Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IX.djvu/763

KANE KANGAROO 743 Kane's command, May 30, 1853, and the sur- viving officers and crew reached home again in October, 1855, having been forced to aban- don the brig in the ice, and to travel with sledges and boats for 84 days to the Danish settlements on the coast of Greenland, where they met the expedition sent out for their re- lief under Capt. Hartstene. No traces of Sir John Franklin's party had been found. The most striking result of the voyage was the discovery of what was supposed to be an open polar sea, the existence of which Dr. Kane had maintained in a paper read before the American geographical society, Oct. 14, 1852. The story of the sufferings and discoveries of this heroic band of explorers was told by Kane in his " Second Grinnell Expedition in Search of Sir John Franklin " (2 vols. 8vo, Philadel- Ehia, 1856). Gold medals were awarded to im by congress, by the legislature of New York, and by the royal geographical society of London. He also received the queen's medal given to arctic explorers between the years 1818 and 1856, and a testimonial from the British residents of New York city. Dr. Kane's health now gave way again, and soon after completing his narrative he sailed for England. In London he grew rapidly worse. Finding himself sink- ing, he sailed on Feb. 17 for St. Thomas, whence he went to Havana, suffering during the voyage a paralytic stroke. On Dec. 25 he reached Havana, where he died as he was about to be removed to the United States. See "Life of Dr. E. K. Kane," by William Elder, M. D. (Philadelphia, 1857). KANE, Sir Robert, an Irish chemist, born in Dublin in 1810. He was early appointed chemical clerk to the Meath hospital, and in 1830 obtained a prize for the best essay "On the Pathological Condition of the Fluids in Typhus Fever." In 1831 he published " Ele- ments of Practical Pharmacy." In 1832 he received the title of M. D. from Trinity col- lege, Dublin, and in the same year projected the " Dublin Journal of Medical Science." In 1841 he was elected a fellow of the Irish col- lege of physicians, and published the first part of his "Elements of Chemistry;" the third part, completing the work, appeared in 1842. This was for many years a text book in col- leges. An edition by Prof. John W. Draper was immediately published in New York. In 1844 he published a work on "The Industrial Resources of Ireland." He was professor of natural philosophy to the royal Dublin society from 1844 to 1847, and in the latter year the royal academy awarded him the Cunningham gold medal for useful discoveries in chemistry, especially for researches on the coloring mat- ter of lichens. In 1845 he was appointed, in conjunction with Professors Lindley and Tay- lor, to investigate the cause and means of pre- vention of the potato disease, but their labors were unsuccessful. In 1846 he was knighted by the lord lieutenant, and was appointed one of the Irish relief commissioners. In the same year the measures recommended by him for the formation of a museum of Irish industry were carried out, the museum at St. Stephen's Green was established, and lie was appointed a director. A second edition of his " Chemis- try "appeared in 1849. He received the ap- pointment of president of Queen's college, Cork, and delivered the inaugural address at the opening, Nov. 7, 1849, but resigned in 1864. KANGAROO, a marsupial animal, whose nu- merous species constitute the family macro- podidos, peculiar to Australia and the neigh- boring islands. (See MARSUPIALS.) The dentition is as follows : incisors f, canines none or one on each side in the upper jaw, premplars ~$, molars |cj ; the upper inci- sors are large and broad, some of them resem- bling those of man, often arched, grooved, and dilated at the end ; the lower incisors are hori- zontal, compressed, lanceolate, with cutting margins ; the molars are broad, tuberculated, with nearly quadrangular crowns ; in many of the species the lower incisors may be separa- ted by means of the loose connection of the branches of the jaw at the chin. The head is elongated, the upper lip cleft, the muffle en- tirely or nearly naked, ears large, eyelashes springing directly from the lids ; the clavicles weak and slender, especially in the large spe- cies ; fore limbs usually very small in propor- tion to the hind; the hands naked beneath, with five well developed fingers, each armed with a strong curved claw ; the hind legs large and powerful; the foot long, four-toed, the first or inner toe being absent, the second and third long, slender, and so united by integu- ment as to resemble a single toe with a double nail ; nails distinct and hollow beneath ; fourth hind toe much developed, with a large solid claw, the fifth smaller with a strong claw ; tail long, thick at the base, and usually very pow- erful; the marsupial pouch well developed and opening forward; mammse usually four; stomach complex, and cfficum long and simple. Kangaroos are vegetable feeders, browsing like ruminants, and like these, according to Owen, occasionally chew the cud ; they vary in height from that of a man to that of a hare, but when browsing apply the fore feet to the ground ; at other times they rest upon the tripod formed by the hind legs and powerful tail, with the fore part of the body inclining slightly forward. They are the only marsu- pials which are not of nocturnal habits. Of the 30 species described, the largest and the best known is the great kangaroo (macroptis giganteiu, Shaw), discovered in 1770 on the coast of New South Wales during Cook's first voyage ; an adult male in the British museum measures 5J ft. from tip of nose to root of tail, the latter being SJ- ft. additional, the head 8J in. to the ears, ears about 5 in., length of fore- arm and hand (without the claws) 17 in., and of tarsus alone 15J in. ; the female is about one third smaller. The hair is moderately long and soft, of a general gray brown above