there till they are grown up. There they find a greater variety of pasture than near the warren, which is generally eaten bare, and enjoy a warmer sun by covering themselves up in a shallower hole. Whenever they are disturbed they then forsake their retreat of pleasure for one of safety; they fly to the warren with their utmost speed; and if the distance be short, there is scarce any dog, how swift soever, that can overtake them.

But it does not always happen that these animals are possessed of one of these external apartments; they most usually bring forth their young in the warren, but always in a hole separate from the male. On these occasions the female digs herself a hole, different from the ordinary one by being more intricate, at the bottom of which she makes a more ample apartment. This done, she tears from her belly a quantity of hair, with which she makes a kind of bed for her young. During the first two days she never leaves them, and does not stir out but to procure nourishment, which she takes with the utmost despatch-in this manner suckling her young for near six weeks, until they are strong and able to go abroad themselves. During all this time the male seldom or never visits their separate apartment; but when they are grown up, so as to come to the mouth of the hole, he then seems to acknowledge them as his offspring, takes them between his paws, smooths their skin, and licks their eyes; all of them, one after the other, have an equal share in his caresses.

In this manner the rabbit when wild consults its pleasure and its safety: but those that are bred up tame do not take the trouble of digging a hole, conscious of being already protected. It has also been observed, that when people to make a warren stock it with tame rabbits, these animals, having been unaccustomed to the art of scraping a hole, continue exposed to the weather and every other accident without ever burrowing. Their immediate offspring also are equally regardless of their safety; and it is not till after two or three generations that these animals begin to find the necessity and convenience of an asylum, and practise an art which they could only learn from Nature.

Rabbits of the domestic breed, like all other animals that are under the protection of man, are of various colours-white, brown, black, and mouse-colour. The black are the most scarce; the brown, white, and mouse colour are in greater plenty. Most of the wild rabbits are of a brown, and it is the colour which prevails among the species; for in every nest of rabbits, whether the parents be black or white, there are some brown ones of the number. But in England there are many warrens stocked with the mouse-colour kinds, which some say came originally from an island in the river Humber, and which still continue their original colour after a great number of successive generations. A gentleman who bred up tame rabbits for his amusement gives the following account of their production :- I began," says he," by having but one male and female only; the male was entirely white and the female brown, but in their posterity the number of the brown by far exceeded those of any other colour; there were some white, some party-coloured, and some black. It is surprising how much the descendants were obedient and submissive to their common parent; he was easily distinguished from the rest by his superior whiteness; and, however numerous the other males were, this kept them all in subjection. Whenever they quarrelled among each other, either for their females or provisions, as soon as he heard the noise he ran up to them with all despatch, and, upon his appearance, all was instantly reduced to peace and order. If he caught any of them in the fact, he instantly punished them as an example to the rest. Another instance of his superiority was, that having accustomed them to come to me with the call of a whistle, the instant this signal was given I saw him marshalling them up, leading them the foremost, and then suffering them

all to file off before him in the most perfect order." The rabbit, though less than the hare, generally lives longer. As these animals pass the greater part of their lives in their burrow, where they continue at ease and unmolested, they have nothing to prevent the regularity of their health or the due course of their nourishment. They are therefore generally found fatter than the hare; but their flesh is, notwithstanding, much less delicate. That of the old ones in particular is hard, tough, and dry; but it is said that in warmer countries they are better tasted. This may very well be, as the rabbit, though so very plentiful in Great Britain and Ireland, is nevertheless a native of the warmer climates, and has been originally imported into these kingdoms from Spain. In the country, and in some of the islands in the Mediterranean, we are told that they once multiplied in such numbers as to prove the greatest nuisance to the natives. They at first demanded military aid to destroy them; but soon after they called in the assistance of ferrets, which originally came from Africa, and these, with much more ease and expedition, contrived to lessen the calamity. In fact, rabbits are found to love a warm climate, and to be incapable of bearing the cold of the north; so that in Sweden they are obliged to be littered in the houses. It is otherwise in all the tropical climates, where they are extremely common, and where they seldom burrow as with us. The English counties that are most noted for these animals are Lincolnshire, Norfolk, and Cambridgeshire. They delight in grounds of a sandy soil, which are warmer than those of clay, and which also furnish a softer and finer pasture.

The tame rabbits are larger than the wild ones, from their taking more nourishment and using less exercise; but their flesh is not so good, being more insipid and softer. In order to improve it they are chiefly fed upon bran, and stinted in their water; for if indulged in too great plenty of moist food they ape, as the feeders express it, to grow rotten. The hair or fur is a very useful commodity, and is employed in England for several purposes, as well when the skin is dressed with it on as when it is pulled off. The skins, especially the white ones, are used for lining clothes, and are considered as a cheap imitation of ermine. The skin of the male is usually preferred as being the most lasting, but it is coarser; that on the belly in either sex is the best and finest. But the chief use made of rabbits fur is in the manufacture of hats; it is always mixed in certain proportions with the fur of the beaver, and it is said to give the latter more strength and consistence.

The Syrian rabbit, like all other animals bred in that country, is remarkable for the length of its hair; it falls along the sides in wavy wreaths, and is in some places curled at the end like wool; it is shed once a year in large masses; and it often happens that the rabbit, dragging a part of its robe on the ground, appears as if it had got another leg or a longer tail. There are no rabbits naturally in America; however, those that have been carried from Europe are found to multiply in the West India Islands in great abundance. In other parts of that continent they have animals that in some measure resemble the rabbits of Europe, and which most European travellers have often called "hares" or "rabbits," as they happened to be large or small. Their giving them even the name will be a sufficient excuse for my placing them among animals of the hare kind, although they may differ in many of the most essential particulars. But before we go to the new continent, we will first examine such as bear even a distant resemblance to the hare kind at home.

THE SQUIRREL.-There are few readers that are not as well acquainted with the figure of a squirrel as that of the rabbit; but supposing it unknown to any, we might give them some idea of its form by comparing it to a rabbit, with shorter ears and a longer tail. The tail,

indeed, is alone sufficient to distinguish it from all others, as it is extremely long, beautiful, and bushy, spreading like a fan, and which, when thrown up behind, covers the whole body. This serves the little animal for a double purpose; when erected, it serves like an umbrella as a secure protection from the injuries of the heat and cold; and when extended, it is very instrumental in promoting those vast leaps that the squirrel takes from tree to tree; nay, some assert that it answers still a third purpose, and when the squirrel takes to the water, which it sometimes does upon a piece of bark, that its tail serves it instead of a sail.

There are few wild animals in which there are so many varieties as in the squirrel. The "common squirrel" is of the size of a small rabbit, and is of a more redish brown. The belly and breast are white, and the ears beautifully ornamented with long tufts of hair of a deeper colour than that on the body. The eyes are large, black, and lively; the legs are short and muscular like those of the rabbit; but the toes are longer and the claws sharper, so as to fit it for climbing. When it eats or dresses itself it sits erect like the hare or rabbit, making use of its fore-legs as hands, and chiefly resides in trees. The "grey Virginian squirrel," which Mr. Buffon calls the "petit gris," is larger than a rabbit, and of a greyish colour. Its body and limbs are thicker than those of the common squirrel; and its ears are shorter, and without tufts at the point. The upper part of the body and external part of the legs are of a fine whitish grey, with a beautiful red streak on each side lengthways. The tail is covered with very long grey hair, variegated with black and white towards the extremity. This variety seems to be common to both continents, and in Sweden is seen to change colour in winter. The "Barbary squirrel," of which Mr. Buffon makes three varieties, is of a mixed colour, between red and black. Along the sides there are white and brown lines, which render this animal very beautiful; but what still adds to its elegance is, that the belly is of a sky-blue surrounded with white. Some of these hold up the tail erect, and others throw it forward over their body. The "Siberian white squirrel" is of the size of a common squirrel. The "Carolina black squirrel" is much bigger than the former, and sometimes tipped with white at all the extremities. The "Brazilian squirrel," which Mr. Buffon calls the "coquallin," is a beautiful animal of this kind, and very remarkable for the variety of its colours. Its belly is of a bright yellow; its head and body variegated with white, black, brown, and orange colour. It wants the tufts at the extremity of its ears, and does not climb trees as most of the kind are seen to do. To this list may be added the "little ground-squirrel of Carolina," of a redish colour and blackish stripes on each side; and, like the former, not delighting in trees. Lastly, the "squirrel of New Spain," which is of a deep iron-grey colour, with seven longitudinal whitish streaks along the sides of the male, and five along those of the female. As for the flying squirrels they are a distinct kind, and shall be treated of by themselves.

These, which I suppose to be but a few of the numerous varieties of the squirrel, sufficiently serve to show how extensively this animal is diffused over all parts of the world. It is not to be supposed, however, that every variety is capable of sustaining every climate; for few animals are so tender or so little able to endure a change of abode as this. Those bred in the tropical climates will only live near a warm sun: while, on the contrary, the squirrel of Siberia will scarce endure the temperature of ours. These varieties not only differ in their constitutions and colour, but in their dispositions also; for while some live on the tops of trees, others feed, like rabbits, on vegetables below. Whether any of these, so variously coloured and so differently disposed, would breed among each other we cannot tell; and since, therefore, we are left in uncertainty upon this point, we are

at liberty to consider each as a distinct species by itself, or only a variety that accident might have originally produced, and that the climate or soil might have continued. For our own part, as the original character of the squirrel is so strongly marked upon them all, I cannot help considering them in the latter point of view-rather as the common descendants of one parent than originally formed with such distinct similitudes.

The squirrel is a beautiful little animal, which is but half savage, and which, from the gentleness and innocence of its manners, deserves our protection. It is neither carnivorous nor hurtful; its usual food is fruits, nuts, and acorns; it is cleanly, nimble, active, and industrious; its eyes are sparkling, and its physiognomy marked with meaning. It generally, like the hare and rabbit, sits upon its hinder legs, and uses the fore-paws as hands; these have five claws, or "toes," as they are called, and one of them is separated from the rest like a thumb. This animal seems to approach the nature of birds, from its lightness and surprising agility on the tops of trees. It seldom descends to the ground except in case of a storm, but jumps from one branch to another; feeds in spring on the buds and young shoots in summer, on the ripening fruits, and particularly the young cones of the pine-tree. In autumn it has an extensive variety to feast upon-the acorn, the philberd, the chesnut, and the wilding. This season of plenty, however, is not spent in idle enjoyment; the provident little animal gathers at that time its provisions for the winter, and cautiously foresees the seasons when the forest shall be stripped of its leaves and fruitage.

Its nest is generally formed among the large branches of a great tree where they begin to fork off in small ones. After choosing the place where the timber begins to decay and a hollow may be more easily formed, the squirrel begins by making a kind of a level between the forks; and then bringing moss, twigs, and dry leaves, it binds them together with great art so as to resist the most violent storm. This is covered up on all sides, and has but a single opening at top, which is just large enough to admit the little animal; this opening is secured from the weather by a kind of canopy, made in the fashion of a cone, so that it throws off the rain though never so heavy. The nest thus formed, with a very little opening above, is, neverthless, very commodious and roomy below

soft, well knit together, and every way convenient and warm. In this retreat the little animal brings forth its young, shelters itself from the scorching heat of the sun, which it seems to fear, and from the storms and inclemency of winter, which it is still less capable of supporting. Its provision of nuts and acorns is seldom in its nest, but in the hollows of the tree, laid up carefully together, and never touched but in case of necessity. Thus one single tree serves for a retreat and a store-house; and without leaving it during the winter, the squirrel possesses all those enjoyments that its nature is capable of receiving. But it sometimes happens that its little mansion is attacked by a deadly and powerful foe. The martin goes often in quest of a retreat for its young, which it is incapable of making for itself; for this reason it fixes upon the nest of a squirrel, and, with double injustice, destroys the tenant and then takes possession of the mansion.

However, this is a calamity that but seldom happens; and of all other animals the squirrel leads the most frolicsome, playful life, being surrounded with abundance and having few enemies to fear. They are at heat early in the spring, when, as a modern naturalist says, it is very diverting to see the female feigning an escape from the pursuit of two or three males, and to observe the various proofs which they give of their agility, which is then exerted in full force. Nature seems to have been particular in the formation of these animals for propa gation; however, they seldom bring forth above four or five young at a time, and that but once a year. The

time of gestation seems to be about six weeks; they are pregnant in the beginning of April, and bring forth about the middle of May.

The squirrel is never found in the open fields, nor yet in copses or underwoods; it always keeps in the midst of the tallest trees, and as much as possible shuns the habitations of men. It is extremely watchful; if the tree in which it resides be but touched at the bottom, the squirrel instantly takes the alarm, quits its nest, at once flies off to another tree, and thus travels with great ease along the tops of the forest, until it finds itself perfectly out of danger. In this manner it continues for some hours at a distance from home, until the alarm be past away; and then it returns by paths that to all quadrupeds but itself are utterly impassable. Its usual way of moving is by bounds; these it takes from one tree to another at forty feet distance; and if at any time it is obliged to descend, it runs up the side of the next tree with amazing facility. It has an extremely sharp piercing note, which most usually expresses pain; it has another, more like the purring of a cat, which it employs when pleased-at least it appeared so in that from whence I have taken a part of this description.

In Lapland and the extensive forests to the north the squirrels are observed to change their habitation, and to remove in vast numbers from one country to another. In these migrations they are generally seen by thousands, travelling directly forward; while neither rocks, forests, nor even the broadest waters can stop their progress. What I am going to relate appeared so extraordinary, that were it not attested by numbers of the most credible historians, among whom are Klein and Linnæus, it might be rejected with that scorn with which we treat imposture or credulity; however, nothing can be more true, that when these animals in their progress meet with broad rivers or extensive lakes, which abound in Lapland, they take a very extraordinary method of crossing them. Upon approaching the banks and perceiving the breadth of the water, they return, as if by common consent, into the neighbouring forest, each in quest of a piece of bark, which answers all the purposes of boats for wafting them over. When the whole company are fitted in this manner they boldly commit their little fleet to the waves every squirrel sitting on its own piece of bark, and fanning the air with its tail to drive the vessel to its desired port. In this orderly manner they set_forward, and often cross lakes several miles broad. But it too often happens that the poor mariners are not aware of the dangers of their navigation; for although at the edge of the water it is generally calm, in the midst it is always more turbulent: there the slightest additional gust of wind oversets the little sailor and his vessel together. The whole navy, that but a few minutes before rode proudly and securely along, is now overturned, and a shipwreck of two or three thousand sail ensues. This, which is so unfortunate for the little animal, is generally the most lucky accident in the world for the Laplander on the shore, who gathers up the dead bodies as they are thrown in by the waves, eats the flesh, and sells the skins for about a shilling the dozen.

The squirrel is easily tamed, and it is then a very familiar animal. It loves to lie warm, and will often creep into a man's pocket or his bosom. It is usually kept in a box, and fed with hazle-nuts. Some find amusement in observing with what ease it bites the nut open and eats the kernel. In short, it is a pleasing, pretty little domestic; and its tricks may serve to entertain a mind unequal to stronger operations.

THE FLYING SQUIRREL.-Mr. Ray was justly of opinion that the flying squirrel might more properly be said to be of the rat kind, because its fur is shorter than in other squirrels, and its colours also more nearly approach the former. However, as mankind have been

content to class it among the squirrels, it is scarcely worth making a new distinction in its favour. This little animal, which is frequently brought over to England, is less than a common squirrel and bigger than a fieldmouse. Its skin is very soft, and elegantly adorned with a dark fur in some places, and light-grey in others. It has large, prominent, black and very sparkling eyes, small ears, and very sharp teeth, with which it gnaws anything quickly. When it does not leap, its tail, which is pretty enough, lies close to its back; but when it takes its spring, the tail is moved backwards and forwards from side to side. It is said to partake somewhat of the nature of the squirrel, of the rat, and of the dormouse; but that in which it is distinguished from all other animals is its peculiar conformation for taking those leaps that almost look like flying. It is indeed amazing to see it at one bound dart above a hundred yards from one tree to another. They are assisted in this spring by & very peculiar formation of the skin, that extends from the fore-feet to the hinder; so that when the animal stretches its fore-legs forward and its hind-legs backward, this skin is spread out between them, somewhat like that between the legs of a bat. The surface of the body being thus increased, the little animal keeps buoyant in the air until the force of its first impulsion is expired, and then it descends. This skin, when the creature is at rest or walking, continues wrinkled upon its sides; but when its limbs are extended it forms a kind of web between them of above an inch broad on either side, and gives the whole body the appearance of a skin floating in the air. In this manner the flying squirrel changes place, not like a bird, by repeated strokes of its wings, but rather like a paper kite, supported by the expansion of the surface of its body; but with this dif ference, however, that, being naturally heavier than the air, instead of mounting it descends; and that jump, which upon the ground would not be above forty yards, when from a higher tree to a lower may be above a hundred.

This little animal is more common in America than in Europe, but not very commonly to be seen in either. It is usually found, like the squirrel, on the tops of trees; but, though better fitted for leaping, it is of a more torpid disposition, and is seldom seen to exert its powers; so that it is often seized by the polecat and the martin. It is easily tamed, but apt to break away whenever it finds an opportunity. It does not seem fond of nuts or almonds, like other squirrels, but it is chiefly pleased with the sprouts of the birch and the cones of the pine. It is fed in its tame state with bread and fruits; it generally sleeps by day, and is always most active by night. Some naturalists gravely caution us not to let it get among our cornfields, where they tell us it will do a great deal of damage by cropping the corn as soon as it begins to ear.

THE MARMOUT-From the description of the squirrel and its varieties we proceed to a different tribe of animals, no way indeed resembling the squirrel, but still something like the rabbit and the hare. We are to keep these two animals still in view as the centre of our comparison -as objects to which many others may bear some similitude, though they but little approach each other. Among the hare kind is the marmout, which naturalists have placed either among the hare kind or the rat kind as it suited their respective systems. In fact, it bears no great resemblance to either; but of the two it approaches much nearer the hare, as well in the make of its head as in its size, in its bushy tail, and particularly in its chewing the cud, which alone is sufficient to determine our choice in giving it its present situation. How it ever came to be degraded into the rat or mouse I cannot conceive, for it in no way resembles them in size, being near as big as a hare; or in its disposition, since no animal is more tractable nor more easily tamed.

The marmout is, as was said, almost as big as a hare, but it is more corpulent than a cat, and has shortor legs. Its head pretty nearly resembles that of a hare, except that its ears are much shorter. It is clothed all over with very long hair, and a shorter fur below. These are of different colours, black and grey. The length of the hair gives the body the appearance of greater corpulence than it really has, and at the same time shortens the legs, so that its belly seems to touch the ground. Its tail is tufted and well furnished with hair, and it is carried in a straight direction with its body. It has five claws behind and only four before. These it uses as the squirrel does, to carry its food to its mouth; and it usually sits upon its hinder parts to feed in the manner of that little animal.

The marmout is chiefly a native of the Alps, and when taken young is tamed more easily than any other wild animal, and almost as perfectly as any of those that are domestic. It is readily taught to dance, to wield a cudgel, and to obey the voice of its master. Like the cat, it has an antipathy to the dog; and when it becomes familiar to the family, and is sure of being supported by its master, it attacks and bites even the largest mastiff. From its squat muscular make, it has great strength joined to great agility. It has four large cutting teeth, like all those of the hare kind, but it uses them to much more advantage, since in this animal they are very formidable weapons of defence. However, it is in general a very inoffensive animal, and, except its enmity to dogs, seems to live in friendship with every creature unless provoked. If not prevented, it is very apt to gnaw the furniture of a house, and even to make holes through wooden partitions; from whence, perhaps, it has been compared to the rat. As its legs are very short, and made somewhat like those of a bear, it is often seen sitting up, and even walking on its hind legs in like manner, but with the fore-paws, as was said, it feeds itself in the manner of a squirrel. Like all the hare kind, it runs much swifter up hill than down; it climbs trees with great ease, and runs up the clefts of rocks or the contiguous walls of houses with great facility. It is ludicrously said that the Savoyards, who are the only chimney-sweepers of Paris, have learned this art from the marmout, which is bred in the same country.

These animals eat indiscriminately of whatever is presented to them-flesh, bread, fruits, herbs, roots, pulse, and insects; but they are most partial to milk and butter. Although less inclined to petty thefts than the cat, yet they always try to steal into the dairy, where they lap up the milk like a cat, purring all the while like that animal as an expression of their being pleased. As to the rest, milk is the only liquid they like. They seldom drink water, and refuse wine. When pleased or caressed they often yelp like puppies; but when irritated or frightened they have a piercing note that grates on the ear. They are very cleanly animals, and like the cat retire upon necessary occasions; but their bodies have a disagreeable scent, particularly in summer. This tinctures their flesh, which, being very fat and firm, would be very good were not this flavour always found to predominate.

We have hitherto been describing affections in this animal which it has in common with many others; but we now come to one which particularly distinguishes it from all others of this kind, and, indeed, from every other quadruped except the bat and the dormouse-this is, its sleeping during the winter. The marmout, though a native of the highest mountains, and where the snow is never wholly melted, nevertheless seems to feel the influence of the cold more than any other, and in a manner has all its faculties chilled up in winter. This extraordinary suspension of life and motion for more than half the year excites our wonder, and demands our attention to consider the manner of such a tempo

rary death and the subsequent revival. But first to describe before we attempt to discuss.

The marmout, usually at the end of September or the beginning of October, prepares to fit up its habitation for the winter, from which it is never seen to issue till about the beginning or the middle of April. This animal's little retreat is made with great precaution, and fitted up with art. It is a hole on the side of a mountain, extremely deep, with a spacious apartment at the bottom, which is rather longer than it is broad. In this several marmouts can reside at the same time, without crowding each other or injuring the air they breathe. The feet and claws of this animal seem made for digging; and, in fact, they burrow into the ground with amazing facility, scraping up the earth like a rabbit, and throwing back what they have thus loosened behind them. But the form of their hole is still more wonderful; it resembles the letter Y-the two branches being two openings, which conduct into one channel which terminates in their general apartment that lies at the bottom. As the whole is made on the declivity of a mountain, there is no part of it on a level but the apartment at the end. One of the branches or openings issues out, sloping downwards; and this serves as a kind of sink or drain to the whole family, where they make their excrements, and where the moisture of the place is drawn away. The other branch, on the contrary, slopes upwards-and this serves as their door upon which to go out and in. The apartment at the end is warmly stuccoed round with moss and hay, of both which they make an ample provision during the summer. As this is a work of great labour, so it is undertaken in common; some cut the finest grass, others gather it, and others take their turns to drag it into their hole. Upon this occasion, as we are told, one of them lies on its back, permits the hay to be heaped upon its belly, keeps its paws upright to make greater room, and in this manmer, lying still on its back, it is dragged by the tail, hay and all, to their common retreat. Some give this as a reason for the hair being generally worn away on their backs, as is usually the case; however, a better reason than this may be assigned, from their continually rooting up holes and passing through narrow openings. Be this as it will, certain it is that they all live together, and work in common to make their habitation as snug and convenient as possible. In it they pass three parts of their lives; into it they retire when the storm is raging; in it they continue while it rains; there they abide when apprehensive of danger, and never stir out except in fine weather, and even then not venturing far from home. Whenever they go abroad one is placed as a centinel, sitting upon a lofty rock, while the rest amuse themselves in playing along the green fields, or are employed in cutting grass and making hay for their winter's stock. When an enemy-a man, a dog, or a bird of prey-approaches, their trusty centinel apprises its companions by a whistle, upon which they all make for home, the centinel himself bringing up the rear.

But it must not be supposed that this hay is designed for provision; on the contrary, it is always found in as great plenty in their holes at the end as at the beginning of winter; it is only sought for the convenience of their lodgings and the advantages of their young. As to provision, they seem kindly apprised by Nature that during the winter they will not require any, so that they make no provision for food, though so diligently employed in fitting up their abode. As soon as they perceive the first approaches of winter, during which their vitality is to continue in some measure suspended, they labour very diligently to close up the two entrances of their habitation, which they effect with such solidity, that it is easier to dig up the earth in any other part than that which they have closed. At that time they are very fat, some of them being found to weigh above twenty pounds; they continue so for even three months more; but by

degrees their flesh begins to waste, and they are usually very lean by the end of winter. When their retreat is opened the whole family is then discovered, each rolled into a ball, and covered up under the hay. In this state they seem entirely lifeless; they may be taken away, and even killed, without testifying any great pain; and those who find them in this mauner carry them home, in order to bring up the young and eat the old ones. A gradual and gentle warmth revives them; but they would die if too suddenly brought near the fire, or if their juices were too quickly liquified.

Strictly speaking, these animals cannot be said to sleep during the winter; it may be called rather a "torpor"-a stagnation of all the faculties. This torpor is produced by the congelation of their blood, which is naturally much colder than that of all other quadrupeds. The usual heat of man and other animals is about thirty degrees above congelation; the heat of these is not above ten degrees. Their internal heat is seldom greater than that of the temperature of the air. This has been often tried by plunging the ball of the thermometer into the body of a living dormouse, and it never rose beyond its usual pitch in the air, and sometimes it sunk more than a degree. It is not surprising, therefore, that these animals, whose blood is so cold naturally, should become torpid, when the external cold is too powerful for the small quantity of heat in their bodies yet remaining; and this always happens when the thermometer is not more than ten degrees above congelation. This coldness Mr. Buffon has experienced in the blood of the bat, the dormouse, and the hedge-hog; and he also extends the analogy to the marmout, which, like the rest, is seen to sleep all the winter. This torpid state continues as long as the cause which produces it remains; and it is very probable that it might be lengthened out beyond its usual term by artificially prolonging the cold; if, for instance, the animal were rolled up in wool and placed in a cold cellar, nearly approaching to but not quite so cold as an ice-house (for that would kill them outright), it would remain, perhaps, a whole year in its state of insensibility. However this be, if the tempera ture be above ten degrees these animals are seen to revive; and if it be continued in that degree they do not become torpid, but eat and sleep at proper intervals like all other quadrupeds.

From the above account we may form some conception of the state in which these animals continue during the winter. As in some disorders where the circulation is extremely languid the appetite is diminished in proportion, so in these, the blood scarcely moving, or only moving in the greater vessels, they want no nourishment to repair what is worn away by its motions. They are seen, indeed, by slow degrees to become leaner in pro portion to the slow attrition of their fluids; but this is not perceptible except at the end of some months. Man is often known to gather nourishment from the ambient air: these, also, may in some measure be supplied in the same manner; and, having sufficient motion in their fluids to keep them from putrefaction, and just sufficient nourishment to supply the waste of their languid circulation, they continue rather feebly alive than sleeping.

These animals produce but once a year, and usually bring forth but three or four at a time. They grow very fast, and the extent of their lives is not above nine or ten years; so that the species is neither numerous nor very much diffused. They are chiefly found in the Alps, where they seem to prefer the brow of the highest mountains to the lowest ranges, and the sunny side to that in the shade. The inhabitants of the country where they chiefly reside, when they observe the hole, generally stay till winter before they think proper to open it; for if they begin too soon the animal awakes, and, as it has a surprising faculty of digging, makes its hole deeper in proportion as they follow. Such as kill it for food use

every art to improve the flesh, which is said to have a wild taste and to cause vomitings. They therefore take away the fat, which is in great abundance, and salt the remainder, drying it somewhat in the manner of bacon. Still, however, it is said to be very indifferent eating. This animal is found in Poland under the denomination of the "boback," entirely resembling that of the Alps, except that the latter has a toe more upon its fore-foot than the former. It is found also in Siberia under the name of the "fevraska," being rather smaller than either of the other two. Lastly, it is found in Canada by the apellation of the "monax," differing only from the rest in having a bluish snout and a longer tail.

THE AGOUTI.-From the marmout, which differs from the hare so much in the length of its fur, we go to the agouti, another species equally differing in the shortness of its hair. These bear some rude resemblance to the hare and the rabbit in their form and manner of living, but sufficiently differing to require a particular descrip tion. The first of these-and that the largest, as was hinted above-is called the "agouti." This animal is found in great abundance in the southern parts of America, and has by some been called the "rabbit" of that continent; but though in many respects it resembles the rabbit, yet still in many more it differs, and is without all doubt an animal peculiar to the new world only. The agouti is about the size of a rabbit, and has a head very much resembling it, except that the ears are short in comparison. It resembles the rabbit also in the arched form of its back, in the hind-legs being longer than the fore, and in having four great cutting teeth, two above and two below; but then it differs in the nature of its hair, which is not soft and downy as in the rabbit, but hard and bristly like that of a sucking pig, and of a redish brown colour. It differs also in the tail, which is even shorter than in the rabbit, and entirely destitute of hair. Lastly, it differs in the number of its toes, having but three on the hinder feet, whereas the rabbit has five. All these distinctions, however, do not countervail against its general form, which resembles that of a rabbit, and most travellers have called it by that name.

As this animal differs in form, it differs still more in habitudes and disposition. As it has the hair of a hog, so also it has its voraciousness. It eats indiscriminately of all things, and when satiated hides the remainder, like the dog or the fox, for a future occasion. It takes a pleasure in gnawing and spoiling everything it comes near. When irritated its hair stands erect along the back, and, like the rabbit, it strikes the ground violently with its hind feet. It does not dig a hole in the ground, but burrows in the hollows of trees Its ordinary food consists of the roots of the country-potatoes and yams, and such fruits as fall from the trees in autumn. It uses its fore-paws like the squirrel to carry its food to its mouth; and as its hind-feet are longer than the fore, it runs very swiftly upon plain ground or up a hill, but upon a descent it is in danger of falling. Its sight is excellent, and its hearing equals that of any other animal; whenever it is whistled to it stops to hearken. The flesh of such as are fat and well fed is tolerable food, although it has a peculiar taste and is a little tough. The French dress it like a sucking pig, as we learn from Mr. Buffon's account; but the English dress it with a pudding in its belly, like a hare. It is hunted by dogs; and whenever it has got into a sugar-ground where the canes eover the place it is easily overtaken, for it is embarrassed every step it takes, so that a man may easily come up with it without any other assistance. When in the open country it usually runs with great swiftness before the dogs until it gains its retreat, within which it continues to hide, and nothing but filling the hole with smoke can force it out. For this purpose the hunter burns faggots or straw at the entrance, and conducts the smoke in