Barr’s Buffon.
Buffon’s Natural History.
CONTAINING
A THEORY OF THE EARTH,
A GENERAL
HISTORY OF MAN,
OF THE BRUTE CREATION, AND OF
VEGETABLES, MINERALS,
&c. &c.
FROM THE FRENCH.
WITH NOTES BY THE TRANSLATOR.
IN TEN VOLUMES.
VOL. IX.
PRINTED FOR THE PROPRIETOR,
AND SOLD BY H. D. SYMONDS, PATERNOSTER-ROW.
1807.
T. Gillet, Printer, Wild-court.
CONTENTS
OF
THE NINTH VOLUME.
Directions for placing the Plates in the Seventh Volume.
Page 1 Fig. 176, 177, 178, 179. 9 Fig. 180, 181. 29 Fig. 182, 183, 184. 35 Fig. 185, 186, 187, 188. 41 Fig. 189, 190, 191. 57 Fig. 192, 193, 194. 150 Fig. 195, 196. 189 Fig. 197, 198. 197 Fig. 199, 200. 202 Fig.BUFFON’S
NATURAL HISTORY.
OF CARNIVOROUS ANIMALS.
THE LORIS.
The Loris (fig. 176.) is a small animal found in Ceylon, very remarkable for the elegance of its figure, and for the singularity of its conformation: it has, perhaps, of all animals, the longest body in proportion to its bulk, having nine vertebræ in the loins, whereas other quadrupeds have only five, six, or seven. The length of the body is the natural effect of this structure, and it appears the longer for having no tail; in other respects, it resembles the maki kind, as well in the hands and feet as in the quality of the hair, the number of teeth, and the sharpness of its muzzle. Independently of these singularities, which separates this animal from the makis, he has other particular attributes. His head is entirely round; his eyes are excessively large, and very close to each other; his ears are large, round, and, in their insides, have three auricles in the shape of small shells; but what is still more singular, and perhaps unmatched in the whole tribe of animals, is that the female discharges her urine through the clitoris, which is perforated like the sexual organ of the male, and who in these two parts perfectly resemble each other.
Linnæus has given a short description of this animal, which appears to be exactly conformable to Nature. It is also very correctly delineated by Seba; and evidently appears to be the same as that which Thevenot speaks of in the following terms: “I saw, (says he) in the Mogul country, monkeys which had been brought from Ceylon; they were greatly valued on account of their size, being not bigger than a man’s fist. They were different from the common monkey, having a flat forehead, eyes round and large, and of a bright yellow colour, like those of some cats: their muzzle is very pointed: the inside of the ears is yellow, and they have no tail. When I examined them they sat erect on their hind feet, folded the others across, and looked round at the spectators without the least signs of fear.”
Engraved for Barr’s Buffon.
Lame Headed Bat. Shrew Bat.
THE JAVELIN BAT.
AMONG the numbers of the bat species, which were neither named nor known, we indicated some by names derived from foreign languages, and others by denominations drawn from their most striking characters. We have called one the Horse-shoe Bat, from the exact resemblance the fore-part of its face bears to a horse-shoe, and the animal in question we have called the Javelin Bat, (fig. 177.) from a sort of membrane on its nose which perfectly resembles the head of an ancient javelin, or spear. Though this character alone is sufficient to distinguish it from all other bats, yet we may add, that it has
There is another bat in Senegal, which has also a membrane upon its nose, not in the form of a horse-shoe, or javelin, as in the two bats we have just mentioned, but in the shape of an oval leaf. These three bats, being of different climates, are not simple varieties but distinct and separate species. M. Daubenton has given the description of the Senegal bat, under the name of the leaf bat, in the Memoirs of the Royal Academy of Sciences, 1759, p. 374.
Bats which have great affinities to birds, by the power of flying, and the strength of their pectoral muscles, seem to resemble them still more in these membranes, or crests, which they have on their faces. These redundant parts, which, at first sight, seem only to be superfluous deformities, are real characters which fill up the visible shades between these flying quadrupeds and birds; for most of the latter have crests, or membranes, about their beaks and heads, which seem in every respect as superfluous as those of the bats.
SUPPLEMENT
WE have received from M. Pallas the figures and descriptions of two bats hitherto unknown to naturalists; the first he calls the cephalote, or large-headed bat, (fig. 178.) from its head being so very large in proportion to its body. This bat M. Pallas says is found in the Malacca islands; and from his finding but one fœtus in a female, which was sent to him to Amsterdam, and which he dissected, he concludes they have but one young at a time: this species differs also from all others in the teeth, which in some measure resemble those of the mouse or hedge-hog; it has a short tail, situated between the thighs, a large nose and a broad muzzle; its breast is very similar to that of a bird; it is very near four inches long, and its wings extend above a foot.
The second he calls the vespertilio soricinus, or shrew bat (fig. 179.); this one has no tail, and carries a peculiar membrane on its nose; it is the smallest that is met with without a tail, being not more than two inches in length. This species is very common in the warm climates of America, the Carribbee Islands, and Surinam.
At the same time M. Pallas sent us the account of these animals he remarked that we were in an error in our former description of the javelin bat, by confounding it with the American bat, mentioned by Seba, he, from a careful examination, being convinced of their being different species; and we feel ourselves indebted to this gentleman for the pains he has taken to rectify our mistake.
THE SERVAL.
THIS animal, which was kept alive several years in the royal menagerie, by name of the tiger-cat, seems to be the same with that described by the gentlemen of the Academy, under the denomination of chat-pard; and we should have still remained ignorant of its true name if the Marquis de Montmirail had not discovered it in an Italian book of travels which he has translated, and sent the following extract: “The maraputé, which the Portugueze in India, called serval (says P. Vincent-Marie) is a ferocious animal, larger than the wild cat, and something less than the civet, from which last he differs by his head being rounder and thicker, and his face sinking in about the middle. He resembles the panther in the colour of his hair, which is yellow on the head, back, and sides, and white under the belly; also by the spots, which are distinct, equally distributed, and a little less than those of the panther. His eyes are very brilliant; his whiskers are composed of long and stiff bristles; his tail is short; his feet large, and armed with long and hooked claws. He is found in the mountains of India; he is seldom seen on the ground, but remains almost continually on high trees, where he catches birds, which are his principal food. He leaps as nimbly as a monkey, and goes from one tree to another with such address and agility and passes over a great space in so short a time, that he may be said only to appear and disappear; he is ferocious in his nature, but flees at the sight of man, unless irritated, or his nest attacked, when he flies at the offender, and bites and tears nearly like the panther.”
Neither captivity, nor good nor bad treatment, will tame or soften the ferocity of this animal. That which we saw in the menagerie was always ready to rush on those who came near him: we could neither take a design nor a description of him, otherwise than betwixt the bars of his cage. He was fed with flesh, like the panther and leopard. This serval, or maraputé of Malabar and India, seems to be the same animal as the tiger-cat of Senegal and the Cape of Good Hope, which, according to the testimony of travellers, resembles our cat in its shape, and the tiger (that is the panther or leopard) by the black and white spots of his fur. “This animal (say they) is four times larger than a cat; is of a very voracious nature, and feeds on monkeys, rats, and other animals.”
From the comparison which we made of the serval and the chat pard, described by the gentlemen of the Academy, we discovered no other difference than the long spots on the back, and the rings on the tail of the latter, which the serval has not. The spots on the back of the serval are closer than those on the other parts of his body; but these little disagreements are so slight that we cannot doubt of the identity of the species of these two animals.
Engraved for Barr’s Buffon.
THE OCELOT.
OCELOT is an abbreviation of tlalocelotl, the name of this animal in Mexico, its native country. It is ferocious and carnivorous, and may be ranked
The first author who mentions this animal in a distinct manner is Fabri. He caused Recchi’s designs of it to be engraven, and composed his description from them. He gives also a kind of history of him from the writings and information of Gregoire de Bolivar. I made these observations with a view to throw light on the circumstance which had led all the naturalists into an error, and by which I acknowledge I was also deceived. This circumstance is to know whether the two animals designed by Recchi, the first by the name of tlatlauhquiocelotl and the second by that of tlacoozlotl, tlalocelotl, and afterwards described by Fabri as different species, are not the same animal. They were considered as distinct animals, notwithstanding the resemblance of their figures, because their names, and even descriptions, were different. I then supposed the first might be the same as the jaguar, and therefore gave him the Mexican name of tlatlauhquiocelotl, which I am now convinced does not belong to him; and since I have seen both the male and female, I am persuaded, that the two described by Fabri, are only the same animal, of which the first is the male, and the second the female. This error could only have been discovered by such a chance as we had of examining both the male and the female together. Of all animals whose skins are spotted, the robe of the male ocelot (fig. 180.) is certainly the most beautiful, and most elegantly varied. Even the skin of the leopard does not come near it for the liveliness of its colours, and the regularity of its marks; and far less those of the jaguar, panther, and ounce. The colours of the female ocelot are much weaker, and the design less regular; and this apparent difference it was that deceived Recchi, Fabri, and others, and was the occasion of their considering them as different species.
When the ocelot has arrived at its full growth, he is, according to Bolivar, two feet and a half high, and about four feet long. The tail, though of a good length, does not touch the ground when hanging down, and consequently is not more than two feet long. This animal is very voracious, but at the same time exceedingly timid. He seldom attacks the human species, and is terrified at the sight of a dog. When pursued, he flies to the forests, and climbs up a tree for safety, where he also sleeps and watches for small animals, on which he springs when he sees them within his reach. He prefers blood to flesh, and for this reason he destroys a great number of animals; for instead of satisfying his hunger by devouring their flesh, he only quenches his thirst by sucking their blood.
In a state of captivity he preserves his savage nature: nothing can soften his ferocious disposition, nor calm his restless motion, which makes it necessary to confine him constantly in a cage. “After these young animals (says M. de l’Escot) had devoured their nurse, I confined them in a cage, and had them fed with fresh meat, of which they eat from seven to eight pounds a day. The male had a singular superiority over the female, for however hungry the latter might be, she never touched any of the food until he was satisfied, or such pieces as he gave her, having previously rejected them. I several times gave them a live cat, whose blood they sucked until the animal died, but they never eat any of their flesh. I put two live kids on board the vessel for their subsistence, for they neither eat, nor touched boiled nor salted meat.”
From the testimony of Gregoire de Bolivar, these animals commonly produce but two young ones at a birth, which M. de l’Escot seems to confirm, by saying, he had killed the mother before the two ocelots we have been speaking of, were taken away.
THE MARGAY.