Useful Knowledge: Volume 3. Animals / Or, a familiar account of the various productions of nature

Front. Vol. III.

USEFUL KNOWLEDGE:

OR

A FAMILIAR ACCOUNT

OF THE

VARIOUS PRODUCTIONS

OF

Nature,

MINERAL, VEGETABLE, AND ANIMAL,

WHICH ARE CHIEFLY EMPLOYED FOR THE USE OF MAN.

Illustrated with numerous Figures, and intended as a Work
both of Instruction and Reference.

BY THE

Rev. WILLIAM BINGLEY, AM. FLS.

LATE OF PETERHOUSE, CAMBRIDGE, AND AUTHOR OF
ANIMAL BIOGRAPHY.

IN THREE VOLUMES.

VOL. III. ANIMALS.

FOURTH EDITION.

LONDON: PRINTED FOR BALDWIN, CRADOCK, AND JOY;
HARVEY AND DARTON;
AND C. AND J. RIVINGTON.

1825.

EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES

OF THE

THIRD VOLUME.

Plate 2. Vol. 3.

Plate 3. Vol. 3.

Plate 4. Vol. 3.

Plate 5. Vol. 3.

USEFUL KNOWLEDGE.

ANIMAL PRODUCTIONS.

INTRODUCTION.

1. Animals are natural bodies which possess organization, life, sensation, and voluntary motion; and ZOOLOGY is that branch of natural science which treats of their systematic arrangement; their structure and functions; their habits of life, instincts, and uses to mankind.

2. The objects comprehended within the animal kingdom are divided into six classes: of Mammalia or Mammiferous Animals, Birds, Amphibia or Amphibious Animals, Fishes, Insects, and Worms: which are thus distinguished:

CLASSES.

		With vertebræ		Hot blood		Viviparous	I.	Mammalia.
Body						Oviparous	II.	Birds.
				Cold red blood		With lungs	III.	Amphibia.
						With gills	IV.	Fishes.
		Without vertebræ. Cold white blood				Have antennæ.	V.	Insects.
						Have tentacula.	VI.	Worms.

3. The first class, or MAMMALIA, consists of such animals as produce living offspring, and nourish their young ones with milk supplied from their own bodies; and it comprises both the quadrupeds and whales.

4. This class has been distributed into seven ORDERS; of primates, bruta, feræ, glires, pecora, belluæ, and cete, or whales. The characteristics of these are founded, for the most part, on the number and arrangement of the teeth; and on the form and construction of the feet, or of those parts in the seals, manati, and whales, which supply the place of feet.

5. The second class, or BIRDS, comprises all such animals as have their bodies clad with feathers. Their jaws are elongated, and covered externally with a horny substance called a bill or beak, which is divided into two parts called mandibles. Their eyes are furnished with a thin, whitish, and somewhat transparent membrane, that can at pleasure be drawn over the whole external surface like a curtain. Birds respire by air-vessels, which are extended through their body, and which, in the abdominal cavity, adhere to the under surface of the bones. Their organs of motion are two wings and two legs; and they are destitute of external ears, lips, and many other parts which are important to quadrupeds.

6. Linnæus has divided this class into six ORDERS.

7. Under the third class, or AMPHIBIA, are arranged such animals as have a cold, and, generally, naked body, a lurid colour, and nauseous smell. They respire chiefly by lungs, but they have the power of suspending respiration for a long time. They are extremely tenacious of life, and can repair certain parts of their bodies which have been lost. They are also able to endure hunger, sometimes even for months, without injury.

The bodies of some of them, as the turtles and tortoises, are protected by a hard and horny shield or covering; those of others are clad with scales, as the serpents, and some of the lizards; whilst others, as the frogs, toads, and most of the water-lizards, are entirely naked, or have their skin covered with warts. Many of the species shed their skins at certain times of the year. Several of them are furnished with a poison, which they eject into wounds that are made by their teeth.

They chiefly live in retired, watery, and morassy places, and, for the most part, feed on other animals; though some of them eat water plants, and many feed on garbage and filth. None of these species chew their food; they swallow it whole, and digest it very slowly.

The offspring of all the tribes are produced from eggs, which, after they have been deposited by the parent animals in a proper place, are hatched by the heat of the sun. The eggs of some of the species are covered with a shell: those of others have a soft and tough skin or covering, not much unlike wet parchment: and the eggs of several are perfectly gelatinous. In those few that produce their offspring alive, as the vipers, and some other serpents, the eggs are regularly formed, but are hatched within the bodies of the females.

8. This class is divided into two ORDERS.

9. Fishes constitute the fifth class of animals. They are all inhabitants of the water, in which they move by certain organs called fins. These, when situated on the back, are called dorsal fins; when on the sides, behind the gills, they have the name of pectoral fins; when on the belly near the head, they are ventral; when behind the vent, they are anal; and that at the posterior extremity of the body is called the caudal fin. Fishes breathe by gills, which, in most of the species, are situated at the sides of the head. In some of the flatfish, however, as the skate and thornback, they are on the under part of the body. Fish rise and sink in the water, generally by a kind of bladder in the interior of their body, called an air-bladder. Some of them, as the skate and other flat-fish, do not possess this organ, and consequently are seldom found but at the bottom of the water. The bodies of these animals are usually covered with scales, which keep them from injury by the pressure of the water. Several of them are enveloped with a fat and oily substance to preserve their bodies from putrefaction, and also to guard them from extreme cold.

10. The fishes are divided into six ORDERS.

11. The fifth class of animals comprises the INSECTS. These are so denominated from the greater number of them having a separation in the middle of their bodies, by which they are, as it were, cut into two parts. The science which treats of them is called ENTOMOLOGY.

Insects have, in general, six or more legs, which are, for the most part, nearly of equal length and thickness. Sometimes, however (as in the mole-cricket), the forelegs are very thick and strong, for burrowing into the ground; sometimes the hind thighs are long and thick, for leaping; or flattened, fringed with hairs, and situated nearly in an horizontal position, to serve as oars for swimming.

Most of the insect tribes are furnished with wings. Some, as the beetles, have two membranous wings, covered and protected by hard and crustaceous cases, called elytra; some, as the wasps and bees, have four wings without elytra; others, as the common houseflies, have two wings; and others, as the spiders, are entirely destitute of these members.

They are furnished with antennæ, which are usually jointed, and moveable organs, formed of a horny substance, and situated on the front and upper part of the head. These serve as instruments of touch, or of some sense which is to us unknown. The eyes of insects are formed of a transparent substance, so hard as to require no coverings to protect them. Their mouth is generally situated somewhat beneath the front part of the head, and in a few of the tribes is below the breast; and the jaws are transverse, and move in lateral directions. These are furnished with feelers, and other organs, of various arrangement and structure, which constitute the foundation of arrangement in some of the systems of entomology. All insects breathe, not through their mouth, but through pores or holes along the sides of their bodies; or, as in the crabs and lobsters, by means of gills. The skin of insects is, in general, of hard or bony consistence, divided into plates or joints which admit of some degree of motion, and is generally clad with very short hairs.

Nearly all insects go through certain great changes at different periods of their existence. From the egg is hatched the larva, grub, or caterpillar, which is destitute of wings; this afterwards changes to a pupa, or crysalis, wholly covered with a hard shell, or strong skin, from which the perfect or winged insect, bursts forth. Spiders, and some other wingless insects, issue from the egg nearly in a perfect state.

12. Linnæus has divided the animals of this class into seven ORDERS.

13. The sixth and last class of animals consists of WORMS, or vermes. These are slow of motion, and have soft and fleshy bodies. Some of them have hard internal parts, and others have crustaceous coverings. In some of the species eyes and ears are very perceptible, whilst others appear to enjoy only the senses of taste and touch. Many have no distinct head, and most of them are destitute of feet. They are, in general, so tenacious of life, that parts which have been destroyed will be re-produced: These animals are principally distinguished from those of the other classes by having tentacula, or feelers.

14. Some late writers have divided the worms into three or more distinct classes; but the Linnæan division is into five ORDERS.

CLASS I.—MAMMIFEROUS ANIMALS.

ORDER I.—PRIMATES.

15. MAN.

The only production of the human body which appears to be useful in a commercial view, is the hair.

Human hair, for the purpose of being made into wigs, and ornamental head-dresses, is imported into this country from the Continent, and chiefly from Germany. We also import hair from China, but the latter is generally of very dark colour. On the Continent this article is almost wholly collected by pedlars, who travel through the different countries, and carry trinkets and other articles for sale, and to exchange for it.

When, some years ago, long hair was much more fashionable than it is at present, great numbers of young women in Germany suffered their hair to grow, and had it cut, from time to time, as a source of emolument. The notion that long hair is frequently cut from the heads of persons after they are dead is totally unfounded, since the uncertainty of such supply would alone render it impracticable. The hair that is used for men's wigs is almost wholly children's hair, no other being in general considered sufficiently fine for this purpose.

The value of hair is from five to twelve shillings per ounce, according to the quality, length, or colour. Before it can be used it is well rubbed with dry sand, and afterwards boiled, to clean it. Such as is intended for wigs, if it do not curl naturally, is twisted round small earthenware cylinders, put into a vessel with sand, and baked in an oven, until it acquire this property. The most scarce and valuable kind of hair is that of flaxen colour.

So great was formerly the demand for long hair, and so extravagant the price for which it was frequently sold, that a mode was invented of stretching it to nearly double its original length. This was effected by fastening the ends of the hair to the opposite sides of a vessel, placing a heavy weight across the middle, and applying heat underneath. As the heat softened the hair, the weight pressed it down, and extended it. But this project was found not to answer, as the hair lost all its quality, and could never be used but when mixed with other hair, and even then the fraud was discoverable by the stretched hair gradually shrinking nearly to its original length.

In lawyers' and judges' wigs horse-hair and goats'-hair are frequently used, to give stiffness and form to the different parts.

16. APES, BABOONS, and MONKEYS (Simia), are all animals of hot climates, none of them except the Barbury ape (Simia inuus) being ever found wild in Europe. They are distinguished by having four front teeth in each jaw, and all their feet formed like hands.

Linnæus, although he has arranged these animals under one tribe, has characterised the apes by their entire want of tails; the baboons by having short tails; and the monkeys by having long ones. The tails of some of the monkeys, particularly those of South America, are so formed, that the animals are able to coil them round any object so firmly as to afford them a support in, apparently, the most perilous situations. Several of the monkeys have pouches within their cheeks, in which they collect their food previously to its being swallowed.

The chief, perhaps the only, use to which these animals are applied, is as food. The pigmy apes are caught by the Arabs, and fattened for this purpose, as we would fatten sheep. Whilst Dampier was on the coast of America he frequently partook of this kind of food; and states that he never ate any thing more delicious. The native American tribes eat the flesh of almost all kinds of monkeys, preferring that, however, of the four-fingered species to any other. Oexmelin informs us that, while he was at Cape Gracias a Dios, in New Spain, the hunters regularly brought home, in the evening, such monkeys as they had killed in the course of the day; and that their flesh somewhat resembled that of a hare, and was of peculiarly sweet flavour. He observes, that he and his companions lived on these animals all the time they remained there.

Desmarchias, in his account of Cayenne, says that the flesh of the howling monkeys, which are peculiarly numerous in the woods of that county, is a white and very palatable food, not indeed so fat, but in general as good, as mutton. Both the negroes and the colonists of Surinam occasionally subsist on monkeys. Yet, however delicate this kind of food may be, it is extremely repugnant to the feelings of an European to partake of what, when skinned, has so much the form and general appearance of a human being as these animals.

The woods of nearly all hot climates abound in monkeys, the species of which are extremely numerous. They feed almost wholly on fruit, grain, roots, and other vegetable productions. It would be inconsistent with the plan of the present work to enter into any detail relative to their habits of life. We can only say, generally, that few animals are known to be more active, mischievous, and enterprising than these. They usually live in immense troops, and commit great depredations in cultivated grounds near the forests where they reside; some of them continuing on watch, to give alarm in case of danger, whilst others are engaged in pilfering and carrying off the plunder to their habitations.

17. The BATS (Vespertilio) constitute a very singular tribe of quadrupeds, which have the toes of their fore-feet extremely long, and connected together by a very thin and dark-coloured membrane, that extends round the hinder part of their body, and serves the place of wings, in enabling them to flit along the air in pursuit of food.

There are near thirty ascertained species of bats, six of which are occasionally found in England. Some of them are smaller than a mouse, but others are so large that their extended membranes measure betwixt three and four feet in width. The latter are found only in torrid climates.

As all the European bats feed wholly on insects, which they catch during their flight, there can be no doubt but, in this respect, they are extremely serviceable to mankind. They devour myriads of night-flying moths, the caterpillars of which would otherwise prove injurious to our gardens, orchards, and fields.

The larger kinds, such as the vampyre and spectre bats, the former of which are found in incredible numbers in the islands of the eastern seas, and the latter on the continent of South America, are not unfrequently used as food. At a particular season of the year, they become fat; and though, whilst alive, their smell is excessively rank and unpleasant, they are then said to be delicious eating, and, in flavour, somewhat to resemble rabbits. The inhabitants of New Caledonia weave their hair into various ornamental articles, and plait it, with the stalks and leaves of a kind of grass, into tassels for their clubs.

ORDER II.—BRUTA.

18. The LONG and SHORT-TAILED MANIS (Manis tetradactyla, and pentadactyla, Fig. 18) are very singular quadrupeds, with a long muzzle, small mouth destitute of teeth, and their body covered with scales. They are distinguished from each other by the former having a very long tail and four toes, and the latter a short tail and five toes.

These animals are natives of India, Africa, and China; and are from four to seven or eight feet in length. From the scales with which their bodies are clad, and the general shape of the tail, they might be mistaken, at first sight, for lizards. The under part of their bodies, however, is clad with hair, which is not the case in any species of lizard.

By the negroes of Africa both the species of manis are much sought for, and on account, chiefly, of their flesh as food. There is, however, some difficulty in procuring them, as they live in obscure places, in the midst of rocks, woods, and morasses. When discovered they are unable to escape by flight, and, in self-defence, roll themselves into a ball, and erect their scales; exposing an armed surface on every side, impenetrable by the teeth of dogs, but easily assailable by the spears of the negroes. In their habits these animals are gentle and innoxious, and subsist only on insects, of different kinds.

Their scales, which are sufficiently hard to strike fire when struck against flint, are applied to many useful purposes.

19. The ARMADILLOS (Dasypus, Fig. 19) are a tribe of quadrupeds, which have grinding teeth, but no canine nor front-teeth; their bodies are covered with a crustaceous shell.

There are ten species, all of which are inhabitants of Brazil and other parts of South America, and are from eight or ten inches to three feet in length. The species are distinguished from each other chiefly by the number of flexible bands which extend across their back.

Their flesh is a favourite food with the inhabitants of South America. Of their shells these people make baskets, boxes, and numerous ornamental articles, which they paint and adorn in various ways; and the shells, reduced to powder, are sometimes administered internally as a medicine.

It is customary to hunt armadillos with dogs that are trained for the purpose. They reside in burrows which they dig in the ground, into these they endeavour to retreat when pursued: or, if at too great a distance, they attempt to dig new ones before they are overtaken. When in their holes, they are either smoked out, or are expelled by pouring in water. The moment they are seized they roll themselves together, and will not again extend unless placed near a hot fire. These animals seldom appear abroad except during the night; and they are often caught in snares that are laid for them at the mouths of their dens.

20. The RHINOCEROS.—There are two species of rhinoceros, one of which has one, and the other two horns, situated on the nose, and three hoofs on each foot.

These are animals of large size and bulky form, and live in swamps, morasses, and forests, in wet situations, within the torrid regions. The single-horned Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis, Fig. 1.) which is generally five or six feet in height, is found in Africa, in the central and southern parts of Asia, and in the islands of Sumatra and Ceylon. Its skin is blackish, naked, extremely thick, covered with a kind of warts, and disposed into large folds on different parts of the body. The two-horned Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros bicornis) is a native of Africa, and has a thick and dark-coloured skin, but not arranged in folds like that of the preceding species.

The skin of the rhinoceros is an article in great demand in several countries of Asia and Africa. It is manufactured into the best and hardest leather that can be imagined; and targets or shields are made of it, that are proof against even the stroke of a scimitar. In this state the colour of the skin is variegated; and when polished it is nearly similar in appearance to tortoise-shell. The inhabitants of Surat make very elegant targets of these hides, which they stud with silver-headed nails. The Hottentots make chanboks or whips of them.

In Sumatra, Ceylon, and some parts of India, the flesh of the rhinoceros is an useful food. The horns, which are from twelve to fifteen inches in length, and three to six inches in diameter, are much esteemed amongst the Mahometans, not on account of any real utility, but from their being considered an antidote against poison. Good-sized horns, if purchased at three or four pounds sterling each, may be sold in the East Indies, with considerable profit, to the Arabian merchants. They are made into drinking cups; and it is believed that if any thing poisonous be put into them, a fermentation will ensue, by which the poison may be discovered. This, however, is without foundation, as very satisfactory experiments have proved. By the Arabians the horns of the rhinoceros are frequently made into the hilts of swords; and they are sold at an enormous price for that purpose. They are also manufactured into snuff-boxes, which are considered preferable to such as are made of tortoise shell; and we are informed by Martial, that the Roman ladies of fashion used them in the baths, to hold their essence bottles and oils.

The savage tribes of southern Africa, and even the inhabitants of the Cape of Good Hope, set a high value on the dried blood of the rhinoceros, to which they ascribe great medicinal virtues. The hoofs, and even the teeth, are also used medicinally.

Respecting the rhinoceros it may not be improper to remark, that, although naturally of a quiet and inoffensive disposition, his strength is such, that few animals are able to contend with him; and that the thickness of his hide is so great, as in several parts to be impenetrable even by a musket ball. These animals feed entirely on vegetable food, but particularly on the leaves and tender branches of shrubs. Their horns are not fixed into the bone of the head, like those of other quadrupeds, but only into the skin. They appear loose whilst the animals are in a quiescent state; but when the animals are irritated, they become fixed and immoveable.

21. The ELEPHANT (Elephas, Fig. 20), the only known animal of the tribe to which it belongs, is an inhabitant of the warmer regions of Asia and Africa, and is distinguished by having two long tusks projecting from the upper jaw, and the snout lengthened into a long and flexible trunk.

The general height of the elephant is nine or ten feet. Its skin is of dingy brown colour, and nearly destitute of hair. The tusks are much longer in the male than the female. Each of the feet has five rounded hoofs: and the tail, which is short, is terminated by a few scattered, and very thick black hairs.

Throughout the whole of the East Indies, as well as in several other parts of Asia, the elephant is an animal of indispensable utility. When tamed and reduced to a state of submission, he becomes so tractable as to obey all the orders of his keeper. Elephants are formed in a particular manner for the service of man in hot climates. They are employed both as beasts of draft and burthen; and one elephant is supposed equal to as much work as six horses. They are conducted by a man, who sits on their neck, and who employs as a weapon an iron rod, hooked at the end, with which he pricks the animal to urge him forward, or turn him in any direction that may be required. Almost all the articles that are transported from place to place in India are conveyed by elephants. They bend their knees to accommodate those who mount them: and, with their trunks, they even assist the persons by whom they are loaded. Before the invention of gunpowder, elephants were much employed by the Indians in their wars. They are now chiefly used for the purposes of labour and parade. They require much attention, and are generally fed with rice, either raw or boiled, and mixed with water, of which each elephant will devour daily near a hundred pounds' weight, besides a certain quantity of fresh herbage which is procured for him. They are led to the water thrice a day, both to drink and bathe; and their daily consumption of water for drink has been estimated at forty five gallons each.

The modes in which elephants are caught and domesticated are curious and interesting. In a wild state they inhabit, in large troops, the thick and boundless forests of Asia and Africa. To obtain the single male elephant, it is customary, in some parts of India, to employ females, which are trained for that particular purpose. When the hunters have discovered a male elephant that suits them, they conduct four of the females silently and slowly, at a little distance from each other, nearly to the place where he is feeding. If, as frequently is the case, he permit their approach, two of them are conducted, one on each side, close to his neck, a third places herself across his tail, and the fourth is brought up by proper attendants, who immediately pass under the animal and tie his legs with ropes. After this he is further secured; and, at length, though not without much difficulty, is conveyed home and domesticated.

When a herd of elephants are to be secured, a party consisting sometimes of 500 persons are employed. These, by fire and noises, drive them into certain enclosures, formed for the purpose; an operation which generally occupies several days. These enclosures are three in number, and communicate with each other by narrow openings or gateways. The opening of the outer enclosure is disguised, as much as possible, by bamboos and branches of trees stuck into the ground, so as to make it look like a natural jungle. It is not without much difficulty that the leader can be induced to enter: but, after he has passed, all the others immediately follow. There is still greater difficulty in inducing them to pass into the second and third enclosures: and lastly, one by one, into the roomee, an outlet about sixty feet in length, and so narrow that the animals are unable to turn round in it. Here, after in vain exerting all their powers to break down the fences and escape, they are all, in succession, secured by ropes that are fastened round their legs.

To domesticate the animals, they are now each placed under a keeper, who is appointed to attend and instruct them. After the elephant has for some days been supplied with food and water, the keeper ventures to approach him. He strokes and pats him with his hand, at the same time speaking to him in a soothing voice; and after a little while the beast begins to know and obey him. By degrees the keeper becomes familiar; he ventures to mount upon his back from one of the tame elephants, and at length seats himself on his neck, from whence he afterwards regulates and directs all his motions. In a few weeks the animal becomes obedient; his fetters are by degrees taken off; and, in the course of six months, he submits entirely to his keeper's will.

Wild male elephants are frequently hunted and killed, both in Asia and Africa, on account of their tusks, which, under the name of ivory, are a very important article of traffic. The temptation held out, at the Cape of Good Hope, to this dangerous pursuit, in which many of the hunters lose their lives, is the payment of a guilder per pound for the tusks; and these weigh from 30 to 130 pounds each. For the whitest, smoothest, and most compact ivory that is known, we are, however, indebted to the island of Ceylon. The whole quantity of ivory exported from the Cape of Good Hope in four years, ending in 1804, amounted to 5981 pounds; and the average annual quantity vended at the East India Company's sales from 1804 to 1808 was twenty-six tons.

The principal consumption of ivory is for making ornamental utensils, mathematical instruments, boxes, combs, dice, and an infinite variety of toys. This substance is also used for painting miniatures upon, for which, however, it goes through a peculiar preparation. It is capable of being stained of various and very beautiful colours. The shavings of ivory, like those of hartshorn, may, by boiling, be converted into a jelly; and they possess similar virtues. Bone is frequently substituted for ivory, but it is easily known by its pores, which are not to be seen in ivory, and by its wanting the beautiful white veins or marks by which ivory is distinguished.

The flesh of the elephant is eaten by the negroes of Africa; and the ancients attributed many medicinal qualities to the blood and the trunk.

22. The GREAT MORSE, or ARCTIC WALRUS (Trichechus rosmarus), is a marine quadruped of enormous size, with short fin-like feet, two great tusks pointing downward from the upper jaw, the lips peculiarly thick, the upper lip cleft into two large rounded lobes, and no front teeth in either jaw.

These animals inhabit the sea near the northern parts of the coast of America, and feed on sea-weeds, corallines, and shellfish. They are sometimes nearly eighteen feet in length, and ten or twelve in circumference. Their skin is of dark colour, and thinly covered with short brownish hair. They have small eyes, and small circular orifices in place of external ears.

We are informed that these animals, under the name of horse-whales, were objects of pursuit so early as even the reign of King Alfred, and on account chiefly of their tusks and oil. The former are a close-grained kind of ivory, and weigh from ten to near thirty pounds each; and the latter, which is equally valuable with that of whale oil, is in such abundance that the body of each animal yields nearly half a tun. This oil is burned in lamps, is used for the same purposes as whale-oil, and even eaten by the inhabitants of Greenland with their food. Of the skins of the arctic walrus the Greenlanders make a thick and strong harness for their sledges and carriages; and they sometimes twist narrow strips of them together to form cables. They constitute an important article of export from the coast of Labrador. The tendons of these animals are capable of being split and used as thread.

So numerous were arctic walruses formerly in the northern seas, that we are informed of the English, in 1706, having killed, on Cherry Island (betwixt Norway and Greenland) near eight hundred of them in six hours; and that, in 1708, they killed nine hundred in seven hours. Of late years, however, their numbers are much decreased.

ORDER III.—FERÆ.

23. The COMMON SEAL (Phoca vitulina, Fig. 2) is a marine quadruped with a large and round head, no external ears, the neck smooth, the body tapering gradually to the tail, the legs smooth, and all the feet webbed.

This animal is found on almost all the northern shores of Britain; and is generally from four to six feet in length. Its colour varies, being dusky, whitish, grey, black, or spotted.

Seals are eagerly pursued by the inhabitants of nearly all the northern countries of Europe. They are found in hollow rocks or caverns near the sea, and are killed with guns, clubs, or spears. The usual season for hunting them is during the months of October and November.

The flesh of seals is much esteemed by the Greenlanders; and their skins are extremely serviceable. These are converted into clothing; into coverings for beds, houses, and boats; and into thongs, and straps of every description. The Americans fill them with air and make a kind of rafts of them. The fat yields a clear and much sweeter oil than that obtained from whales, and is used by the Greenlanders in their lamps, and frequently also with their food. The fibres of the tendons are said to be a stronger and better substance for sewing with than either thread or silk. Before the introduction of iron the bones of seals were used for the points of weapons both for chase and war. The skins of the entrails are employed instead of glass in windows; and, sewed together, are formed into shirts and other under parts of dress.

When the long and coarse hair of the seal is pulled off, a fine, short, silky, and somewhat fawn-coloured down is left, which in this country is a fashionable fur for ornamenting ladies' dresses. This fur woven with silk is also manufactured into shawls, which are of extremely soft and delicate texture. Seal skins, when tanned and properly dressed, are converted into a valuable leather for shoes and other uses.

24. The LEONINE SEAL, or SEA LION (Phoca jubata) is a marine quadruped which inhabits the shores of Kamschatka and Greenland, is sixteen or eighteen feet in length, and is distinguished by the male having its neck covered with a mane.

The great quantity of oil which is yielded by these seals is the cause of their being pursued and killed, by the inhabitants of all countries on the shores of which they are found. The skins of the younger animals are made, in Greenland, into garments for women; and those of the old ones are used for beds. When the latter are freed from the hair, they are applied as coverings for boats and houses. They are also sometimes sewed together as bags to contain provision, and for other uses. The skins of the intestines are used for the same purposes as those of the common seal; and the teeth are adapted for the points of arrows and spears.

There are numerous other species of seals, all of which are in some respects useful to mankind, and chiefly for the purposes which have been above enumerated.

25. The DOG (Canis familiaris) is an animal characterized by Linnæus as having the tail recurved, and bent towards the left side of the body.

Dogs are found in a wild state in Africa and South America.

As an attached and faithful servant of man, the dog is equalled by no animal. Though destitute of the faculty of thought, he has all the ardour of sentiment. He is all zeal, warmth, and obedience; and, forgetful of injuries, he seeks only how he may gain the favour and affection of his master. During the night he guards the house, and, by the noise he makes, he gives notice of the approach of depredators. He also protects the property committed to his care, and secures it from being plundered. He directs the steps of the blind, and, in some instances, has even been instructed to pick up money, and put it into his master's hat. Being endowed with great strength and fleetness of foot, some kinds of dogs are trained to the chase, and taught not only to pursue and to destroy noxious and savage beasts, but also to hunt for and secure animals as food for their master. And there are many countries, both of the old and new Continent, in which, if man were deprived of this faithful ally, he would unsuccessfully resist the foes that surround him, and that are incessantly on the watch to destroy his labour, attack his person, or encroach upon his property.

But it is not only during his life that the dog is serviceable to mankind. After death his skin is converted, by the inhabitants of Greenland, into garments, and particularly into stockings. It is also used for the coverlets of beds. Dogs' skins in our own country are tanned, and applied to several useful purposes, as leather, and particularly for gloves and shoes. The hair of some kinds of dogs is so thick and matted that, like wool, it is capable of being converted into cloth. A small kind of King Charles's dog is mentioned by Dr. Anderson to have had long and soft hair, covering a finer sort, which might, with advantage, have been woven into shawls. He speaks of another kind which had a very thick fleece, much resembling that of some of the Lincolnshire sheep; and of a third kind with close frizzed wool, which was shorn annually and made into stockings. He, however, remarks that the finest hair he ever saw upon a dog, and which indeed for softness and gloss more resembled silk than hair, grew upon a very small kind of Maltese dog. This, if manufactured, might have been converted into shawls of uncommon softness and beauty. The fleece of a water dog, belonging to a farrier in the horse artillery, was manufactured into hats, and answered this purpose sufficiently well. Each fleece was sufficient for two hats, and was considered to be worth about twelve shillings.

Disgusting as it may appear to us, the flesh of the dog is a favourite food in many countries. The Greenlanders eat it with avidity. In the markets of Canton, dogs are exposed for sale in the same manner as other animal food. The negroes of Africa prefer their flesh to that of any other quadrupeds; for dogs are sold in some of their markets at as dear a rate as mutton or venison. With the North American Indians they are considered a great delicacy; and we are informed by Pliny, that the Romans were so partial to this kind of food, that a fricassee of sucking puppies was considered a favourite dish with even the most notorious Roman epicures.

There are near thirty distinct and well ascertained varieties of the dog; of which fourteen are considered to be natives of our own island.

26. The SIBERIAN DOG is distinguished by having its ears erect, and the hair of its body and tail very long.

To the inhabitants of many northern countries of the world, these dogs are of essential service. They are employed in drawing sledges over the frozen snow, five of them being yoked to each sledge, two and two, with the fifth in front as a leader. These sledges generally carry only one person each, who sits sideways, and guides the animals by reins fastened to their collars; but more particularly by his voice, and a crooked stick which he carries in his hand. If the dogs be well trained, the charioteer has only to strike the ice with his stick to make them go to the left, and the sledge to make them go to the right; and, when he wishes them to stop, he places it betwixt the front of the sledge and the snow. When they are inattentive to their duty, he chastises them by throwing his stick at them; but great dexterity is generally requisite in picking it up again. So much, however, depends upon the excellence of the leader, that a steady and docile dog for this purpose is not unfrequently sold for as much as ten pounds sterling.

The fleetness of the Siberian dogs is so great that they have been known to perform a journey of 270 miles in three days and a half; and with a sledge containing three persons and their luggage, they will travel sixty miles in a day. During the most severe storms, when their master cannot see his path, nor can even keep his eyes open, they seldom miss their way. And it is said that, in the midst of a long journey, when it is found absolutely impossible to proceed any further, the dogs, lying round their master, will keep him warm, and prevent him from perishing by the cold.

The natives of Kamtschatka wear the skins of these animals as clothing, and consider the long hair as an ornament.

27. The NEWFOUNDLAND DOG, for united size, strength, and docility, exceeds all the kinds of dog with which we are acquainted. As its name imports, it is a native of the island of Newfoundland; and also of the adjacent parts of America, where it is employed in drawing wood on sledges, from the interior of the country to the sea-coast. Four of these dogs are harnessed to each sledge, and are able with ease to draw three hundred weight of wood for several miles. And it is peculiarly deserving of remark, that they often perform this service without any driver. Before the introduction of horses into general use in Canada, most of the land-carriage was performed by dogs.

The ease with which the Newfoundland dog swims, and the strong attachment which he forms towards mankind, have rendered him of great service in cases of danger from the oversetting of boats, and other accidents by water.

British Dogs.

28. The SHEPHERD'S DOG is an animal of rude and inelegant appearance, has its ears erect or half erect, and the tail covered beneath with long hair.

In wide and extensive tracts of down or mountain that are appropriated to the feeding of sheep, it would be impossible for the shepherds to have any command over their flocks, without the assistance of this faithful and docile ally. At a word from his master he drives the sheep to and from their pasture, and will suffer no stranger from another flock to intrude upon his. If he observe any of the sheep attempting to stray, he springs forward in an instant to stop their course, however great the distance. These dogs drive the sheep entirely by their voice; never lacerating them, nor indeed ever employing force but for the preservation of peace and good order. When awake they are, at all times, alive to their master's directions; and, in repose, they lie down by his wallet, and defend it from plunder.

29. The WATER DOG is principally distinguished by having its hair long and curled, like the fleece of a sheep, its muzzle somewhat short, and the feet more webbed than those of most other dogs.

There are two kinds of water-dogs, which differ only in size, the one being nearly as large again as the other.

It is to sportsmen principally that these dogs are of use. Being fond of swimming, they are chiefly employed for fetching out of the water game that has been shot and fallen into it.

Their fleece has so near a resemblance to wool, that it is capable of being manufactured into a coarse kind of cloth, or of being made into hats.

30. The SPANIEL (Fig. 21) is a dog with pendulous and woolly ears, the hair long on all parts of the body, but particularly on the breast, beneath the body, and at the back of the legs.

Like the water dog, the spaniel is chiefly useful to sportsmen, in the shooting of water fowl. And when hawking was a fashionable recreation in England, this was the kind of dog which was always taken out to spring the game.

In all ages the spaniel has been noted for fidelity and attachment to mankind; and the instances that have been recorded of these are innumerable. The chief order of Denmark (now improperly denominated the order of the elephant) was instituted in memory of a spaniel, which had shown a peculiar attachment to the monarch, his master, when deserted by his subjects.

31. The SETTER is a dog nearly allied to the spaniel, and is to this day frequently distinguished by the name of the English spaniel.

In some parts of England these dogs are used in the field to discover and point out game to the sportsman. They are very tractable, and easily trained to their duty. And such are their muscular powers, that an instance has been related of a setter having hunted all the fields adjoining to the road along which his master was riding, through a distance of near sixty miles.

32. The POINTER is a dog with smooth hair, stout limbs, blunt muzzle, and tail appearing as if in part cut off.

These dogs are in common use with sportsmen, for discovering game, which they are taught to do with wonderful steadiness and attention. Aided by the acuteness of their smell, they gently approach the spot where the game lies, and at length stop; having their eyes steadily fixed upon it, one foot generally somewhat raised from the ground, and the tail extended in a straight line. If the birds run, the dog steals cautiously after them, keeping still the same attitude; and when they stop he is again steady. It is by the assistance of pointers that game is chiefly killed in this country.

33. HOUNDS are distinguished into three kinds, called the harrier, fox-hound, and stag-hound; all of which are characterized by having their ears smooth and pendulous, and having on each hind foot a spurious claw, called a dew claw.

Of these animals the first, which is the smallest, has its name from being employed in hunting the hare; the second is larger and more stout, and is used for hunting the fox; and the third, which is the largest, stoutest, and fleetest of the whole, is used for hunting the stag.

They are always taken to the field in packs, consisting of about twenty-five couple; and, when in scent of their game, they unite in a loud yelling noise which they continue so long as they are in pursuit.

34. The BLOOD-HOUND is larger than the common hound, and is generally of a deep tan or reddish colour, with a black spot over each eye.

In the early periods of our history, blood-hounds were in much greater request than at present.—They are indebted, for their name, to the faculty with which they are endowed, of being able to trace wounded animals by their blood. Their principal employment was to recover such game as, after having been wounded, had escaped from the hunters. In most of the royal forests blood-hounds are at this day kept, for tracing wounded deer; which they are able to do, however distant the flight, or however thick the parts of the forest through which they may have passed. Deer-stealers are also frequently discovered by means of these animals.

Blood-hounds were formerly used in certain districts on the confines of England and Scotland, to overawe or pursue the depredators of flocks and herds. Of late years they have been employed in the island of Jamaica, to discover the ambuscades of the Maroons, in their projected descent upon the whites; and, in the Spanish West Indian islands, to traverse the country, in pursuit of persons guilty of murder and other crimes. The dogs are taught to act more by exciting terror than by attack; and criminals are in general taken by them, and brought to justice, without the slightest personal injury.

35. The GREY-HOUND (Fig. 22) is distinguished by his slender and curved body, his narrow muzzle, and his tail being curved upward at the extremity.

Our ancestors so highly esteemed the grey-hound, that, by the laws of Canute, it was enacted that no person under the degree of a gentleman should presume to keep a grey-hound. The pursuit of animals by these dogs is particularly denominated coursing. Those that were anciently coursed by them were the deer, the fox, and the hare; but they are now only used for coursing the hare. They hunt by sight, and not by scent; and their fleetness of foot is such that, in a hilly or uneven country, there are few horses which can keep pace with them.

36. The MASTIFF (Fig. 23) is a dog of large size and robust body; and has the lips hanging down at the sides.

By the ancient Britons it was customary to train these dogs to be of use in war. With us they are chiefly employed as watch dogs; and they discharge this duty in many instances with great fidelity. Some of them will suffer a stranger to come into the enclosure they are appointed to guard, and will accompany him peaceably through every part, so long as he continues to touch nothing; but the moment he attempts to lay hold of any of the goods, or endeavours to leave the place, the animal informs him, first by growling, or if that be ineffectual, by harsher means, that he must neither do mischief nor go away. He seldom uses violence unless resisted; and in this case, will sometimes seize the person, throw him down, and, without biting him, will hold him there for hours, or until relieved.

When roused to fury the mastiff is one of the most tremendous animals with which we are acquainted, and consequently one of the most difficult to be overcome in combat. He is, however, capable of a steady attachment towards his master, and will protect him from injury at the risk of his own life.

37. The BULL-DOG is smaller than the mastiff, but in general form is nearly allied to it: the body is robust, the snout somewhat flatter than that of the mastiff; and the lips are pendulous at the sides.

For courage and ferocity the bull-dog is exceeded by no British animal of its size. Since the horrid practice of bull-baiting has been discontinued in this kingdom, the race of these dogs has much declined; and the few that are now seen are employed by butchers and other persons as watch-dogs.

38. The TERRIER is a small and hardy kind of dog, the name of which is derived from its usually subterraneous employments.

Some terriers are rough, and others smooth haired. They are generally of reddish brown, or black colour, short-legged, and strongly bristled about the muzzle.

These dogs, the determined enemies of almost every species of vermin, are of great use to farmers and others, in the extermination of rats, polecats, and similar depredators. They are also employed in driving foxes from their dens, and on this account are generally attendants upon every pack of fox-hounds. Formerly they were used in rabbit warrens, to expel these animals from their burrows. In character they are fierce, keen, and hardy; and, being remarkable for vigilance, they are admirable house-dogs.

39. The LURCHER is a dog apparently partaking of the nature both of the terrier and the grey-hound; there are two varieties, one covered with short and thickset hair, and the other with long and harsh hair.

As this dog hunts both by sight and smell, and takes his prey without noise, he is frequently employed by poachers in their nocturnal excursions in pursuit of game. When in the midst of game the lurcher does not, like most other dogs, either bark or suddenly run upon it; but, by a seeming neglect, he deceives the object till it comes within reach, and then suddenly springs upon and secures it.

40. The TURNSPIT is a small dog, with short and generally crooked legs, and the tail curled upward.

These dogs were formerly much employed to assist in the roasting of meat. For this purpose they were placed in a broad kind of wheel connected with the spit, which they turned round by running in it as a squirrel does in his cage. They are still used in this capacity in most of the countries of the Continent; but being now in little request in England, the breed is nearly extinct with us.

41. The WOLF (Canis lupus) is a ferocious animal of the dog tribe, of brownish colour, with pointed nose, erect and sharp ears, and bushy tail bent inward.

This animal is found wild in most of the countries of the Continent, and was formerly common in England.

The wolf affords to us nothing valuable but his skin, which makes a warm and durable fur.

In North Carolina there is a kind of wolf the skin of which, when properly dressed, makes good parchment; and, when tanned, is convertible into excellent summer shoes. The Indians frequently use these skins for beds, under an impression that they drive away bugs and fleas; and they imagine that nearly all parts of this animal are useful as remedies for different bodily disorders.

In the ancient periods of our history wolves were so numerous and so destructive in England, that we are informed of places having been built in different parts of the island to defend passengers from their attacks. In the reign of Edward the First, a royal mandate was issued to a person whose name was Corbet, to superintend and assist in the destruction of wolves, in the several counties of Gloucester, Worcester, Hereford, Salop, and Stafford; and numerous individuals held lands of the crown, by the duty of hunting and destroying wolves. The latest account that has occurred respecting the existence of wolves in England is under the date of 1281. The last wolf known to have been killed in Scotland was in the year 1680; and the date of the complete extinction of these animals in Ireland is 1710.

42. The COMMON FOX (Canis vulpes, Fig. 24) is an animal of the dog tribe, of brown colour, with sharp muzzle, erect and pointed ears, and straight and bushy tail tipped with white.

This animal is found in almost every country of the world.

Although foxes occasionally commit great depredation in poultry-yards, and among game, they are serviceable to mankind by destroying many kinds of noxious animals. Their skin also constitutes a soft and warm fur, which, in many parts of Europe, is used for muffs and tippets, for the linings of winter garments, and for robes of state. So great is the demand for these skins, that, at Lausanne, there are furriers, who in a single winter, have received betwixt two and three thousand of them from different parts of the adjacent country. The flesh of the fox is eaten by the inhabitants of some countries of the Continent.

43. The ARCTIC FOX (Canis lagopus) is an animal of the dog tribe, smaller than the common fox, of white or bluish grey colour; the hair very thick, long, and soft, the tail straight and bushy, and the feet very hairy.

The extreme parts of North America, and the country around the Frozen Sea, are those which the Arctic fox principally inhabits.

These animals are principally killed on account of their skins, their fur being light and warm, though not durable. In winter this changes to a white colour, and becomes much thicker. The inhabitants of Greenland split the tendons, and use them as thread; they also sometimes eat the flesh of these animals.

The modes in which they are caught are various: by stone traps; in holes in the snow, the openings to which are surrounded by snares; in pitfalls, the surfaces of which are so covered that the animals are unable to discover them; and with arrows and guns.

44. The LION is an animal of the cat tribe, distinguished, from all others, by his body being of uniform tawny colour, the tail being long and bushy at the end, and the neck and chest of the male being clad with a shaggy mane.

The deserts of the interior of Africa, Persia, India, and Japan, are inhabited by these animals.

The skin of the lion was formerly used as the tunic of heroes. At this day it serves both as a mantle and a bed for many of the African tribes. His flesh, though of strong and disagreeable flavour, is occasionally eaten by the savages, who do not dislike it the more on that account. The fat of the lion is considered to possess many medicinal properties.

It is a characteristic of the lion that he does not often attack any animal openly, unless provoked, or impelled by hunger. The immense strength of his body, his dauntless courage, and the great quantity of food that is requisite to his support, all, however, tend to render him an object of dread. His voice, when irritated, is an horrible roar, which is particularly loud and tremendous when in the act of springing upon and seizing his prey. The only mode of alarming these animals, and preventing a threatened attack, is by fire; the notion of their being alarmed at the crowing of a cock is entirely fabulous.

45. The TIGER (Felis tigris) is an animal of the cat kind, about the size of a lion, with smooth hair, of brownish or tawny yellow colour, and marked by long transverse stripes.

He is a native of various parts, both of Asia and Africa, but is principally found in India and the Indian Islands.

The skin of the tiger is almost the only advantage, trifling as that is, which mankind appears to derive from this destructive beast. Tigers' skins are occasionally imported into Europe, but not in great numbers, as articles of trade. They are rather brought as objects of curiosity than of use; and are chiefly employed as hammer-cloths for carriages. They are, however, much esteemed by the Chinese; the mandarins cover their seats of justice and sedans with them, and also use them for cushions and pillows in the winter. The best skins are of large size, with bright yellow ground, beautifully marked with numerous broad black stripes; the more intense the yellow, and the better defined the stripes, the more valuable are the skins. The Indians eat the flesh of the tiger, which they find neither disagreeable nor unwholesome. They also attribute medicinal properties to various parts of the tiger's body.

The great military officers of China have the figure of a tiger embroidered on their robes, than which there could not be selected a more appropriate symbol of the evils and horrors of war.

We know of no quadruped so powerful and ferocious as this. He is the terror of the inhabitants of all the hotter parts of Asia, who not only fear for ravages which he commits amongst their cattle and flocks, but even for their own personal safety. The mode of seizing his prey is by concealing himself, and springing suddenly upon it with an hideous roar. This tremendous beast usually resides in woods and thickets, near streams or morasses.

46. The PANTHER (Felis pardus), OUNCE (Felis uncia), and HUNTING LEOPARD (Felis jubata), are all animals of the cat tribe; of which the panther is about seven feet in length, and has the upper part of the body marked with circular spots, many of them with a spot in the centre, and the lower parts with stripes; the ounce is about three feet and half in length, has the body whitish, with irregular black spots; and the hunting leopard is about the height of a grey-hound, has its body tawny, with black spots, and the neck somewhat maned.

Each of these animals is found in the hotter parts of Africa and Asia.

In Persia and India, the ounce and hunting leopard are each trained for the chase of antelopes and other game. Of these the former is carried, on horse-back, behind the rider, upon a small leather pad made for the purpose. As soon as the horseman perceives an antelope or other animal at a moderate distance, he makes the ounce descend; which, creeping unperceived near the spot, springs, at five or six amazing leaps, suddenly upon it, and seizes it securely by the neck. The hunting leopard is generally carried in a small waggon, chained and hooded, lest his precipitation should defeat his master's purpose. His mode of approaching and seizing his prey is similar to that of the ounce.

The skins of all these animals are valuable, and are converted into excellent furs. That of the panther is particularly esteemed in Russia.

47. The LEOPARD (Felis leopardus) is an animal of the cat tribe, about four feet in length, of yellowish colour, and marked with numerous annular spots.

It is an inhabitant of Senegal, Guinea, and most parts of Africa; and has considerable resemblance, both in habit and appearance, to the panther.

Leopards' skins are much esteemed in Europe. They seldom exceed four feet in length; and should be chosen large, of lively yellow colour, marked on the back and sides with annular spots, the belly covered with longish white hairs, and with large and oblong spots on the tail. Their use is for hammer-cloths, muffs, the trimmings of ladies' dresses, and other purposes. Some of the most valuable of these skins sell for ten guineas each and upwards. The flesh of the leopard is said, by Kolben, to be white and of good flavour.

48. The COMMON CAT (Felis catus), in its wild state, is distinguished from all the animals of the same tribe by having its tail marked with rings of different coloured hair.

The body of the wild cat is marked with dusky stripes, of which three on the top of the back are lengthwise, whilst those on the sides are transverse and somewhat curved. Domestic cats are marked very variously; some are grey and striped, others variegated with black, white, and orange, and others are entirely black or white.

Cats are found wild in woods of Europe, Asia, and America.

The savage disposition and great size of the wild cats render them the most formidable wild animals which are now left in Great Britain. In the southern and midland parts of England they have all been long destroyed; but, in the woods which border the lakes of Westmoreland and Cumberland, and in several of the mountainous parts of Scotland, they are yet occasionally found. They have their lodgments in hollow trees, in the fissures of the rocks, and in deep and narrow holes on the face of dreadful precipices; from which, during the night chiefly, they issue forth in search of prey. This consists of hares, rabbits, and other quadrupeds, and also of various kinds of birds. Wild cats are caught in traps, more for the purpose of destroying them on account of the ravages they commit, than for any uses to which they can be converted. Their skins were formerly in request as fur for the lining of robes and other garments; though they do not appear to have been held in much esteem.

The domestic cat (Fig. 3) is a subdued variety of the wild species; and although it still partakes, in some degree, of the native ferocity of its original, it is a clean and useful inmate in our houses. By the ancient Egyptians cats were considered objects of sacred veneration; it was accounted a capital crime wilfully to kill one of them, and whoever even accidentally killed one was liable to severe punishment. We are informed by Herodotus, the Greek historian, that, whenever a cat died a natural death, the inhabitants of the house were accustomed to shave their eye-brows in token of sorrow, and the animal so dying was embalmed and nobly interred. The Turks entertain a sacred respect for cats; and the ancient Britons so greatly esteemed them that, in the tenth century, their price was inserted even in the laws of the land: a kitten, before it could see, having been rated at a penny (equal to at least five shillings of present money); as soon as proof could be had of its having caught a mouse, the price was raised to two-pence; and a tolerably good mouser was considered worth four-pence.

These animals possess a very acute sense both of sight and smell; and by the peculiar structure of their eyes, which sparkle in the dark, they are able to discover their prey, such as rats and mice, as well in the night as during the day; and a cat, that is a good mouser, will soon clear a house of these troublesome little quadrupeds. Cats should not, however, either be much handled or too well fed, if kept for this purpose; as, in this case, they become indolent and disinclined to exert themselves.

Useful as cats are to us, they are, in some respects, unpleasant. If injured or offended, they suddenly express their resentment by scratching and biting, and sometimes with great fury. Constantly bent on theft and rapine, they are never to be trusted in the same room with provisions that are within their reach; and although many persons do not hesitate to let them sleep on their beds, it is a practice much better avoided, as the exhalation from their bodies is considered to be injurious.

The skins of cats form, in some countries, a very considerable branch of commerce; and, as furs, they are much esteemed for particular purposes. Those of Spanish cats are the most valuable; but the greatest numbers sent from the northern parts of Europe and Asia. The Russians not only export them to other countries of Europe, but even send them into China. In Jamaica, and some of the other West Indian islands, the negroes frequently eat the flesh of cats. From the skins of their intestines was formerly manufactured the article called cat-gut, which was used as strings for violins, and other similar musical instruments; but this is now chiefly made from the intestines of sheep. If the fur of the cat be rubbed with the hand, particularly in frosty weather, it yields electric sparks; and if a cat, clean and perfectly dry, be placed during frosty weather on a stool with glass feet, and rubbed, for a little while, in contact with a coated phial, the phial will become effectually charged. This fur is consequently sometimes used in electrical experiments.

The Caffre women, in the South of Africa, occasionally use cat-skins as pocket handkerchiefs.

49. The LYNX (Felis lynx) is an animal of the cat tribe, about four feet in length, exclusive of the tail, which is obscurely ringed, and black at the tip; the head and body are whitish tawny, spotted with black; and the ears have a long pencil of black hair at the tip.

This animal is found in woods and forests of the northern parts of Europe, of Asia, and America, where it climbs with facility into the loftiest trees.

There is a trade in the skins of lynxes, and other animals, betwixt Russia and China. These skins constitute a thick and soft fur, and, when of pale or whitish colour, with the spots tolerably distinct, they are very valuable. The further north the animals are caught, the whiter and better are the skins; those that are most elegant are taken near lake Balkash in Usbec Tartary. They are sold at a rate of from fifteen shillings to five or six pounds sterling each, exclusive of the fore feet, which are so valuable as to be sold separately, and at high prices.

50. The ICHNEUMON (Viverra ichneumon) is a quadruped somewhat more than three feet in length, of which the tail, which is thick at the base, and tapering and tufted at the extremity, measures nearly half: the hair is hard, coarse, and of reddish gray colour, and the great toes are remote from the others.

It is found in Egypt, and particularly in the parts of that country which are adjacent to the banks of the Nile. It is also found throughout nearly all the southern parts of Asia.

To the inhabitants of Egypt the ichneumon is an animal of great importance. Being a natural enemy of the whole serpent race, and of other noxious reptiles which infest that country, it unsparingly attacks and destroys them. It combats, without dread, even the most venomous serpents; and the address with which it seizes them by the throat, in such manner as to avoid receiving any injury itself, is very remarkable. It digs the eggs of crocodiles out of the sand; and even kills and devours great numbers of the young ones of those tremendous and dreaded creatures. Both in India and Egypt the ichneumon is domesticated and kept in houses, where it is found more serviceable than a cat, in destroying rats and mice. It is easily tamed, and very active, and springs with great agility on its prey. For its various services, but more especially in the destroying of crocodiles, it was ranked by the ancient Egyptians amongst their deities, and received the honours of divine worship.

51. The STRIATED WEASEL, or SKUNK (Viverra putorius), is an animal of the ichneumon tribe, which has the upper parts of its body striped with black and while, the neck and legs very short, and the tail is clad towards its extremity with long whitish hair.

This animal is about eighteen inches in length exclusive of the tail, which measures about fourteen inches. It is an inhabitant of several parts of America.

The mode in which the skunk is protected from the attack of enemies more powerful than itself, is by emitting an odour so fetid and abominable that few creatures are able long to continue within its influence. Cattle are said to be so much alarmed by it as to utter the most dreadful bellowings. Clothes that are infected with this smell retain it for many weeks; no washing can render them sweet, and they must be for some time buried in the fresh soil before they are thoroughly cleansed. Notwithstanding this, the American Indians frequently eat the flesh of the skunk; but great care is requisite in killing it, to prevent any ill effect which would arise from its noxious vapour. As soon as the animals are dead, the glands, from which this vapour issues, are cut away, and the flesh, then untainted, is said nearly to resemble that of a young pig. The skins of these quadrupeds, which are sweet, and well clad with hair, are much in request by furriers. The inhabitants of Chili are very partial to them as coverlids for their beds, and for other useful purposes. The Indians also make purses of them, which they hold in great esteem.

52. The CIVET (Viverra civetta) is an animal of the ichneumon tribe, distinguished by having coarse hair of yellowish ash-colour, marked with large blackish or dusky spots and stripes; a sort of upright mane on the neck and back, and the tail spotted above, and brown towards the tip.

The whole length of the civet is generally about two feet. It is a native of several parts both of Africa and India.

The drug or perfume called civet is the production of this animal. It is formed in a large bag or receptacle situated at a little distance beneath the tail, and the creature often spontaneously presses it out through an external orifice. This substance is a fatty secretion about the consistence of soft pomatum, of lively white colour when fresh, but darker when it has been some time kept. Its perfume is so strong, that it infects every part of the animal's body. The skin and hair are so entirely impregnated with it, that they retain their original smell long after they have been taken from the body; and if a person be shut up in the same apartment with one of these quadrupeds, the odour is almost insupportable.

Civet was formerly much employed in medicine; but it is now seldom used, except as a perfume. It communicates some smell both to watery and spirituous liquors; hence a small portion of it is often added to odoriferous waters and spirits. The Italians make it an ingredient in perfumed oils, and in this manner obtain the whole of its scent; for oils dissolve the entire substance of the civet. When genuine, its value is from thirty to fifty shillings per ounce.

Although the animals which produce this drug are inhabitants of hot climates, they are kept in great numbers, and with a commercial view, at Amsterdam. They are fed with boiled meat, eggs, birds, small quadrupeds, and fish; and, as soon as the receptacle of any of them is supposed to be nearly full, the animal is put into a long cage, so narrow that it is unable to turn round. This cage has a door behind, through which a small spoon or spatula is introduced into the pouch. This is carefully scraped, and its contents are deposited in a proper vessel. The operation is usually performed twice or thrice a week.

In many parts of the Levant and the East Indies, civets are reared and fed, as domestic animals are with us: but as, in the Levant particularly, they are few in number, and brought from a great distance, the perfume is increased by introducing into the bag a small quantity of butter or other fat. The people then shake the animal violently, and, by beating, irritate and enrage it as much as possible. This accelerates the secretion; and the fat, after having imbibed a great portion of the perfume, is used in place of the genuine drug. Civet is adulterated by mixing it with storax and other balsamic and odoriferous substances. That which is procured from Amsterdam is said to be less adulterated, and consequently is held in higher estimation than the civet which is imported from the Levant and the East Indies; but, notwithstanding the apparent care to sell it genuine, as would appear by the sealed bottles in which it is purchased, there is reason to suppose that very little indeed of it is free from adulteration.

It must be remarked, that the drug called civet is not only produced by this animal, but by some others of the same tribe, though in smaller quantity, and of less value. Civet is more pleasant than musk ([65]), to which it has some resemblance, and with which, by ignorant persons, it is sometimes confounded.

53. The GENET (Viverra genetta) is a quadruped belonging to the ichneumon tribe, and nearly allied to the civet, but is distinguished by its tail having seven or eight black rings, and the body being of tawny red colour, spotted with black.

It is an inhabitant of some parts of Asia, and is also found in France and Spain. Its length is about seventeen inches.

Like the civet ([52]) this animal produces, and in similar manner, an agreeable perfume. It is not, however, so powerful as that of the civet, and its scent much sooner evaporates. The skin of the genet is capable of being made into a light and handsome fur. This was formerly a fashionable substance for muffs, particularly on the Continent; and, as the animals are by no means numerous, was sold at high prices. After a while, however, the art of counterfeiting it, by staining the skins of grey rabbits with black spots, having been discovered, its value gradually abated, and, at length, it has ceased to be in request.

54. The MARTIN (Mustela foina) is a quadruped belonging to the weasel tribe, with greatly lengthened body and short legs, and the body of blackish tawny colour above, brown on the belly, and white on the throat.

This animal is about eighteen inches in length, exclusive of the tail, and is not uncommon in woods near farm-yards, in the southern districts of Great Britain and Ireland. It is also found in several parts both of the Old and New Continent.

In some countries the martin is an object of eager pursuit, on account of its skin, which makes a valuable fur. This is in great request in Europe for lining and trimming the robes of magistrates, and for several other purposes. In Turkey, where furs of all kinds are in much esteem, those of the martin are particularly admired; and they are exported thither chiefly from France and Sicily. They form a considerable article of commerce betwixt this country and the northern parts of America; more than 12,000 skins being annually imported from Hudson's Bay, and more than 30,000 from Canada. The most valuable part of the skin is that which extends along the middle of the back. In England these skins are sold for about seven shillings each; and the best and darkest of them are sometimes imposed upon the purchaser for sables' skins ([55]). In some countries the flesh of the martin is eaten; but from its musky flavour, it is not very palatable even to persons who are accustomed to partake of it.

55. The SABLE (Mustela zibellina, Fig. 4) is an animal of the weasel tribe, which in its general shape and size has a great resemblance to the martin ([54]), and is of a deep glossy brown colour.

It is a native of some of the northern parts of America and Europe, as well as of Siberia and Kamschatka, and is usually about eighteen inches in length.

The fur of the sable is peculiarly valuable. Some of the darkest and best skins, though not more than four inches in breadth, have been sold at sums equal to twelve or fifteen pounds sterling each. Sables' skins are chiefly imported from Russia, and the greatest number of them was formerly obtained in Siberia, by persons banished thither from Russia: or sent for the purpose of collecting them. These were compelled by the government to furnish annually a certain number of skins by way of tax.

Sables are chased only during the winter, betwixt the months of November and January; for at that time the skins are in the highest perfection. Such animals as are caught at any other season have their skins full of short hairs, which render them less valuable. The sable hunters frequently assemble in companies of thirty or forty, and proceed along the great rivers in boats, taking with them provisions for three or four months. They have a chief, who, when they are arrived at the place of their rendezvous, assigns to each division of his men the quarter to which they are to go. In the places which are frequented by these animals the hunters remove the snow, on particular spots, and place snares there, each hunter being able to place about twenty snares in a day. They also pitch upon small places near trees; these they surround with pointed stakes of a certain height, covering them with boards to prevent the snow from falling in, and leaving a narrow entrance, above which is placed a beam supported only by a small and light piece of wood. As soon as a sable touches this to seize the piece of meat or fish which is placed for a bait, the beam falls and kills it.

Sables are also caught by a kind of snares that are usually laid for grouse and hares, being peculiarly partial to the seeds that are employed as bait for these animals. Nets are sometimes used. When the hunter has discovered the trace of a sable in the snow, he pursues it till he arrives at the burrow of the animal, over the mouth of which he places his net, and then by smoke compels the animal to come out, when he is secured in the net. If fire-arms are used, they are loaded only with single balls, that the skins may be as little injured as possible. Sometimes, in place of fire-arms, cross-bows with very small or with blunt-headed arrows are adopted.

All the sables, as they are caught, are either delivered to the chief hunter, or concealed in holes of trees, lest the Tonguses, or other tribes inhabiting the adjacent country, should steal and carry them away. When the time appropriated to the chase is over, the hunters all assemble at the place of rendezvous, and return home.

The hardships, fatigue, and perils with which these expeditions are attended, may well be conceived when we consider the nature of the country, the season of the year, and the intense cold which the hunters have to endure. Frequently do they penetrate into the depths of immense and trackless woods, from which, they have no other mode of securing a retreat, than by marking the trees as they advance; and, if these marks should be obliterated and fail them, they must inevitably be lost; often have they to sustain the extremes of cold and hunger. Some instances have been mentioned of sable hunters, when their provisions have failed, being reduced to the necessity of tying thin boards tight to their stomachs to prevent the cravings of appetite. To all these must be added the constant peril, under which they labour, of being overwhelmed and lost in the snow.

The fur of the sable is short, and generally of glossy and beautiful blackish brown colour: some animals, however, are of lighter colour, some have yellowish spots on the neck, and others have been found entirely white; but the skins of these are of little further value than as curiosities.

There is a mode of dyeing the light-coloured furs darker, and also of dyeing other furs to imitate sables; but these are easily discovered by their having neither the smoothness nor the gloss of furs in a natural state.

Sables are very sprightly and active little animals. They form holes or burrows under ground in forests, and the banks of rivers, and subsist on small quadrupeds, birds, eggs, and other animal substances of different kinds.

56. The FERRET (Mustela furo) is a species of weasel, which, in shape, somewhat resembles the martin ([54]); but it has a strong and more shaggy fur, of dingy yellowish colour, and red eyes.

It is found wild in the northern parts of Africa.

The principal use to which this quadruped is applied is in rabbit warrens, for driving those animals out of their burrows into the nets or traps of the warreners. Though naturally of savage disposition, ferrets are easily tamed, and rendered sufficiently docile for all the services that are required of them. They should be kept in tubs or chests, and well supplied with clean straw, as otherwise they would become excessively fetid and offensive.

When about to be used, they should be kept, for a little while, without food, and have their mouths securely muzzled. The former, lest they should become indolent and not hunt: and the latter, lest they should satiate themselves on the rabbits, and consequently be disinclined to return from the burrows. Some warreners are so cruel as to sew up the mouths of ferrets instead of muzzling them.

When put into a burrow it is customary to tie a bell round the neck of the ferret, and purse-nets are fastened over all the holes that are supposed to communicate with that in which he is placed. The use of the bell is to ascertain the situation of the ferret, and prevent his being lost. The best time for setting the nets is at day-break, and they are generally suffered to remain till half an hour before sun-rise: and they are set again from half an hour before sun-set until it is dark. If it be required to take half-grown rabbits from holes that are known to have few angles, and not to extend far below the surface of the ground, it is sometimes customary to use the ferret unmuzzled, and with a line round him; and as soon as he is supposed to have seized the rabbit, he is drawn gently back with the animal in his mouth.

Ferrets are frequently kept by farmers and other persons for killing rats; and so eager and active are they in this pursuit that few are able to escape them. Even a young ferret, after he has seized a rat, will so perseveringly retain his hold, as to suffer himself to be dragged to a considerable distance before he can kill it, but he seldom fails in doing this at last.

As the unmixed breed of ferrets is supposed to degenerate, and lose, in some degree, their native ferocity, it is usual with some warreners to cross the breed with our native wild animal the polecat.

57. The ERMINE is a species of weasel, of white colour, except the tip of the tail, which is black. This is, however, only the winter colour of the animal in the northern parts of Europe; in the summer it becomes brown instead of white, and in this state has the name of stoat.

This animal, which, in its brown state, is well known in all parts of England, is usually about ten inches in length, exclusive of the tail.

The skins of ermines are a valuable article of commerce in several parts of the Continent, and particularly betwixt the Russians and Chinese. In some countries, as in Norway, Lapland, and Finland, the animals are found in prodigious numbers. They are generally caught in traps, but are sometimes shot with blunt arrows. Their skins are employed for ornamenting robes of state, and in various parts of female dress; and, for these purposes, they have been used during many centuries past, as is evident from ancient paintings, sculpture, and other authorities. The black tips of the tails are considered peculiarly valuable.

In Russia ermines' skins of good quality are sold at the rate of about a shilling each. They are usually sewed in lengths of three Russian ells, and these parcels are estimated, according to their quality, at from two to five guineas each. Many deceptions, however, have been practised respecting ermines' skins, which have tended to depreciate their value; the principal of these is to conceal and sew small bits of lead in the feet, to increase their weight.

Ermines, like all other animals of the same tribe, are carnivorous, and very destructive to such quadrupeds as they are able either openly to attack, or to seize by stratagem. They are chiefly found amongst woods, in hedge-banks, hollow trees, heaps of stones, and the banks of rivers.

It is a remarkable circumstance, and one that affords a very pleasing proof of the wisdom of Providence, that, at the commencement of winter, these and other defenceless animals change their brown summer coat to one similar in colour to the snows of that inclement season. By such means they are able to elude the sight of many of their enemies, to the attacks of which they would otherwise be peculiarly exposed.

58. The COMMON OTTER (Lutra vulgaris) is a large quadruped of dark brown colour, with short and thick legs, the hind feet naked, and the tail about half the length of the body.

This animal is about two feet in length, exclusive of the tail. It has a short head and broad muzzle; the eyes are situated towards the front of the face; the ears are rounded and, short; and the tail is very thick, particularly towards its origin.

The otter inhabits the banks of fresh-water rivers and streams, in many of the British counties; in other parts of Europe, in North America, and Asia, as far as Persia.

The depredations committed in rivers and fish ponds by this voracious animal, are not compensated by the value of its skin, which however affords a fine fur of deep brown colour, particularly if the animal be killed in the winter; for then its shade is darker than at any other season of the year. Otters are generally either caught in traps, or chased by dogs, and men armed with long spears.

Their flesh is allowed by the canons of the Romish church to be eaten on maigre days, from its supposed resemblance to fish, on which otters almost wholly subsist. In the kitchen of the Carthusian convent near Dijon, Mr. Pennant saw the servants preparing an otter for the dinner of the religious of that rigid order, who, by their rules, are prohibited, during their whole lives, the eating of flesh.

It is possible so far to tame and educate these animals as to render them serviceable in catching fish. Many instances of this have been mentioned. An inhabitant of Christianstadt in Sweden had an otter which daily procured for him as much fish as served for the use of his family. Dr. Goldsmith speaks of having himself seen an otter plunge into a gentleman's pond at the word of command, drive the fish into a corner, and, seizing one of the largest, bring it off to his master; and in Bewick's History of Quadrupeds two instances of this proficiency are noted. In one of these it is stated that the otter would sometimes catch for his master as many as eight or ten salmon in a day. As soon as one was brought to the shore and taken from its mouth, it dived in pursuit of another; and when tired would refuse to fish any longer, after which it was rewarded with as much as it could devour.

The otter always hunts for his prey against the stream; and usually destroys several fish at a time, seldom devouring more than the upper part of their bodies. These animals fish in the sea as well as in fresh water; and their habitation is a den or burrow, which they form or find near the banks of rivers or other water, from which they can take food.

59. The SEA-OTTER (Lutra marina) is chiefly distinguishable from the common species by its hind feet being hairy, and the tail being only one fourth part as long as the body.

Its length, exclusive of the tail, is about three feet; and its fur extremely soft, and of deep glossy black or dark brown, colour. The hind legs somewhat resemble those of a seal ([23]).

These animals are found on the sea-coast of Kamtschatka and the adjacent islands, as well as on most parts of the opposite coast of America.

A considerable trade in sea-otters' skins is carried on betwixt Russia and other nations. The Kamtschadales, on whose coasts the animals are chiefly killed, barter them with the Cossacks, and they with the Russian merchants. So little do the Kamtschadales value these skins, that they exchange them freely for an equal number of foxes' or sables' skins, which are much indeed inferior to them in value. The Chinese are the principal purchasers of them from the Russians; and they pay for them at the rate of from seventy to a hundred rubles each. This great price, and the distance from which they are brought, are the principal causes of their being seldom seen in Europe.

The best skins are those of such animals as are killed betwixt the months of March and May. The fur of the sea-otter is, in some respects, inconvenient as cloathing, on account of its being very thick and heavy, otherwise (independently of its greater size) it would be superior in value to the fur of the sable. Its colour is generally black, but sometimes brown like the fur of the common otter. The skins of the females are easily distinguished from those of the males, by being smaller, more black, and having the hair longest under the belly. It was the trade for these and other furs, at Nootka Sound, on the north-western coast of America, which, in 1788, had nearly occasioned a rupture betwixt this country and Spain.

The flesh of the young sea-otters is said to be an extremely delicate food, and scarcely to be distinguishable from that of lamb.

60. The COMMON BEAR (Ursus arctos, Fig. 5) is a heavy looking quadruped of large size, which has a prominent snout, a short tail, treads on the whole sole of its foot; and is covered with shaggy blackish hair.

It is found in marshy woods of the northern parts of Europe and Asia, and is likewise found in Egypt, Barbary, and India.

The hunting of bears is an extremely important pursuit to the inhabitants of nearly all the countries in which they are found; and in many parts of the world it constitutes their principal and most profitable employ. The skins are made into beds, covertures, caps, and gloves. Of all coarse furs these are the most valuable; and, when good, a light and black bear's skin is one of the most comfortable, at the same time one of the most costly articles in the winter wardrobe of a man of fashion at Petersburgh or Moscow. In England bears' skins are used for the hammer-cloths of carriages, for pistol-holsters, and other purposes. The leather prepared from bears' skins is made into harness for carriages, and is used for all the purposes of strong leather.

Nearly every part of the bear is of use. Its flesh is a savoury and excellent food, somewhat resembling pork: and that of the paws is considered a delicacy in Russia, even at the imperial table. The hams are salted, dried, and exported to other parts of Europe. The flesh of young bears is as much in request in some parts of Russia as that of lamb is with us.

Bears' fat is frequently employed as a remedy for tumours, rheumatism, and other complaints. An oil prepared from it is adopted as a means of making the hair grow. This fat is likewise used by the Russians and Kamtschadales with their food, and is esteemed as good as the best olive-oil. The intestines, when cleansed and properly scraped, are worn by the females of Kamtschatka, as masks to preserve their faces from the effects of the sun, the rays of which, being reflected from the snow, are found to blacken the skin; but by this means they are enabled to preserve a fair complexion. These intestines are also used instead of glass for windows. In Kamschatka the shoulder-blade bones of bears are converted into sickles for the cutting of grass.

The modes in which bears are caught or killed are too numerous to be described in this place. These animals chiefly frequent the most retired parts of forests; and their habitations are dens formed beneath the surface of the ground, in which they pass the winter in a state of repose and abstinence. In some countries, where they are suffered to live without much molestation, they are quiet and inoffensive animals; but in others they are extremely surly and ferocious.

61. The WHITE or POLAR PEAR (Ursus maritimus) is a quadruped of large size, sometimes measuring near twelve feet in length, and covered with long, coarse, and shaggy white hair; the head and neck much longer in proportion than those of the common bear, and the tail short.

The sea-shores of Greenland, and other countries within the arctic circle, as well as the immense islands of ice which abound in the Frozen Ocean, are frequented by great numbers of these animals.

The uses of the white bear are chiefly confined to the skin, the flesh, and the fat. Of these the skin, which is perhaps the most valuable part, is employed for beds, shoes, boots, and, in various ways, as leather. The flesh is eaten by the Greenlanders and the inhabitants of other northern countries, and is described to be as excellent as mutton, though this must be very doubtful when we consider the food on which these animals subsist. The fat is melted and employed instead of oil; that of the paws is used in medicine, for anointing rheumatic and paralytic limbs, and was formerly esteemed a sovereign remedy in these diseases. Of the tendons, when split into slender filaments, the Greenlanders make thread to sew with.

White bears are killed with spears; and are sometimes hunted with dogs, or killed with guns. They are savage, ferocious, and powerful animals; and so great is their activity in the water, that they are frequently known to swim over tracts of sea, six or seven leagues, from one island or shore to another.

62. The GLUTTON (Ursus gulo) is a small animal of the bear tribe, which has the back, muzzle, and feet of dark brown colour; the sides dusky, and the tail of the same colour as the body.

It is about three feet in length, exclusive of the tail; and is a native of mountains and forests in the northern parts of Europe, Asia, and America.

In such esteem are the skins of these animals in Kamtschatka, that only the most wealthy of the inhabitants can afford to wear them; and females, when full dressed, ornament their hair with the paws. They indeed value this kind of fur so highly as to assert that the heavenly beings wear garments made of it; and no Kamtschatka can present to his wife or mistress a more acceptable gift than one of these skins. In Lapland they are sold at very high prices; and are used for muffs and the linings of coats. From the skin of the legs the Lapland women cut out gloves, which they work with a kind of tinsel wire, drawn through a machine made of the skull of the rein-deer. The fur is of glossy black colour, and shines with peculiar lustre, reflecting different shades of light, according to the different positions in which it is held. The flesh of these animals is sometimes eaten in Greenland.

It is said to be the habit of the gluttons to climb into trees, and to drop from the branches upon the backs of deer and other animals which happen to pass beneath, and on which they can prey. They also feed on hares, mice, birds, and even on putrid flesh; and are said to be voracious in an extreme degree.

63. The RACCOON (Ursus lotor) is a slender and somewhat fox-shaped quadruped belonging to the bear tribe; and is peculiarly distinguished by having a dusky stripe along the nose, and the tail marked with black rings.

This animal it chiefly found in the woods of North America.

The fur of the raccoon is so soft and useful as to be sometimes employed instead of beaver in the making of hats. It is also used for the linings of garments; and the skins, when properly dressed, make good gloves and upper leathers for shoes. The flesh is eatable.

64. The BADGER (Ursus meles, Fig. 6) is a small animal, of the bear tribe, which has coarse hair, of grey-colour on the upper parts, and black beneath; and a long, black, pyramidal strips on each side of the head; its body and legs are thick, and the teeth and claws peculiarly strong.

This animal is found in several of the woody districts of England, as well as in nearly all the temperate parts of Europe, and is about the size of a small pig.

In various particulars the badger is an useful animal to mankind. Its flesh, which is somewhat similar in taste to that of the wild dog, is much esteemed in Italy, France, and Germany, and may be made into excellent hams, and bacon. The skin, when dressed with the hair on, makes excellent knapsacks, and covers for pistol furniture and travelling trunks. For all these purposes it is frequently used, as it is impervious by rain, and needs no additional preparation to render it water-proof. In the paralytic complaints of old persons, it is asserted that the hairy skin of the badger, worn next to the body, has been of great service, by stimulating the nerves into action. The hairs or bristles are made into brushes for painters; and the fat is applied to many useful purposes, both externally and internally, in medicine.

Badgers are generally caught in sacks fastened at night, when the animals are abroad in search of food, into the mouth of their burrows in the ground. When these are fixed, the animals are hunted home from the adjacent fields with dogs, and, on entering their usual places of retreat to escape from their foes, they are immediately seized and tied up in the sacks by men who are stationed at hand for that purpose. Badgers are also sometimes caught by steel traps placed in their haunts.

These animals subsist principally upon roots and other vegetable food, which they scratch and root out of the ground during the night. Their dens or burrows are generally formed in woody places, or the clefts of rocks. Though in almost every respect innoxious, they are endowed with such strength as successfully to oppose the attacks of animals apparently much more powerful than themselves.

65. The VIRGINIAN OPOSSUM (Didelphis opossum) is a whitish-coloured animal about the size of a small cat, but with feet somewhat like those of the monkey, slender muzzle, and scaly tail; the female has a pouch or bag on the under part of the body, in which she places her young ones, when very small, and where they afterwards find a place of retreat from danger.

This species of opossum are numerous in Virginia, Louisiana, Surinam, and other warm and temperate parts both of North and South America.

Notwithstanding the disgusting smell of these animals whilst alive, when dead and skinned, their flesh is as sweet and excellent as any other animal food. All the American travellers who have partaken of it appear to agree that it much resembles that of sucking pig. The hair, which is of considerable length, is spun, by the American Indians, into thread, dyed red, and then woven into girdles and other parts of dress.

66. The COMMON MOLE (Talpa europæa) is a small and well-known British quadruped of black colour, with broad fore feet, large head terminating in a slender snout, extremely small eyes, no external ears, and short tail.

In former times the skins of moles were in great esteem for many purposes both useful and ornamental. They were employed for the linings of winter garments, and for trimmings in several kinds of dress and were even made into coverlets for beds. At present, although, by a late invention, the down or fur, which is as soft as the finest velvet, has been adopted in the manufacture of hats, they are so little esteemed in this country that the mole-catchers in general can find no sale for them. The flesh of the mole is eaten in some countries, but the animals are too small to be used with any advantage as food.

Moles live only in burrows or galleries which they dig, under the surface of the earth, with their strong fore feet, and they are chiefly caught to prevent the injury which they are imagined to do to the farmer by throwing up the mould, in little hillocks, in different parts of his grounds. The mode of catching them is by traps placed in their galleries, by persons employed for that purpose, and who are paid for their trouble at a stipulated rate per dozen.

Moles feed on roots, worms, and the grubs or caterpillars of insects. They are generally considered to be both blind and deaf, but they possess every requisite organ both for sight and hearing: indeed their quickness of hearing is such that they take alarm, and seek for safety in flight, at even the most distant approach of danger.

Moles are believed, by some persons, to be useful and not injurious to the farmer. In cold clayey land their operations are supposed to have a tendency to drain the soil, and to be beneficial in communicating air to the roots of plants; they are also thought to be serviceable by raising fresh mould upon grass-land, and feeding on the grubs of several kinds of insects which subsist on the roots of the grass.