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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 40363 ***
+
+Frost's Juvenile Series.
+
+
+[Illustration: THE MENAGERIE.]
+
+
+
+
+    AN ALPHABET
+
+    OF
+
+    QUADRUPEDS.
+
+    COMPRISING DESCRIPTIONS OF THEIR
+
+    APPEARANCE AND HABITS.
+
+    WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS.
+
+    *       *       *       *       *
+
+    PHILADELPHIA:
+    LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO, & CO.
+
+    *       *       *       *       *
+
+    Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1852,
+
+    BY LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO, & CO.,
+
+    in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States,
+    in and for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
+
+    *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+[Illustration: APE.]
+
+
+
+
+ALPHABET OF QUADRUPEDS.
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+APE.
+
+
+Apes play many odd tricks, and try to act like men, for they are very
+fond of imitating every thing they see. They are also very
+mischievous, and sometimes spiteful, so they should be either tied up
+in a safe place or well watched.
+
+Apes are a species of monkeys. They live in a country called Africa,
+where there are a great many forests, and where the trees are much
+larger than any in the settled parts of America. The apes can climb to
+the top of the very tallest trees, and cling to the branches in
+safety. They are very quick in their motions, and can fling themselves
+from tree to tree with great readiness, holding on with their long
+arms and legs. In their native woods, they are very wild; they go on
+all fours; and sometimes visit the Negroes' huts and fight hard
+battles with the inhabitants, throwing sticks and branches with great
+dexterity. They are usually of a dull brown color, but some are black,
+and others grey. They should be fed upon bread soaked in water, and
+any kind of fruit that may be convenient to give them; they are very
+fond of nuts and biscuit, both of which may be given them in
+moderation.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: BEAR.]
+
+
+BEAR.
+
+
+The bear is found in Europe and North America, but it is among the icy
+regions around the North Pole, that he attains his greatest size and
+fierceness. One of his principal modes of attack is the employment of
+his fore-legs in hugging his enemy, and few creatures can resist the
+crushing embrace of a large bear.
+
+The people of the cold countries, where he mostly lives, make bedding
+and clothing of the skins, and either eat the fat or melt it into oil
+for their lamps. Bears, when at rest, are in the habit of constantly
+sucking their paws, which curious custom has puzzled many wise men to
+explain.
+
+The bear is a good swimmer, and often takes to the water; he climbs
+well, but in descending trees always comes down backwards. His sight
+is sharp, and his hearing and smelling is excellent. He walks easily
+on his hind-legs, and in that position can support heavy burdens.
+Though his gait is awkward, he can, if he pleases, go at a great pace.
+He is said to grow to about his twentieth and live to his fiftieth
+year. Some bears are black, others brown, and a few grey, but those in
+cold countries are always white.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+COW.
+
+
+The cow is a very useful, and well known animal. The cow furnishes us
+with an abundance of good sweet milk, which we put into our tea and
+coffee, or make into butter and cheese. The flesh is most excellent
+food, and is called beef. England is a famous country for beef, which
+is of such a good quality that the people have an old song about it,
+called the "Roast beef of old England." The hide is made into leather,
+and is much used in the making of shoes.
+
+The cow is a very quiet animal, and will hurt no body, it feeds upon
+grass, which it swallows and brings up again before digesting it, and
+chews a very long while, and on that account is called a ruminating
+animal.
+
+Cows are of different colors, some red, white, black, and others
+spotted. The cow will live to the age of fourteen or fifteen years,
+and its age may be known by the rings or knots on its horns, for a new
+ring grows every year. A great many country people are employed in
+selling milk to the people of large cities and towns, and are called
+"milk people." Before the white people came to America there were no
+cows, but now they are raised in great numbers, especially in the
+eastern country.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: DOG.]
+
+
+DOG.
+
+
+Dogs are most faithful, attached creatures. They are of all sizes,
+from the large Newfoundland dog, as big nearly as a donkey, down to
+the little lap-dog, no bigger than a kitten. Dogs are of various
+colors, and their skins of all kinds, the hair sometimes smooth and
+close, like a grey hound's; sometimes very rough and shaggy, as in the
+Scotch terrier; sometimes smooth and flowing, like silk, as in a
+spaniel.
+
+They are soon taught to be obedient, and become very clever. The
+shepherd's dog knows every sheep in the flock. The house dog knows
+the sound of his master's footsteps. The Newfoundland dog will rush
+into the water to save any one from drowning. There are many
+interesting stories about dogs, which will please you very much to
+read when you are older and better able to understand them.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: ELEPHANT.]
+
+
+ELEPHANT.
+
+
+How heavy and clumsy the elephant looks! yet he is very active, and
+able to do many things with neatness. If you hold a sixpence in your
+hand, he will take it up in his large trunk, and place it where the
+keeper tells him. With the same trunk he is able to tear up large
+trees, and to strike so hard that the blow would kill a man. In
+foreign countries he is used to ride upon, as we ride upon horses. He
+is a very good swimmer. He is born chiefly in warm climates. His tusks
+are ivory, and are very useful for handles of knives, and many other
+things. His trunk serves him instead of a hand to feed himself with,
+and to hold and carry what he pleases.
+
+He is very clever, and soon learns to do whatever he is taught. His
+temper and nature are kind, but when he is teased he becomes very
+fierce. He eats grass and hay, but no flesh.
+
+Below is an elephant hunt.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: FISHER.]
+
+
+FISHER.
+
+
+This is the name of an animal found in the northern and middle states
+of our country, and in Canada. He is called the fisher, by the
+hunters, probably from his frequenting the lakes and river shores. But
+he does not catch fish like the otter. He robs the traps of the hunter
+of their captured or dead game, and he kills squirrels, rabbits, and
+wood chucks. In the picture he is represented as killing a rabbit.
+
+The fisher was formerly abundant in the state of New York, but he is
+seldom found there now. He was greatly detested by the hunters, on
+account of his robbing their traps of beaver and other valuable game.
+His flesh is unfit for food, and his fur is of very trifling value.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: GOAT.]
+
+
+GOATS.
+
+
+We have not many goats in America, but you will sometimes see them
+about the houses of poor people who live on the out-skirts of large
+towns and villages. They abound in many foreign countries, chiefly
+those which are wild, and have high hills and mountains. These, let
+them be ever so high, the goat climbs very nimbly and safely. The goat
+is a very useful creature. Its young are called kids, and its flesh is
+very good to eat; out of its skin we make good leather for shoes and
+gloves. The goat's milk is pleasant to drink, and to make cheese from.
+It eats herbs and delights to nibble the bark of trees. You will
+often read in the Bible, that goats in ancient times were offered as
+sacrifices. In Switzerland they have a kind of wild goat, called the
+chamois. The cut below represents some Swiss hunters pursuing the
+chamois over rocks and mountains.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: HYENA.]
+
+
+HYENA.
+
+
+The hyena is one of the most fierce and disagreeable of all animals.
+The hyena is by nature a nocturnal animal; that is, it seeks its prey
+by night, and consequently during the day it remains in a state of
+repose. The hyena has been unfairly represented to be perfectly
+untameable on account of its great ferocity. If properly treated,
+however, and well fed, it is far from being savage or dangerous.
+
+It possesses a great propensity for putrid and buried carcasses, which
+it will hunt, and dig for, and devour with disgusting greediness.
+Unlike many other animals, the hyena is an unsociable animal, for it
+lives a solitary life among rocks and ancient ruins. There are two
+kinds of hyenas, the spotted and the striped. The figure below
+represents the striped, and the other represents the spotted hyena.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: IBEX.]
+
+
+IBEX.
+
+
+The ibex is an animal of the goat kind, and inhabits the mountainous
+districts of the south of Europe, it is the most graceful of all its
+tribes; it is extremely active. It is very wild, and difficult to be
+shot, as it always keeps on the highest points. The horns of the ibex
+are large and knotty, its skin is of a yellow color, and its beard
+short and black. The chase of the ibex, although it is not a very
+powerful animal, is attended, at times, with considerable danger; it
+has been known, when driven hard, to run full-but at the huntsman,
+and force him over the rock, although in doing so, it has at the same
+time, sacrificed its own life, falling headlong with its pursuer. The
+ibex is said to be a short-lived animal. Its flesh is much esteemed,
+and its skin is very thin.
+
+Below is a picture of a bear pursuing a male and female ibex.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: JERBOA.]
+
+
+JERBOA.
+
+
+This odd-looking creature has been also called the two-legged rat; its
+fore-legs being so extremely small that they can hardly be seen, while
+the hind-legs are of enormous length. The tail is long and tufted at
+the end. Its general appearance closely resembles the rat. Instead of
+walking or running on all fours, it leaps, or hops, on the hind feet,
+making great bounds, and only uses the fore-paw for burrowing, or for
+carrying food to its mouth, like a squirrel. These curious little
+animals live in holes which they dig under ground. They are gentle,
+harmless, and not at all timid. Their dwelling places are very quiet,
+for they never fight or quarrel with one another, like some very bad
+children I could tell you about.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: KANGAROO.]
+
+
+KANGAROO.
+
+
+This curious animal, called a Kangaroo, hops on his hind-legs, which
+are very long; his fore-legs are short, and he has a very long hard
+tail. Kangaroos herd together in great numbers, for they are very
+timid creatures. At the least alarm they will run away, and leap over
+high bushes. They use their short fore feet for digging, and putting
+food in their mouths. They feed upon vegetables and grass, and do not
+eat flesh. The mother carries her young ones about her in a sort of
+pouch.
+
+The kangaroo is brought from a very large island, a great many
+thousand miles from here. We have some in this country, which you may
+see by going to the Menagerie, where the keeper will tell you a great
+many stories about them. Their nature is not at all fierce. The
+picture below shows the manner in which the kangaroo leaps.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: LEOPARD.]
+
+
+LEOPARD.
+
+
+The leopard is a beautiful animal. He is of a yellowish fawn color,
+marked with black spots of different sizes. This animal in its habits
+and appearance much resembles a cat. He is very fierce and savage. He
+preys upon those animals which are weaker than himself. He always
+avoids man, except when closely pursued, when he offers an obstinate
+resistance. From the extraordinary flexibility of his limbs, he can
+climb a tree as readily as a cat. When taken young, he can be tamed to
+a certain degree.
+
+The flesh of the leopard is said to be excellent, resembling veal.
+The skins are very valuable, and often sell for upwards of fifty
+dollars. The picture below represents a leopard watching a herd of
+antelopes. He is hid from their view behind a rock, and when they come
+near enough, he will leap into the herd and catch one of them.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: MOOSE.]
+
+
+MOOSE.
+
+
+This animal is perhaps the only kind of deer whose general appearance
+can be called ungraceful. The head is large, the mane short and thick,
+and the horns knotty and heavy. The body, which is short and clumsy,
+is mounted on tall legs. The motion of the animal is a sort of
+shambling trot. The moose inhabits the northern parts of both Europe
+and America. Its flesh is much liked by the hunters, and much
+resembles beef.
+
+The moose attains to a large size, particularly the male, which
+sometimes weighs eleven or twelve hundred pounds. Their skins, when
+dressed properly, make a soft, thick, pliable leather, which is useful
+for many purposes. Sometimes the moose is attacked by wolves. Here you
+have a picture of an unfortunate moose, who is assailed by a whole
+band of wolves. One is on his back, and has his teeth in the poor
+moose's flesh.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: NYL GHAU.]
+
+
+NYL GHAU.
+
+
+This animal is a kind of antelope, but is larger than the usual size
+of the antelope, and not so handsome in form. It stands upwards of
+four feet in height at the shoulder. It is a powerful and vicious
+creature, and its temper is not good. When it is about to make an
+attack, it drops down upon its fore-legs, and then darts quickly
+forward and gives a blow with its head, which is very dangerous. The
+hair of the nyl ghau is short and close, and is generally of a slate
+color in the male, and a tawny red in the female, except in the under
+parts of the body, which are always white. Its fore-legs are longer
+than its hinder-legs, and it has the appearance of having a small lump
+at its shoulder. It is usually found in the forests of India, where it
+becomes the prey of the tigers and wild boars. The cut below shows how
+the nyl ghau defends himself when attacked.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: OX.]
+
+
+OX.
+
+
+The ox is very much like the bull and the cow in form, size, and
+color, and lives in the fields as they do. As soon as he is large
+enough, he is made to work for man; he draws the plough and the wagon,
+and in old times used to tread out the corn, instead of thrashing as
+people do now. He is not so wild or fierce as the bull, but its flesh
+and hide are as useful to us. The ox's foot is of a horny substance,
+and is called a hoof, like that of the bull and the cow. It is not
+like the horse's hoof, because it is separated in two. The horns of
+the ox are made into combs, drinking cups, handles for knives, and
+other things. The blood of the ox is very useful, and when boiled with
+brown sugar it helps to make it white. The blood also makes a blue
+dye. Boys should not tease an ox, or throw stones at him. Sometimes
+they turn on their tormentors, and gore them with their horns.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: PORCUPINE.]
+
+
+PORCUPINE.
+
+
+This is an animal of whom the most ridiculous stories have been told,
+particularly as to its power of darting its quills to a considerable
+distance when attacked, and in this manner wounding its enemies.
+Instead, however of being an enemy to be feared, there is not,
+perhaps, a more timid creature in existence. But still, as a means of
+defence, these quills are of great service to their possessor, and
+preserve it from the attack of most of its enemies; its teeth are very
+strong and sharp; and if it had courage enough to use them, it would
+become rather a dangerous foe. When full grown, it measures nearly
+two feet in length. Its general color is a grizzled, dusky black. The
+upper part of the head and neck is furnished with long light hairs.
+Most parts of the back and sides are armed with long, sharp pointed
+quills, which are raised in a threatening manner whenever the animal
+is excited. The porcupine sleeps during the day, and at night searches
+for food. Below is a picture of an odd kind of porcupine. It is called
+a Brazilian porcupine.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: QUAGGA.]
+
+
+QUAGGA.
+
+
+This animal is somewhat like the horse, but most like the zebra, as
+you may see by comparing the two together. It is found in the southern
+parts of Africa, living mostly in the plains in large herds. It is not
+so large or so beautiful as the zebra. Its skin is of a dull brownish
+white, striped with darker color on the head and neck, and somewhat on
+the sides of its body; the upper parts of its legs are greyish, and
+the under parts white. It is a wild creature, and rather vicious in
+temper. It is made to draw by the natives of the country where it is
+found, and its flesh is eaten by them.
+
+The quagga differs from the zebra in his stripes. You may see by the
+figure of the zebra, below, that he is striped all over his body and
+limbs, while the quagga has stripes only on the head and the fore part
+of the body.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: RABBIT.]
+
+
+RABBIT.
+
+
+Rabbits are timid little animals, prettily formed, with beautiful long
+ears. They run swiftly, and jump very nimbly. Wild rabbits live in
+woods and burrow holes in banks of earth, where they hide themselves
+from danger. The wild rabbits are of a greyish brown color, but the
+tame rabbits are white, black, brown, black and white, and reddish.
+The white have pink eyes. Their fur is soft, and is used for making
+hats. Their flesh is white and very good to eat. The tame rabbits are
+kept in very small huts, and little boys and girls are fond of
+feeding them, for they will eat out of their hand, carrots, lettuce,
+and other green vegetables. Below is a picture of a pretty kind of
+tame rabbits with very long ears.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: SHEEP.]
+
+
+SHEEP.
+
+
+The sheep is perhaps the most useful animal we have in our country;
+the flesh, called mutton, is most wholesome food. The hair of the
+skin, called wool, is made into cloth, flannel, and worsted. The skin
+is made into parchment to write upon, and leather; and from other
+parts of its body are made the strings for harps and violins, &c. The
+finest wool is procured from the sheep which are bred in Spain. The
+sheep is very timid and harmless, and lives as you often may see in
+flocks, feeding on the grass of the fields and mountains. The hills
+and mountains which are too steep and barren for growing corn afford
+pasturage for the sheep. It very soon knows the shepherd who is set
+over it, and is easily guided by him. The young of the sheep are
+called lambs. Here is a picture of a Scotch shepherd keeping sheep in
+the Highlands.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: TIGER.]
+
+
+TIGER.
+
+
+This very beautiful animal, is called a tiger, and is a native of
+India, a very hot country in Asia. Tigers are very fierce, and will
+often kill men, and animals a great deal larger than themselves. They
+live in the woods and thickets, called jungles, where they are hunted.
+Tigers eat the flesh of animals which they kill. We have none in
+America, except a few carried about for show. The tiger is as big as a
+lion, and like the cat in shape, but much larger; he has a long tail,
+and a handsome striped skin, covered with short hair, which is used
+for a variety of useful and ornamental purposes. He is very active
+and can spring far. The tiger has sometimes been tamed by menagerie
+keepers, but he is a very sly and dangerous creature, and never to be
+trusted.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: URUS.]
+
+
+URUS.
+
+
+This name is given to the wild buffalo, of which there are several
+kinds. The one represented by our picture is the Cape Buffalo, which
+is found in various parts of Southern Africa. He is a very formidable
+animal, with spiteful looking eyes, and strong, crooked, sharp horns.
+He is very strong and hard to kill. The hunters consider him a worse
+enemy than the lion or the tiger.
+
+This buffalo loves to wallow in pools and swamps, and when the hunters
+attack him, he charges upon them with his terrible horns, and often
+overturns a horse and his rider, trampling them under his feet, and
+goring them with his sharp horns.
+
+Mr. Cumming, the English traveller in South Africa, often encountered
+these animals, and had severe battles with them.
+
+Here is a picture of the American bison, which is commonly called a
+Buffalo.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: VICUGNA.]
+
+
+VICUGNA.
+
+
+The vicugna has sometimes been called the Chilian sheep, from the name
+of the country it inhabits. It is covered with a fine, valuable wool,
+which is of a red rose color on the back, but white on the other parts
+of the body. Vicugnas congregate in large herds, and feed on grass and
+small shrubs, and so long as they can procure enough of such food,
+they are never known to drink. They are very timid, but swift and sure
+at running. Their legs are slender and well formed, and the head tall
+and erect. Their ears are long and pointed, and their eyes large and
+brilliant. From the form of their feet, they are well fitted to travel
+mountainous countries, and are said to be even safer than mules. The
+vicugna is upwards of five feet in height and six in length. The tame
+ones will carry a load of over fifty pounds, but they are kept
+principally for the sake of the wool, and the flesh, which is said to
+taste like mutton. Here is a picture of the llama, which is like the
+vicugna in many respects.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: WOLF.]
+
+
+WOLF.
+
+
+The wolf is something like a large dog. He is very fierce, and carries
+off young lambs and kids, which he kills and eats. Throughout Europe
+there are still many wolves, and the shepherds have great trouble to
+drive them away from the places where their sheep feed. We see in this
+picture that the wolf has killed a lamb, and is going to eat him.
+
+We have no wolves in the settled portions of our country, for the
+whites hunted and killed them all, because they were such troublesome
+and dangerous neighbors. But in the western country, and among the
+forests and mountains, they are still pretty plenty. Wolves go about
+in large packs, or companies, and having scented their prey, pursue it
+like a pack of hounds, uttering the most dismal and ferocious cries.
+
+Below is a picture of a wolf and two cubs.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: YAK.]
+
+
+THE LETTER X.
+
+
+We could not procure the drawing of any quadruped whose name begins
+with this letter.
+
+
+
+
+YAK.
+
+
+This animal is seldom seen in Europe, but it is a common one in
+Tartary, where it is a native. It is like a small ox in its size and
+form, and has horns and hoofs. Like the ox it is used sometimes as a
+beast of burden. Its colors are chiefly black and white. The hair is
+long and rather curly, particularly at its tail. The Chinese make
+ornaments out of the hair of the tails, which they dye various colors
+and wear them in their bonnets. The Turks and Persians use the tails
+as we do flags, for war-standards, which they call "horse tails."
+
+The hump on the back of the yak, like that of the bison, is formed of
+flesh, better flavored and more palatable than any other part of the
+animal. Hence it is esteemed a great delicacy, and is much prized by
+the natives of the countries where it is found.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: ZEBU.]
+
+
+ZEBU.
+
+
+The zebu is an animal of the cow kind, and a native of India, and on
+that account is often called the Indian ox. There are many varieties
+of the zebu. Some of them are as large as our largest oxen. Others
+when full grown are no bigger than a small calf. Its horns are short
+and thick, and bent a little backwards; there is also a lump on the
+shoulder, which makes it look clumsy. It is a very useful and docile
+animal. In India it is used as a common beast of burden; it is also
+made to draw light wagons, and is even used for riding.
+
+The Zebu is found not only in India, but in China, Eastern Africa, and
+the East India Islands. Figures representing the zebu are found on
+some of the most ancient monuments of that country. The Brahmins
+esteem the zebu a sacred animal; and for this reason it has received
+the name of the Brahmin ox.
+
+The picture below, shows several different kinds of zebus.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: MARMOT.]
+
+
+THE MARMOT.
+
+
+The Alpine Marmot inhabits the Alps, Pyrenees, and other high
+mountains immediately below the region of perpetual snow. It is about
+the size of a hare, of a yellowish green color, tinted with an ashen
+hue about the head; the upper lip is cleft and whiskered. Marmots live
+in families, who mutually aid each other in excavating a common
+dwelling,--a chamber lined with dried grass, at the end of a passage,
+six or eight feet, in the form of the letter Y, one of the branches
+serving as an entrance, the other as a sewer. During winter, the
+mouth is closed by earth. They feed in company, but always place a
+sentinel, who, on the first appearance of danger, utters a shrill cry,
+when the whole retreat.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: KOODOO.]
+
+
+THE KOODOO.
+
+
+The Koodoo combines many of the characteristics of the sheep, ox, and
+antelope. He is a large and beautiful animal, a native of the
+woodlands of Caffraria, the male standing four feet high, and from the
+insertion of the tail to the muzzle measuring about eight. The horns
+rise perpendicularly in large spiral whorls, three feet nine inches in
+length; a bristling of black hairs runs along the ridge of the neck,
+and a line of the same color hangs from the dewlap: the general color
+is brown, fading into grey, with a dorsal stripe of white, and
+stripes of the same color behind the shoulders and across the back.
+They are fleet but can not run long.
+
+More nearly allied to the deer, from which they are distinguished by
+their horns being permanent and without antlers, but marked with
+circular elevated rings, which increase, in size with their growth and
+years, one or two species alone exhibit a short ramification.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: MOUFFLON.]
+
+
+THE MOUFFLON.
+
+
+This is a sort of sheep living wild on the mountains of Corsica and
+Sardinia; a similar species is also scattered over European Turkey and
+some of the islands of the Archipelago. They are about the ordinary
+size of sheep, and breed with the domestic races. The head is long,
+with the muzzle compressed, the nose somewhat raised, and the forehead
+swollen; the horns of the male (the female being without) are large,
+long, and triangular, bending backward like a half circle, attenuated
+from the base to the tip, which is obtuse; the body is large and
+muscular, the tail short, and bare on the inside; the legs are pretty
+long, and the hoofs short.
+
+They wander in flocks of about a hundred, led by some old and
+courageous male. Their habits are like those of our own sheep, docile
+and gentle, though sometimes an amorous or a churlish old ram will
+butt down a child, a woman, or a man, who may happen to stand in his
+road, when the fit is upon him.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: RED DEER.]
+
+
+THE RED DEER.
+
+
+The European Stag, or Red Deer, is a fine looking animal, the tallest
+of the deer kind. The pride of the north, he delights in the highest
+mountains and the thickest forests, and is famed for long life, though
+the natural term of his existence be often exaggerated, and which,
+when exposed to human observation, he has never yet been accurately
+known to reach. He comes to full growth at five years, when his horns
+send out as many antlers, and he is called a hart, and the female a
+hind.
+
+Every year the male sheds his horns, and conscious of his temporary
+weakness, hides himself till his new ones are hardened. His color, as
+his name imports, is a bright reddish-brown, of a darker shade near
+the belly, which is white. When fatigued in the chase, he takes the
+water if near, and will cross with ease considerable and rapid
+streams; when wounded or taken, he sheds tears like a child; but
+though timid, when at bay he sometimes takes ample vengeance upon the
+hounds before he is subdued.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: LION.]
+
+
+THE LION.
+
+
+The African Lion, now driven from the coast, is scattered over the
+interior. He measures from seven to nine feet in length, with a tail
+about four, tufted at the point; the height at the shoulder from three
+to five; but when he is newly whelped, his size does not exceed that
+of a puppy dog, and it requires four, or according to some writers,
+six years, till he attains his full stature. He lives to a great but
+uncertain age; one in the Tower reached upwards of seventy years.
+
+There are three varieties described; one of a deep yellowish brown;
+the other of a lighter shade: and the Cape Lion, of which the mane is
+nearly black. The appearance of the lion, from which he has derived
+the title of the king of beasts, is majestic when at rest, but
+terrible when roused. He has a broad face, surrounded with long shaggy
+hair, and a flowing mane, increasing in length as his years advance,
+adorns his neck.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: LLAMA.]
+
+
+THE LLAMA.
+
+
+The Llama of the New are analogous to the camel of the Old World, but
+smaller in size, being only about four feet four inches high at the
+shoulder. The dromedary is from five to seven. It is a native of the
+mountainous regions of South America. It has cloven hoofs, adapted for
+aiding its progress in hilly districts. It has no hunch on the back,
+but has one on the breast. Its color is a greyish-white, spotted. It
+is equally abstemious in its habits with the camel, and will travel
+four or even five days without seeking repose; but like the camel, it
+will not be forced to carry more or move faster than it chooses and
+will rather kill itself, by striking its head on the ground, than be
+driven forward by harshness or blows. In a wild state it is
+gregarious, but is easily domesticated, and is still used as a beast
+of burden.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of An Alphabet of Quadrupeds, by Anonymous
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 40363 ***