Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 11.djvu/415

* KANE. 381 KANGAROO. District Judge of Pennsylvania. Kane was a brilliant judge and won much praise for his decisions on admiralty and patent cases, but his commitment of Passmore Williamson for con- tempt under the Fugitive Slave Law made him veiy unpopular. He was prominent in the strug- gle between the Old and Xew School Presbyte- rians, and from 18.56 until his death was presi- dent of the American Philosophical Society. He was the father of Elisha Kent Kane, the Arctic explorer. KANE, Sir Robert Johjj (1809-90). An Irish chemist, born in Dublin. He studied at Dublin and Paris, and was professor of chemistry to Apothecaries' Hall, Dublin, from 1831 to 1845. He was also professor of natural philosophy to the Royal Dublin Society from 1834 to 1847. In 1841 he received the gold medal of the Royal Society of London for his researches on the color- ing substances contained in the lichens from which archil and litmus (qq.v. ) are made. In 1843 he received the gold medal of the Royal Irish Academy for his researches on the com- pounds of ammonia. The Museum of Irish In- dustiy was established at his instance in 1846; in the same year he received, from the Viceroy of Ireland, the honor of knighthood. From 1849 to 1873 he held the post of president of Queen's College, Cork: in 1877 he became president of the Boyal Irish Academy of Ireland. Kane published many valuable papers in bath English and foreign scientific journals; founded the Duh- Jin Journal of Medical Hcience (1832); edited the Philosophical Magazine, etc. Among his book-form publications may be mentioned: his Elements of Chemistrji (1841-43), in three parts, republished in the United States by John W. Draper in 1843: further, his Industrial Resources of Ireland (1844). etc. KANEM, kii'nem or ka-nem'. A former vas- sal State of Wadai. Sudan, occupying the ter- ritory along the northern and eastern shores of Lake Chad (Map: Africa. F 3). Its bound- aries are not well defined, and its area is esti- mated at from 27,000 to 30.000 square miles. Its inhabitants, chiefly Kanembus, number about 100.000. The chief settlements are Mao east of the lake, and Mgigmi at its northwestern end. The former town is the place where the explorer Beurmann was murdered in 1863. The State of Kanem was founded in the ninth century, became Mohammedan in the eleventh century, and at the beginning of the following century extended its dominion from the Niger to the Nile, reach- ing south beyond Lake Chad. It soon declined, and later became a dependency of the Kingdom of Bornu (q.v.). Since 1899 Kanem has been in the French sphere of influence, and is now incor- porated with the Territoire militaire des pays et protectorats du Tchad, founded in 1900. KANGAROO'. Any one of several large mar- supials. The name was given by Captain Cook, the navigator, to a big animal with a small head and fore limbs, but very large tail and hind limbs, secured by him at Endeavor River, on the northeast coast of Australia, in -luly. 1770. Al- thovigh he distinctly says that 'kangaroo.' as he spelled it, was the native name, the word is ap- parently unknown to any of the now living aboriginal tribes. It has. however, passed into all European languages with very little change. When Captain Cook's specimens reached Europe, they were first described as monster jerboas, but Schreber recognized the relationship to the opos- sums, and called the creature Didelphys gigun- teus. Very soon afterwards (1791) Shaw created a new genus for the species, and named it Macro- pus, in allusion to the veiy large feet, contrasted with the small fore limbs (hands), and thus has arisen the name Macropus giganteus, which des- ignates the common gray kangaroo of Australia. With the settlement of that continent, and the increased knowledge of its fauna, the name kan- garoo was extended to all similar animals until at the present time it is the popular desig- nation for more than forty species of mammals, occurring not only in Australia and Tasmania, but in New Guinea and a number of the smaller near-by islands. These forty species resemble one another so closely in most important characters that they are considered as a subfamily, the Maeropodinse. of the family Macropodida>, the largest of the six families of marsupials. Structure. The distinguishing anatomical fea- tures of the kangaroos are as follows: The den- tal formula is i i, c i n I, m +, the canine 1 Q 1. 4 teeth being generally absent; the foremost upper incisors are the largest; there are well-devel- UENTITION OF A KANGAROO. oped e^-elashes; the .stomach is large and sac- culated, like the large intestine, and there is a large caecum ; the first toe is wanting, while the second and third are very small and included in the skin of the fourth, which is very large and powerful, much larger than the fifth; fore feet with five digits; tail long, stout, and hairj-; head small with elongated muzzle; ears long and ovate; pouch well developed, concealing the four teats. Food and Habits. Kangaroos are entirely herbivorous and seem to replace, in the Austra- lian region, the deer and antelopes, which ara entirely wanting there. They are naturally timid and inoff'ensive, and rely on the keenness of their senses and the rapidity of their flight for escape from their enemies. They often sit erect, sup- porting the body on the tripod formed by the tail and two hind limbs. In this position they are alert to see, hear, or smell, and when alarmed move off quickly by successive. leaps, the force of which is derived from the powerful hind legs. Under ordinary conditions the distance of each leap rather exceeds the total length of the animal, but when going at full speed, each leap may be three or four times the entire length ; moreover, the leaps may exceed in height that of the ani- mal when sitting erect. 5Iost kangaroos live in open glades and upon plains, but some of the smaller species are forest-lovers, and others fre- quent rocky places. When hard pressed by dogs, the larger species defend themselves by kicking or striking with the hind foot. The powerful claw of the fourth toe will cut a dog like a