CHAP. 101. (45.)—THE NAILS.
It is generally supposed that the nails are the terminations
of the sinews. All animals which have fingers have nails as
well. In the ape they are long and overlapping, [Note] like a tile,
while in man they are broad: they will grow even after death.
In the beasts of prey they are hooked, while in others, such
as the dog, for instance, they are straight, with the exception,
indeed, of the one which is attached to the leg in most of
them. All the animals which have feet [and not hoofs], have
toes as well, except the elephant; he, also, would appear to
have toes, five in number, but rudely developed, undivided,
and hardly distinct from one another, bearing a nearer resem-
blance, in fact, to hoofs than to claws. In the elephant the
fore-feet are the largest, and in the hind-feet there are short
joints. This animal is able, also, to bend the hams inward
like a man, while in all the others the joints of the hinder
legs bend in a contrary direction to those of the fore ones.
Those animals which are viviparous bend the fore-leg forward,
while the joint of the hind-leg is directed backward.