Page:Types of British Animals.djvu/29

 and birds each form a class. Other classes are the reptiles, represented above by the adder and lizard; the amphibians, represented by the frog and newt; the fishes, represented by the salmon and shark; and the insects, represented by the butterfly and beetle. To these I might add the molluscs, such as oysters and snails; crustaceans, as crabs and shrimps, and many other sub-kingdoms of invertebrate animals.

Give me your patience a little longer, and I will have done with these tiresome introductory notes.

There are, as you know, very different types of mammals. The fox and hare are about as different as two animals of the same class could be: the former is a dog-like creature, that feeds on flesh; the latter is a timid vegetarian. They belong to different orders: the fox is one of the Carnivora (or flesh-eaters), and the hare belongs to the Rodentia (or gnawers). Such orders are not always named according to their food or mode of feeding; but we also have the Insectivora (or insect-eaters), as the hedgehog and mole, and the Ruminantia (or ruminants), as the deer.

I have just called the fox a "dog-like" animal, and, indeed, he belongs to the dog family. The lion, which is another of the carnivorous order, belongs to the cat family. Now, the Cape hunting-dog, a wild dog found in South Africa, also belongs to the dog family, and is yet quite distinct from the true dogs, such as the fox, wolf and jackal. This Cape dog is, therefore, said to belong to another genus. Our fox belongs to what is known as the typical genus of dogs, called by the Latin Canis, which means dog, as of course you know. The Cape dog is given