GLEANINGS.
THE GIRAFFE.-The giraffe in the King's menagerie at Windsor is now about four years old. It arrived in England in.August 1827, and was a present from the Pasha of Egypt to his Majesty. About the same period another giraffe arrived at Marseilles, being also a present from the Pasha of Egypt to the King of France. That animal was conveyed to the Jardin des Plantes, and for several months occupied almost the exclusive attention of the lively Parisians. Every fashion was a In Giraffe; and even the ladies wore dresses, and the men carried handkerchiefs, bearing the portrait of the animal. Both of these individuals are females ; and they were each taken very young by some Arabs, who fed them with milk. The governor of Sennaar, a large town of Nubia obtained them from the Arabs, and forwarded them to the Pasha of Egypt. This ruler determined on presenting them to the Kings of England and France ; and as there was some difference in size. the consuls of each nation drew lots for them. The shortest and weakest fell to the lot of England. The giraffe destined for our sovereign was conveyed to Malta, under the charge of two Arabs, and was from thence forwarded to London in the Penelope merchant vessel, and arrived on the 11th of August. The animal was conveyed to Windsor, two days after, in a spacious caravan. The following were its dimensions, as measured shortly after its arrival at Windsor:
Ft. In.
From the top of the head to the bottom of the hoof... 10 8 Length of the head . . 1 9 From the top of the head to the neck root 4 0 .. neck root to the elbow . . . 2 3
elbow to the upper part of the knee 1 8
. upper part of the knee to the fetlock joint 1 11 .. fetlock joint to the bottom of the hoof . 0 10 Length of the back . 3 1 From the croup to the bottom of the hoof ... . ........ 5 8 hock to the bottom of the hoof . 2 9 Length of the hoofs . ........ ....... ..... 0 74
From the period of its arrival at the menagerie in Windsor Great Park to the present time (June 1829), the animal has grown eighteen inches. She can now reach about thirteen feet. Her usual food is barley, oats, beans (which are split), and ash-leaves. She drinks milk. Her health is not good: Her joints appear to shoot over, and she is very weak and crippled, affording little probability that she will recover her strength. She is occasionally led for exercise round her paddock, when she seems well enough ; but now, in the day, she is seldom on her legs. Indeed, so great is the weakness of her forelegs, that a pulley has been constructed, being suspended from the ceiling of her hovel, and fastened round her body. for the purpose of raising her on gr legs without any exertion on her part. When she first arrived, she was exceedingly playful, and perfectly harmless ; but she is now much less active, although as gentle as before. She appears to know her keeper, and every object by which she is surrounded attracts her attention,Library.of Entertaining Knowledge, Vol. I. Part II.; Menageries.
We have an opportunity of copying from the same popular and useful work, a portrait of the Giraffe ; which will corroborate, by the best of all evidence, our late praises of the wood-cuts in this publication.