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Show 294 i>ISSERT. IV. '--v--J H I S T 0 R Y 0 F M E X I C 0. " united by a membrane, you will never perfuade us of. the. irre.gu" larity o,f our Touyou." This mode of argument, which lS Without doubt unanfwerable, is fufficient to defeat the fyfiems adopted by thofe philofophcrs, arifing from flight and indigefted ideas, and firong prepoilefiions in favour of the old continent. . . . Thofe philofophers arc not more happy m theu· dtfcourfes on t~e tails of quadrupeds than in their obfervations on th~ feet of ofl:nches. They fay directly, and without any regard to truth, that the (Treater part of the quadrupeds of the new continent are totally defi:i~ udc of tails; which, like all the other effects obfcrved by them ia thofe unfortunate countries, they afcribe to the mifery of the American iky, to the infancy of nature in that part of the world, to the fatality of the climate, and other combinations of the elements. Thus thofe celebrated philofophers of this enlightened century reafon. But there being, according to count de Butfon, feventy fpecies of American quadrupeds, it would be neceilary that at lcaft forty of thcr\). were without tails in order to verify wha~ Mr. de Paw has faid, that the majority of thct were deprived of this member; and many more would be requifite to prove true, that almoft all the quadrupeds were unfurnifhed with tails as count de Butfon aflirms. However, animals of this de!cription in America, as we 1l1all prcfently find, arc only fix in number, therefore the propofition is a monfirous hyperbole, not to fay an idle falfehood. It appears that in the time of Pliny no other animals were known to be without tails but man and the ape. If fince that time. there had been no other animal unfurnifhed with fuch member di[covered in the old continent, count de Buffon and .M. de Paw would have ' been right in taxing the American quadrupeds with it; but from the Hifiory of count de Bu.ffon it is evident, the fpecics withont tails are more numerous in the old con tin en t than in America. . Here follows a lift of both, extracted from the Hi!l:ory of count de Butfon. ~adrupeds without tails in the old continent. x. The Pongo, or Orang Outang, or Satyr or Man of the Woods. 2. The Pithecus, or Proper Ape. • H I S T 0 R Y 0 F M E X I C 0. 3· The Gibbon, another fpecies of ape, 4· The Cynocephalus, or Magoto. 5. The Turkiih dog. 6. The T anrec of Madagafcar. 7. The Loris of Ceylon. 8. The Indian Pig. 9· 'The Roulfette} · f f r. ro. Th e R ou· gette Two fpec1es o great bats o A11a. I I • The golden mole of Siberia, . To which the three following ihould be added: · 12. The five-toed !loth of Bengal, de::fc.:ribcd by Vofmaer. 13, The Kft'pda, or bafi:ard marmot, of tht: ape of Good Hope~ defcribed by. V ofmaer. I 4· The Capivcrd, or Capivard of the Cape of Good Hope, de[cribed by Bomare. . , In AMERICA • I, The U nau fpecies of floth. 2. The Cabeay, or amphibious hog. , 3. The Aperea of Brafil. · 4: The iJndian pig. S· The Saino, Pecar, or.Cojametl. 6. The ~apeto. ! f Therefore in the old continent there are at leafi fourteen fpecies of quadmpeds (d) unfurni!hed with t£ails, <!.nd in Americ~ only fix, of which we might except, the two lafi, as they are uncertam (e) : In all the thirty volnmes of the Hiil:ory of ~adrupeds of count de Button, (d) 'ro the fot~~·teen fpccics above mentioned we mi¥h~ ndd the Unnu DydnEI)'IuJ of Ceylon, mentioned by fcvcral authors, and the Portc·m.ufc, de!c~·1be~ _by Mr. Aubcnton ~nd Bom1~re; but we e>mit the firO, becaufc we arc not cortnm ~.!)at 1t u d1flerent from the Lom of Buffon; 'fC pafs,tpc fec9nd a.lfo, bccaufe it may have fome little ta il, alt.hough the diligent M. d' Au· Qenton c!id not find 1t. . . . (c) The Pccar is tl ~ fcnbcd by Ov1cdo, Hernan~ez, and AcoOa, u~der the names San;() :md Cojnmetl; but they f.1y noth-ing of its want of a t:nl. We ha,·c bee~ mformed by. accurate :md d" {l' net pcrfons who have fcen many Pecars, that they hnd a 1 all, although It was fm:dl. ~7i:h rcfpcCt to' the Tnpcto, the count de Butfon .believes it to beth~ Citli ofHernnndez. _Bt~t all Mexicans know that the Citli of Hernandez IS the hare of Mr x:co, and we are cortallt It has a taillike the common hare of EtLrO!Je, we "295 DISSERT. JV. '--v---J |