Publisher's Synopsis
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1869 edition. Excerpt: ... MAMMALIA. Plate 1. Monkeys.--I. The Orangs and Chimpanzee (Simia) are those which resemble man the most: their head is round; their eyes and ears, although small, are constructed after the human type; their face, as well as breast, is hairless; they have no tail, &c., as most other monkeys have. "When standing Upright, they are about as tall as a middle-sized man. They inhabit.the warmest parts of Asia, Africa, and Oceanica. a. The Chimpanzee (Simia Troglodytes) (Troglodytes niger) has long been known, and always considered as a very intelligent and mild ape. All Natural Historians, who have had an opportunity of observing it in confinement, praise it for its amiableness and intelligence. Only language is wanting to make it a more preferable companion for man than any other animal. The Chimpanzee reaches the height of three and a half to four feet. All the body, except the lower part, -- the face, the palm, and back of the hand, -- is covered with long, black hair. Herds of these animals are found in the large forests of Upper and Lower Guinea, and subsist on fruits and roots. They live on the ground by day, and by night in their nests, made of bent twigs, some twenty to thirty feet above the ground. b. The Red Orang-outang (Simla satyrus) (Pithecus satyrus) is the Asiatic Orang, which, at present, inhabits only the marshy forests of Borneo, but not in large numbers. This ape was known to the Roman historian Pliny, since whose time it has often Been brought into Europe, and has been studied in its minutest details by men like Cuvier, &c. Alas! this interesting animal, like the Chimpanzee, is carried off in a short time by consumption, in spite of the utmost care. Its extraordinary intelligence shows itself mostly during its sickness, ...
