immemorial, long-established. indomitable, not to be subdued. insulated, solitary.
intersected, traversed. luxury, dainty. malaria, poisonous air.
modifications, limitations. myriads, immense numbers. nomadic, wandering. nourishment, sustenance. paroxysms, convulsions. penetrates, pierces. perpetual, unbroken. perseverance, persistence.
physiognomy, cast of countenance.
preponderance, excess. retinue, convoy. sanguinary, blood-thirsty. sensations, feelings. steppes, plains.
tornadoes, whirling tempests. transfixed, pierced through. writhing, making contortions.
NOTES
① The highest waterfall in the world.-The Victoria Falls, on the Zambeze. The river, there more than a mile wide, rushes over a precipice 310 feet high, and then flows on for 30 miles in a rocky channel only 60 feet broad.
② Mangroves.-The peculiarity of the mangrove tree, which is found in America as wellas in Africa, is that its seeds germinate on the branches, and when the shoots are considerably grown they fall off and take root in the mud. As the young tree grows up, it sends out fresh roots from its trunk and lower branches The tree at last seems to be supported by a net- work of roots, or complicated series of arches, in the midst of which crabs, aquatic birds and insects take up their abode.
③ Crocodile.... alligator.-The crocodile differs from the alligator in having webbed feet.
In both, the upper part of the body is protected by horny armour-plates. Both grow to the length of 16 or 18 feet.
④ Hippopotamus, a huge thick-skinned (pachydermatous) animal, inferior only to theelephant in size. The name means "river-horse." It is supposed to be the be"hemoth described in Job xi. It walks at the bottom of the water, raising its head occasionally above the surfacefor respiration. Its thick hide is bullet-proof. It has two short tusks, very hard and very white. It is harmless until attacked.
⑤ Rhinoceros, another huge pachyderm, of nearly the same size as the hippopotamus.
But while the latter has tusks coming out of the jaw, the rhinoceros has a horny protuberance from two to three feet in length on the top of its snout.
⑥ Nylghau, an animal of the antelope family. Its body, horns, and tail resemble those ofthe bull; its head, neck, and legs those of the deer⑦ Javanese, belonging to the island of Java, one of the Sunda group in the East Indies.
⑧ Panther.... leop"ard.-Both animals are now believed to belong to the same family. They differ only in this, that the leopard has small spots, thickly set, while those of the panther are large and open Leopard means lion-panther.
⑨ Malayan, or brown race, characterized by narrow head, and black, stiff hair. It includes the natives of Malacca, Malaysia, Polynesia, and New Zealand.
⑩ The pouch.-The kangaroo belongs to the order of pouched animals (marsupials); so called because they carry their young in an external pouch.
Guadeloupe, one of the West Indian Islands, south of Antigua.
The Mauritius, an island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar. Port Louis is its capital.
Pitcairn Island, a solitary island in the South Pacific, scarcely five miles in circumference.
It is 1200 miles south-east of Tahiti. There the mutineers of the Bounty first settled in 1789.
QUESTIONS
Why is so little known of the interior of Africa? What are the limits of tropical Africa? What are its chief natural features? Name its four great rivers. What great waterfall is on the Zambeze? What is the chief vegetable wonder of tropical Africa? For what are these trees sometimes used? Name the chief animals found in that region. What is remarkable about the plants and animals of the desert? Where has the lion his home? What are the only dangerous animals met with in the Sahara? What causes animal life to fluctuate in the desert? What is the character of most of Arabia? What alone saves it from being uninhabitable? What two animals do we associate with Arabia? What is the original country of the horse? How does the camel secure the freedom of the Arab tribes? What animal is lord of the Indian jungles? How does the tiger multiply his murders? Where are the panther and the leopard found? Wherein do these animals differ? What animal is characteristic of Australia? How do the natives hunt it? For what are the tropical oceans remarkable? What are the circular storms in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans called? Mention instances of great storms in the different oceans. In what way are these storms often beneficial?
