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in which the tongue, when within the mouth, is folded up. But a great part of the basal portion, as before observed, appears to slide into itself, or into the outer skin of the tongue, and probably lies along under and in front of the oesophagus.

The process of skinning the animal for preservation was extremely toilsome and difficult, on account of the scales being deeply imbedded in the skin, which is indented throughout by them, the hollows so formed being filled up by the dorsal muscles. All the muscles and tendons are of great toughness, the flesh having a harsh and coarsely fibrous appearance. The pectoral muscles and those of the forearm and neck (platysma myoides) are of prodigious volume, and the latter covered with masses of fat, which I at first took for large conglomerate glands.

The bones are short, thick, and with reference to other animals disproportionably powerful. The dorsal and caudal vertebræ perfectly immense, ribs 13 pair, of which the last 5 pair false. The stout, solid sternum has its ensiform process elongated almost to the centre of the abdomen, or beginning of the umbilical region, that is, to where the umbilical region generally is, for in this animal I suspect the navel is quite close to the genitals. This ensiform process is in shape like a young plantain leaf, and has a thin pair of muscles spreading along each side of the centre or stalk. The skull is long and narrow, and apparently without sutures. The zygomatic arch small, lower jaw very weak; nasal bones much elongated, and suddenly truncated at the muzzle. The brain very small in volume. I was unable, from want of time, to examine with sufficient attention whether the animal possesses clavicles or not; my impression however is, that they are wanting.

Remarks. The Manis is the rarest quadruped, I imagine, in India, owing perhaps as much to its habits as to want of numbers. During six years' residence in and near the forests of Singbhoom, I have only seen two living specimens. It is, however, not confined in locality, being known throughout Central India, where in the upper provinces it is called "Bajjerkeet." In Orissa and Bengal "Bajra Kapta" and "Sooruj Mookhee," and in the old Shunskrit still applied to many words further south, on the Peninsula, in the Madras presidency, "Vajra Keeta." By the Lurka Koles it is called "Armoo," and in the islands of the Eastern Archipelago, "Pangoe-ling." "It has been described also

in our books of Natural History, under the name of Phattagen, and Manis." The Manis Crassicaudatus and M. Pentadactylus, (Auctorum,) are I suppose one and the same.

Habits, &c.—In Singbhoom the Armoo lives principally in the neighbourhood of rocks, from whence it rarely wanders. The specimen from which the present details were taken was captured on a pretty high hill. Of its manners very little is known, as the animal is strictly nocturnal, and its retreats, in the fissures of rocks, are so impenetrable, that I have never heard of the young being seen or taken. In Shaw's Zoology, in Geoffroy's Cuvier, and in other works, the Manis is represented upon a branch of a tree; but I very much doubt whether it possesses the power of climbing, although its fore claws are not unsuited to the purpose. Its food also, which consists of large black ants, is found as much upon trees as on the ground; but the weight and clumsiness of the animal impeded by a stiff tail which scrapes along after it, is repugnant to the idea, and of those people who have met with them in the jungles, none ever mentioned seeing one on a tree.

Quitting, however, doubts and conjectures, I shall content myself with describing the manners of two specimens I had alive for some days in my possession. One was brought to me in 1838. It had been captured by some Koles at dawn of day, on the ground, in a patch of low jungle or bush; being unable to progress beyond a slow trot, or to bury itself fast enough in the ground, it was easily taken. The animal has no means of offence; when handled or even approached it rolls itself into a ball, tucking its nose (the only part about which it appears solicitous) under its belly, folding in its legs, and wrapping the tail round all. When brought to me and laid on the ground, it remained for some time in this position, but at length cautiously unrolled itself, looking about and sniffing the air in all directions. The slightest noise, or knocking and scraping on the ground near it, would make it instantly resume its former position, from which the united strength of two men could not unwind it. If, however, left unmolested, it would after a little reconnoitring thrust forth, first one leg, and then the other, and so, starting to its feet, commence perambulating the apartment. In walking it stepped upon its knuckles, or more strictly upon the roots of its fore claws, which were bent closely inwards to the leg, the tail pressed to the ground. Its gait was slow and cautious,

and the animal frequently reared itself on its tail and hind legs, as if to listen more attentively. In this posture it would remain either erect or at any angle with the ground, and nothing could give a clearer idea of the almost supernatural strength of the muscles of the back and loins, than the perfect ease with which the position was assumed and retained, a strength only equalled, in the animal world, by those species of caterpillars, well known to Entomologists, which sustain themselves for hours in attitudes which no other animal could endure

for more than a few seconds. The annexed diagram will give some idea of this fact. The animal appears to be in an unnatural position, out of balance, and as if about to fall forward, but such is not the case, and the attitude here sketched is one I have often seen it assume, and sustain without the slightest apparent effort. On one occasion, while stumping about the room, the Manis passing under a heavy bookstand, containing four large shelves filled with books, (a weight which I do not think two stout men could have lifted off the ground,) tilted the whole affair up, so as to cause a general rush to the spot, to avert the threatened overthrow! Being left to itself in a large room, but precluded from going out, it made several tours of the apartment, and at length throwing itself on one side, commenced excavating into the wall, which was of sun-dried bricks, and in about two minutes had dug out a hole large enough to cover itself. In doing this it disturbed a colony of white ants, whose galleries ran along under the plaister, but I could not perceive that it paid them the least attention. It being impossible to chain the animal, as it suffered nothing to touch its head, I kept it shut up in an empty beer-chest, the lid of which was rendered (as I imagined) secure, by large stones heaped upon it, to the amount of four or five maunds. In this manner I kept the animal about a week, during which it got pretty tame, seldom rolling itself up when touched or patted. It drank water freely at all hours of the day, lapping it up with its long tongue, and seemed fond of lying in it; but it took no food of any kind. Earth-worms, larva of kinds, and white ants were equally unnoticed; yet the animal appeared in no way weakened or suffering from hunger; and its weight, which was very

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great, remain apparently undiminished. At last one night, it tossed off the ponderous lid placed on its box and made its escape, no traces of it being discoverable the next morning.

The second specimen I had in my possession, and which furnished the description here given, was brought me by some Koles in March 1842. It had been caught on a hill, at some distance from Chybasa, and in the midst of jungles. I had not unfortunately any opportunity of enquiring into the particulars of its capture. As I was then just about to leave Chybasa, I had it put into a box, and carried banghy fashion, along with my petarahs. During a three days' journey, it refused to eat anything, like its predecessor, but drank water. About the fourth day it began to grow more and more lethargic, remaining doubled up in its usual posture of repose. It was placed at night on a white ant hill; and at other times, black ants and larvæ were placed before it, but it refused nourishment, and after much protracted suffering, died during the night of the fifth day. Its tongue, which appeared paralyzed, remained protruded for the last 20 or 24 hours, till the end had become dry and shrivelled up. On being opened, there were found, as has been before related, swarms of intestinal worms in the stomach, which, and not starvation, might perhaps have caused its death, for there was a quantity of the remains of ants in the stomach, and the rectum was full of fæces. One hind foot of the animal had also been cut off, but the wound appeared an old one, though it still smelt offensively. The whole body, especially on the soft skin underneath, and between the scales, was covered with disgusting swarms of ticks, and the animal was altogether filthy in the extreme. Both these specimens (of which the first mentioned was much smaller) were perfectly gentle and harmless. The former one would when handled, hiss like a snake, and this was the only sound I ever heard either of them emit. They slept rolled up in a ball. One of these animals, in the possession of Captain Hannyngton, Assistant to the Governor-General, South-west Frontier at Poorulia, that gentleman described as having been much larger than mine, and of a clear whitish colour. It also was never observed to eat any thing, although allowed to ramble about the garden, (under surveillance,) and eventually made its escape, which it effected, (curious to say,) in the same way, and under the same circumstances as did the first animal, above alluded to.

Hindoos ascribe great virtues to the scales of these animals in the cure of Hæmorrhoides, but how they are applied I know not.

The subject of these notes I had the honor to present to the Society's Museum on my arrival in Calcutta. And a few days ago while visiting the Museum, had an opportunity of seeing the skin of a specimen agreeing apparently with the animal described to me by Captain Hannyngton. In this skin, there is a slight variety or modification of form in the shape of the lateral scales of the tail, sufficient perhaps, (if established by an examination of two or three more specimens,) to constitute a new species. Mr. Blyth, the Curator, who brought this fact to my notice, will have, it is to be hoped, the opportunity of being able by and bye to examine more specimens of the kind, and thus establish a new species, or reject a mere accidental variety. The one I have been describing, I see no reason to suppose other than the Manis Pentadactyla, or Crassicaudata of authors.

Calcutta, April 16, 1842.

On the Theory of Angular Geometry. By S. G. TOLLEMACHE
HEATLY, ESQ.

The following paper is intended to examine the properties of angular magnitude in a light, which has not hitherto attracted sufficient attention.

It is usual among elementary writers, to express the fundamental idea of an angle by the phrase " mutual inclination of its containing lines." These are the words of Laplace in his Leçons at the Ecole Normale, and are in substance those of the great majority of Geometers before and after him. When, nevertheless, we have to eliminate any property relative to angles, it is well known that this definition becomes a dead letter; and it is found necessary to superadd an explanation which embodies as much more of the fundamental idea, as enables us to compare angles together. It amounts usually to saying, that angles are compared with each other by comparing the openings at their vertices: and that the magnitude of an angle depends on the width, and not on the longitudinal extension of that opening, if it may be permitted so to use the words in italics.

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