e former for chopping up the flesh into suitable
morsels for swallowing. Then the stomach is a simple sac, undivided
into compartments, and the intestine is short, not more than three
times the length of the body, instead of being some twenty times
longer, as in some herbivores. This family has the smallest number
of molars, a class of tooth which would indeed be useless, for the
construction of the feline jaw precludes the possibility of grinding,
and therefore a flat-crowned tuberculous tooth would be out of place.
As I have before described it, the jaw of a tiger is incapable of
lateral motion. The condyle of the lower jaw is so broad, and fits
so accurately into its socket, the glenoid cavity, that there can
be no departure from the up and down scissor-like action. The true
Cats have, therefore, only one molar on each side of each jaw; those
in the upper jaw being merely rudimentary, and placed almost at right
angles to the rest of the teeth, and seem apparently of little use;
those of the lower jaw are large and trenchant, cutting against the
edge of the third upper premolar.

[Illustration: Skull of Tiger (side view).]

It may interest my readers to know which are premolars and which are
molars. This can be decided only by dissection of the jaw of a young
animal. True molars only appear as the animal approaches the adult
stage. They are never shed, as are all the rest of the teeth, commonly
called milk teeth. The deciduous or milk teeth are the incisors,
canines, and premolars; they drop out and are replaced, and behind
the last premolar comes up the permanent molar.

Another peculiar feature of the Cat family is the power of sheathing
their talons. Claws to a cat are of as great importance to him in
the securing of his prey as are his teeth. The badger is a digger,
Hodge, who carries his mattock on his shoulder; but the feline is
the free-lance whose sword must be kept keen in its scabbard, so by
a peculiar arrangement of muscles the points of the claws are kept
off the ground, while the animal treads noiselessly on soft pads.
Otherwise by constant abrasion they would get so blunted as to fail
in their penetrating and seizing power. I give here an illustration
of the mechanism of the feline claw. In the upper sketch the claw
is retracted or sheathed; in the lower it is protruded as in the act
of striking.

[Illustration: Tendons of Tiger's toe.]

[Illustration: Tiger's auditory apparatus.]

The senses of