are so fearless of man as to
allow themselves to be handled--a confidence somewhat betrayed by
the natives, who on such occasions manage to abstract the fattest
calves, which are considered a delicacy.

ORDER RODENTIA.
THE GNAWERS.

This order, GLIRES of Linnaeus and his followers, is composed of
animals, chiefly of small size, which differ from all others by the
peculiarity of their teeth. No one, even though he be most ignorant
of comparative anatomy, could mistake the rat or rabbit-like skull
of a rodent for that of any other creature. The peculiar pincer-like
form of the jaws, with their curved chisel-shaped teeth in front,
mark the order at a glance. There is no complexity in their dentition.
There are the cutters or incisors, and the grinders; and of the
cutters there are never more than two in each jaw, that is to say
efficient and visible teeth, for there are in some species
rudimentary incisors, especially in the young, but these either
disappear or take no part in work. Between the grinders and incisors
are toothless gaps. The formation and growth of the teeth are
peculiar; and it is strange that the gigantic elephant should be the
nearest approach to these small creatures in this respect. The
teeth--in most cases the grinders, but always the incisors--grow
continuously from a persistent pulp, and therefore loss from
attrition is kept constantly supplied by growth from behind. The
incisors are planted in a socket which is the segment of a circle.
These segments are not equal in both jaws. The lower one is a small
segment of a large circle, the upper one is the reverse, being a
larger segment of a smaller circle. The angle at which they meet is
always the same. Some curious malformations are occasionally found
which illustrate the growth of these teeth. Should by any chance,
accident or design, one of these incisors get diverted from its
proper angle and not meet with the friction which is necessary to
keep it in its normal condition, it goes on growing and growing,
following its natural curve till it forms a ring, or by penetrating
the mouth interferes with the animal's feeding. A case is recorded
by Blyth of a rat which had an eye destroyed by a tooth growing into
it. Here again occurs a similarity to the elephant, whose tusks grow
in the same manner, and if abnormally deflected will occasion, as
in the case of one lately described to me, serious hindrance to the
movement of the trunk. The incisor