Title: Useful Knowledge: Volume 3. Animals
Author: William Bingley
Release date: October 17, 2018 [eBook #58118]
Language: English
Credits: Produced by Chris Curnow, Keith Edkins and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
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USEFUL KNOWLEDGE:
OR
A FAMILIAR ACCOUNT
OF THE
VARIOUS PRODUCTIONS
OF
Nature,
MINERAL, VEGETABLE, AND ANIMAL,
WHICH ARE CHIEFLY EMPLOYED FOR THE USE OF MAN.
Illustrated with numerous
Figures, and intended as a Work
both of Instruction and Reference.
BY THE
Rev. WILLIAM BINGLEY, AM. FLS.
LATE OF PETERHOUSE, CAMBRIDGE,
AND AUTHOR OF
ANIMAL BIOGRAPHY.
IN THREE VOLUMES.
VOL. III. ANIMALS.
FOURTH EDITION.
LONDON: PRINTED FOR BALDWIN,
CRADOCK, AND JOY;
HARVEY AND DARTON;
AND C. AND J. RIVINGTON.
1825.
OF THE
THIRD VOLUME.
| FRONTISPIECE: PLATE I. | |||
| HEADS, &C. OF QUADRUPEDS, UPON AN OUTLINE OF THE HEAD OF THE GREAT WHALE. |
|||
| Fig. | Fig. | ||
| 1. | Rhinoceros. | 10. | Fallow deer. |
| 2. | Seal. | 11. | Chamois. |
| 3. | Cat. | 12. | Antelope. |
| 4. | Sable. | 13. | Goat. |
| 5. | Bear. | 14. | Sheep. |
| 6. | Badger. | 15. | Bison. |
| 7. | Camel. | 16. | Hog. |
| 8. | Elk. | 17. | Outline of the head of the |
| 9. | Stag, or red deer. | Great Whale. | |
| PLATE II. | |||
| PARTS OF MAMMIFEROUS ANIMALS. | |||
| 18. | Manis. | 25. | Beaver. |
| 19. | Armadillo. | 26. | Hare. |
| 20. | Elephant. | 27. | Musk. |
| 21. | Spaniel. | 28. | Rein-deer. |
| 22. | Greyhound. | 29. | Ox. |
| 23. | Mastiff. | 30. | Horse. |
| 24. | Fox. | ||
| PLATE III. | |||
| PARTS OF BIRDS. | |||
| 31. | Falcon. | 42. | Bittern. |
| 32. | Bird of paradise. | 43. | Snipe. |
| 33. | Crowned pigeon. | 44. | Curlew. |
| 34. | Pheasant. | 45. | Woodcock. |
| 35. | Cock. | 46. | Ruff. |
| 36. | Red Grous. | 47. | Swan. |
| 37. | Black Grous. | 48. | Eider duck. |
| 38. | Ptarmigan. | 49. | Puffin. |
| 39. | Bustard. | 50. | Penguin. |
| 40. | Ostrich. | 51. | Gannet. |
| 41. | Heron. | ||
| PLATE IV. | |||
| REPTILES AND FISHES. | |||
| 52. | Turtle. | 59. | Torsk. |
| 53. | Imbricated Turtle. | 60. | Burbot. |
| 54. | Guana. | 61. | Thunny. |
| 55. | Eel. | 62. | Gurnard. |
| 56. | Muræna. | 63. | Tench. |
| 57. | Sword-fish. | 64. | Dog-fish. |
| 58. | Cod. | ||
| PLATE V. | |||
| FISHES, &c. | |||
| 65. | Dorée. | 73. | Lamprey. |
| 66. | Turbot. | 74. | Lobster. |
| 67. | Surmullet. | 75. | Prawn. |
| 68. | Salmon. | 76. | Crab. |
| 69. | Gar-fish. | 77. | Oysters. |
| 70. | Carp. | 78. | Scallop. |
| 71. | Sturgeon. | 79. | Muscle. |
| 72. | Skate. | 80. | Cockle. |
USEFUL KNOWLEDGE.
ANIMAL PRODUCTIONS.
1. Animals are natural bodies which possess organization, life, sensation, and voluntary motion; and ZOOLOGY is that branch of natural science which treats of their systematic arrangement; their structure and functions; their habits of life, instincts, and uses to mankind.
2. The objects comprehended within the animal kingdom are divided into six classes: of Mammalia or Mammiferous Animals, Birds, Amphibia or Amphibious Animals, Fishes, Insects, and Worms: which are thus distinguished:
CLASSES.
| With vertebræ | brace | Hot blood | brace | Viviparous | I. | Mammalia. | ||
| Body | brace | Oviparous | II. | Birds. | ||||
| Cold red blood | brace | With lungs | III. | Amphibia. | ||||
| With gills | IV. | Fishes. | ||||||
| Without vertebræ. Cold white blood | brace | Have antennæ. | V. | Insects. | ||||
| Have tentacula. | VI. | Worms. | ||||||
3. The first class, or MAMMALIA, consists of such animals as produce living offspring, and nourish their young ones with milk supplied from their own bodies; and it comprises both the quadrupeds and whales.
4. This class has been distributed into seven ORDERS; of primates, bruta, feræ, glires, pecora, belluæ, and cete, or whales. The characteristics of these are founded, for the most part, on the number and arrangement of the teeth; and on the form and construction of the feet, or of those parts in the seals, manati, and whales, which supply the place of feet.
| ORDERS OF MAMMALIA. | ||
| I. | Primates | Have the upper front teeth generally four in number, wedge-shaped, and parallel; and two teats situated on the breast, as the apes and monkeys. |
| II. | Bruta | Have no front teeth in either jaw; and the feet armed with strong hoof-like nails, as the elephant. |
| III. | Feræ | Have in general six front teeth in each jaw; a single canine tooth on each side in both jaws; and the grinders with conic projections, as the dogs and cats. |
| IV. | Glires | Have in each jaw two long projecting front teeth, which stand close together; and no canine teeth in either jaw, as the rats and mice. |
| V. | Pecora | Have no front teeth in the upper jaw; six or eight in the lower jaw, situated at a considerable distance from the grinders; and the feet with hoofs, as the cattle and sheep. |
| VI. | Belluæ | Have blunt wedge-shaped front teeth in both jaws; and the feet with hoofs, as the horses. |
| VII. | Cete | Have spiracles, or breaking holes on the head; fins instead of fore-feet; and a tail flattened horizontally, instead of hind feet. This order consists of the narwals, whales, cachalots, and dolphins. |
5. The second class, or BIRDS, comprises all such animals as have their bodies clad with feathers. Their jaws are elongated, and covered externally with a horny substance called a bill or beak, which is divided into two parts called mandibles. Their eyes are furnished with a thin, whitish, and somewhat transparent membrane, that can at pleasure be drawn over the whole external surface like a curtain. Birds respire by air-vessels, which are extended through their body, and which, in the abdominal cavity, adhere to the under surface of the bones. Their organs of motion are two wings and two legs; and they are destitute of external ears, lips, and many other parts which are important to quadrupeds.
6. Linnæus has divided this class into six ORDERS.
| ORDERS OF BIRDS. | ||
| 1. Land Birds. | ||
| I. | Rapacious Birds (Accipitres) | Have the upper mandible hooked, and an angular projection on each side near the point, as the eagles, hawks, and owls. |
| II. | Pies (Picæ) | Have their bills sharp at the edge, somewhat compressed at the sides, and convex on the top, as the crows. |
| III. | Passerine Birds (Passeres) | Have the bill conical and pointed, and the nostrils oval, open, and naked, as the sparrow and linnet. |
| IV. | Gallinaceous Birds (Gallinæ) | Have the upper mandible arched, and covering the lower one at the edge, and the nostrils arched over with a cartilaginous membrane, as the common poultry. |
| 2. Water Birds. | ||
| V. | Waders (Grallæ) | Have a roundish bill, a fleshy tongue, and the legs naked above the knees, as the herons, plovers, and snipes. |
| VI. | Swimmers (Anseres) | Have their bills broad at the top, and covered with a soft skin; and the feet webbed, as the ducks and geese. |
7. Under the third class, or AMPHIBIA, are arranged such animals as have a cold, and, generally, naked body, a lurid colour, and nauseous smell. They respire chiefly by lungs, but they have the power of suspending respiration for a long time. They are extremely tenacious of life, and can repair certain parts of their bodies which have been lost. They are also able to endure hunger, sometimes even for months, without injury.
The bodies of some of them, as the turtles and tortoises, are protected by a hard and horny shield or covering; those of others are clad with scales, as the serpents, and some of the lizards; whilst others, as the frogs, toads, and most of the water-lizards, are entirely naked, or have their skin covered with warts. Many of the species shed their skins at certain times of the year. Several of them are furnished with a poison, which they eject into wounds that are made by their teeth.
They chiefly live in retired, watery, and morassy places, and, for the most part, feed on other animals; though some of them eat water plants, and many feed on garbage and filth. None of these species chew their food; they swallow it whole, and digest it very slowly.
The offspring of all the tribes are produced from eggs, which, after they have been deposited by the parent animals in a proper place, are hatched by the heat of the sun. The eggs of some of the species are covered with a shell: those of others have a soft and tough skin or covering, not much unlike wet parchment: and the eggs of several are perfectly gelatinous. In those few that produce their offspring alive, as the vipers, and some other serpents, the eggs are regularly formed, but are hatched within the bodies of the females.
8. This class is divided into two ORDERS.
| ORDERS OF AMPHIBIA. | ||
| I. | Reptiles | Have four legs, and walk with a crawling pace, as the tortoises, frogs, and lizards. |
| II. | Serpents | Have no legs, but crawl on their belly. |
9. Fishes constitute the fifth class of animals. They are all inhabitants of the water, in which they move by certain organs called fins. These, when situated on the back, are called dorsal fins; when on the sides, behind the gills, they have the name of pectoral fins; when on the belly near the head, they are ventral; when behind the vent, they are anal; and that at the posterior extremity of the body is called the caudal fin. Fishes breathe by gills, which, in most of the species, are situated at the sides of the head. In some of the flatfish, however, as the skate and thornback, they are on the under part of the body. Fish rise and sink in the water, generally by a kind of bladder in the interior of their body, called an air-bladder. Some of them, as the skate and other flat-fish, do not possess this organ, and consequently are seldom found but at the bottom of the water. The bodies of these animals are usually covered with scales, which keep them from injury by the pressure of the water. Several of them are enveloped with a fat and oily substance to preserve their bodies from putrefaction, and also to guard them from extreme cold.
10. The fishes are divided into six ORDERS.
| ORDERS OF FISHES. | ||
| I. | Apodal | Have bony gills; and no ventral fins, as the eel. |
| II. | Jugular | Have bony gills; and the ventral fins situated in front of the pectoral fins, as the cod, haddock, and whiting. |
| III. | Thoraic | Have bony gills; and the ventral fins situated directly under the pectoral fins, as the perch and mackerel. |
| IV. | Abdominal | Have bony gills; and the ventral fins on the belly behind the pectoral fins, as the salmon, herrings, and carp. |
| V. | Branchiostegous | Have their gills destitute of bony rays. |
| VI. | Chondropterygeous | Have cartilaginous fins, as the sturgeons, sharks, and skate. |
11. The fifth class of animals comprises the INSECTS. These are so denominated from the greater number of them having a separation in the middle of their bodies, by which they are, as it were, cut into two parts. The science which treats of them is called ENTOMOLOGY.
Insects have, in general, six or more legs, which are, for the most part, nearly of equal length and thickness. Sometimes, however (as in the mole-cricket), the forelegs are very thick and strong, for burrowing into the ground; sometimes the hind thighs are long and thick, for leaping; or flattened, fringed with hairs, and situated nearly in an horizontal position, to serve as oars for swimming.
Most of the insect tribes are furnished with wings. Some, as the beetles, have two membranous wings, covered and protected by hard and crustaceous cases, called elytra; some, as the wasps and bees, have four wings without elytra; others, as the common houseflies, have two wings; and others, as the spiders, are entirely destitute of these members.
They are furnished with antennæ, which are usually jointed, and moveable organs, formed of a horny substance, and situated on the front and upper part of the head. These serve as instruments of touch, or of some sense which is to us unknown. The eyes of insects are formed of a transparent substance, so hard as to require no coverings to protect them. Their mouth is generally situated somewhat beneath the front part of the head, and in a few of the tribes is below the breast; and the jaws are transverse, and move in lateral directions. These are furnished with feelers, and other organs, of various arrangement and structure, which constitute the foundation of arrangement in some of the systems of entomology. All insects breathe, not through their mouth, but through pores or holes along the sides of their bodies; or, as in the crabs and lobsters, by means of gills. The skin of insects is, in general, of hard or bony consistence, divided into plates or joints which admit of some degree of motion, and is generally clad with very short hairs.
Nearly all insects go through certain great changes at different periods of their existence. From the egg is hatched the larva, grub, or caterpillar, which is destitute of wings; this afterwards changes to a pupa, or crysalis, wholly covered with a hard shell, or strong skin, from which the perfect or winged insect, bursts forth. Spiders, and some other wingless insects, issue from the egg nearly in a perfect state.
12. Linnæus has divided the animals of this class into seven ORDERS.
| ORDERS OF INSECTS. | ||
| I. | Coleopterous | Have elytra or crustaceous cases covering the wings; and which, when closed, form a longitudinal division along the middle of the back, as the chafer. |
| II. | Hemipterous | Have four wings, the upper ones partly crustaceous, and partly membranous; not divided straight down the middle of the back, but crossed, or incumbent on each other, as the cock-roach. |
| III. | Lepidopterous | Have four wings covered with fine scales, almost like powder, as the butterflies and moths. |
| IV. | Neuropterous | Have four membranous and semi-transparent wings, veined like net-work; and the tail without a sting, as the dragon-fly and ephemera. |
| V. | Hymenopterous | Have four membranous and semi-transparent wings, veined like network; and the tail armed with a sting, as the wasp and bee. |
| VI. | Dipterous | Have only two wings, as the common house-flies. |
| VII. | Apterous | Have no wings, as the spiders. |
13. The sixth and last class of animals consists of WORMS, or vermes. These are slow of motion, and have soft and fleshy bodies. Some of them have hard internal parts, and others have crustaceous coverings. In some of the species eyes and ears are very perceptible, whilst others appear to enjoy only the senses of taste and touch. Many have no distinct head, and most of them are destitute of feet. They are, in general, so tenacious of life, that parts which have been destroyed will be re-produced: These animals are principally distinguished from those of the other classes by having tentacula, or feelers.
14. Some late writers have divided the worms into three or more distinct classes; but the Linnæan division is into five ORDERS.
| ORDERS OF VERMES, OR WORMS. | ||
| I. | Intestinal | Are simple and naked, without limbs; some of them live within other animals, as the ascarides and tape-worms; others in water, as the leeches; and a few in the earth, as the earth-worm. |
| II. | Molluscous | Are simple animals, without shell, and furnished with limbs, as the cuttle-fish, medusæ, star-fish, and sea-urchins. |
| III. | Testaceous | Are animals similar to the last, but covered with shells, as oysters, cockles, snails, and limpets. |
| IV. | Zoophytes | Are composite animals, and appear to hold a rank between animals and vegetables; though they are in fact true animals, and possess sensation and voluntary motion. In many instances a great number of them inhabit the same stone, but some are soft, naked, and separate. The coral, sponge, and polypes, are instances of this order. |
| V. | Animalcules | Are destitute of tentacula or feelers, and are generally so minute as to be invisible to the naked eye. They are chiefly found in different infusions of animal and vegetable substances. |
15. MAN.
The only production of the human body which appears to be useful in a commercial view, is the hair.
Human hair, for the purpose of being made into wigs, and ornamental head-dresses, is imported into this country from the Continent, and chiefly from Germany. We also import hair from China, but the latter is generally of very dark colour. On the Continent this article is almost wholly collected by pedlars, who travel through the different countries, and carry trinkets and other articles for sale, and to exchange for it.
When, some years ago, long hair was much more fashionable than it is at present, great numbers of young women in Germany suffered their hair to grow, and had it cut, from time to time, as a source of emolument. The notion that long hair is frequently cut from the heads of persons after they are dead is totally unfounded, since the uncertainty of such supply would alone render it impracticable. The hair that is used for men's wigs is almost wholly children's hair, no other being in general considered sufficiently fine for this purpose.
The value of hair is from five to twelve shillings per ounce, according to the quality, length, or colour. Before it can be used it is well rubbed with dry sand, and afterwards boiled, to clean it. Such as is intended for wigs, if it do not curl naturally, is twisted round small earthenware cylinders, put into a vessel with sand, and baked in an oven, until it acquire this property. The most scarce and valuable kind of hair is that of flaxen colour.
So great was formerly the demand for long hair, and so extravagant the price for which it was frequently sold, that a mode was invented of stretching it to nearly double its original length. This was effected by fastening the ends of the hair to the opposite sides of a vessel, placing a heavy weight across the middle, and applying heat underneath. As the heat softened the hair, the weight pressed it down, and extended it. But this project was found not to answer, as the hair lost all its quality, and could never be used but when mixed with other hair, and even then the fraud was discoverable by the stretched hair gradually shrinking nearly to its original length.
In lawyers' and judges' wigs horse-hair and goats'-hair are frequently used, to give stiffness and form to the different parts.
16. APES, BABOONS, and MONKEYS (Simia), are all animals of hot climates, none of them except the Barbury ape (Simia inuus) being ever found wild in Europe. They are distinguished by having four front teeth in each jaw, and all their feet formed like hands.
Linnæus, although he has arranged these animals under one tribe, has characterised the apes by their entire want of tails; the baboons by having short tails; and the monkeys by having long ones. The tails of some of the monkeys, particularly those of South America, are so formed, that the animals are able to coil them round any object so firmly as to afford them a support in, apparently, the most perilous situations. Several of the monkeys have pouches within their cheeks, in which they collect their food previously to its being swallowed.
The chief, perhaps the only, use to which these animals are applied, is as food. The pigmy apes are caught by the Arabs, and fattened for this purpose, as we would fatten sheep. Whilst Dampier was on the coast of America he frequently partook of this kind of food; and states that he never ate any thing more delicious. The native American tribes eat the flesh of almost all kinds of monkeys, preferring that, however, of the four-fingered species to any other. Oexmelin informs us that, while he was at Cape Gracias a Dios, in New Spain, the hunters regularly brought home, in the evening, such monkeys as they had killed in the course of the day; and that their flesh somewhat resembled that of a hare, and was of peculiarly sweet flavour. He observes, that he and his companions lived on these animals all the time they remained there.
Desmarchias, in his account of Cayenne, says that the flesh of the howling monkeys, which are peculiarly numerous in the woods of that county, is a white and very palatable food, not indeed so fat, but in general as good, as mutton. Both the negroes and the colonists of Surinam occasionally subsist on monkeys. Yet, however delicate this kind of food may be, it is extremely repugnant to the feelings of an European to partake of what, when skinned, has so much the form and general appearance of a human being as these animals.
The woods of nearly all hot climates abound in monkeys, the species of which are extremely numerous. They feed almost wholly on fruit, grain, roots, and other vegetable productions. It would be inconsistent with the plan of the present work to enter into any detail relative to their habits of life. We can only say, generally, that few animals are known to be more active, mischievous, and enterprising than these. They usually live in immense troops, and commit great depredations in cultivated grounds near the forests where they reside; some of them continuing on watch, to give alarm in case of danger, whilst others are engaged in pilfering and carrying off the plunder to their habitations.
17. The BATS (Vespertilio) constitute a very singular tribe of quadrupeds, which have the toes of their fore-feet extremely long, and connected together by a very thin and dark-coloured membrane, that extends round the hinder part of their body, and serves the place of wings, in enabling them to flit along the air in pursuit of food.
There are near thirty ascertained species of bats, six of which are occasionally found in England. Some of them are smaller than a mouse, but others are so large that their extended membranes measure betwixt three and four feet in width. The latter are found only in torrid climates.
As all the European bats feed wholly on insects, which they catch during their flight, there can be no doubt but, in this respect, they are extremely serviceable to mankind. They devour myriads of night-flying moths, the caterpillars of which would otherwise prove injurious to our gardens, orchards, and fields.
The larger kinds, such as the vampyre and spectre bats, the former of which are found in incredible numbers in the islands of the eastern seas, and the latter on the continent of South America, are not unfrequently used as food. At a particular season of the year, they become fat; and though, whilst alive, their smell is excessively rank and unpleasant, they are then said to be delicious eating, and, in flavour, somewhat to resemble rabbits. The inhabitants of New Caledonia weave their hair into various ornamental articles, and plait it, with the stalks and leaves of a kind of grass, into tassels for their clubs.
18. The LONG and SHORT-TAILED MANIS (Manis tetradactyla, and pentadactyla, Fig. 18) are very singular quadrupeds, with a long muzzle, small mouth destitute of teeth, and their body covered with scales. They are distinguished from each other by the former having a very long tail and four toes, and the latter a short tail and five toes.
These animals are natives of India, Africa, and China; and are from four to seven or eight feet in length. From the scales with which their bodies are clad, and the general shape of the tail, they might be mistaken, at first sight, for lizards. The under part of their bodies, however, is clad with hair, which is not the case in any species of lizard.
By the negroes of Africa both the species of manis are much sought for, and on account, chiefly, of their flesh as food. There is, however, some difficulty in procuring them, as they live in obscure places, in the midst of rocks, woods, and morasses. When discovered they are unable to escape by flight, and, in self-defence, roll themselves into a ball, and erect their scales; exposing an armed surface on every side, impenetrable by the teeth of dogs, but easily assailable by the spears of the negroes. In their habits these animals are gentle and innoxious, and subsist only on insects, of different kinds.
Their scales, which are sufficiently hard to strike fire when struck against flint, are applied to many useful purposes.
19. The ARMADILLOS (Dasypus, Fig. 19) are a tribe of quadrupeds, which have grinding teeth, but no canine nor front-teeth; their bodies are covered with a crustaceous shell.
There are ten species, all of which are inhabitants of Brazil and other parts of South America, and are from eight or ten inches to three feet in length. The species are distinguished from each other chiefly by the number of flexible bands which extend across their back.
Their flesh is a favourite food with the inhabitants of South America. Of their shells these people make baskets, boxes, and numerous ornamental articles, which they paint and adorn in various ways; and the shells, reduced to powder, are sometimes administered internally as a medicine.
It is customary to hunt armadillos with dogs that are trained for the purpose. They reside in burrows which they dig in the ground, into these they endeavour to retreat when pursued: or, if at too great a distance, they attempt to dig new ones before they are overtaken. When in their holes, they are either smoked out, or are expelled by pouring in water. The moment they are seized they roll themselves together, and will not again extend unless placed near a hot fire. These animals seldom appear abroad except during the night; and they are often caught in snares that are laid for them at the mouths of their dens.
20. The RHINOCEROS.—There are two species of rhinoceros, one of which has one, and the other two horns, situated on the nose, and three hoofs on each foot.
These are animals of large size and bulky form, and live in swamps, morasses, and forests, in wet situations, within the torrid regions. The single-horned Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis, Fig. 1.) which is generally five or six feet in height, is found in Africa, in the central and southern parts of Asia, and in the islands of Sumatra and Ceylon. Its skin is blackish, naked, extremely thick, covered with a kind of warts, and disposed into large folds on different parts of the body. The two-horned Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros bicornis) is a native of Africa, and has a thick and dark-coloured skin, but not arranged in folds like that of the preceding species.
The skin of the rhinoceros is an article in great demand in several countries of Asia and Africa. It is manufactured into the best and hardest leather that can be imagined; and targets or shields are made of it, that are proof against even the stroke of a scimitar. In this state the colour of the skin is variegated; and when polished it is nearly similar in appearance to tortoise-shell. The inhabitants of Surat make very elegant targets of these hides, which they stud with silver-headed nails. The Hottentots make chanboks or whips of them.
In Sumatra, Ceylon, and some parts of India, the flesh of the rhinoceros is an useful food. The horns, which are from twelve to fifteen inches in length, and three to six inches in diameter, are much esteemed amongst the Mahometans, not on account of any real utility, but from their being considered an antidote against poison. Good-sized horns, if purchased at three or four pounds sterling each, may be sold in the East Indies, with considerable profit, to the Arabian merchants. They are made into drinking cups; and it is believed that if any thing poisonous be put into them, a fermentation will ensue, by which the poison may be discovered. This, however, is without foundation, as very satisfactory experiments have proved. By the Arabians the horns of the rhinoceros are frequently made into the hilts of swords; and they are sold at an enormous price for that purpose. They are also manufactured into snuff-boxes, which are considered preferable to such as are made of tortoise shell; and we are informed by Martial, that the Roman ladies of fashion used them in the baths, to hold their essence bottles and oils.
The savage tribes of southern Africa, and even the inhabitants of the Cape of Good Hope, set a high value on the dried blood of the rhinoceros, to which they ascribe great medicinal virtues. The hoofs, and even the teeth, are also used medicinally.
Respecting the rhinoceros it may not be improper to remark, that, although naturally of a quiet and inoffensive disposition, his strength is such, that few animals are able to contend with him; and that the thickness of his hide is so great, as in several parts to be impenetrable even by a musket ball. These animals feed entirely on vegetable food, but particularly on the leaves and tender branches of shrubs. Their horns are not fixed into the bone of the head, like those of other quadrupeds, but only into the skin. They appear loose whilst the animals are in a quiescent state; but when the animals are irritated, they become fixed and immoveable.