, and it is furnished
with milk for drink morning and evening. It however willingly accepts
fruits and the branches of the acacia which are presented to it. It
seizes the leaves with its long rugous and narrow tongue by rolling it
about them, and seems annoyed when it is obliged to take any thing
from the ground, which it seems to do with difficulty. To accomplish
this it stretches first one, then the other of its long fore-legs
asunder, and it is not till after repeated attempts that it is able to
seize the objects with its lips and tongue.
The pace of the Giraffe is an amble, though when pursued it flies with
extreme rapidity, but the small size of its lungs prevents it from
supporting a lengthened chase. The Giraffe defends itself against the
lion, its principal enemy, with its fore feet, with which it strikes
with such force as often to repulse him. The specimen in the museum at
Paris is about two years and a half old.
The name _Camelo-pardalis_ (camel-leopard) was given by the Romans to
this animal, from a fancied combination of the characters of the camel
and leopard; but its ancient denomination was _Zurapha_, from which
the name Giraffe has been adopted.--_Brewster's Journal_.
_Sugar_.
About 3,700,000 cwt. of sugar are annually imported from the West
Indies. An advance in price, therefore, of one penny per pound is a
charge on the public of 1,726,600_l.
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