: and when he has had his dinner is as playful as a kitten, popping and jumping about his den, and throwing up mouthfuls of hay, like a young calf. When first born he was small enough to come through the bars on to the straw outside his den, but soon he had grown so much that he could not get through. ”

“ When he is fed, it is curious to observe how he always pretends to kill his food before eating it. He invariably retreats backward while he is scratching and biting at his supposed lively food. The living food evidently is in the habit of escaping forward. Mr. Jemmy takes good care that he shall not do so, by scratching incessantly in a backward direction. A grand crab and Jemmy fight, which lasted nearly half an hour, then took place, ending in the discomfiture of the crab, whose carcass the marmoset and the cat, both coming forward, evidently desired to share. ”

“ Nature has not given him any hair, as that would be an incumbrance to it, and would not well conduce to its comfort when wallowing in the mud. The skin is, therefore, somewhat like that of a pig. If the animal had not some protection against the sudden changes of temperature induced by his going in and out of the water so frequently, he would always be either shivering or else unbearably hot. Nature, therefore, has given him a thick layer of fat between the skin and the muscles. The Dutchmen in Southern Africa call the hippopotamus the "Zee-coe," or "Sea-cow." ”

“ The teeth of the hippopotamus are also of commercial value. Their structure is very peculiar. I have a tooth now before; it is hollow at one end, like the tusk of an elephant. When the animal was alive, this hollow was filled with soft pulp. The tooth is always growing forward as the pulp solidifies behind. The reader can easily see how this is, by examining the front tooth of the lower jaw of the next boiled rabbit he has for dinner. The outside of the tooth of the hippo is formed of a glass-like, hard enamel; it is exceedingly dense, hard, and flint-like. ”

“ The nostrils are each provided with a wonderful valve, by means of which he can open his nostrils to breathe, or shut them up to exclude the water. This beautiful mechanism is worked by what is called a "sphincter muscle." Reader, your own eyes are worked by a sphincter muscle. Stand opposite the looking-glass and wink at yourself, you will then see a sphincter muscle in operation. You do not require a sphincter muscle to your nose, because you are not amphibious. We find, however, that the seal, like the hippopotamus, can close his nose at will with a sphincter muscle. ”

“ When at home, the habits of the horned frog are, I believe, very much the same as the toad's, lurking about stones, ruins, rocks, etc. Their spines, I believe, are given them for neither offence nor defence, but simply for the purpose of concealment from their enemies. The polar bear among the icebergs wears a coat as white as snow for concealment. It is exceedingly difficult to distinguish a sitting partridge when crouched down in a ploughed field. The tiger carries stripes like the jungle. The grouse is like the heather. ”

“ In order to clean out the tank, one fine sunny morning the mother and child were let out into the pond outside. They both remained in the water as long as it suited them, and then the mother walked out with that peculiar stately gait which distinguishes this gigantic animal. The little one attempted to follow, but, unfortunately, he chose a landing-place at the corner nearest the giraffes' enclosure, just at the very point where there were no steps. The poor little fellow struggled and fought hard to get out, but could not, tailing back exhausted into the water. ”

“ The body is very flat, though, I believe, he can blow himself out quite fat if he likes, like the frog in Æsop's fables trying to make himself as big as a cow; and he is covered all over with a number of spines, which are not unlike the spines on a blackthorn-bush. The edges of the flattened body are armed with a row of sharp prickles like the teeth of a saw; the head, which the little beast twists about in a Punch-like manner, is separated from the body by a short neck. Near the nape of the neck there are two sharp-pointed horns directed backward ”

“ I believe now they do not occur in any part of the Nile below the cataracts, the headquarters being the central and southern parts of Africa only; but I am afraid that, as civilization increases, so will the hippopotamus retreat. This huge animal spends most of its time in the water, and it comes out to feed at night. Above the cataracts of the Nile they are very destructive to the crops, as they eat an immense quantity, and trample down much more than they eat. ”

“ I have dissected this, and find the trachea convoluted in a manner very similar to that of the crane.
There is a legend that when a swan is dying he becomes musical. The origin of this legend probably is the trumpeting of the wild-swan. This our friends can hear in the Zoölogical Gardens; it is a melancholy-sound, and may be thus written—"hwoo hwoo." The tame swan has not this structure of the windpipe, showing, therefore, that it is a distinct species. As the trumpet is useful to the crane, so also is it to the swan. ”

“ I have known ladies scream, and even sometimes nearly faint, if they see an unfortunate spider, and then they go and kill the spider. Others are afraid of mice, frogs, and other harmless creatures. If these individuals had in their youth been taught how there was "evidence of the power, wisdom, and goodness of the Creator" in all created things, they would look upon these common ones with wonder and admiration, instead of being foolish enough to be frightened—or pretend to be frightened—at them.—Leisure Hour. ”

“ When on the move he always gave tongue,' like a hound on a scent. It is impossible to describe his melodious cry in words. When handled and petted he would utter a sharp bark, not unlike that of a dog ”

“ When they cry during the day they are generally understood to forebode rain, as is the case with the cries of many other birds which feed partially on those worms which the approaching humidity brings to the surface—not only when the rain actually falls, but when, from the changed state of the air, the evaporation is much diminished. When they are peculiarly noisy and tumultuous, and fly near the ground, occasionally alighting, it is considered as a pretty certain indication of a tempest. ”

“ Every week I receive fish of some kind or another by post: young salmon, young trout, young whitebait; also young pheasants, three-legged kittens, six-legged kittens, no-headed kittens; and they generally smell frightfully. The postman always knows my letters without reading the address. Sometimes live things are sent me by post. ”

“ Before taking their spring they run some paces, raise themselves a little at first, and then unfold a powerful and rapid wing. In the air they form very nearly an isosceles triangle, possibly for the purpose of cutting the element with greater facility. When attacked by an eagle, or the wind is likely to break their order, they close in circles. ”

“ Cranes range, according to the season, from the north of Europe to the south of Asia, and north of Africa, and in the latter country they are said to extend their migrations as far as the Cape of Good Hope. On these excursions they fly high in the air, though they experience some difficulty in getting on the wing from the ground. ”