“The giraffe ruminates, as every animal does that possesses, at the same time, horns and cloven feet. It grazes also in the same way; but not often, because the country which it inhabits has little pasturage. Its ordinary food is the leaf of a sort of mimosa, called by the natives _kanaap_, and by the colonists, _kameeldoorn_. This tree being only found in the country of the Namaquas, may probably afford a reason why the giraffe is there fixed, and why he is not seen in those regions of Southern Africa where the tree does not grow. [Illustration: The Giraffe.] “Doubtless the most beautiful part of his body is the head. The mouth is small; the eyes are brilliant and full. Between the eyes, and above the nose is a swelling, very prominent and well defined. This prominence is not a fleshy excrescence, but an enlargement of the bony substance; and it seems to be similar to the two little lumps, or protuberances, with which the top of his head is armed, and which, being about the size of a hen’s egg, spring, on each side, at the commencement of the mane. His tongue is rough, and terminates in a point. The two jaws have, on each side, six molar teeth; but the lower jaw has, beyond these, eight incisive teeth, while the upper jaw has none. “The hoofs, which are cleft, and have no nails, resemble those of the ox. We may remark, at first sight, that those of the fore feet are larger than those of the hind. The leg is very slender, but the knees have a prominence, because the animal kneels when he lies down.