^^LJsK?*. *31 A A A 6 6 6 ^ < .,:.,.. !....> ",,>.', ,'.':,' -'J '._ .. , . ' ;vc\o. - u 'dt CM. ' 300 fififl #( THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESENTED BY PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID MEMOIRS OF BRITISH QUADRUPEDS. MEMOIRS OF BRITISH QUADRUPEDS, ILLUSTRATIVE PRINCIPALLY OF THEIR HABITS OF LIFE, INSTINCTS. SAGACITY, AND USES TO MANKIND. ARRANGED ACCORDING TO THE SYSTEM OF LINN JEWS. BY THE REV. W. BINGLEY, A. M. - FELLOW OF THE LINffEAN SOCIETY, AND L4TE OF PETERHOVSE. CAMBRJDGA. WITH ENGRAVINGS FROM ORIGINAL DRAWINGS, EXECUTES CHIEFLY BV MR. SAMUEL LONDON: PRINTED FOR BARTON AND HARVEY; J. WALKER; LONGMAN, HURST, REES, AND ORME; J. HARDING; J. RICHARDSON; a. SCHOLEY; AND SHERWOOD, NEELEY, AN JONES. 1809 TO THE HONOURABLE AND RIGHT REVEREND BROWNLOW, LORD BISHOP OF WINCHESTER, DISTINGUISHED BY HIS SOLICITUDE TO ENCOURAGE USEFUL LITERATURE, AND BY HIS UNREMITTED ATTENTION TO PROMOTE THE BEST INTERESTS OF CHRISTIANITY, THE FOLLOWING WORK, IN WHICH IT HAS BEEN THE DESIGN OF THE AUTHOR TO INCULCATE ONLY THE PUREST PRINCIPLES OF NATURAL RELIGION, AND TO EXHIBIT, AS FAR AS WAS CONSISTENT WITH THE PLAN OF HIS UNDERTAKING, THE WISDOM OF GOD, IN THE WORKS OF CREATION, IS RESPECTFULLY, AND WITH GREAT DEFERENCE, INSCRIBED. PREFACE. THE present is intended as the first volume of a series of Memoirs of British Animals, in which, for the accommodation of such per- sons as are inclined to pursue the study of any one branch of our Zoology, in preference to the others, each class will be rendered per- fectly distinct from the rest. The prominent features of this work are meant to consist in an accurate delineation of the habits of life, instincts, and sagacity, of the animals of Great Britain and Ireland, from the highest to the lowest classes. The technical and descriptive parts will be separated from the body of the work, and inserted at the end of each class, in the form of a synopsis. By such separation, the author cannot but hope that he shall have rendered an acceptable service, not only to the general reader, but also to the scientific natu- ralist. He has ever entertained the highest sentiments X PREFACE. sentiments of respect and esteem for the me- mory, as well as for the talents, of the late Mr. Pennant; yet he has long felt that the in- discriminate mixture of description and anec- dote, throughout that gentleman's work on British Zoology, is attended with numerous inconveniences. In a popular view it is ob- jectionable, as it certainly derogates from the interest that would be otherwise excited; and to persons desirous of examining the animals from his description, it is, occasionally, very troublesome. In the scheme, of which the present volume affords a specimen, the de- scription will be found in terms as precise as can, with propriety, be adopted ; and to have, in all cases, the respective parts following each other, as nearly as possible, in the same suc- cession. During the several years that this work has been in preparation, the author requests per- mission to state, that no labour or diligence have on his part been spared to render it de- serving PREFACE. XI serving of approbation. From his own appli- cation to the subject, and from the communi- cations of numerous friends, (whose kindness, he trusts, will still be continued,) a very con- siderable portion of original matter, in all the classes, has already been obtained. The remainder of his materials will be furnished from the works of the most authentic natu- ralists of foreign countries, and from other sources, which, for the most part, are not easily accessible to the English reader. With respect to the plates, he considers himself peculiarly fortunate in having obtained the able assistance of Mr. Howitt, whose ex- cellence in the art which he professes is too well known, and too justly appreciated by the public, to need, in this place, any enco- miums. And it is but an act of justice to the character of a young man, deserving of every encouragement, to state, that the drawings for several of the engravings, (particularly of the Polecat, Weesel, Stoat, two species of Shrew, and X PREFACE. and Water Rat,) were made by Mr. Harry Hoyle, of Height, near Ripponden, Yorkshire. Notwithstanding all the care that has been taken, the author is sorry to remark, that there are yet left three or four plates, particu- larly those of the Great and Barbastelle Bats, which are not quite so correct as he could have wished them to be. He trusts, however, to the candour of his readers to overlook the defects of these, in consideration of what he hopes will be thought real excellence in the greatest part of the others. It only remains to state, that the author will consider himself much indebted to the kindness of any gentleman who will take the trouble to communicate to him such original observations on the habits of life and economy of the British Fishes, as may be thought likely to prove interesting to the public. CHRISTCHURCH, HANTS, March I, 1809. ENGLISH INDEX. The Names marked with an * are Varieties of some other Species; and those printed in Italics are synonyms. Ass PAGE. 437 Badger 208 BAT TRIBE 31 common, or little 38 long-eared ... 43 Noctule, or great 48 Barbastelle ... 51 . horse-shoe ... 52 lesser horse-shoe *51 Beagle 102 BEAU TRIBE 206 Badger 208 * Bloodhound 107 Brock 208 Buck 335 * Bull-dog 118 CAT TRIBE 136 wild 138 * domestic 141 * Cattle, wild 398 PAGE. * Cattle, Devonshire 401 *- Sussex 404 * Holderness .. 406 * Lancashire . . 409 * Alderney 411 * Kyloe 413 * -Scots '415 * Welsh 416 * Irish 416 * SuffolkDuns . . 417 * Galloway . . . 418 * Northern 420 * Dutch 406 * Highland Stots 413 * Holstein 406 * long-horned . . 409 * Northern short - horned 406 * York shire polled 410 Curr . 91 DEER TRIBE 320 Deer, ENGLISH INDEX. PAGE. Deer, red 323 fallow 335 Roe 342 DOG TRIBE 76 common 79 Fox 124 * Shepherd's 91 * water 94 * Spaniel 76 * Setter 99 * Pointer 101 * Hound 102 * Bloodhound ... 107 * Irish Greyhound 110 * Common Grey- hound 111 * Mastiff 115 * Bull-dog 118 * Terrier 110 "* Lurcher 122 * Turnspit 123 * Greyhound Fox 134 * Mastiff-fox ib. *__ Cur-fox .. 134 Great Water -Dog 94 Lesser Water. Dog ib. Wolf-Dog 110 Ermine 184 Finder 94 Fitchet ,.. 170 Flitter -mouse ...... 38 Foulmart . ,170 PAGE Foumart ib. Fox 124 * greyhound .... 134 * mastiff ib. * cur ib. Fox-hound 102 GOAT TRIBE 348 common 350 Grey 208 * Greyhound, common 111 * Irish ... 110 * Highland 111 Greypate 208 ffardy-shrew 296 HARE TRIBE 289 common 290 varying 308 Rabbet 309 white, or alpine 308 Htuxier 102 Hedgehog 237 Hinny 444 HOG TRIBE 449 common 450 * Berkshire 453 * Hound 102 German . . ib. - Southern . . 103 HORSE TRIBE ...... 421 . common .... 422 . Ass 437 Mule . 444 Horse, ENGLISH INDEX. Horse, Hinny ...... ib. * - Race-horse . . 425 * - Dray-horse . . 427 * - Suffolk Punch 423 * -- - Lanark ____ 429 * - Galloways ,. 431 * - Shelties ..... 432 * - Irish ....... 434 * - Clydesdale .. 429 Index . ............ 99 Llavellan .' ........ 229 Leviner ........... 110 * Lurcher ...... ... 122 Lyemmer ......... 110 sweet ........ 1 59 Martern cat ........ ib. Martin, common .... ib. - - , pine ......... 166 ^white-breasted . 159 -- 5 yellow-breasted 1 66 Martlet ........... 159 - Mastiff .......... 115 Mold-warp ........ 215 MOLE TRIBE ....... 214 -- common ..... 215 Mole, water ....... 229 Mouse, common .... 259 - , long-tailed field 262 - , harvest' ---- ... 266 - , meadow ...... 272 - Afield ......... 262 .PAGE. Mouse, wood 262 , short-tailed field 272 Mouse-hunt 175 Mule 444 OTTER TRIBE 191 common .... 193 Ox TRIBE . . , 390 Common 391 * __ Wild Cattle 399 *. Devonshire .... 401 * Herefordshire . . 403 * _ Sussex , 404 * Holderness . . . 406 * Lancashire . , . . 409 * Alderney 411 * Kyloe 415 * Scots Cattle .... 414 * Welsh Cattle ..416 * Irish Cattle ib. * Suffolk Duns .. 417 * Galloway 418 * Northern 420 * Dutch 406 * Highland Stots . 413 *-Holstein 406 *- Long-horned . . 409 * Northern short- horned 406 * Yorkshire polled . . 420 .* Pointer 101 Polecat 170 b 2 Rabbet, ENGLISH INDEX. PAGE. Rabbet, wild 309 * domestic ... 318 Ranner Mouse 38 RAT TRIBE 247 Norway 248 common, or black 254 water 256 Common Mouse 259 Long-tailed field Mouse 262 Harvest Mouse . 266 Meadow Mouse . 272 field- 262 brown 248 Rere Mouse 38 Roe or Roebuck .... 342 Sea-calf , . 57 Sea-gog ib. SEAL TRIBE 53 common 57 pied 67 great 72 * Setter 99 old English . . ib. SHEEP TRIBE 360 Sheep, common .... 361 * New Leicester 369 * Lincolnshire . 371 * Teeswater . . . 372 * South Down . 374 * Ryeland 377 * Herdwick ... 378 * Cheviot . . 380 PAGE. * Sheep, Shetland 382 * Dorsetshire . . 384 * Wiltshire 385 * Exmoor 386 * Norfolk 387 * Heath ib. * Irish 389 * Dishley 369 * Herefordshire 377 * Kindly 382 * Sussex 374 SHREW TRIBE 225 fetid 226 water 229 fringe-tailed water 231 Shrew-Mouse 226 Shrove-mouse ib. Sleeper 285 Sleut. hound 170 * Spaniel 96 English . . 99 SQUIRREL TRIBE 275 common . . 277 Stag 323 Stoat 184 * Terrier 119 Todd , 124 Tumbler 122 * Turnspit 123 URCHIN TRIBE . 232 Hedgehog .. 237 Fare ENGLISH INDEX. Vare PAGE 175 Want ... 215 WEESEL TRIBE 157 Common Mar- tin 159 Weesel, Pine Martin. 166 PAGE. Polecat 170 CommonWeesel 175 Stoat or Ermine 1 84 White Weesel ib. Pine Weesel . 166 Whitred 175 Whitret . ib. ERRATA ET CORRIGENDA. , P. 33, I. 8, for ephemera read ephemerae. ^ _ 4, from the bottom, for their read the. 34, 5, for become read becomes. 48, 23, for generally read usually. 95, 17, for which read that. 123, 3,4, and 7 ,/or it read he. 129 } _22, for entirely read wholly. 131, _ 15, for her cubs read the cubs. 153 ? 22, after and insert have. 204, 18, for hestige read vestige. * 218, 21, dele of them. V ?62, 15, /or their read there. 348, 9, for feet read foot. 388, 16, for is read in. Synopsis. 4, 5, from the bottom, for oroque read oreque. 7, 3, for Iseek read sleek. 1 1 , 27 , for phoco read phoca. 14, 4, from the bottom, for familiarus read familiaris. -, BRITISH QUADRUPEDS. PART I. $*& *#!!%*$ ^ INTRODUCTION? CONTAINING A GENERAL VIEW OF THE STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS OF I!;, .?rm y- QUADRUPEDS. Que de charmes, que d'idees donees, agreables, nous pr6sente 1'Histoire Naturelle ! Que d'objects varies et interessans ! Quelle source inepuisable d'observations, de recherches et destruction pour celui qui se sent un gout decide pour cette vaste science! Daudin. J_ HERE is a wide difference, with respect to intellectual powers, betwixt men and brute animals. The faculties of the latter are confined within extremely narrow bounds. Guided only by appetite and instinct, they are capable of little knowledge further than what is necessary towards their own immediate support and preservation 1 ; and there is not one of the whole race that can extend its industry beyond its instinct, be its necessities what they may. The Ape, which delights in the warmth of the embers that the tra- veller has left in the woods, has not yet learned to imitate him, by adding fuel to the heap, in order to keep alive the blaze. The Ox has never thought of sowing the grain that he treads out with his feet on the floor of the barn ; nor the B Boar, 2 ON THE STRUCTURE AND Boar, the acorns which he discovers amongst the fallen leaves in the woods. Man subjects to his dominion the whole both of the vegetable and animal creation. " The fear of you, "and the dread of you, (says the Almighty,) shall be upon " every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, " upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the generally FUNCTIONS OF QtJADRUPEDS. 13 generally four, five, six, or seven spleens, and many pan- creatic glands. The Organs of Respiration and Circulation. :'!'' Iii the bodies of all mammiferous animals there are three principal cavities ; the head, the thorax or chest, and the abdomen. Of these it is the chest which contains the organs necessary to respiration and circulation. This cavity is separated from the abdomen by a strong mernbranaceous par- tition, furnished with muscular fibres, called the diaphragm. It contains the heart, the lungs, *the trachea, or windpipe, and the oesophagus, or gullet. The heart is situated in front of the chest, betwixt the two lobes of the lungs. It is composed of muscular fibres, and is the engine by which the blood is driven through the arteries for the support and nourishment of the body. Its basis, from which the great vessels arise, is generally covered Avith fat; and it has two hollow and fleshy appendages, called auricles. It contains two cavities, divided from each other by a fleshy septum. One of these is denominated the right, and the other the left ventricle ; but in the human subject, where the position of the heart is different from that of quadrupeds, the ventricles might be more appropriately denominated anterior and posterior. From the contraction of the left ventricle the blood is forced into the arteries. These carry it to the remotest parts of the system ; and it is conveyed back to the heart by another set of vessels, deno- minated veins, through their common trunk, the vena cava, which terminates in the right auricle. This last commu- nicates with the right ventricle by an opening, where are valves disposed in such a manner as to permit the blood to enter, but not to return. At the bottom of the aorta, or trunk of the arteries, there are three valves, which open only upwards 14 ON THE STRUCTURE AND upwards, and which serve to prevent the blood from return- ing into the ventricle. The terminations both of the arteries and veins are exceed- ingly minute. It is from these that the blood deposits its molecules, destined to replenish the solids, and that various kinds of humours are filtrated. From the constant motion of the juices, from the friction of the solids on one another, and from other causes, many particles are lost. These are repaired by the circulation of the vital fluid. If the nou- rishing particles that are added be more than those that are lost, the body is said to grow ; that is, the fibres of which the solids consist become gradually more and more enlarged. Growth, however, has its bounds, at which it stops : for when, by continual nourishment, the fibres are rendered thick and hard, the interstices at length are so filled up, and the fibres become so close, that no nourishing particles can pass between them, and consequently the body ceases to grow. At last the vessels become so gross that the juices cannot force their way through them, but remain thick and unelaborated. Their motion grows languid, and when at last it stops, the body ceases to live, or dies. For a little while after death it retains its organic structure; but the parts soon begin to separate and decompose : they fall clown, and take their place in the mineral kingdom, from which they were originally formed. The blood, in its circuit through the body, does not re- turn to the heart till it has passed through the lungs. Here, in its contact with the air, it undergoes a process which is absolutely necessary towards rendering it capable of afford- ing the proper nutriment to the system ; and it is in con- sequence of this process that it attains that heat which it afterwards communicates to all the different parts of the body. After the blood has passed the lungs it is of a ver- milion colour, and frothy consistence : but, when on ite return FUNCTIONS OF QUADRUPEDS. 15 return through the veins, its nutritive particles have been discharged, it becomes livid and heavy ; and it is only by repassing the heart and lungs that it can regain its former state. The lungs of all the mammiferous animals, as in the human subject, are divided into lobes, lobules, and mi- nute cells, upon which the small branches of the pulmonary arteries are spread. Each of the cells has a tube; and all the tubes of each lobe communicate with one another in the bronchice, and at last terminate in the trachea, or wind- pipe. Both the windpipe and the bronchia? are kept, in an expanded state by elastic cartilaginous rings; so that when the chest is dilated, the external air is enabled, by its own weight, to force itself into all the cells of the lungs. The air is driven out by the contraction of the chest. Besides their use in respiration, the lungs of the mammi- ferous animals are also necessary for the production of sound. The upper part of the windpipe is denominated the larynx; and in the centre of this is situated the glottis, which, with its adjacent parts, forms the principal organ of the 'voice. The glottis is capable both of extension and contraction; and when the air, in expiration, is forced from the lungs, and pressed so quickly into the mouth through the contracted glottis, that its. fibres are made to vibrate and communicate their vibrations to the larynx, sounds are produced. The greater or less shrillness of these depends upon the larynx being drawn more or less forward. The sounds are after- wards modulated by the cavity of the mouth and the pecu- liar motions of the tongue. At the larynx of all the quadru- peds there is a cartilage called the epiglottis, which is pressed down by the food, in its way to the gullet, and thus prevents it from entering the windpipe to obstruct the breath. No animals, except those which have true or cellular lungs, can be said to have any voice. The inferior tribes, although they have no true voice, are not, however, deprived 16 ON THE STRUCTURE AND deprived of the power of uttering certain sounds ; but these are produced by other means. The Organs of Sensation. The head contains all the parts that are most necessary towards sensation; namely, the brain, the principal nerves, and the organs of seeing, hearing, smelling, and tasting. Sen- sation is generally believed to be an action commencing at the extremity of the nervous system, and thence communi- cated to the sensorium, or that part of the brain where the nerves are united. The degree of sensibility in animals has, by many writers, been believed to be greatest in those whose brain bears the greatest proportion to the whole weight of their bodies. This however can only hold good, at most, as a general rule, since it has very many exceptions. Professor Camper considers that it may be determined by measuring the facial angle, or the angle formed by the junction of two lines, one drawn from the forehead through the teeth, and the other through the basis of the skull. The ancients seem to have had some idea of this theory, since, in the statues of their gods and heroes, they always made the facial angle even greater than a right angle. In all the quadrupeds, the^rof/?, which is an homogeneous, pulpy substance, contains precisely the same parts as in men; and those parts are likewise disposed in a similar order. Its exterior is of a reddish colour, from the numerous blood vessels and nerves that are disposed on its surface ; but within, where these do not penetrate, the colour is a pure white. It is from the brain and the spinal marrow that the nerves have their origin ; and these three form the com- mon organ of sensation and volition. As it is impossible to describe intelligibly the very delicate structure of the brain, without either actual inspection, or accurate engravings of all FUNCTIONS OF QUADRUPEDS. 17 all the parts, this must here be omitted. The elongation of the brain, through the large hole in the base of the skull, is denominated medulla spinalis, or spinal marrow. This, externally, appears to be composed of a white substance; but internally it assumes a greyish tinge. Its form is that of a cylinder somewhat compressed ; and it seems to be com- posed of two cords, divided on each side by a furrow. The spinal marrow gives origin to as many pairs of nerves as there are holes between the vertebrae. In the human sub* ject, nine pairs of nerves arise from the brain, and thirty* one from the spinal marrow. The first pair of nerves issuing from the brain are those which constitute the organ of smell. The second, called the optic nerves, are the principal organ of sight. The third, the fourth, and the sixth pairs, serve to move the muscles of the eye. The fifth, which are large, and each divided into three branches, are distributed over the eyes, eyelids, fore- head, nose, and the integuments of the face. The seventh pair constitute the organ of hearing. The eighth extend over the interior parts of the thorax or chest, and abdomen; and the ninth pair extend to the tongue, where they con- stitute the organ of taste, and likewise contribute to the motions of that member. The thirty-one pairs of nerves which issue from the spinal marrow are chiefly distributed to the exterior parts of the trunk, and to the extremities. The eye is a spherical body, composed of various coats, filled with different kinds of humours, and moved, within the socket that contains it, by means of muscles. The ex- ternal coat is a .thick, opaque, and whitish membrane, called the schlerotis; but its anterior part is transparent, - and forms the segment of a smaller sphere, called the cornea. Under this lies the choroid coat, a fine membrane, covered with numerous blood vessels, and coloured interiorly, in the fjiuman subject, by a blackish pigment. Jt terminates in C front 18 ON THE STRUCTURE AND front by an annular membrane, denominated the iris, hav- ing an opening in the centre, capable of contraction or dilatation, according to the greater or less quantity of light by which it is affected, and called the pupil. Behind the ehoroid coat lies the retina, a reticulation of the finest nerves and blood vessels, that take their rise from the optic nerve. These coats contain what are called the humours of the eye : but of these only one, the aqueous humour, which lies in the anterior chamber, behind the cornea, is a true fluid. The vitreous humour is soft, and included in a transparent membrane. The chrystalline humour, or lens, consists of concentric plates or scales, connected by cellular fibres : it is also contained in a pellucid membrane. This delicate organ, the eye, lies embedded in a deep socket, and is well fortified from injury by its surrounding parts. The bones defend it on all sides, except immediately in front, where there are eyelids, which are always closed during sleep; and which, on the approach of any danger, fly together quicker even than thought. The lachrymal gland, situated in the upper part of the orbit, produces the tears which wash the front of the eye, and which, by the continual motion of the eyelids, keep it at all times perfectly lubricated. The eye-lashes prevent the intrusion of such minute objects as might otherwise injure the eye ; and these, with the eye-brows, tend to break and moderate the force of the light. Some quadrupeds, as a few of the Monkeys, the Seals, the Bears, &c. have, like the birds, an internal covering to their eyes, called by anatomists, membrana nictitans, or the winking membrane. The ear consists, for 'the most part, of elastic cartilages, and hard bones, about which the auditory nerve is interiorly expanded. The external part is cartilaginous, and wrought it the bottom into irregular bends and hollows, which col- lect FUNCTIONS OF QUADRUPEDS. 19 iect the sounds, and transmit them to the fine membrane called the tympanum, or drum, which is expanded upon a circle of bones, over a polished reverberating cavity. This part is affected by the vibrations of the external air, much in the same manner as a drum is by the motion of the sticks upon it. It is also furnished with braces, which strain or relax it, as necessity requires, and thus accommodate its tension either to loud or languid sounds. Nearly all quadrupeds, except the Seals and Manati, have an external ear, which is furnished with muscles, and consequently is more or less movable. The size of the external ear is proportioned to the size of the head, and the necessities of the animals. Those that are most defenceless have always a very quick sense of hearing, In some of the Bats, the external cartilage or valve is proportionally longer than in other animals, and contains a second valve, in front of the orifice, so as to give the animals the appearance of having double ears. The organ of smell lies in the pituitary membrane, which lines all the internal cavity of the nostrils. This is provided with numerous vessels and nerves, and is continually moist- ened by a mucous humour. As the nostrils communicate behind with the throat, the air, in passing through them to the trachea, carries along with it the volatile and odoriferous particles which excite the actions of this organ. The sense of taste lies chiefly on the upper surface and edges of the tongue, which is a 'fleshy body, supplied with many nerves. These terminate on the upper surface in numerous papilla?, which are properly the organs of taste. Betwixt the nerves there are certain minute vessels that supply the saliva : this keeps the 'tongue and mouth always moist, and is of indispensable use in masticating the food. The sense of touch, although it is found over the whole superficies of the animal body, should be considered C 2 as 20 ON THE STRUCTURE AND as belonging chiefly to the extremities, which have Inrg nerves, and a very vascular skin. In men, this is confined to the extremities of the upper limbs; whilst the Apes and Monkeys have it in all their feet. The lips of quadru- peds have likewise this structure, as well as the snouts of the Hog, the Hedgehog, Shrew, Mole, &c. and the pro- boscis of Elephants, in all of which the sense of touch is supposed to be greatly finer than that in the human hand. All the mammiferous animals are covered or enveloped externally with a skin, consisting of an upper, thin, white, and elastic layer, denominated epidermis or cuticle ; and, beneath this, a much thicker layer, composed of numerous fibres, closely interwoven, and disposed in various directions, called the ctitis, or true skin. Through the pores of the skin is continually, and insensibly, discharged an extremely subtile fluid. These pores, in the human body, are so mi- nute, that a grain of sand will cover more than a hundred thousand of them ; and their daily discharge of fluid has been calculated at upwards of three pounds weight. In most of the quadrupeds the skin is hard to the touch, and thickly clad with hair. Each of the hairs is placed in a capsule or socket, and springs from a bulb at its lower ex- tremity: There is, in this bulb, a vascular pyramid, upon which the hair is formed, and by which it is generally rendered tubular. The hair grows continually, but it usu- ally falls off and is renewed once, and sometimes twice, in the year. Concealed by the long hairs of most animals, there is a short kind of down or wool, spread over the whole body, and rising immediately out of the skin. With respect to the structure and appearance of the long hair of different quadrupeds, we may remark, that each of the hairs of the common Seal is waved : that those in the tail of the Elephant are forked at the extremity. In some animals, as the Squirrel, the Water Rat, and Meadow Mouse, FUNCTIONS OF QUADRUPEDS. 21 Mouse, the hairs are composed of rings : in the Opossum they are knotted : in the Waier Shrew they are both annular and knotted : and in the Field Mouse they are set laterally with smaller hairs. I cannot conclude this introductory essay without re- marking, that all the parts of the animal frame afford very decisive proofs of the superintendance and wisdom of a Divine Power. How, beyond all comparison, are our astonishment and admiration excited, when we contemplate the wonders of nature, in competition with the puny efforts of human ingenuity. Whether we consider the skeleton or frame- work of the body, varying as it does in different ani- mals precisely according to their necessities or wants; the muscles and tendons which clothe this skeleton, connect its parts, and, at the instigation of the will, put it into motion; the manner in which these are renewed, as they wear away, by nutrition and circulation; or, beyond all, the beautiful contrivances by which so complicated and delicate a structure is kept in order through life: we are compelled to acknowledge, that they could only have been formed by a Being infinite in goodness and in power, the traces of whose workmanship are visible through every part of them. We must be infatuated indeed, if we can for a moment believe that all this excellence is the mere effect pf chance. " If with 10,000 dice, (says an elegant and dis- tinguished writer of the last century,) we should always fling the same number, or see, after every throw, just five times less, or five times more, than the number in the throw which immediately preceded it, who would not imagine that some invisible power directed the cast? Yet this is the proceeding that we constantly find in the operations of mature. And it is much more probable, that an hundred millions of dice should be casually thrown an hundred C 3 millions 22 " ON THE STRUCTURE, &C. millions of times the same number, than that the body of any single animal should be produced by the fortuitous concourse of matter.** " O LORD, GOD! How manifold are Thy works ! Tn wisdom hast Thou made them all ! The earth is full of Thy riches !" ORDERS ORDERS BRITISH QUABRUPEBSv .< PRIMATES. Bats. _l HE primates are inhabitants chiefly of hot climates. Apes, Lemurs, and Bats, are the principal tribes ; and of these, only a few species of the latter are natives of the British islands. They have all three kinds of teeth in each jaw ; namely, four front-teeth or incisors, two canine-teeth, and several grinders. On their feet they have nails or claws. Their liver is divided into lobes, and they are each supi lied with a gall-bladder, and a thin spleen. The females have usually only two teats, which are situated on the breast : some of the Bats, however, have four, two on the breast, and two on the belly. The clavicles, or collar, bones, and the pectoral muscles of the latter, are peculiarly large and strong: none of them have any caecum. C4 FERJS. ORDERS OF FER^E*. Seals , Dogs, Cats, Weesels, Otters, Bears, Moles, Shrews, and Urchins. Some of these animals are carnivorous, and others subsist principally on fruit, roots, and herbs. The former have, in each jaw, six front-teeth or incisors. Their canine-teeth are in general strong, and, in some of the species, of such size as to resemble tusks. The grinders are, for the most part, armed with sharp and cutting prominences on their upper surface. Several of the species, as Cats, Lions, Tigers, and Lynxes, have sharp and hooked claws. The Seals differ very essentially from other animals of this order, in being amphibious, and passing the greater part of their life in the sea, where they live chiefly upon fish. Their bodies are elongated, broad at the shoulders, and gradually taper, till they terminate almost in a point behind. The toes are connected by strong membranes, so as to have much the appearance of fins. Moles, Shrews, and Urchins, are not carnivorous; nor, in any other respect, rapacious animals. These, and the Bears, are peculiar in applying the whole sole of their feet to the ground in walking, and not, as in most other quadru* peds, treading upon the toes only. In all the species, except the Urchins, the bodies of the animals are covered only with hair; but these have, on their head and back, sharp and strong spines, intermixed with bristles. The hair of the Moles and Shrews is par- * None of the animals of the second Linnean Order, BRUT A, are native inhabitants of our islands. The BRITISH QUADRUPEDS. 5 ticularly short and fine, softer to the touch than even the finest velvet : that of the Bears is in general long, coarse, and shaggy. The carnivorous species have their alimentary canal proportionally much shorter than such as live on vegetable food. The ccecum is small in two of the tribes, and is entirely wanting in all the rest. The liver is divided into lobes; and all the species have a gall-bladder and thin spleen. The Bears, Moles, Shrews, and Urchins, have perfect clavicles, or collar-bones. The greater part of the others have only clavicular bones suspended in the flesh ; and even these are wanting in some individuals. The teats of the females are several in number, and are arranged on each side along the belly. GLIRES. Rats, Squirrels, Dormice^ and Hares. The Glires, or nibblers, are, in general, animals of small size, but great activity. They are chiefly characterized by having, in each jaw, two remarkably large and long front-teeth. This organization of the mouth compels them, to gnaw their food, or to reduce it into very small frag- ments, instead of cutting it into mouthfuls, as is done by such animals as are furnished with short incisive or cutting- teeth. These long teeth are separated from the grinders by a vacant space, and are by no means calculated for seizing living prey. The Glires feed very variously. Some live chiefly on grain; others on fruit and herbs; and others on the bark, or tender branches of trees. Some eat the ker- nels of nuts, which they get at by gnawing holes through the 26 ORDERS OF the hard shells that contain them. A few of the species may be considered as omnivorous, since they will devour, with avidity, almost all kinds of substances, both animal and vegetable. Their front-teeth grow again as fast as they are worn down by gnawing. Those of the animals which subsist entirely on vegetables, have their grinders flat on the crown ; but such as feed on mixed animal and vegetable substances, have the crowns of the grinders ele- vated into blunt tubercles, or sharp points, according to the general nature of their food. Most of the Glires have a perfect thumb on each of their feet; but in the Hares this is very short, and in the Rats and Squirrels it is so diminished, as to have only two phalanges or joints. The toes of Rats, Squir- rels, and Hares, have only the two last joints separate. In the form of their bodies the Glires have this pecu- liarity, that their hinder parts are generally more elevated than the shoulders, from their posterior legs being longer than the anterior ones. It is in consequence of this dis- proportion of the limbs that the animals do not, in fact, either walk or run, but perform their motions by a suc- cession of leaps. All the British species have their bodies covered with hair. The intestines of the Glires are generally very long. Their stomach also is long and simple; and the ccecum extremely voluminous, sometimes even larger than the stomach. Squirrels and Rats have their clavicles, or collar-bones, perfect: Hares have these suspended in the flesh. PECORA. BRITISH QUADRUPEDS. 27 PECOR.A. Deer, Goats, Sheep, and Oxen. Pecora, or cattle, have their toes so enveloped in horn, that their feet are capable only of serving them in pro- gression; and occasionally as offensive weapons against their foes. The two large hoofs are each of a triangular shape: their outer surface, or that which extends round the front of the toe, is hard, convex, and smooth ; whilst the under surface is softer, and appears to be somewhat tuberculated . Besides these there are two other hoofs, which do not touch the ground when the animals walk, but which, nevertheless, each envelope a toe that is perfect in regard to the number of bones composing it. On each of the feet there is likewise a small bone, the rudiment of a thumb. As the Pecora subsist exclusively on vegetable food, they have, on the upper surfaces of their grinding teeth, round and callous eminences, peculiarly well adapted to the mastication of herbs. In the lower jaw they have eight front or cutting-teeth, and none in the upper jaw; but the place of the upper teeth is admirably supplied by a bony substance which there forms the gum. Many of the species are gregarious, or collect together in immense herds. They are, in general, harmless and inoffensive animals; but, when roused to fury, they have strength enough to prove themselves formidable enemies. Their chief weapons are their hoofs and horns. The stomach of the Pecora is generally divided into four distinct cavities or bags: Deer, however, have but three. The food passes immediately from the mouth into the 28 ORDERS OF the paunch or first stomach, where it is macerated for a while, and from whence it is again passed into the mouth. Being remasticated, it next descends into the reticulate stomach, through a canal, the sides of which contract in such manner as to form a perfect tube ; and from thence to the plicous and digestive stomachs. In full grown animals, the paunch is always much larger than any of the other stomachs; but in young animals the digestive stomach is largest. This arises from the milk which they draw from their mother riot requiring to be re-masticated like other food. In all the animals, both the intestinal canal, and the coecum, are of great length. None of them have any gall-bladder. Their flesh constitutes an exceedingly palatable and sa- lutary food. Their hair and skin supply mankind with clothing ; and their fat, horns, hoofs, and blood, are all employed for useful purposes. The Deer and Oxen have in general short hair: that of Sheep, which has the peculiar denomination of wool, is long, and dis- tinguished by a crisped or frizzled appearance. BELLUJE. Horses and Swine. The animals of the present order, like those of the last, have their toes enveloped in such manner by horn, that their nails have the denomination of hoofs. Swine have two of these hoofs on each foot, and horses only one. The mouths of all the species are furnished with wedge- like, truncated cutting-teeth in both jaws ; and, in addition to these, the Swine have, in each jaw, two long tusks. Their intestines BRITISH QUADRUPEDS. g intestines are very long. The stomach of the Horse is small and simple. The stomach and caecum of swine are each peculiarly large; and the former is divided, by certain contractions, into several cavities. None of the animals ruminate ; nor have they any clavicles or collar-bones. BRITISH BRITISH QUADRUPEDS. PRIMATES. OF BATS IN GENERAL. JL HESE animals were the cause of much perplexity to the ancient naturalists. The Bats were ranked by them as birds, under the denomination of .aves non aves, " birds, and yet not birds/' Nor was it till towards the close of the seventeenth century, that they were decidedly ascertained to have place amongst the viviparous quadrupeds. They have no alliance with the feathered tribes, further than what arises from the circumstance of their being able, in common with those, to raise themselves into the air. They have neither feathers nor 'beak, but their bodies are clad with hair, and their mouths are furnished with teeth ; and, instead of producing eggs, like birds, they bring into the world living offspring, 32 OF BATS IN GENERAL. offspring, which, in the manner of all other quadru- peds, they suckle by means of teats. What are denominated wings consist only of an extremely thin, light, and delicately formed mem- brane, which extends from one shoulder, entirely round the body of the animals, to the other; con- necting the fore and hind legs, and (in the tailed Bats) the tail. This, from its thinness and flexibi- lity, is capable of being contracted, at pleasure, into numerous wrinkles, (so as to lie in small compass when the animals are at rest, ) and of being stretched to a very wide extent for their occasional flight. An attentive examination of tHe skeleton of a Bat will immediately show, that the principal bones, which extend, in different directions, through this membrane, are those of real hands are fingers very greatly lengthened, for the purpose of supporting and directing it. These are four in number on each side ; the fifth toe, or, as perhaps it may with more propriety be called, the thumb, is short, dis- tinct from the fingers, and furnished at the end with a sharp and hooked claw, by means of which the animals are enabled to hang upon hard substances with considerable tenacity. In order to give motion to their membranous wings, and enable the Bats, by means of these, to rise into the air, their clavicle, or collar-bones, are peculiarly thick and strong, and the pectoral mus- cles are proportionally larger and more fleshy than those of any other quadrupeds. When a Bat is deprived OF BATS IN GENERAL. 33 deprived of its skin the latter are peculiarly observ- able; and are the more striking, from the abdomi- nal parts being singularly weak and slender. Bats conceal themselves, during the day time, in holes of caverns or old buildings, from whence, as soon as the evening approaches, they issue in search of prey. The English species feed on in- sects, and particularly on gnats, ephemera, and va- rious kinds of moths, which, during the evening and night of the summer months, are found in abundance in the air. To enable the animals to catch their prey with greater facility, their mouths are so wide as to extend almost from ear to ear. Like Swallows, they drink whilst on wing, by sipping the surface as they play over the pools and streams. The females produce their offspring about mid- summer. These, which are usually two in num- ber, are at first perfectly naked. By the old writers they were thought to have some resem- blance in shape to human infants. They are suckled by teats situated on the breast of the dam; and from the moment they come into the world, they cling to her body with such singular tenacity, that they are not to be shaken off, even by her flights in search of food. As soon as the cold evenings of the autumn commence, most of the species retire to their deepest recesses, and are no longer to be seen abroad. Here they remain during the winter, often collected in great numbers, to defend them- D selves 34; OF BATS IN GENERAL. selves from the chilling effects of the frost. Dur- ing their continuance in this state of torpor, the animal functions are so far suspended as scarcely to be perceptible. The action of the heart and arte- ries become exceedingly languid; and respiration is scarcely distinguishable. Digestion is altogether at a stand; and none of the functions seem to be going on, except a very slow degree of nutrition, and an interchange of old for new matter, in the depository cells of the body. This last circumstance is proved by the aniihals* entering into the torpid state very fat, and reviving excessively emaciated; and from this it appears that the oil, in the fatty follicles of the cellular membrane/ is gradually taken up by the absorbent vessels, into the languid circulation, to supply the proportionally gradual waste, occasioned by the more than half suspended action of the emunctories*. Since, in the Bats, the fingers are not capable bf grasping solid bodies, from their being inclosed between two fine membranes, these animals do not possess, in any high degree, that sense of touch which serves to ascertain the forms of bodies. The extensive surface, however, which the membranes present to the air, fit them for receiving such deli- cate impressions of resistance, motion, and tempe- rature, that some authors haVe been induced to ascribe to these creatures an additional sense. In a * Kerr's Animal Kingdom, i. p. 94. series OF frATS IN GENERA.!,. 3 3 series of experiments,, first instituted by the learned and justly celebrated Spallanzani, it was discovered that Bats, when perfectly blinded, and in that state set at liberty, could, notwithstanding, conduct their flight through subterraneous passages without strik- ing against the walls; that they turned exactly as the most complicated windings required ; and that they even avoided, with great exactness, cords, branches of trees, and other obstacles which had been purposely placed in their way. This accuracy of motion could not be obtained by sight, (in the eyes being imperfectly covered,) for, in one series of experiments, the organs of sight were entirely destroyed. It could not arise from hearing; for the ears of several individuals had been completely stopped. Nor could it at all be owing to the smell; for, in others, the aperture of the nostrils was closed. Spallanzani, by whom all these experiments were made, concluded, therefore, that Bats possessed an additional or sixth sense, of the nature of which, he says, mankind cannot possi- bly form any idea*. When, however, the nature of the organs of touch, in these animals, is considered, it will pro- bably be found to explain all the phenomena that have been mentioned. The bones of the fingers, as I * The experiments were made on the Long-eared, the Noctule, and the Horse-shoe Bats. They are published in a " Memoire sur quelques especes de Chauve-Souris," &c, c. par TAbbe Spallanzani, D 2 have 36 OF BATS IN GENERAL. have before observed, are excessively elongated. The membrane that unites them presents an enor- mous surface to the air. The nerves that are dis- tributed to this membrane are numerous, and mi- nutely divided, forming a net-work very remarkable for its fineness, and the number of its anastomoses. It is, therefore, more than probable, that, in the action of flight, the air, when struck by this wing or very sensible hand, impresses a sensation of heat, cold, mobility, and resistance on that organ, which indicates to the animal the presence of ob- jects, which, if not avoided, would interrupt its progress. It is in a manner similar to this that blind men discern by their hands, and even by the skin of their faces, the proximity of a wall, of the door of a house, or the side of a street, without the assist- ance of touch, and merely from the sensation which the difference in the resistance of the air occasions. Many of the Bats have on their nose a membrane, the use of which, in the animal economy, has not yet been ascertained. Spallanzani conjectured that it might be the seat of the additional sense which he attributed to these creatures. In some of the foreign Bats its shape is extremely singular and fantastical. This membrane is found in only one of the English species, the Horse-shoe Bat. The ears of some of the Bats are very small ; but of others extremely large, Many of these ears, from having an inner valve, for the purpose pf keeping - OP BATS IN GENERAL. 37 keeping out extraneous substances during sleep, have the appearance of being double. The whole number of Bats hitherto described, is twenty-five. Of these, five only have been found in the British dominions. Mankind, from the earliest ages of the world, have indulged an aversion, not altogether war- rantable, towards these animals. From their uni- formly dark colour, and very singular appearance, connected with the circumstance of their haunting the most unfrequented buildings, and flying abroad only during the evening and night, they have been usually grouped in the same description with ghosts and hobgoblins. Fear is the parent of super- stition, and operates with extensive influence when roused by objects which come abroad only in the midst of solitude and obscurity. Hence, likewise, the Bats, with several of the night-flying birds, have been considered as animals of evil omen. In the Fairie Queene we read of The ill facte owl, deathe's dreadful messenger; The hoarse night raven, trompe of doleful dreere; The leather-winged Bat, daye's enemie; The rueful strick, still waiting on the beere; The whistler shrill, that whoso hearcs doth die. Homer, in the true spirit of poetry, in which images drawn from superstitious terrors are often rendered extremely beautiful, has adopted these D 3 animals 38 THE COMMON OR LITTLE BAT, animals in the mass, to illustrate the shrieks of his ghosts in the infernal regions : As in the cavern of some rifled den, Where flock nocturnal Bats, and birds obscene; Cluster'd they hang, till at some sudden shock They move, and murmurs run through all the rock : So cow'ring fleet the sable heaps of ghosts, And such a stream fill'd all the dismal coasts. rim; ,o:)n grift. . . ,- L. ' y . . ' .. > .. I/SO' 1 " ' THE COMMON OR LITTLE BAT*. i FJ,ITTE'R-MOUSE, RERE'MOUSE, -OR RANNER-MOUSE. Tffisis one of the two species of Bats which we so often observe, in the fine evenings of summer, flitting about in search of gnats and other insects. It commences its flight at the beginning of twi- light, and haunts, principally, the neighbourhood of old or ruinous buildings, woods, and shady lanes. It generally flies near the ground, with an irregular and jirking kind of motion, and is not unfrequently to be observed skimming along just above the surface of rivers, in search of aquatic : * Vespeftilio murinus. Linnccus. La Chauve-souris, Buffon. For the Description of thrs Bat, see the Synopsis, p. 4. No. 1 . insects THE COMMON OR LITTLE BAT. 39 insects, which the hot evenings bring to life. Mr. Bill, of Christchurch, Hants, some years ago caught a Bat of this species with an artificial fly, as he was one evening about to angle for roach in the river Stour. Perhaps none of the English Bats are so well able to bear the effects of cold as these. They are (o be seen abroad, more or less frequently, in almost every month of the year. Even in the depth of winter they are sometimes roused from their torpid state, and venture out, as usual, in search of prey. I have more than once observed them in perfect vigour, in the early part of the month of December. They are exceedingly voracious of their proper food ; and will sometimes devour even raw flesh. The farmers in many parts of England assert that they occasionally descend the shafts of chimneys, and gnaw the bacon which is hung there to be dried in the smoke. At different times I have had several of these Bats alive ; but in the spring of 1804 I caught one, which, within an hour afterwards, had courage suf- ficient to take food out of my hand. I held one of the common house-flies in my fingers, in such rnan- ner as to touch the animal's nose, and rouse it from sleep : it made a kind of smack with its mouth, threw itself suddenly forward by its hind-feet, and immediately devoured the insect. I then caught for it one of the large blue flesh-flies. I touched its nose with this, as I had done with the former, and 40 THE COMMON OR LITTLE BAT. and the animal seized it precisely in the same man- ner. But, in the latter case, there was some diffi- culty. The fly was so large, that, notwithstanding the width of the Bat's mouth, it could not entirely have admission. My curiosity was excited to know in what manner it would so dispose the fly as to get it down its throat ; since its fore-feet were evidently useless for the purpose. I was soon satisfied. The animal, raising itself somewhat higher than usual on its fore-legs, bent its head with great dexterity un- der its belly, and forced the insect into its mouth, by thrusting it, from side to side, against that part of the membrane which extended betwixt the two hind legs. I cannot be mistaken in this particular; for, during the life of the animal, the experiment was often repeated. The manoeuvre was, however, never practised, except where the fly was too large to be managed with facility by the jaws and tongue alone. This confirms what Mr. White has said re- specting the actions of a tame Bat that he saw eat; but it leads us to a very different mode of account- ing for them. His words are : " When the animal had any thing given to eat, it brought its wings round before its mouth, hovering and hiding its head, in the manner of birds of prey when they feed*/' * White's Works in Natural History, i. p. 56. By the word hovering, Mr. White seems to mean a kind of tremulous motion, which is to be remarked in the animals during this process. It THE COMMON OR LITTLE BAT. 41 It is a vulgar notion, that Bats, when they are on a flat surface, have not the power of rising into the air; and that they must crawl to an eminence before they are able to expand their wings for flight. This is by no means true; for, of several individuals that I have kept, both of the Common and of the Long- eared Bats, there was not one that could not, with the greatest apparent ease, rise immediately from the floor of my room. One of the latter species, that happened to be peculiarly agile, could fly, without any difficulty, even from the bottom of a box that was four inches deep, and considerably- less than six inches wide. The Common Bats, like the rest of their tribe, breed in the summer, and produce two young ones at a birth, which they suckle from teats situated on the breast. Towards the end of autumn they retire into caverns, or holes of old buildings or trees, from whence they do not often again come forth till the return of warmer weather. Here they suspend themselves by their four legs, having their head downward, and being closely enveloped in their wings. For some time previously to their retirement, they are occasionally to be seen in the evenings, collected together in great multitudes. Mr. White, in going from Richmond to Sunbury, on a very warm autumnal evening, saw an immense number of Bats betwixt the two places. He says that the air 42 THE COMMON OR LITTLE BAT. air literally ; swarmed with them all along the Thames, so that hundreds were in sight at a time*. The voice of these Bats is a sharp stridulous note or scream; and this is repeatedly uttered during their flight. Whenever I roused my animals from their diurnal sleep, they opened their mouths quite wide, and made this weak kind of screeching noise. Neither the Common nor the Long-eared Bats have any offensive smell, like many of the other species. In Wales the Common Bat is called ystlum: in France, chauve-souris, or chauve-souris commune : in Italy, nottola, notula: in Spain, murcielago, mor- cielago: in Portugal, morugo, morcego : in Ger- many, flaedermuss : in Holland, vledcrmuus: in Sweden, laderlapp: in Denmark, jlaggermuus: in Poland, nietopcrsz: in Norway, skind-vinge: in Russia, netopyr, letuczqja-misck. These names, however, are often applied indis- criminately to other species of Bats, as well as to the present. * White's Works, i. p. '27. THE I THE LONG-EARED BAT* THE Long-eared Bats are nearly as numerous as the Common species; and, in all their manners and habits of .life, have a great resemblance to them. Linnaeus once entertained some doubt whether, indeed, the two species were really distinct, or whether the difference between the animals was only sexual: but of three living individuals of the Long-eared Bats, which I had by me at the same time, one was a male, and the other two were females. These were brought to me about the middle of November, 1804. As the cold weather had then scarcely begun to set in, th^y exhibited no symp- toms whatever of approaching torpidity. In the evening, on putting them out of the box in which I had deposited them, each spread its wings, and in a moment rose up with an ease and lightness that greatly surprised me. A bird could not have got on wing with more agility. I suffered them to fly about my room for some time. They occasion- ally alighted on the cornice, on the frames of my pictures, and on the top of my book^case. Their flight was directed principally along the ceiling ; * Vespertilio cturitus. Linnaeus. VOreillar. Buffbn, For the description of this Bat, see the Synopsis, p. 5, No, 2. and 44 THE LONG-EARED BAT. and they, in no instance, approached either the candles or fire. The surface of wing in these ani- mals, proportioned to the weight of their body, was so great, that they flew without any appearance of difficulty; nor was their flight interrupted by any of those jerks or vaccillations that are ob- servable in the motion of Bats, when flying about for food in the open air. As the hooked claws with which Bats catch hold of objects in alighting upon them, are situated on the members by which they have their motion, a considerable adroitness is necessary in this opera- tion of alighting. Whenever the animals in my room were inclined to repose for a moment, and observed a place suitable for them to rest upon, they flew up gently against it, and seldom failed to catch hold with either one or both of their claws; but, if this hold was not firm, and could not easily be made so, they loosed themselves, again flew round the room, and tried other places, till they found one that perfectly suited them. The shaded part at the top of my book-case was that which the animals chiefly aimed at, and on which, after my often removing them, they always took their firmest lodgments. When their hold was firm, they never failed to transfer their hinder feet to the place on which they at first clung with their fore ones; hanging thus with their heads downward, which seems to be the natural sleeping position of all the English Bats. It THE LONG-EARED BAT. 45 It was a pleasing sight to observe with what ease and neatness the animals now began to smooth their hair, and scratch themselves. In these ope- rations, both the fore and hind legs are employed. The animals hang by one hind-leg very securely, whilst the other three legs are actively occupied; and when these have gone through their operation, the detached hind leg takes its hold, and releases the former to complete the business. These Bats, like the rest of their tribe, walk some- what awkwardly ; but they move much faster on their legs than any one would give them credit for being able to do, incumbered as they seem to be by their wings. With respect to the use of the inner valves, or secondary ears, of the present species, they are evidently given to the animals for the purpose of keeping out noxious insects, and preventing any other extraneous matter from entering their head during sleep, and particularly during their long winter's repose. The opening of the ear is very wide, and is situated betwixt the valve and the great outer ear. When these Bats prepare them- selves for sleep, they fold down the ex'ternal ears directly across the openings, and secure them in this position (close to the sides of their body) by their fore-legs, which they always rest carefully over them. By this means, the openings are so perfectly closed, that nothing injurious can pos- sibly penetrate them. The inner valves continue still 46 THE LONG-EARED BAT. still erect, and to a casual observer might, during this time, be mistaken for the proper ears of the animals. The ears of the Common Bat are formed so as to answer a similar purpose. The external valves are, indeed, too short to be folded over the opening, and held in that position by the fore-legs. These are, therefore, somewhat differently constructed. They continue erect, .but the sides are so closely compressed together towards the bottom, that the scattered hairs, in their interior, either entirely pre- vent the intrusion of any thing injurious, or at least give sufficient notice to the animal for it to awake and avoid the injury. There appeared to me something very singular with respect to the eyes of the Long-eared Bats. I happened to take into my hand one of these ani- mals, whilst it seemed to be still half asleep. Its eyes were open, but I remarked that they wanted much of the lustre which. they had when the animal was perfectly awake. With the feather part of my pen, the point of which was tolerably hard, I touched the hairs around the eye, to observe whe- ther the irritation would cause the lids to close. They moved a little, but did not seem much affected by it. I proceeded, by degrees, till at length I ventured to touch the eye itself. Still they did not close; and so little was the repose of the ani- mal disturbed, tnat I am persuaded nothing short of absolutely THE LONG-EARED BAT. 47 absolutely injuring the coats of the eye would have roused it to sensation. I put both bread and raw flesh into the box con- taining these Bats, yet they ate no part of them. I killed some flies and put them in, and these were soon devoured. As my room was, of course, much warmer than the retreats from which the animals had been brought to me, they did not become tor- pid during any part of the time I had them; but, as I was not able to procure a sufficiency of their natural food, they all died before the winter was over. They invariably slept in the day, collected close together in one corner of the box, with their heads downward. Eight o'clock in the evening was ge- nerally the time about which they awoke, and com- menced their efforts to escape. After this hour, whenever I opened the box, I had always some difficulty to prevent them from climbing up the sides and taking wing. The winter retreat of the Long-eared Bats is usu- ally in ruinous or uninhabited buildings. Mr. Bradley informs us, that he has occasionally found them in old walls, in considerable numbers, in a perfectly torpid state, and so closely pressed to each other, that their natural figure was scarcely dis- cernible *. Their voice, like that of the Common Bats, is a * Bradley's Philosophical Account of the Works of Nature, p. 120. kind 48 THE NOCTULE OR GREAT BAT. kind of shrill cry, betwixt the chirping of birds, and the voice of some of the smaller quadrupeds. They have no peculiarly offensive smell. Some of these Bats, which Mr. Carlisle had col- lected for the purpose of ascertaining the truth of Spallanzani's observations relative to what he de- nominated a sixth sense of the animals, were^fe- males, and had young ones clinging to their breasts, in the act of sucking. One of them flew about, with perfect ease, though two little ones were thus attached to her, which, together, must have weigh- ed nearly as much as the parent. All the young were devoid of down, and of a black colour. The observations made by this gentleman very satisfactorily prove that the sense of hearing, in some of the Bats, is exceedingly acute and delicate. He considers this to be one of the causes of the dexterity with which, even when blinded, the ani- mals avoid obstacles that otherwise would impede their flight*. THE NOCTULE OR GREAT BATf. THE first appearance of this Bat is generally about the beginning of May ; and it is generally to be * Shaw's General Zoology, i. p. 129. f Vespertilio noctula. Linntzus. La Noctule. Buffon. For the description of this Bat, see the Synopsis, p. 6, No. 3. observed THE NGCTULE OR GREAT BAT. .49 observed flying abroad in fine evenings, till the end of July. It does not, however, often continue later than July, and is thus a midsummer animal only. It ranges high in search of food, and is sel- dom to be seen hawking for insects near the ground, or immediately over the surface of water. Both in this lofty feeding, and in its early appear- ance and retirement, the Noctule Bat seems to be affected, with respect to the others of its tribe, much as the Swift is with the other species of Swa.1- lows; and, most probably, from the same cause, namely, the short continuance of some peculiar sorts of high-flying gnats or moths. The appear- ance and continuance of both the animals are, no doubt, regulated by the presence and defect of their peculiar food* When, in the year 1769, the Rev. Mr. White, of Selborne, first remarked these Bats in his parish, and before he had procured any of them, he con- jectured that, from their peculiarly high flight, and great size, they were, at that time, undescribed as British species. In 1771 he observed two indivi- duals, which, as they were usually seen flying to- gether, he supposed to be a male and female. One of them, a male, was caught and brought to him; and, in an evening or two afterwards, the other, which, on examination, he found to be a male also. From this circumstance, and from the very rare occurrence of the animals, at least in his neighbour- hood, of Selborne, he began to suspect that they E might 50 THE NOCTULE OR GBEAT BAT. might not, in reality, constitute a distinct species, but that perhaps they were only the males of the common Bats; one of which, he thought,, might be given for many females, as is the case in some other quadrupeds. Since his time, however, they have been satisfactorily ascertained to be distinct. On opening the above two animals, to discover, if possible, on what they fed, Mr. White found their stomachs quite full; but the food, (insects chiefly, no doubt,) was so macerated, that the qua- lity could not be distinguished. They each weighed an ounce and a dram. Their smell was exceedingly fetid and offensive*. Noctule Bats are chiefly found in France and Germany; and they are much more common in all parts of the old continent, than in Great Britain or Ireland. They inhabit the gunpowder mills at Dartford in Kent; and, about thirty years ago, there were near two hundred and fifty caught, in two succeeding nights, under the eaves of some of the buildings of Queen's College, Cambridge, The specimens I examined were some, of a great number, which had been found, in a dormant state, during winter, concealed in the leaden pipes of a house at Richmond upon Thames. * White's Works, i. p. 158. THE ( 51 ) THE BARBASTELLE BAT*. OF the peculiar habits of life and economy of these Bats, we hitherto know but little. Even the naturalists of France and Italy, in some parts of which countries they are usually found in great numbers., have interested themselves only in de- scribing their figure and external appearance. There is, however, reason to suppose, that, in most respects, they have a near resemblance to the common species. Yet they are easily distinguished from the latter, even on wing, i$ the early part of the evening, by their superior size, and their much darker colour. Very few Barbastelle Bats have been noticed in England. The first discovery of the species, in our island, was by Colonel Montagu, in the year 1800. He had one, (supposed to be a female,) brought to him, which had be^n caught on wing in the village of Milton, in Devonshire; and in August, 1805, he procured a male specimen, that had been found adhering to a small tree, near Kingsbridge. About the year 1802, there was one found, amongst some Horse-shoe Bats, in the gun- powder mills at Dartford. This was sent to Mr. Sowerby of Lambeth, who kept it alive for some time; and its stuffed skin now forms an interesting article in his museum. * Vcspertilio Barbastellus. Lijinceus. La Barbastelle. Biiffbn. For the description of this Bat, see the Synopsis, p. 7, No. 4. THE THE HORSE-SHOE BAT*. WHEN these animals sleep, they suspend them- selves by their hind feet, and fold their wing mem- branes across their breast and abdomen. They feed on various kinds of insects, which, like other Bats, they catch during flight, in the evenings of the warmer seasons of the year. Their teeth, in propor- tion to the size of their body, are sometimes very large: the fangs of a specimen now in my possession measure each more than a line and half in length. But the utility of this formation is immediately account- ed for, by the knowledge that they pursue chafers, and other coleopterous insects, with great avidity, and that they carefully shear off, with their teeth, the elytra, thorax, and legs, and eat only the body. On examining the ears of this and the ensuing species, we are struck with a peculiarity not ob- servable in the other kinds of English Bats. Neither of them possess any secondary or inner valves : yet, by a dilitation of the base of the ear in front, which has a notch in the edge on each side, and a fold across it, the opening of the ear is not only capable of being perfectly closed during sleep, but the dilated part of its membrane has, in such circum- stances, even much the appearance of a secondary valve. There is scarcely any contrivance in the ani- * Vespertilio Jerrum-equinum. Linnceus. La chauve-souris a fcr-A-chcval.Buffbn. For the description of this Bat, see the Synopsis, p. 8, No. 5. mal THE LESSER HORSE-SHOE BAT. * 5 1 mal economy more deserving of admiration than that of the ears of the different species of Bats, whose haunts are liable to be infested with many kinds of noxious insects, which otherwise would crawl into, and injure the texture of, these delicate .organs. The Horse-shoe Bat was first observed on the con- tinent, about the middle of the last century, by the illustrious Daubenton, who has described it with great accuracy. Dr. Latham, several years ago, dis- covered these animals in England, in the salt-petre houses belonging to the powder-mills at Dart ford; and Col. Montagu informs us, that they .inhabit, in considerable numbers, a large cavern called Kent's Hole, near Torbay^ on the coast of Devonshire. THE LESSER HORSE-SHOE BAT*. SOME time after the Synopsis which accompanies the present volume was printed, Col. Montagu very obligingly favoured me with specimens of the two kinds of Horse-shoe Bats, both taken by him in Kent's Mole,, near Torbay. Until this most accurate and intelligent * fespcrtilio ferrum-equinum . Linnceus Le Petit fer-a-che'cal. Buffbn. Length scarcely 2 inches : extent ofivings 9% inches. Weight from 63 to 80 grains. Nose surrounded on the top by a broad horse-shoe- shaped membrane, differing from that of the last species principally by the form of the upper, transverse, erect, and pointed part: this difference will best be explained by the accompanying outlines, No. I, expressing that of the last, and No. 2, that of the present species. V No - 3 - V Teeth 52 THE LESSER HORSE-SHOE BAT. intelligent naturalist, in the ninth volume of the Linnean Transactions, stated his grounds for believ- ing the small one to constitute a distinct species, it had uniformly been considered, both in England and on the continent, as only a variety of the other. It is now many years since he first noticed these Bats in Wiltshire. Once, in particular, he was shown a great number of them which had been found in the winter, over the jiollow of a baker's oven, into which they had crept through a small external fis- sure. About the latter end of May, 1804, he ob- served several of the same kind in an old building, erected for the shelter of cattle, at the verge of a wood, at Lackham, in the same county. In this dark and shaded abode, surrounded by lofty rocks, it is not, he says, unusual to see many of them ad- hering to the .plaistered roof by their hind claws. When approached, they generally crawl a little to one side, and show signs of uneasiness by moving their heads about in various directions; but they never seem inclined to take flight till they have been repeatedly disturbed. Teeth very smalt. The Horse-shoe Bat has in the upper jaw 'two minute distant front-teeth, which are not found in this. Eyes very small, black, and hidden in the fur. Ears large, pointed, and turned a little back at the tips: their base almost surrounds the opening; but at the outer part in each there is a notch that admits of the fore- part of the ear closing within the other, as a substitute for an inner valve, of which this species is destitute. Teats in the female four, two on the breast, and two on the lower part of the abdomen, close to the pubis. Co/0i*rpale rufous brown above, but most rufous on the upper part of the head. Col. Montagu, in Linn. Tran. vol. ix. p. 163. FER/E. FER^E. OF SEALS IN GENERAL. THE Seals are entirely marine animals, none of the species having been hitherto mentioned as in- habiting Tresh waters ; and they are the only a'ni- mals, amongst the viviparous quadrupeds., which can with propriety be considered as amphibious. In all others the orifice, denominated by anatomists foramen ovale, of the heart, which permits the foetus to live in the womb without respiration, is shut from the moment they come into the world, and remains closed during their whole life. In the Seals, on the contrary, this continues open, al- though the mother invariably brings forth her young ones on land, and their respiration com- mences and operates, as in other animals, immedi- ately after the birth. By means of this aperture in the septum, which allows a communication of the blood of the vena cava, and the aorta, these animals have the advantage of occasionally sus- E 3 pending 54 OF SEALS IN GENERAL. pending their respiration for a considerable while together. Still, however, they are obliged,, at in- tervals, to put up their noses above the surface of the water, in order to reject the contaminated air from their lungs, and take in a fresh supply. The Seals require occasional intervals of repose, and some- times even a long continuance on dry land. At particular periods, therefore, and especially during the seasons of producing and rearing their young, they forsake the water, and congregate, frequently in vast multitudes, on floating ice or insulated rocks. All the Seals appear to be much more partial to Cold than to warm climates : yet, some of them are observed in almost every sea. Of the three species that frequent the British coast, only one, the Com- mon Seal, is found in any abundance; and this, principally, on the most rocky and uninhabited shores of Scotland and Ireland. The feet of these animals bear a great external resemblance to fins. Of the fore-legs, which out- wardly appear to be very short, the parts called by anatomists the arm and fore-arm, are concealed un- der the skin of the breast; the wrist being the first joint on the outside. The toes are inclosed in a membrane, and have each a strong nail. Of the hinder extremities, neither the thighs nor legs are visible. On each side of the body, and at no great distance from the tail, is an eminence, which is formed by the knee. From this, but under the skin OF SEALS IN GENERAL. 55 skin, the legs extend backward, and the heels, which are the first visible part, are found on each side of the origin of the tail. The membrane of the hind-feet is generally very long; and these feet are of little or no use to the animals in walking. Their four fin-like feet render the motions of the Seals very easy and graceful in their proper ele- ment, the water. By means of their fore-feet, the animals are able to lay hold on objects with so much firmness as to drag themselves, with considerable facility, up the shores, rocks, and even over shoals of ice, however slippery they may be. They move with much greater ease and velocity than might be expected from their general form and appearance; and oftentimes, though badly wounded, and the distance very considerable, the hunters are not able to overtake them, before they arrive at the edge of the water, and precipitate themselves out of their reach. All the Seals have nearly the same properties and habits. They sleep principally during the day ; and when they are awake and in motion, their instincts are as perfect and as active as those of most other quadrupeds. Their dispositions, generally speaking, are mild and placid; and many of the species, if taken young, may be rendered perfectly docile. Their voice is expressive, and capable of considerable modulation. These were the animals which, according to mythologists, composed the flocks or horses of E 4 Neptune, 56 OF SEALS IN GENERAL. Neptune, the syrens, and some others of the sea- deities. Most of the species have a trivial name, derived from a fancied resemblance to some land animal. In various languages they are, therefore^ denominated sea-calf, sea-dog, sea-wolf, sea-fox, and sea-lion. The females produce their offspring, two or three hi number, generally in the winter season, on sand- banks, rocks, or small islands. They continue to feed them for twelve or fifteen days, in the place where they are brought forth; and suckle them nearly in an Upright position, resting on their hind-legs. When the young ones have acquired sufficient strength to contend with the waves, the mother conducts them into the water, and teaches them to swim about, and seek for food. The attachment of Seals of the same species to each other, and particularly to their own offspring, is very pleasing. When en- gaged in defence of the latter, some of the species are altogether fearless of death, and will suffer themselves to be beaten to pieces, rather than allow them, with impunity, to be killed or carried away. Seals do not attain their full growth for many years ; and M. de Buffon was inclined to believe, that the duration of their lives often extended beyond a century*. None of the animals have any external ears ; the * Buffon, parSonnini, xxxiv. p. 16. openings THE COMMON SEA L. 57 openings of the ears being merely orifices, deno- minated auditory holes. The crystalline humour of their eyes is almost as spherical as that of the eyes of fish; and, contrary to the form in other quadrupeds, its anterior part is the most convex*. The bodies of Seals are always thicker about the shoulders than in any other part ; and from thence they taper gradually to the tail. THE COMMON SEALf. SEA-CALF OR SEA-DOG. THESE Seals are frequently observed on the sea shores of the northern and rocky parts of Scotland. About the Land's End, in Cornwall, they are, perhaps, more numerous than on any of the coasts of South Britain, unless it be those of a few parts of Wales, Sometimes individuals are found off Cumberland and Lancashire, Durham, Northumberland, and Yorkshire; but, in general, they are rarely to be observed near the counties south of these. * Raii. Syn. Quad. p. 190. f Phoca vitulina. Linnaeus. Le Phoque commun. Euffon. For the description of this Seal, see the Synopsis, p. 10, No. 6. The 58 THE COMMON SEAL. The places which they chiefly inhabit are caverns,, or hollow rocks, out of the reach of the tide. Dur- ing the hot summer days they often leave the water to bask or sleep in the sun, upon large stones or shivers of rocks. They are said to take -great plea- sure in thunder-storms, sitting out of the water as long as these continue ; and appearing to contem- plate, with delight, the convulsion of the elements. It is, however, probable, that they leave their usual abode, on these occasions, only that they may avoid the shock of the heavy waves against the shores and upon the shallows. None of these Seals ever ven- ture to any great distance from the land ; but they are frequently observed to sport round ships and boats, that approach the places where they inhabit; and, in their proper depth of water, they are re- markably swift and agile. Borlase informs us, that, after being seen, they will often dive like a shot, and, in a trice, rise again at fifty yards' distance. In swimming, their head is not often observed above the surface of the water, unless for the purpose of respiration*. J. Stackhouse, Esq. of Pendaris, who is well acquainted with the habits of these Seals, informs me, that, in Cornwall, when persons in pur- suit of them observe a Seal to thrust its head above * In Animal Biography, vol. i. p. 185, on the authority of Dr. Borlase, I have asserted that, "in swimming, the Seals always keep their heads above water." Mr. Stackhouse, however, assures me that this is an error. water, THE COMMON SEAL. 59 water, it is a common practice to halloo to the ani- mal, till they can approach within gun-shot, since it will continue to listen to the sound, apparently wrapt in attention to it, for many seconds. Seals feed chiefly on fish, and we are informed by Martin, that they never attempt to swallow these till they have first stripped off all the scales. He declares that he has often seen them hold the heads of the fish betwixt their teeth, whilst at the same time they tore away the scales with their fore- feet*. That the Common Seals are very docile animals, and capable, even when taken old, of being in some measure domesticated, many proofs have, at dif- ferent times, been afforded. I shall recite two instances, which were communicated to me by my accurate and highly intelligent friend, Dr. Hamilton, of Ipswich. A few winters ago, a Seal, caught on the Welsh coast, and sent by water to London, was brought to St. Bartholomew's hospital. During the voyage, it had been fed principally upon milk; and when it arrived, it had become so familiar that it would suffer the man who brought it to play with it like a dog, and would lick his hands or face with the ut- most complacency. So great, indeed, was the at- tachment of this animal, that, after the departure * Martin's Western Islands, p. 62. of 60 THE COMMON SEAL. of its master, from the hospital, it continued for some time to emit a melancholy noise, evidently bemoaning its loss ; and it died in the course of the ensiling week. A live Seal of the present species, that had been caught below Yarmouth, was brought to Ipswich, and carried about the streets in a basket, as a show. Dr. Hamilton saw and examined it. The animal was so gentle as to suffer him, though a stranger, to stroke its head ; whilst, at the same time, it turned quickly about, with open mouth, like a dog in the act of playing, rolling its fine black eyes, as if greatly delighted. It also allowed him, without any difficulty, to examine its fore-feet ; and to extend, in order to view their structure, the webs of the hinder ones. Seals are gregarious or social animals; and on rocky shores, not much frequented by mankind, they are often found collected together in immense multitudes. Their fetid and offensive odour, when thus collected, is sometimes perceptible to a great distance. They sleep on rocks and sea-banks; and it is generally understood, that, on these occasions, they are peculiarly watchful against danger. Some re- spectable writers have asserted, that they post a centinel, to guard them during their hours of re- pose, on the first signal of alarm from which they all scramble towards the sea, and with precipitation throw themselves into the water. Mr. Pennant informs THE COMMON SEAL. (51 informs us, that each of them is so watchful for himself, as seldom to repose longer than a minute, without raising up his head to listen if any attack is threatened -*. Notwithstanding these accounts,, there is reason to suppose that the sleep of Seals is as profound,, or nearly as profound, as that of most other quadrupeds. It is during this that the hunters chiefly contrive to attack them ; and when they thus come upon them unawares, they often destroy them in great numbers. The coast of Caithness, at the northern extremity of Scotland, is perhaps better known for the pur- suit of Seals than that of any other part of Great Britain. On this coast there are immense caverns opening to the sea, and running some hundreds of yards beneath the land. These, during the breeding season, are the resort of Seals, which continue here till their offspring are old enough to go to sea. The first of them is the Ord of Caithness: the last is near Thumster. Their entrance is so narrow as only to admit a boat, whilst within they are very spacious and lofty. In the month of October or November, the Seal-hunters, furnished with torches and bludgeons, enter the mouths of the caverns about midnight. After the men have landed, they make a great noise, which alarms the animals, and brings them down in vast multitudes, and great confusion, towards the mouth, to escape. * Pennant's British Zoology, i. p. 144. When 62 THE COMMON SEAL. When the first crowd is past, the men are gene- rally able to kill and secure most of the young ones which straggle behind, and which a very slight blow on the nose immediately destroys*. The ani- mals, in their escaping from the hunters, throw backward stones and dirt, with their hind-feet; and as this is often done with great force, the com- mon people believe it to be a mode of defence, which they adopt expressly for the purpose of covering their retreat. When Seals, in pursuit of shoals of fish, happen at high water to enter creeks, over stakes or strong nets previously placed across the mouth, the hunters, at the ebb 'of the tide, are often able to kill them in considerable numbers. Off the west side of North Uist, one of the western islands of Scotland, there is a rock called Cousmil. This is about a quarter of a mile in circumference, and is famous for an annual Seal fishery, about the end of October. The farmers of the island man their boats with a sufficient number of people for the business, and always embark with a contrary wind, to prevent their being driven out to sea, and likewise to prevent their being discovered by the acute scent of the Seals. When the crews are landed upon the island, they surround the passes, and then a signal for the general attack is given from the * Pennant's British Zoology, i. p. 142. boat. THE COMMON SEAL. . 63 boat. They beat down the animals with clubs or staves,, in the manner before described. The fisher- men assert, that sometimes more than three hundred Seals, young and old, have been killed in one of these rencounters*. The modes of pursuing and destroying Seals, adopted by the inhabitants of Greenland,, Finland, and other extreme northern regions, are very vari- ous. Sometimes they are shot from behind rocks, or immense masses of ice. Very frequently they are killed in the water with long harpoons. They are often watched, when coming to breathe through holes which they make in the ice; and as soon as their head is seen, they are struck by a kind of lance, or javelin. When the animals, in the spring of the year, lie on the ice, a man, clothed in a Seal's skin, and having a lance in his hand, will frequently creep along upon his belly, like a Seal, till one of them comes within his reach, when he immediately plunges his lance into the animal's body, and kills it+. Seals are so very tenacious of life, (unless they happen to be struck on the nose, which is almost immediate death to them,) that, when severely * Martin's Western Islands, p. 62. f Acerbi's Travels in Lapland, &c. i. p. ISS.Egede's Description of Greenland, p. 104 106. wounded, 64 THE COMMON SEAL. wounded,, even when shot through the head, they will plunge into the sea and escape far out of the reach of their pursuers. When they are secured, after having been mortally wounded, they are al- ways a great while in dying. And the relations that have been given of their existing for a considerable time, deprived even of their skin, are shocking to humanity, and reflect the greatest disgrace on those persons who could inflict so much misery on un- offending animals. On the British shores, the females usually pro- duce their young ones, seldom more than two in number, in the deep caverns before described*. These, at first, are covered with a whitish wool, or down. They are suckled, generally, for about four- teen days, when the dams conduct them into the water, to instruct them in swimming, and catching their proper food. Oppian has described, with tolerable accuracy, this instinctive process of the female Seals. . When they th' approaching time perceive, They fly the deep, and watery pastures leave: On the dry ground, far from the swelling tide, Bring forth their young, and on the shores abide, Tilt * The inhabitants of North Uist, one of the western islands of Scotland, informed Mr. Martin, that after the Seals pair, if .another male attempts to seduce the female away, the. injured mate .always resents the affront, by furiously attacking the aggressor. Martins Western Islands, p, 64. THE COMMON SEAL. 65 Till twice six times they see the eastern gleams Brighten the hills, and tremble on the streams. The thirteenth morn, soon as the early dawn Hangs out its crimson folds, or spreads its lawn, No more the fields and leafy coverts please, Each hugs her own, and hastes to rolling seas. The females continue to suckle their young ones for a little while after they take them into the water; and the Cornish fishermen informed Mr. Borlase, that they had often seen two of them suck- ing the dam, as she stood in the sea, in an upright position*. As soon as the young ones are able to provide for themselves, the female always prevents them from sucking any longer, by furiously driving them off, which is not done without many severe blows. We are informed by Martin, that the teats of female Seals are each situated in a kind of hollow place, that they may not suffer injury by the ani- mals' creeping along rocks and stones. It is on this account, he says, that the point of the tongue is bifid, or cloven at the end, without which shape the young ones would not be able to suckf. The season that the Seals frequent caverns for the purpose of bringing forth their offspring, is about the latter end of the autumn; and certainly not, as M. de Buffon has asserted, in the midst of winter. * Pennant's British Zoology, i. p. 144. t Martin's Account of the Western Islands, p. 65. F The 66 THE COMMON SEAL. The voice of the Common Seals is harsh and and unpleasant,, and has been compared to that of an angry dog. When they are young this is more shrill, and somewhat resembles the mewing of a cat. We are informed by M. de Buffon, that young ones, which are taken from their dams, mew conti- nually, and sometimes will die of hunger sooner than receive the food that is offered to them*. The flesh of these animals is by no means bad eating ; and, in former times, it was occasionally served up at the most sumptuous and splendid tables. The inhabitants of the western islands of Scotland frequently cure it for winter's food, by means of the ashes of burnt sea-weeds. The fat is more clear and sweet than that of any of the whales. In the south of Europe the skins are some- times used for covering trunjcs, for making waist- coats, and shot pouches; and, when properly dressed, for making shoes and boots. In the Hebrides, a girdle made of seal-skin is considered a never failing remedy against the sciatica; and the inhabitants of Aberdeenshire frequently wear this to remove the hooping cough. A mode has lately been invented of plucking out the long hairs from the skins, and leaving behind the fine and thick down, which is afterwards cut off and manufactured into hats. * Buffon, par Sonnini, xxxiv. p. 74. The THE PIED SEAL. 6#~- This Seal is called, in the Orknies, selc\\y: in Wales,, moelrlion: in France, plioque commun, veau niarin, loup marin: in Italy, veccliio marino : in Spain and Portugal, lobo de mer, lobo marino : in Germany, robbe, seehund, see-kalb, meer-wolf, meer- hund : in Holland, rob, zeeliund: in Sweden, sial, wilkare-sial: in Denmark, soelhund : in Poland, liies. morski, dele morski : in Iceland, setyr: in Bothnia/ alg, the male; lagg, the female; kut, the young : in Russia, tjulen. These names are, however, applied^ for the most part, indiscriminately to all the species. . THE PIED SEAL*. An individual of this species, described in Mr, Pennant's History of Quadrupeds, was caught in the estuary of the river Dee, near Chester, in the month of May, 1766. For a little while after its * Phoca bicolor.*Shaw> Le Phoque a venire blanc. Buffbn. The Pied Seal was unknown to Linnaeus. In the folio edition of Pennant's British Zoology, it is regarded as a variety of the Common Seal ; but in the Jast edition of his History of Quadrupeds, it is considered, with propriety, to be a perfectly distinct species. For the description of the Pied Seal, see the Synopsis, p. 12. No. 7. F 2 capture, 68 HIE PIED SEAL. capture, its skin was naked, like that of a porpesse ; and only the head, and a small part beneath each leg, had any hair upon them ; but before the animal died, the hair began to grow on the other parts of its body. A pied Seal, mentioned by M. de Buffon, was caught in the Gulf of Venice, on the small island of Guarnero, near the coast of Dalmatia, in the year 1777. It had been often chased without success; and at last had nearly escaped, by breaking through the fishermen's nets. According to the report of the oldest of the fishermen, the animal had been known for more than fifty years. Its teeth were yellow, and much worn ; and its whiskers were of great length, white, and the hairs very rough. This Seal was examined by M. de Buffon, in December, 1778, fourteen months after it had been caught. Notwithstanding its great age, it had been rendered exceedingly docile; and it exhibited no ferocity of disposition whatever. It was attentive to the voice of its owner, and, on all occasions, obeyed his commands with great readiness. It would bend itself, roll round, turn on its back, give the man one of its paws or fins, or elevate the upper parts of its body out of the water of the tub in which it was kept, according to his orders. It answered to his call or signs, by its voice, which was hoarse, and seemed to proceed from the bottom of its throat, and had some resemblance to the hoarse bellowing of a bull. On attentively watching the animal, THE PIED SEAL. 69 animal, it appeared that this sound (though less harsh) was produced on inspiring as well as on ex- piring air. It would answer its. master, when it heard his voice, though he were at some distance, and out of sight. Whenever this was the case, it seemed to search for him with its eyes ; and as soon as it again perceived him, though only after a few moments' absence, it never failed to exhibit proof of its joy, by a kind of hoarse murmuring noise. Till the animal was rendered tolerably docile, its owner said, that it invariably attempted to bite, with violence, any person who in the slightest de- gree offended it. For about eight days, at a certain season of the year, this Seal, which was a male, changed its usu- ally mild disposition to a singular degree of fero- ciousness. During this time it knew no one, and even its master's voice had no influence over its actions. One day, it seized him by the sleeve of his coat, and could not be induced to loose its hold, till its jaws were forcibly wrenched open by means of an iron instrument. Another time it laid hold of the heacl of a tolerably large dog, which it crushed to pieces with its teeth. In short, it ex- ercised its fury upon every living object that ven- tured to come within its reach. It bellowed ; and always, during these days, seemed in great agita- tion. Sometimes it would continue to bellow for many hours successively. This animal usually slept in the day time; and F 3 was 70 THE PIED SEAL. was frequently heard to snore at a very consi- derable distance. Its repose was so sound, that its master could easily approach without awaking it ; and it often happened that he had a difficulty in rousing it, unless, at the same time, he put a fish of some kind to its nose. In this case, however, the ani- mal soon recovered its wonted vivacity. If the fish was withdrawn to a little distance, it would raise its head, and the anterior part of its body ; and, stand- ing tiptoe, on its fore-feet, would endeavour to reach it. This was the only kind of food that it could be induced to eat ; and of carp and eels, (the fish it was usually fed with,) it was most fond of the former. Care was always taken to roll them in salt before they were offered; and about thirty pounds weight of these fish, raw, and thus covered with salt, were necessary for its daily subsistence. All the eels were swallowed whole, as well as a few of the carp that were first presented. But when the animal began to be satiated, it gutted the others before it ate them. For this purpose it seized them by the head, which it crushed between its teeth; then, with singular address, it ripped open the belly, emptied it of its contents, and, in conclu- sion, swallowed the remainder of the bodies whole. Its owner informed M. de Buffon that he had, occasionally, kept it for many days, and once for even more than a month, out of water; but that care was taken to wash it every evening with clean water, THE PIED SEAL. 7 1 water, and to give it salt and water to drink. When it had at any time been long out of water, its blood became overheated ; and the whites of the eyes, particularly towards their angles, always ap- peared much inflamed. This Seal respired only after intervals of consi- derable duration. In these intervals, the nostrils were perfectly closed, and appeared like two large, longitudinal marks at the extremity of the muzzle. The animal never opened them, except to reject the air from its lungs, and to take in a fresh supply. They were often observed to continue thus closed for the space of a couple of minutes together. A kind of whitish mucus, of very disagreeable odour, flowed almost continually from the nostrils. This animal died in the month of August, 1779. On dissection, after its death, the foramen ovale, contrary to what is usually observed in the animals of the present tribe, was found to be closed by a transparent membrane, disposed in the form of a semi-lunar pouch. M. de Buffbn endeavours to ex- plain the circumstance, by remarking that, in this and other individuals, which have been kept for the purpose of exhibition, the foramen ovale may have closed, in consequence of the change of their ele- ment and habits. The stomach was peculiarly strong and muscular; and the liver was composed of five lobes*. * Buffon, par Sonnini, xxxiv. p. 54. F4 THE THE GREAT SEAL*. IN those parts of the Northern Atlantic where the Great Seals mostly abound, they are often to be seen, collected in considerable numbers, upon huge masses of detached and floating ice. They are exceedingly timid animals; and are much sought after by the Greenlanders, who kill them with harpoons and lances, chiefly for the sake of their fat, which they eat, and consider as of pecu- liarly delicious flavour. The flesh, the blood, the intestines, and tendons, like those of the Common Seal, have all their uses. The skins of the old Seals are cut into thongs, and applied to various pur- poses; and these people stuff their beds with the hair of the young ones. When the animals become large and fat, they lose a great portion of their original activity, and swim very slowly and heavily. They feed on various kinds of fish, such as the holibut, cod, haddock, and others which are found in shoals in the northern seas. * Phoca barbata. Linnaeus. Le grand Phoque. Buffbn. For the description of the Great Seal, see the Synopsis, p. 13, No. 8. : . The THE GREAT SEAL. 73 The females, according to Fabricius, produce each only one young one at a birth, and this generally about the month of March, upon the masses of ice which float about in the open sea*. According to the account of Linnaeus, (who, however, it must be observed, had by no means the same opportunity of ascertaining the fact as Fabricius, from his long residence in Greenland, had,) the females generally produce two young ones each, about the months of November or Decemberf The Great Seal which was described by Dr Par- sons in the Philosophical Transactions, was exhi- bited at Charing Cross, in February, 1742 3. The claws on its fore-feet were very large and broad, somewhat resembling, in appearance, those of a mole. The toes were connected by a web, or membrane. The membranes of the hinder feet were much the longest. This Seal, though so young as to have scarcely any teeth, was upwards of seven feet in length. It was a female, and had four small holes, placed in the angles of a square, round the navel, which were evidently the marks of four small teats. It died very shortly after it was ex- hibited. On dissection, the spleen was found to be two feet in length, four inches broad, and exceedingly * Fauna Groenlandica, p. 16. t Syst. Nat. Gmel. i. p. 65. thin. i 74 THE GREAT SEAL. thin. The liver was composed of six lobes, each of which was long and thin, like the spleen. The gall-bladder was very small. The heart was long, and of a soft texture, having a large foramen ovale ; and the fleshy parts were very considerable. Dr. Parsons says, that the interior conformation greatly resembled that of a Cow, and differed as greatly from that of other Seals, (two of which he had before dissected, ) as the structure of a Cow does from that of a Horse. One stomach, as he informs us, was filled with fish; and in another, communi- cating with it, there were found about four pounds weight of small angular pieces of flint, which the animal appeared to have swallowed for the purpose of grinding its food. Besides these, there were two other bags, which contained a whitish fluid matter. He regarded this Seal as having four stomachs, and as being a ruminating animal*. It is remarked by M. de Buffon, that although the above writer might be a skilful physician, yet in the present case his sole testimony is by no means sufficient to persuade naturalists that the Great Seal is a ruminating animal. The Pied Seal, which M. de Buffon dissected, had its stomach divided into four bags, or appendices : but he says that * Parsons, in Phil. Tran. ix. p. 74. Letter to M. de Buffon, dated London, May 10th, 1765, inserted in Sonnini's edition of Buifon, xxxiv. p. 49. these THE GREAT SEAL. 75 these could, in no respect, be compared to the four stomachs of the ruminants. Besides, these Seals live on fish ; and it is in the highest degree impro- ble that any creatures, which subsist on animal food, should chew their cud. Great Seals are not uncommon on the coasts of Scotland, and particularly about the rock of Hiskyr, one of the Western Islands. We are in- formed by Dr. Heysham, that they have sometimes been driven, by tempests, upon the sea shores of Cumberland. It is generally supposed that these are the same animals which, in Iceland, have the name of gramselt ; in Greenland, of urksuk, and takka- mugak ; and in Russia, of lachtak. , OF OF THE DOG TRIBE IN GENERAL. IN their native forests, or wilds, the animals which constitute the different species of the present tribe, usually associate in immense packs. These are often so powerful, as to make war with, and over- come, many beasts of prey, which, individually, are much more strong and ferocious than them- selves. Their rapacity exceeds all bounds; and their depredations have, in some instances, proved an almost irreparable injury to the inhabitants of the countries where they dwell. Wretchedness often follows the track of these invaders. Flocks and herds have been swept before them ; and from the attacks of some of stronger and more voracious species, even mankind themselves have not, in all cases, been able to escape. Happily for us, the Fox is at present the only predacious animal of the tribe that infests the British dominions; and its attacks, and the mis- chief it commits, are confined, almost exclusively, to poultry, to game, and some of the smaller kinds of quadrupeds. Wolves were once inhabitants both of Britain and Ireland ; and, in the early periods, were in such multitudes in Yorkshire, that in the reign of Athel- stan, THE DOG TR.BE IN GENERAL. 77 stan, says one of the old historians, a retreat was built at Flixton, in that county, to defend passengers from the wolves, that they should not he devoured by them. About the latter end of the tenth century, a tribute was imposed upon the Welsh princes, of three hundred wolves' heads, to be annually deli- vered, till the whole race should be destroyed. After a few years the tribute was remitted, under a declaration, on the part of the princes, that the breed was extinct. The numbers, had, indeed, been greatly diminished; but some of the animals were left ; for, in the reign of Edward the First, they had again increased to such numbers, that a royal mandate was issued to a person of the name of Corbet, to superintend, and assist in, the de- struction of Wolves, in the several counties of A " f -fcjy.'** ' *^ ' Jfc t 9 A'- ' * tj Gloucester, Worcester, Hereford, Salop, and Staf- ford. In Derbyshire, we are informed that certain persons held their lands by the duty of hunting, and taking the Wolves which infested that part of the country. The last Wolf that has been heard of in Scotland, was killed about the year 1680; and the date of the extinction of these animals in Ireland is 1710, the latest presentment for killing Wolves having been made in the county of Cork about that year. The habitations of all this tribe of animals are burrows, or dens, which they scratch in the ground, or which they find ready formed in the clefts of rocks, or the deep recesses of forests. In these they 78 THE DOG TRIBE IN GENEHAL. they sleep, for the most part, during the day, is- suing at the close of evening to prowl about for plunder. They are, in general, extremely nauseous in their feeding, preferring bodies which they hap- pen to find exposed, or which they are able to un- earth, even in the most putrid state, to fresh and recently killed food. By these disgusting manners, however,, in hot climates, they are greatly instru- mental to the health of mankind. They thus pre- vent the air from being impregnated with noxious effluvia., arising from multitudes of bodies that would otherwise be left on the earth to corrupt, and to spread around them diseases and death. The females of the most fertile species produce from six to ten young ones at a litter. These are all blind, and in other respects are not perfectly formed, at their birth. Most of the animals attain their full size, and arrive at maturity, in about two years ; and the general duration of their lives seems to be from fourteen to twenty years. THE THE COMMON DOG*. THE Dog, in a wild state, is a savage and ferocious beast, allied, in a great measure, both in tempera- ment and disposition, to the Wolf. Wild Dogs are found, in great troops, in various- parts of Africa. These are described as having red hair, ami slender bodies, with turned-tip tails, like greyhounds. They, however, sometimes vary in colour, have upright ears, and are of the general size of a large fox-hound. The disposition of this animal, where it has been taken into the protection of mankind, domesticated, and instructed, has undergone a radical change ; and whilst all its courage and its sagacity are left, its ferocity has been softened down to obedience. For an animal, destitute of the faculties of reasoning and reflection, we are astonished at the quickness of his perception, and sensibility. Without excepting even the Elephant, the Dog seems the most tractable and docile of all the brute creation. His gentleness and fidelity have rendered him, in many countries, not merely a useful, but a necessary companion * Canis familiar is. Linnceus. Le Cliien. Biiffbn. For the description of the Dog, see the Synopsis, p. 14, No. 9. Of 80 THE COMMON DOG. of man. To the orders of his master he yields a ready and implicit obedience. He acts upon these orders with alacrity ; and, by his vigilance and cou- rage, frequently secures him from the attacks of his enemies. He guards, both by day and night, his property; and will often risk his life in its defence. He is seldom inclined to injure any person, unless previously irritated or assaulted; and is almost the only animal which forbears to resent bad treatment from his owner. The Dog, under such usage, does not even seek to desert his master ; but, in spite of the injury, will still continue to follow 7 and defend him. If he has committed a fault, and finds that it is discovered, he crouches at his master's feet, as if to implore his clemency ; but if he be not fortunate enough to obtain mercy, he submits to the chastise- ment, and, the moment it is over, will lick the hand that punished him. On the least encouragement, he recovers his accustomed gaiety, runs round, and affectionately fawns upon his master. On all occa- sions he is attentive to his voice; and he knows, intimately, that of every person from whom he is accustomed to receive favours or attention. "To strangers," says M. de Buffon, "he is totally indif- ferent; but to beggars, whom he immediately knows by their dress, their voice, and gestures, he is a decided enemy, and at all times, if possible, prevents their approach. When, during the night, he becomes the guard of the house, he assumes a more than usual degree of boldness, and is some- times THE COMMON DOG. 81 times even ferocious. He watches, goes his rounds, scents strangers at a distance, and if they stop, or attempt to break into the house, he flies with fury to oppose their entrance; and by continued barking, and other efforts of passion, he gives the alarm, and thus rouses the family to avert the dan- ger. He is as furious against thieves as he is against rapacious animals. He attacks, wounds, and forces from them whatever plunder they are endeavouring to take away. But, contented with his victory, he will lie down upon the spoil, nor even touch it to satisfy his appetite : thus affording, in the same act, a pleasing example of courage, temperance, and fidelity*/' The Dog may be trained to perform various en- tertaining feats. He may be taught to sit upright ; to walk and dance on his hind legs, even on a rope ; to tumble over his head, or beat a drum. He may even, by education, be made to go many miles in search of things that have been left behind, for- gotten, pr lost. He may be harnessed and yoked, like a horse, to assist in drawing along heavy burthens. Such is his sagacity, that we are informed of a dumb person in Mantua, who had so well instructed his dog, that on certain signs he would run out of * Buffon, par Sonnini, xxiii. p. 1.56. G the 82 THE COMMON DOG. the room, and return with any particular servant that his master wanted*. And, with this sagacity, so great is also hhjidelity, that he may be trained to go to market with money,, to repair to a known shop, and even to carry home provisions with safety. A Dog belonging to a man, named Person, of Bow, had been long in the habit of carrying half-a-guinea, every week, from thence to Bethnal-Green. The circumstance was care- lessly mentioned at a public-house; and a person present determined to rob the Dog. The attempt was made, but the fellow had occasion to repent of his rashness; for he was so dreadfully bitten in the hand, that it was thought he would lose some of his fingers. A neighbour interfered, took off the Dog, and enabled him to deliver his charge in safety. But of all the educational attainments by which the Dog has been distinguished, that of learning to speak seems the most extraordinary. The French academicians mention a Dog in Germany, which was able to speak several words, and could call, in an intelligible manner, for tea, coffee, chocolate, and other things. The account of this Dog was written by no less a person than the celebrated Leibnitz, who communicated it, to the Royal Aca- demy of Francef. And if accounts from Sweden * Ruysch, ii. p. 124. f Shaw's Gen. Zool. i. p. 289. may THE COMMON DOG. 83 may be credited, there was a little Dog, some years ago, exhibited at Stockholm, which had been taught to speak many words, and to utter even complete sentences, both in the French and Swedish lan- guages*. Although Dogs are naturally lively, active, and vigilant animals; yet, when pampered and over- fed, as we oftentimes see them, they become heavy and indolent. They pass the principal part of their lives in eating and sleeping. The latter, indeed, is almost continual, and is often accompanied by involuntary motions in the limbs, and a kind of whining noise, the apparent effects of dreaming. These animals are all carnivorous; and the powers of their stomach are very remarkable. Bones are softened and digested so readily, that the teeth have but to break them into such pieces as can pass the gullet. The gastric juices have all the work of this digestion, to which trituration does not in the least contribute. Generally speaking, Dogs are extremely vora- cious animals, and will devour almost any kind of food; but they have an insuperable aversion to many species of birds. By a singular depravity of taste, they generally prefer flesh that is, in part, corrupted, to perfectly fresh food. It is by no * For various anecdotes of the sagacity of Dogs, see Anima Biography, third Edit. i. p. 200 232. G 2 means 84 THE COMMON DOG. means an unusual thing to see dogs that are deli- cately taken care of, leave the food provided for them, and run, with avidity, to devour carrion; and they will sometimes roll, with great apparent delight, on the corrupted fragments. They seldom eat of raw vegetables, except medi- cinally. When they are unwell, they bite off, and swallow, the blades of several kinds of grass. These are supposed to be of use in exciting them to vo- mit, M. Sonnini says, that he has seen a Bastard pug Dog, (Roquet,) which every day swallowed a quantity of snuff. As soon as a snuff-box was opened, it was always exceedingly troublesome till some one put a pinch into its mouth*. Most of the Dogs have a nicety of scent, unusual in other animals. This is particularly the case in all kinds of sporting Dogs, except the Greyhound; and by this they are not merely enabled to hunt their .prey, but they can follow the track of their master, when not in sight, to surprising distances. By this faculty also it is, that, when any thing is i thrown for a Dog to fetch, he will always make sure of it, though it may not have been previously shown to him. A little Scotch Terrier, belonging to the late Captain John Campbell, of the Royal Horse Artillery, (as I have repeatedly witnessed,) after hearing a stone thrown out of a window, in * Addition a 1' Article du Chien, xxiii. p. 346. a per- THE COMMON DOG. 85 a perfectly dark night, would leave the room by the door, and, going round the corner of the house to the spot, would never fail to return with the same stone in his mouth. To account for this peculiar nicety of scent, it is to be remarked, that, in the Dog, the cavity of the ethmoid, or spungy bone, at the top of the nose, betwixt the nose and the brain, has a larger surface than that of most other quadrupeds. The olfactory nerves pierce this bone, and are extended over it; and their extent of surface is, consequently, greater than in other animals. The females have commonly two births in the year; and they produce, at each litter, from four to twelve young ones. These come into the world perfectly blind,, their eye-lids not only being closed together, but adhering by a membrane, which breaks away as soon as the muscles of the upper eye-lid acquire suf- ficient strength to raise it, and overcome this ob- stacle. In most Dogs, the eyes are opened about the tenth or twelfth day. When first produced, the bones of the skull are not finished; the body is very thick, in proportion to its length; and the whole form is incomplete. But, in the course of two months, the animals begin to attain their shape and strength, and learn to use all their senses. Their growth, during this period, is very rapid. In about two years, Dogs arrive at a state of ma- turity; and the usual term of their lives is from ten to fourteen years* Some Dogs, have, however, G 3 attained 86 THE COMMON DOC. attained the great age of twenty years. When Dogs become old, they carry all the marks of age. They are weak; their hair loses its bright and lively ap- pearance; their teeth and eyes fail them; and, at last, from weakness and disease, they often become unpleasant inmates to our dwellings. The Dog will breed both with the Wolf and the Fox. The offspring from this connexion are not barren; but will likewise breed, not only with other Wolves, Foxes, and Dogs, but even amongst them- selves. This is a fact that M. de Buffon was at great trouble and expence to ascertain; and the nu- merous instances cited in the supplementary vo- lumes of his works, have done it very satisfactorily. The inhabitants of many countries, and particu- larly of those of several parts of Africa and Asia, are partial to the flesh of the Dog; and fatten these animals, sometimes in great numbers, for food. In Europe, however, the skin seems to be accounted the only useful part of its body. This is made into shoes, gloves, and other articles of dress. . Dogs are subject to three very severe diseases ; the mange, distemper, and madness. Against the former, cleanliness, air, and exercise, are considered to be good preservatives. The distemper has not been known in this country more than forty years; but it is now become one of the most fa f al disorders that any animals can be subject to. Dogs are usually attacked by it whilst young, between the ages of six and twelve months; and THE COMMON DOG. 87 and very few of the species escape it altogether. In its worst form it is so severe, as to be sometimes mistaken for canine madness ; fortunately, however, for the happiness of mankind, it is very different from that, in every essential particular. To hydrophobia, or madness, all Dogs are liable ; and from this dreadful malady, many melancholy events proceed every year. Opinions differ as to the cause of hydrophobia. It is usually asserted, (though apparently without foundation,) to be most frequent after long dry and hot seasons ; and some experienced men say, that such Dogs as live on putrid carrion, without plenty of fresh water, are more liable to it than others. The symptoms are stated to be these. The Dog at first looks dull, shows an aversion to his food, and lo company. He does not bark as usual, but utters, occasionally, a most dismal and plaintive howl, which no person, who has once heard, can ever forget. His ears and tail, drop more than usual. He lolls out his tongue, froths at the mouth, and his eyes seem heavy and watery. If not confined, he escapes, and runs panting along, with a deject- ed air, and endeavours to bite any one he meets. After the first symptoms of madness, there are two or three days, during which the Dog has sufficient sense to distinguish and acknowledge his master. But if he is loose, he will, in general, even at this time, bite whatever comes in his way. He will sometimes, during this stage of the disease, leave G 4 his 88 THE COMMON DOG. his home for several hours, spread his disorder by biting men and animals, and again return. When in the height of his disorder, it is peculiarly dan- gerous to strike at, or provoke, a mad Dog ; for he has then no fear of any thing, and will generally return the attack. If a mad Dog escapes being killed, he seldom runs more than two or three days, when he dies, exhausted by heat, hunger, and dis- ease. In confinement, he does not often survive the fifth day, from the first exhibition of the symp- toms. In the last stage of the disease, his ap- pearance is altogether much altered. His eyes are sunk. His tongue is black and dry. He makes horrid howlings, and seems much disturbed. The concluding scene, it is said, is dreadful to witness. The usual period for the symptoms to be remark- ed, after a Dog has been bitten, is betwixt seven and eight weeks ; but, in a few instances, these have been known to appear in so short a time as ten* or twelve days. It is a ! generally received opinion, that mad Dogs, even in the earliest stages of their disease, will not take the water. Two well-authenticated instances of madness, however, occurred in the year 1791, in which the Dogs, on being closely pur- sued, swam over a navigable river*. Although the animals, at the height of their disorder, usually * These are mentioned by Mr. Daniel. refuse THE COMMON DOG. 89 refuse both food and drink; yet we are assured, that they do not show any abhorrence or dread of water,, but will sometimes lap it eagerly to the last. This, however, is very remarkable, that although they lap the water for a long time together, with great avidity, and seem not to experience any un- easiness from it; yet they do not swallow a single drop: and, however long they continue lapping it, no diminution in quantity can be perceived*. The only effectual remedy against this dreadful malady, seems to consist in cutting out the wound- ed part, as soon as possible after the bite is inflicted; or in cauterizing it with a hot iron. There have been various specifics made public for the cure of hydrophobia; and none have attained so much celebrity as that denominated the Ormskirk Medi- cine. The efficacy of the whole of these is, how- ever, so much to be doubted, that they ought, by no means, to be trusted in cases where either of the above remedies can be applied. When any person is bitten by a Dog reputed to be mad, the animal ought, by no means, to be de- stroyed, as is too often the case. If the Dog be fastened up, and no remedy used, a few days will ascertain whether he is really mad or not. fyfany persons have lived for years, in the most distressing * Remark of Mr. Meynell, quoted in Daniel's Rural Sports, 8vo- eclit. i. p, 159. anxiety 90 THE COMMON DOG. anxiety of mind, from the want of this necessary and easy precaution. In Wales, the male of this species is called ci; and the female, gast: in France, chien and chienne: in Italy they are each called cane: in Spain, perro: in Portugal, cane, cani: in Germany, hund: in Hol- land, hond: in Sweden and Denmark, hund : in Poland, psi: in Russia, pes y sobaka: in Iceland, lubba. The following are the principal varieties of the Dog, which, at this time, are recognised as natives of the British islands. 1. Shepherd's Dog. 8. Irish Greyhound. 2. Water Dog. 9. Common Greyhound. 3. Spaniel. 10. Mastiff. 4. Setter. U. Bull Dog. 5. Pointer. 12. Terrier. 6. Hound. 13. Lurcher. 7. Bloodhound. 14. Turnspit. THE THE SHEPHERD'S DOG*. Curr. IN instinct and sagacity, the Shepherd's Dog is, perhaps, superior to all others; for whilst the rest require great care and attention to train them to labour, this animal applies himself, without any dif- culty, to that to which he is usually appropriated. His usefulness alone has been the recommendation to preserve the species; since no Dog can go through a more extensive variety of duty, nor does any one perform more services to his master than this. In wide tracts of country, that are solely appropriated to the feeding of sheep and cattle, immense flocks may be seen ranging over the wilds, apparently without control. One of these Dogs is of more essential use to the Shepherd, than half a dozen boys would be ; is more expe- ditious; and is at all times ready to obey com- mands. At a word from his keeper, he drives the sheep, in order and regularity, to and from their pasture; and will suffer no stranger, from another Canis familiar is do?nesticits. Linn&us, Le Chien de Berger. Bujfon. See the Synopsis, p. 15. No. 9, VAR, 1. flock, 92 THE SHEPHERD'S DOG. flock, to intrude upon his. If any of the sheep attempt to stray, he springs forward in an instant to stop their course. On the side of one of the Welsh mountains, I have seen a shepherd point out to his Dog a straggling Sheep, on a height, more than a mile distant. He gave the well-known signal. The Dog went off at full speed, and soon returned, with the animal, to the flock. These Dogs drive the Sheep entirely by their voice, never lacerating them with their teeth; nor ever employ- ing 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. If the shepherd be about to absent him- self from the flock, he depends on his Dog to keep the animals together; and if, afterwards, he is heard to give the command, this faithful servant conducts them to him, with promptitude, ^however great the distance. In countries infested by Wolves, he protects them from danger. His voice generally alarms and drives off the enemy, and collects the flock into a body much better than the voice of the shepherd. Various instances have been related of the fidelity of this Dog to his master. I shall insert but one. In the very severe winter of 1794, as the son of a Mr. Bousted was feeding his father's Sheep, on an extensive common, near Penrith in Cumber- land., THE SHEPHERD'S DOG. 93 land, he had the misfortune to fall down and break his leg. Being then three miles from home, out of the hearing of every one, and the evening ap- proaching, he was, for some time*, at a loss in what manner to act. At last, he took out one of his gloves, fplded it in his handkerchief, tied this about the Dog's neck, and ordered him home. The animal immediately set off; and, arriving at the house, scratched at the door for admittance. The parents of the youth were much alarmed ; and, concluding that some accident had hap- pened, the father, with some of his friends, instantly set out in search of him. The Dog needed no invitation to lead the road ; but, of his own accord, returned with the anxious parent to the spot where his son lay : and the young man, thus rescued from otherwise inevitable de- struction, by the fidelity of his I)og, was taken home, and soon afterwards recovered*. * Gentleman's Magazine, for February, 1795. THE THE WATER BOG. Great Water Dog. Lesser Water Dog. Finder. THE Water Dog is distinguished from all others by his rough and curly hair. He is believed to have been originally introduced into this coun- try from Spain. These Dogs are remarkably fond of swimming about in the water, which they do with singular activity and ease ; and they are useful to sportsmen,, in fetching from thence such birds as are shot and fall into it. There are two kinds, but they differ from each other only in size. A pleasing instance of attachment, jn a small Water Dog belonging to the farrier of the C. troop of Horse Artillery, has been related to me by a friend, who had a personal knowledge of the fact. When this troop was at Canterbury, a few years ago, an officer of the fifty-second regiment, much pleased with the appearance of the animal, pur- chased her. In the course of a little while, she was sent, and every possible attention was paid to her * Canis familiaris aquations. Linnaeus. Le Barbet. Buffon. See the Synopsis, p. 16, No. 9, VAR. 2. in THE WATER DOG. 95 in her new habitation. As soon as her master had left her, she began to whine, and appeared very unhappy. Some food was put before her; but she refused to eat. She was tried with every delicacy that it was thought might tempt her, but to no purpose; and for three days she persisted in re- jecting every kind of nourishment. The officer, at last, sent for the farrier to relate the circumstance, and ask his advice. As soon as he opened the door of the place where she was confined, the little creature, almost frantic with joy, exerted her greatest effort to escape from her chain. He offered her some food, which she swallowed with the utmost voracity ; but he had no other alter- native to save the life of the faithful animal, than by refunding the money which he had received, (which he did not hesitate a moment to do,) and again taking her into his own possession. The hair of the above animal is so soft and fine in its texture, that her owner cuts it off twice in the year; and each fleece is found sufficient to be manufactured into two hats. These are generally considered to be worth about twelve shillings each. THE THE SPANIEL*, THIS Dog has its name of Hispaniolus, or Spaniel, from Spain, the country from which we originally derived the breed; but, like the last variety, it is now so completely naturalized in Great Britain, that we may properly consider it as a British ani- mal. Its chief use is in the sports of the field; and when hawking was a fashionabe recreation in this country, it was the kind of Dog always taken out to spring the game. Spaniels, in almost all ages, have been noted for Jidelity, and attachment to their masters ; and the instances that have been recorded, in proof of this, are innumerable. I shall select a very remarkable one. A few days before the overthrow of Robespierre, a revolutionary tribunal had condemned Mons. R , an ancient magistrate, and a most estimable man, on the pretence that he had been guilty of conspiracy. Mons. R had a Spaniel, at that time about twelve years old, which had been * Canis familiaris extrarius. Linn(E\ts. V Epagneul. Buffbn. See the Synopsis, p. 16, No. 9, VAR. 3. brought THE SPANIEL. 9? Brought up by him, and had scarcely ever quitted his side He was thrown into prison. His faithful Dog was with him when he was seized, but was not suffered to accompany him into confinement. The Dog took refuge with a neighbour of his master; and every day, at the same hour, returned to the door of the prison. Such unwearied fidelity at length excited the compassion even of the porter, and the Dog was allowed to enter. The joy of the master and his Dog was mutual. It was found difficult again to separate them ; and the jailor, fearful (if the Dog should be discovered there) that his governors might consider him as favouring a prisoner, was compelled to carry him out. The animal returned regularly every evening, and was as regularly admitted. On the day appointed for re- ceiving sentence, the Dog, in spite of the guards, pe- netrated into the hall, and crouched betwixt his mas- ter's legs. At the execution he was also present, and was with difficulty forced from the body. For two nights and a day he remained on the grave. The friend of his master, who had before afforded him an asylum, uahappy at not seeing the Dog as usual, and guessing to what place he had retired, stole forth by night, and finding him at the grave, caressed and brought him back. He tried every means that kindness could devise to induce him to eat ; but in a short time the Dog escaped, and regained his favourite place. For three months he came every morning to his pro- H tector, 98 THE SPANIEL. lector, mei'ely to receive his food ; and again im- mediately returned to the grave. At the end of this time he languished, refused to take any nourish- ment, and died. A very pleasing instance of the sagacity of a Spaniel occurred to Cowper the poet. As this gentleman was walking along the bank of the Ouse, accompanied by his Spaniel, he observed in the river some water-lilies in bloom. He was desirous of seizing one of the flowers; and, by by means of his walking-stick, made several at- tempts, but in vain, to steer one of them to his hand. Finding that all his efforts would be to no purpose, he left the flowers and -went on. Having finished his ramble, he returned homeward by the same place. The Dog,, without any instruction, plunged into the water, cropped the identical flower that Cowper had been so long in vain attempting to seize, brought it away in his mouth, and dropped it at his master's feet*. Of the instinct of Dogs, in returning home with- out any guide, from distant places, there have been numerous and surprising recitals. None, however, are more deserving of attention than the following. The late Colonel Hardy was sent for, express, to * See the " Dog and the Water Lily," in the second volume of Cowper's Poems. Bath; ^ ' &^ ' Qjzma t s v^ * !^xi^/<^ &0 ' &t~~Z0? H* . &TL- fr ^P?* fr^tt^S < jf /&'?J'** >f, SZ4&C ?<66t>& / , 119 ) THE TERRIER*. THIS Dog has its name of Terrier, or terrarius, from its usually subterraneous employment, in forcing Foxes, and other beasts of prey, out of dieir dens; and, in former times, driving Rabbets from their burrows. It is generally an attendant on every pack of Fox-hounds; and is the deter- mined enemy of all kinds of vermin, such as Weesels, Foumarts, Rats, c. The Terrier is a fierce, keen, and hardy animal, and will encounter even the Badger, from which he sometimes meets with very severe treatment. A well-trained and veteran Dog, however, frequently proves more than a match for that powerful animal. Some Terriers are rough, and others smooth and haired. They are generally reddish, brown, or black; of a long form ; short legged ; and strongly bristled about the muzzle. With respect to speed, although the Terrier is is not remarkable for rapidity of course, yet it has the power of continuing the same pace for many hours successively. An instance of its speed, how- * Canis familiaris terrarius. See the Synopsis, p. 21, No. 9, VAR, 12. 1 4 ever, 120 THE TERRIER. ever, occurred in the year 1794. For a wager against time, a Dog, that was very small, was made to run the first mile in two minutes, the second in four, the third in six, the fourth in eight, and the fifth and sixth in eighteen minutes. He afterwards ran the same distance, six miles, in thirty-two minutes*. The following is, perhaps, an unparalleled in- stance of ferocity and affection, in a Terrier, towards the same animals. During the hunting of a Fox, near Sudbury in Suffolk, by Mr. Daniel's hounds, the Fox ran into a hole in the ground. Two men, with a couple of Terriers, were employed to dig him out, which, after considerable labour, was effected, and the Fox was killed by the Hounds. During the killing, one of the Terriers, a bitch, stole into the same earth; and being observed, the men dug again, and found a female Fox with five cubs, two of which the Terrier had killed in the earth. The other three were saved from her fury, and not long afterwards were put to her to suckle and bring up. The Terrier had one whelp, which was near five weeks old, and the cubs could but just see when this exchange of progeny was made ; yet, singular as it may appear, she suckled and * Daniel's Rural Sports, i. p. 368. reared THE TERRIER. 121 reared them till they were able to shift for them- selves*. The Terrier is the kind of Dog that we usually observe employed to accompany and conduct blind persons. By means of the string fastened to his collar, he leads on his master, with the utmost patience, from door to door; and, whilst the beg- gar chaunts his miserable ditty, will frequently lie down to repose himself upon the pavement. The sound of money, or the well-known conclusion of the song, immediately rouses him to proceed in his labour. Such, indeed, is the sagacity of some of these Dogs, that, on money being thrown from a window, they have been seen to take it in their mouth, and deposit it in safety in their master's cap or hat. A gentleman who resided at Forton, near Gosport, Hants, had a small Terrier Dog, to which he was greatly attached, and which usually fol- lowed him wherever he went. As, in the summer of 1796, the weather was exceedingly hot, and the animal had upon him many fleas, his master, in crossing a mill-dam, plunged him into the water, to swim to the opposite side, whilst he himself walked round to the bridge. This practice, how- ever, he continued only for a little while ; for, one evening, the gentleman was surprised to observe * Daniel's Rural Sports, i. p. 02, that 122 THE LURCHER. that his Dog kept considerably a-head of him. At times he would approach nearer, and wag his tail, but still kept at such a distance that there was no possibility of laying hold of him. When he came to the edge of the dam., he stopped, looked round at his master, and immediately plunged into the stream; and, since that time, he as regu- larly swam over the. brook, without any bidding, as his master walked over the bridge. The same Dog, on being shown a newspaper or a book, and being told to read, would make a most unaccountable noise, betwixt a bark and a howl, for several minutes together. THE LURCHER*. Tumbler. THE Lurcher and Terrier are nearly allied. There are two varieties of the Lurcher ; one covered with short thickset hair, and the other with long and harsh hair. * Canis familiaris lanianus. See the Synopsis, p. 21, No. 9, VAR. 13. This THE TURNSPIT, 123 This animal, says Mr. Pennant, takes his prey by mere subtlety, depending neither on the sagacity of its nose, nor its swiftness of foot. If it comes into a warren, it does not either bark or run on the Rabbets; but, by a seeming neglect of them, or attention to something else, deceives the object, till it comes within reach, so as to be taken by a sudden spring*. THE TURNSPIT f. THE Turnspits are remarkable for their great length of body, and short, and usually crooked legs. Their colour is generally a dusky grey, spotted with black; or entirely black, with the under parts whitish. These Dogs were formerly employed to run in a wheel, for the purpose of turning meat that was roasting before the fire. Till the present im- proved modes of performing this business took place, the breed of Turnspits was in considerable * Penn. Brit. Zool. i. p. 66. f Conis familiaru vertagus. Linn&us. Le Basset. Biiffbn. See the Synopsis, p. 21, No. p, VAR, 14. request. 124 THE COMMON FOX. request. It is now on the decline; and, in the course of another century, will probably be ex- tinct in Great Britain. These animals still continue to be used in most countries of the continent. THE COMMON FOX*. TODD. THE den of the Fox is generally formed either under the surface of the ground", or in some deep crevice of a rock. The situation which the animal seems to prefer to all others, is a dry cover, well sheltered with furze or brushwood, on the sunny side of a hill. It is said, that, by adopting a filthy expedient, he sometimes drives the cleanly Badger from his den; and that, after enlarging it within, and adding the necessary outlets, to allow of escape in cases of attack or danger, he appropriates it to his own use. This animal sleeps much during the day; and his repose is generally so sound that he may be ap- proached without being awakened. The night is * Cants vulpes. Linn&us. LeRenard. Buffon. See the Synopsis, p. 22, No. 10. his THE COMMON FOX. 125 his time for prowling abroad; and from twilight in the evening nearly to the dawn of morning, he is in motion and on watch for prey. Somerville, after describing the extirpation of Wolves from Britain, by the tribute which King Edgar imposed on the Welsh princes, proceeds thus: The wily Fox remain'd A subtile, pilfering foe, prowling around In midnight shades ; and wakeful to destroy. In the full fold, the poor defenceless Lamb, Seiz'd by its guileful arts, with sweet warm blood, Supplies a rich repast. Foxes will feed on flesh of any kind; but their favourite food is Hares, poultry, feathered game, and particularly Rabbets. They likewise destroy Moles, Rats, and Field-Mice ; and, like the Cat, it is said that they often play with these for a con- siderable while before they put them to death. They are remarkably fond of fruit ; and, in the vineyards on the continent, often do incalculable damage, by feeding on the grapes. The wall-fruit in the Marquis of Buckingham's gardens at Stow, was one summer nearly all destroyed by a Fox, which was at length caught in the garden, in the presence, as I am informed, of the Marquis. When urged by hunger, this animal will feed, and live tolerably well, on carrots and other vegetables; as also on beetles, worms, &c. which in some states of the weather he is able to find in great abundance. Foxes 126 THE COMMON FOX. Foxes that have their habitations near the sea coast, when better food is scarce, will eat crabs, shrimps, or shell-fish. The dexterity which the Fox employs in seizing and securing his prey, is such, that the animal has, in nearly all ages, been proverbial for his cunning His schemes are various. In his approaches to the poultry-house, and his ravages among poultry, the utmost silence and caution are observed. He steals slily along, and, lest he should be heard or ob- served, even sometimes trails his body. If there is room for him to creep in under the door, or through the hole formed to admit the fowls, he generally puts many of them to death. It is not his interest to eat them upon the spot, for in this case he could only make a single meal. He there- fore carries them off one by one, and, digging holes in different places, at some distance from the farm yard, thrusts them in with his nose, ramming down the loose earth to secure them from dis- covery. In these places the bodies lie concealed, till the calls of hunger incite him to devour them. When the Fox is in pursuit of wild game, which, as well as other prey, he is able to scent at the amazing distance of two or three hundred paces, he first makes his approach as near as prudence will allow, and then seizes the bird by a spring, Mr. Stackhouse informs me, that the Fox is able to spring to a vast distance in this pursuit, as he has seen on the Grouse hills, by the traces in the snow. THET COMMON FOX. On pacing the distance, he has generally found it twenty or thirty feet. From the marks, (though the animal is sometimes, fortunate enough to suc- ceed,) this gentleman says, it is evident that he much more frequently misses his prey, than se- cures it. In warm weather, the Fox will often quit his habitation, in the day time, for the sake of bask- ing in sunshine or enjoying the fresh air. He, however, very rarely lies exposed, but generally chuses some thick brake, where he is secure from being surprised. In his repose, he stretches out his hind legs, and lies on his belly. In this position he espies the birds as they alight on the places near him, and is ready to spring on such as, unfortu- nately for themselves, come within his reach. Crows, magpies, and some other birds, have such an antipathy to the Fox, that they often give notice of his retreat by the most clamorous notes; and they will, occasionally, follow him with their screams, from tree to tree, to a considerable dis- tance. That the power of limb and the speed of Foxes, are very great, is proved by their having kept Hounds at full stretch, in pursuit of them, in some instances, for eight or ten hours. In one Fox- chase in Yorkshire, some of the Horses were so much fatigued as to die on the field*. 9 *See the preceding account of the Hound, p. 106. When 128 THE COMMON FOX. When the Fox finds himself much pressed by the Hounds, he generally makes towards his den. A Terrier is, in this case, always put in to him, not to seize and bring him out, for that would be im- possible against so strong an animal, but merely to keep him at bay, that he may be prevented from burrowing deeper into the ground, till some of the persons present dig him out. If the den happen to be amongst rocks, or under the roots of trees, the animal is perfectly safe, and there are no means of driving him thence. When the retreat to his habitation is cut off, his stratagems to escape from his pursuers are various and surprising. He always takes to the woody parts of the country, and pre- fers paths that are most embarrassed with thorns and briars. He runs in a direct line before the Hounds, and at no great distance from them ; and, if hard pushed, seeks low and wet grounds, as though he were conscious that the scent did not lie so well there as in other places. When over- taken, he becomes desperate, and bravely defends himself against the teeth of his assailants, even to the last gasp. The following is a singular instance of sagacity in one of these animals escaping from the Hounds, and returning to his cover, though conveyed in a cart to a very considerable distance from it. A Fox was taken in Whittlebury Forest, and sent, by the Duke of Grafton, in a venison cart, to London, that it might be hunted by his grace's Hounds, THE COMMON 'FOX. - Hounds at Croydon. The animal was turned out, and escaped. He returned to his coppice, and was again taken, sent as before, and hunted. The same round of circumstances took place, in the whole, not less than four times; but at last, after a very severe chase, he was killed. In the neighbourhood of Imber, in Wiltshire, in the year 1793, a Fox, being run hard, took shelter under the covering of a well, and, by the endea- vours used to force him thence, was precipitated a hundred feet, to the bottom. The bucket was let down for him. He laid hold of it, and was drawn up some way, when he again fell. The bucket be- ing let down a second time, he secured his situation in it, and was drawn up safe ; after which he was turned off and killed by the Hounds. The voice of the Fox is a kind of yelping bark, which consists of a quick succession of similar tones, at the end of which he frequently raises it to somewhat like the cry of a peacock. In winter, and particularly during frost and snow,, he yelps much; but in summer is almost entirely silent. His smell is proverbially fetid and offensive; and so exactly resembles that of the root of crown impe- rial, as scarcely to be distinguished from it. This odour proceeds chiefly from certain glands which are situated at the base of the tail. The Fox will allow himself to be killed with a bludgeon, without uttering any notes of complaint; but he always defends himself to the last, with the K greatest ]30 THE COMMON FOX. greatest bravery. His bite is dangerous; and the severest blows will not compel him to quit the hold he has once taken. He fights in silence till torn in pieces. When Foxes range at liberty, in their native covers, they are remarkably playful animals. They may often be seen to amuse themselves with their fine bushy tails, by running, sometimes for a considerable while together, in circles, to catch them. In a wild state these animals are subject to a dis- order similar to that of the mange in Dogs. Mr. Daniel recollects a brace of old Foxes being killed in one season, that had scarcely any fur left upon them. They were so weakened by the disorder, as to be caught almost immediately after they were started by the Hounds*. As Mr. Beckford was going out one morning to course, he saw a Fox sunning himself under a hedge. Observing that he was not able to run, he drove him into a corner, got off his horse, and took him up ; but he died not long afterwards. The animal had not a single hair on his brush, and very few hairs on any part of his body f. The female Foxes usually produce their young ones about the end of March. These, which are generally from three to six in number, are at first * Daniel's Rural Sports. f Beckford on Hunting, p. 329- blind, THE COMMON FOX. 131 blind, and of a darkish brown colour. Foxes breed only once in the year., unless some accident hap- pen to their first litter, in which case they some- times again bring fcmh in the course of the ensu- ing summer. It is on account of the breeding sea- son, principally, thatFox-hunters leave off their pur- suit about the month of March; since in one week, they say, the Hounds, by killing a brace or two of bitch Foxes, either in cub, or that have just lit- tered, would destroy as many animals as would yield diversion for a whole season. If the places where the young ones are deposited happen, by any chance, to be discovered or disturbed, the dam never fails, on the very first opportunity, to carry off her cubs in her mouth, to some more concealed habitation. In April, 1784, the Hounds belonging to Mr- Daniel, were returning home from Bromfield Hall Wood, when one of the Terriers that was with the whipper-in, whined, and seemed very uneasy, at the foot of an oak-pollard tree. The Dog appeared anxious to get into the tree, which was covered with small twigs from the foot to the crown ; and on these was seen, very evidently, the dirt left by some animal that had gone up and down the boughs. The man climbed the tree, putting the Dog before him. The instant the Dog reached the top, he was heard to seize something; and the the man, to his great surprise, found him with a female Fox that had there four cubs. The height K2 of 132 THE COMMON FOX. of the tree was twenty-three feet; and from the top there was a hole about three feet down, in which the young ones were deposited. There was no mode for the Fox to get to or from her off- spring but by the outside boughs; and the tree had no bend whatever to render the path an easy one. The cubs were all brought up tame, to com- memorate the incident. One of them is well re- membered by several persons, at Wood's Hotel, Covent-Garden> where it used frequently to run tame, about the coffee-room*. That the females of this species have a very ardent affection for their offspring, and that they will defend them, when attacked, with the utmost vigour, is well known to almost every one at all acquainted with the habits of the animals. Two or three instances have been recorded, of female Foxes being hunted by Hounds, with a cub in their mouths, with which they chose to burthen them- selves, and thus additionally endanger their own lives, rather than leave them behind to be worried by the Dogs. Foxes continue to grow till they are about eighteen months old ; and the duration of their lives is from twelve to fourteen years. Their skin is clad with a soft and warm fur, which, in many parts of Europe, is used for muffs, * -Daniel's Rural Sports, i. p. 169. and THE COMMON FOX. J33 and the linings of clothes. In the mountains of Switzerland, the number of Foxes that are destroyed by different means is almost incredible. At Lausanne there are furriers who have received between two and three thousand skins in one winter. Notwithstand- ing the fetid smell of the Fox, the inhabitants of some parts of the continent eat its flesh, and par- ticularly during the vintage season, when the ani- mals are said to be always remarkably fat. . \ The THE STOAT, OR ERMINE. 185 The usual haunts of the Stoat are woods, hedges, and meadows; and especially about brooks, the banks of which are covered with bushes. Some- times, but less frequently than the Weesel, it inhabits barns, granaries, and other outbuildings. It is a bold and ferocious animal ; and, when pressed by hunger, will often attack creatures that are of much larger size than itself. Such is its agility, that it is able fairly to run down either a Hare or a Rabbet ; and, in its pursuit of prey, it evidently hunts by scent. I am informed by a gentleman of my acquaintance, that he was one day standing with his gun in the narrow path of a wood, when a Rabbet, in great apparent agitation, ran swiftly across. A few moments afterwards a Stoat followed, precisely in the same track. They crossed the path again once or twice, the Stoat behind, and all the way hunting with its nose close to the ground like a Spaniel. At length the Rabbet was wearied out, and sat down in the path. Tfre Stoat was no sooner within sight of its prey, now at rest, than it made a surprising leap of more than two yards, and fixed itself firmly on the Rabbet's back. This gentleman immediately fired, and killed both the animals at the same shot. A nearly similar circumstance afterwards occurred in the presence of the same person. The Rev. Revett Sheppard informs me, that he has often seen Stoats in the act of hunting Rabbets. He says, that when they get into a warren, they will thread 1S() THE STOAT, OR ERMINE. thread all the holes they come near, passing from one to another with amazing swiftness, till they are able to discover and seize upon their prey. During some part of Professor Pallas 's residence in the northern countries of Europe and Asia, he collected together, into iron cages, several wild Ermines, in order to make observations on their manners and natural disposition. They were much more ferocious than the Weesel; and, during the whole time that he kept them, lost very little of their original character. Such was their voracity, that, in the course of a day, they would generally devour more food than was equal to their own body in weight. They would take food from the hand, when it was offered in small pieces. During the day-time they continued, for the most part, asleep and tranquil. But as soon as the night approach- ed, they always seemed uneasy, and made every possible effort to escape from their prison. Any thing of wood which happened to be about their cages, they gnawed with so much vehemence, as in a short time to cut through a very considerable thickness. When irritated, they always sprang, with rage, upon the object that offended them, exerting a kind of cry, or shrill whistle, not unlike the chirp of a sparrow; their blood-red eyes, at the same time, sparkling almost like fire*. * Traduction des Voyages de Pallas, quoted in Buff. Sonn. xxv. p. 160, note. The THE STOAT, OR ERMINE. 187 The care that is taken by nature for the pre- servation of her productions, is peculiarly manifest in all those animals which change the colour of their hair or fur according to the different seasons of summer and winter; and, of these, few are more celebrated than the Ermines. Were their red sum- mer colour to be continued when all the country is covered, for months, with snow ; or their white winter colour, whilst the ground is clad with ver- dure; their appearance would be much too con- spicuous for them to escape the attacks of innu- merable enemies, which (by the havoc they would commit among them) might endanger the existence even of the whole race. In consequence of this change of habit in the Stoat, the same animal has frequently been mis- taken, at different seasons of the year, for two dis- tinct species. The following facts will, however, dispel any doubts that may still be retained on the subject. When M. Daubenton was at Montbard, in the beginning of March, 1757, an Ermine that had been caught in the neighbourhood was brought to him. This animal was entirely white, except the tip of the tail, which was black: the white colour had, however, a slight tinge of yellow, perceptible only when the animal was held in certain positions with respect to the light. It was kept in a cage, with the design of observing whether, and at what time, it would assume its brown coat; and whether, in 188 THE STOAT, OR ERMINE. in confinement, it would, on the approach of the following winter, again take its white one. Some tints of brown were soon observable amongst the white hairs; and so early as the ninth of March, all the upper parts of the face, the sides of the muzzle, and the head, became of a reddish brown colour. This colour also, in a short time, extended along the neck, and the upper part of the body, as far as the rump, in form of a longitudinal fillet or band, about half an inch in width. Some of the same colour then appeared on other parts of the face, and on all the four legs. M. Daubenton observed some little tufts of white hair adhering to the bot- tom of a wire partition, under which the animal had frequent occasion to pass. The friction of the back of the Ermine against this, had stripped off all the white hair on the ridge of the back, and thus left the brownish fillet or band before mentioned. On the seventeenth of March there remained of the white hairs, only a few on the muzzle, the head, the thighs, and the tail. By the end of the month, the summer habit was in every respect completed. In the ensuing autumn, M. Daubenton watched the animal with great attention, to remark at what time the first white hairs, announcing the winter's change, would appear. But his hopes of a change were entirely disappointed. The cage of the ani- mal was kept in a sheltered but open place, and the cold for a considerable while was very violent. Nevertheless, THE STOAT, OR ERMINE. 189 Nevertheless, the Ermine continued to retain its brown coat, as in the preceding summer, till the month of March, when it died*. The above animal is described, in very few words, by M. de Buflfbn. He says that it continued extremely wild till the last; and that, although it was a pretty little creature, yet its nauseous odour rendered it very unpleasant. It had lively eyes, and a pleasing countenance; and its movements were so rapid, that it was almost impossible for the eye to follow them. It was usually fed on eggs and flesh, but would never eat the latter till it was quite putrid. It disliked honey; and M. de Buffon having, with great cruelty, kept it for three days without any other food, it died after eating a small quantity f. The female Stoats breed in the same manner, and produce about the same number of young, as the Weesels. The skins of Ermines are a valuable article of commerce in several countries of the conti- nent, and particularly betwixt the Russians and Chinese. They are employed in Europe for or- namenting robes of state, and for various parts of female dress. The black tips of the tails are * Description del' Hermine, par I^aubenton, quoted in Sonnini's edition of Buffon, xxv. p. 154 157, note. f Buffon, par Sonnini, xxv. p. 158. considered 190 THE STOAT, OR ERMINE. considered as peculiarly valuable, and always sell at high prices. The Stoat is sometimes, but not often, found in its white state in the northern parts of Great Britain, where it is called a white Weesel*. It is, however, easily distinguishable fom the Weesel, by the tip of the tail being bushy and black. In Wales this animal is called carlwm: in France, roselet, or hermine: in Italy, armellino : in Spain, armingo, armelina: in Portugal, arminho: in Ger- many, hermelin: in Holland, hermyn, liermttyn: in Hungary, pedjmet: in Sweden and Denwark, hermelin, lekatt : in Poland, gronostay : in Norway, hermelin: in Russia, gornostai. * Morton informs us that he has sometimes seen this animal in a white state, in Northamptonshire. Morton's History of Northampton- shire, p. 442. OF b : OF OTTERS IN GENERAL. NINE species of Otters have been discovered in different parts of the world,, but of these only three are known in Europe; and but one, the common Otter, has been found in the British dominions. The rest are confined entirely to the lakes and large rivers of the new continent. In a wild state they are,, in general, fierce and untractable animals. They live, for the most part, on fish ; but many of the species will feed even on car- rion, when fish is not easily to be procured. Some of them also devour frogs and other reptiles. They all swim with great ease and readiness, both on the surface of the water and below it. None of them, however, are able to continue immersed for a long time together, without putting their noses above the surface, to expel the foul air from their lungs and take in a fresh supply. As, there- fore, the Otters do not, strictly speaking, live in the water, but only frequent it occasionally for the purpose of procuring food, none of the species can properly be denominated amphibious. In fact, they all live on land, having burrows, or dens, in the banks of lakes or rivers, (out of the reach of the water,) in which the females produce and nourish heir offspring. The 193 OF OTTERS IN GENERAL. The animals in general are solitary, and seldom to be observed in greater numbers than a pair together. A few of the foreign species, however, congregate in immense troops or herds. In "Sir John Sinclair's History of Fifeshire, a Sea Otter is mentioned as inhabiting the sea coasts of that country*. It is described as being of much larger size, and as having a rougher and more shaggy coat than the Common Otter, of which, probably, it is only a variety. The Otters, when compared with Weesels, are animals of large size. There are only two known species whose weight, when full grown, does not exceed twenty pounds. None of them are able, like the Weesels, to climb into trees; nor can any of them, with a curved body, and straightened tail, make the leaps which are so remarkable in those active little animals. * Sibbatld's History of the Sheriffdoms of Fife and Kenross, 8vo. p. 111. THE m *1 THE COMMON OTTER*. IT is well known that the Common Otter derives nearly his whole subsistence from the water. He swims, with great ease, at all depths; and the situ- ation of his eyes, towards the front of the head, allowing him to observe whatever passes above him, he has a particular advantage when lurking at the bottom in search of prey. The eyes of fish do not enable them to discern objects that are imme- diately beneath them, consequently the Otter can at any time seize them by the belly, without much exertion. This animal is said, likewise, to hunt for his food always against the stream ; and as all spe- cies of fish do the same, he has thus an advantage in seizing them by surprise from behind. The devastation committed by Otters in rivers and ponds is sometimes enormous. They usually de- stroy several fish at a time, and (unless incited by extreme hunger) they devour only the upper parts of the body. It is a circumstance not generally known, that * Lutra vulgaris. Shaw. Mustela lutra. Linn&us. LaLoutre. Bujfon. For the description of the Otter, see the Synopsis, p. 31, No. 17. O these 194 THE COMMON OTTER. these animals do not exclusively confine their de- predations to fresh water. Otters which inhabit the neighbourhood of sea coasts frequently visit the ocean, and sometimes intermix with Seals, in the pursuit of sea-fish. Mr. Stackhouse informs me that he has seen six or eight Otters together, at the Land's End in Cornwall, far removed from any river. In very hard weather, when its natural sort of food is not easily attainable, from the water's being covered with ice, the Otter will kill Lambs, or poultry; and, in one instance, an Otter was caught in a warren, where he had come to prey on the Rabbets. In the year 1793, as two gentlemen were shooting, at Pilton in Devonshire, a large Otter burst out of some brakes, was seized by one of the pointer Dogs, and after severely biting the Dog, was killed by the gentleman's beating him on the head. This Otter was at the distance of at least Jive miles from any river or pond that could supply him with fish*. When animal food of all kinds is wanting, which indeed can seldom be the case to the Otter, he will eat the young branches, and the bark, of such trees as grow by the sides of streams; or sometimes he will even eat grass. The lungs of the Otter are larger and more deep than that of most other quadrupeds. From this * Daniel's Rural Sports, i, p. 371. conformation THE COMMON OTTER. 195 conformation it is that he is enabled to remain for a considerable while together under water. Mr. Stackhouse, who has attended a good deal to the manners of the Otter, is of opinion, that one of these animals, in perfect health, might continue submersed for fifteen or twenty minutes, without injury. He informs me that a gentleman of his acquaintance once caught,, in a trammel net, in the river Wye, a large Otter, which, when taken out, was found to be quite dead. The animal had been drowned, from not having had breath enough left to serve whilst he gnawed for himself a passage through the meshes. The habitation of the Otter, according to in- formation that I have received from different per- sons of veracity and observation, is seldom the entire production of his own labour. I am told that he adopts, as the place of his residence, any hole, convenient for his purpose, which he finds under the roots of trees, or in the clefts of rocks, near the water ; that this retreat is always infected with the stench of putrid fish; that, near the outlet there are scattered the heads, bones, and oftentimes corrupted parts of the bodies offish ; **and that the track to the den is often trodden like a common path-way. Mr. Pennant gives a somewhat dif- ferent account. He says that this animal constructs its own den. That it burrows under-grQund in the bank of some river or lake ; and that it always makes the entrance of its hole under water, work- O 2 ing 196 THE COMMON OTTER. ing upward to the surface of the earth, where it forms a minute orifice for the admission of air. He adds, that the more effectually to conceal its re- treat, the animal often contrives to make this little air-hole in the middle of some thick bush *. The Otter is a cunning, and at the same time an exceedingly ferocious animal. Whenever it is attacked, it will defend itself with courage and vigour to the last. An Otter, without knowing it, passed near a gentleman who was angling for trout in the river Wandle. The gentleman unscrewed the butt end of his fishing-rod, and struck it, with all his might, on the head. The animal in a moment turned upon him, and fought with the greatest ferocity; nor was it at last killed without con- siderable danger. It is possible, however, when the Otter is caught young, to render it nearly as docile and domestic as a Dog. There was an Otter, in J775, at the abbey at Autun, in France, in a perfect state of domestication. It was a female, and had been reared with milk from the time it was caught, till it was about two months old, when it was fed on soup, fish, and other food used in the convent. It would come to any person who called it by its name, and would play with a Dog and Cat with which it had been early acquaint- ed ; but it exhibited symptoms of the greatest dis- Penn. Brit. Zool. i. p. 94. like THE COMMON OTTER. 197 like to all other animals. The place of this ani- mal's repose was usually, in the night, a bed in one of the rooms; and during the day, a heap of straw. It would occasionally plunge its head and fore-feet into a vessel of water ^hich stood near its bed; and after shaking itself, would go out into the court-yard for exercise, or to sleep in the sun- shine. It seemed to have lost the natural habits of its kind; since, being taken one day to a pool of water, it was afraid of going into it, but only wetted its head and feet, as in its chamber. When it was thrown in, it instantly swam to the shore and got out. There was, about two years ago, within a couple of miles of Cupar Angus, in Forfarshire, in the pos- session of a gentleman farmer, an Otter, which had been in a domestic state for considerably more than twelve months. This animal was as tame as a Dog, and, every night, slept in a bed with one of the farmer's sons. He still retained his natural love of fish, and, in the day time, regularly frequented a loch in the neighbourhood, for the purpose of pro- curing this food; but would always come out of the water, when called by any person of the family with whom he lived. Mr. Edwards, of Little Waltham Hall, in Essex, had an Otter, which on all occasions followed him like a Dog; and every afternoon, when its master slept in his chair, the Otter regularly stationed it- self in his lap. It had milk given to it; but it O 3 chiefly 198 THE COMMON OTTER. chiefly fed on fish, which it caught in the ponds, in the gardens and grounds near the house. It was at last accidently^killed by one of the maid-servants striking it on the nose, with the handle of a broom*. Kalm informs jp' that in America he has seen Otters as tame as Dogs. These animals would follow their masters wherever they went, and would jump out of a boat into the water, and always return to them after satisfying themselves with fishf. When the Otter is properly trained and edu- cated, he is capable of rendering essential services to his master. By some perseverance in the train- ing, he may be even taught to catch fish, and to give them up without devouring any part of them. The plan of education that has been laid down for this purpose, and been found to answer, is as follows. The young Otter is, for some little while, to be fed on milk or soup, and to have no animal food of any kind given to it. Bread is recommended as afterwards a substitute for these; and with this it must have the heads of fishes. As soon as it has formed an attachment to the person who feeds it, which will always take place in the course of a short time, its education should commence. A * Daniel's Rural Sports, i. p. 373. t Kalm's Travels in North America, i. p. 208. truss THE COMMON OTTEft. 199 truss of leather stuffed with wool, in the shape of a fish, and in size proportioned to the width of the animal's mouth, is then to be made; and when this is used, the animal is to have round his neck a collar, which will tighten at pleasure, and to which is attached a cord some yards in length. The Otter is first to be led gently about by means of the string and collar, till it will follow its master of its own accord. A word of command, as " come here," is then to be adopted; and whenever this is pronounced, the animal must be pulled forcibly to its master, till it is obedient and comes without hesitation. As soon as it is tolerably perfect in this, the collar is to be turned, and tightened till the Otter opens its mouth, into which the truss is to be put, and the words "take it" to be loudly pronounced. If it drops the truss, which will be the case for several times at first, the same opera- tion is to be repeated till the animal will hold it at command. Then loosen the cord, that it may drop the truss, pronouncing at the same time the words " loose it." When the Otter is tolerably expert in these ma- noeuvres, the truss being held with one hand near the ground, (taking particular care that there is no sand,) its master must draw the animal towards it by the cord held in the other, at the same time retreating a little with the truss. Then tightening the collar, he is to say loudly, "take it;" on which the Otter will very soon learn to seize hold of it. O 4 This 200 THE COMMON OTTER. This exercise ought to be continued till it will seize the truss on the slightest motion of the cord. The next part of its education is to teach it to de- liver the truss into the hand of its master. When the animal has the truss in its mouth, its master is to draw it gently towards him by the cord affixed^ to its collar, and then taking hold of the truss, is to say, " loose it." After this exercise has been continued for a few days, and the animal will come to its master when called, seize the truss when commanded, run after it when thrown before, bring it to its master, and, when ordered, give it up to him some food, a piece of bread, for in- stance, is to be thrown down, and he is to be taught to bring and deliver up that in the same man- ner, without injuring it. The last part of this ope- ration is to take him to the edge of a river or stream, of which the water is clear and not deep. Throwing a small dead fish into the water, the Otter will rea- dily seize it, and, by means of the cord affixed to the collar, may be made to bring it out, and de- liver it to his master. The same is done with live fish ; but as soon as he delivers these, he is to have the heads as a recompence for his trouble. , This kind of chase has, in some instances, been so well taught, that the owner of an Otter has de- rived very considerable benefit from it. An in- habitant of Christianstadt, in Sweden, of the name of Nillson, was daily supplied by an Otter with as much THE COMMON OTTER. 201 much fish as entirely supported his family*. Dr. Goldsmith speaks of having seen an Otter go to a gentleman's pond, at the word of command, drive the fish into a corner, and, seizing upon the largest of the whole, bring it off in his mouth to his masterf. An Otter belonging to a person of the name of Campbell, who lived near Inverness, has been known to catch for its master sometimes so many as eight or ten salmon in a day. As soon as one was taken from it, the animal immediately dived in pursuit of another. When it was tired, it would refuse to fish any longer; and was then rewarded with as much as it could devour J. The hunting of the Otter was formerly consi- dered an excellent sport in this country; and Hounds were often kept solely for that purpose. The sportsmen divided, and went some on each side of the river, beating, in their progress, the banks and sedges, with Dogs. If there was an Otter in that quarter, the print of his foot (technically called his seal) was soon to be seen in the mud. Each hunter was armed with a spear, to attack the animal when he vented, or came to the surface to breathe. If the Dogs found, the sportsmen viewed the animal's track in the mud, to find __ : ; __ * Melanges d'Histoire Naturelle, par M. Alleon Dulac, ii. p. 252. f History of Animated Nature, iv. p. 146. J Bewick's Quadrupeds, p. 452, which 202 THE COMMON OTTER. which way he had taken. Somerville has de- scribed the chace of the Otter, apparently with great correctness, but in terms somewhat too animated for those persons who have no delight in blood. On the soft sand See there his seal impress'd ! And on that bank Behold the glittering spoils, half-eaten fish, Scales, fins, and bones, the leavings of his feast. Ah ! on that yielding sag-bed, see, once more His seal I view. O'er yon dark rushy marsh The sly goose-footed prowler bends his course, And seeks the distant shallows. See, there he dives along! Th' ascending bubbles mark his gloomy way. Quick fix the nets, and cut off his retreat Into the shelt'ring deeps. Ah, there he vents! The pack lunge headlong, and protended spears Menace destruction. Ah, there once more he vents! See, that bold Hound has seiz'd him: down they sink, Together lost: but soon shall he repent His rash assault. See there escap'd, he flies Half drown'd, and clambersl&p the slipp'ry bank With ooze and blood distain'd. Again he vents; Again the crowd attack. That spear has pierc'd His neck ; the crimson waves confess the wound. Fix'd is the bearded lance, unwelcome guest, Where'er he flies ; with him it sinks beneath, With him it mounts ; sure guide to ev'ry foe. Inly he groans, nor can his tender wound Bear the cold stream. Lo ! to yon sedgy bank He creeps disconsolate ; his numerous foes Surround him, hounds and men. Pierc'd through and through, On pointed spears they lift him high in air; he hangs, and grins and bites in vain. When THE COMMON OTTER. 203 When he is wounded, the Otter always makes directly to land, where he maintains an obstinate defence against his adversaries. The females, on these occasions, will sometimes emit a very shrill squeal; but a male Otter never utters any note of distress, however keen his wounds may be. The bite of these animals is so severe as frequently to snap asunder the bones of Dogs that are set on to attack them. The Otter is only to be caught by means of an unbaited trap; for he is so delicate in his feeding as to reject every kind of bait. This trap must be placed near his landing place, which will be found by carefully examining the edges of the river, or pond, for his traces. The trap must be set in, and covered with, mud, to prevent his seeing it. The instant the trap strikes, the Otter plunges into the water with it, where its weight, preventing his ris- ing to the surface, soon destroys him. The trap will seldom be drawn more than fifteen or twenty yards from the spot, and, with a grappling iron, may soon be recovered. But, although the Otter rejects all baits in a trap, an instance occurred, in August, 1799, in the river Buckland, of one of these animals taking a live bait. An Otter darted from his hole, and seized the bait of a gentleman trolling for pike, who, in conse- quence of the animal's violent struggles, thought that his bait was taken by an overgrown fish. After a long contest, to the great astonishment of the troller, 204 THE COMMON OTTER, troller, and of other persons who happened to be- on the spot, he drew the Otter to the shore com- pletely exhausted*. The females go with young about nine weeks, and produce them (usually four or five in number) some time in the month of March. These, at first, are ugly little creatures, and very different, both in shape and appearance, from their parents. When they are six weeks or two months old, the dam drives them from her nest, to seek a residence and procure food for themselves. Otter's cubs have been known to be suckled and reared by Bitches. An instance of this occurred a few years ago, near South Molton in Devonshire. These animals differ from the Seals, with respect to their amphibious nature, in the foramen ovale of the heart: this is closed at the birth, and no hestige of it is afterwards to be observedf. Th skin of the Otter is valuable at all times of the year, except about Midsummer, when the ani- mals change their fur. The flesh is an unpleasant food, from its fishy and muddy flavour. The Romish church permits it to be used on maigre-days ; and Sonnini justly observes respecting it, that no kind of food can be adopted which is better calculated to express that mortification presides at the table. * Daniel's Rural Sports, i. p 374, 375. t Rail. Syn. quad. p. 188. Otters THE COMMON OTTER. 205 Otters are found in most of the counties of Great Britain and Ireland ; but particularly in those which border on the sea. In Wales they have the name of dyfrgi: in France, loutre: in Italy, lodra, lodria, loutra: in Spain, nutria: in Germany, otter, fisch otter: in Holland, otter: in Hungary, njescht : in Sweden, utter, iviter : in Denmark, odder: in Poland, tvydra: in Savoy, leure: in Norway, otter, sleuter: in Lap- land, zhievres : in Russia, wydra. The inhabitants of the Isle of Skie informed Mr. Martin, that a kind of Otter, with a white spot on the breast, and considerably above the ordinary size, was sometimes seen in that island. They call it the king of the Otters; and describe it as being an extremely shy and timid animal. ( 206 ) OF THE BEAR TRIBE IN GENERAL. BADGERS have been separated from the Bear tribe of Linnaeus by Mr. Pennant, and by several of the latest French naturalists, but apparently without sufficient reason. The former rests his chief distinction on the claws of the fore-feet be- ing very long and straight. And, by the French writers, the Bears are said to have their body some- what elongated in proportion to their stature, and the tail very short : the Badgers, to have their body low on the legs, and the tail either short or of mo- derate length. The European Badger is the only animal belong- ing to the tribe, which is now to be found a native of the British dominions. But there is evidence, in the accounts of several ancient writers, that the Common Black Bear* was once an inhabitant of the northern districts of Britain. Caledonian Bears are mentioned by Martial ; and Plutarch relates, that the Romans imported Bears from Britain, which at Rome were much admired. In some of the ancient Welsh manuscripts, the Bear is enume- rated among the British beasts of chase; and its * Ursus arctos of Linnaeus. flesh OP THE BEAR TRIBE IN GENERAL. 207 flesh is asserted to have been held in the same esteem with that of the Boar. In the History of the Gordon family it is related, that in the year 1057, one of the Gordons killed, in Scotland, a fierce Bear; and, as a reward for his prowess, the king directed that he should carry a Bear's head on his banner. All these animals have, however, been extirpated many centuries. The females breed only once in the year, and few of them produce more than two cubs at a birth. Those species which inhabit countries in high northern latitudes, retire into their dens at the commencement of severe weather, and remain- ing in a torpid state through the whole winter, do not appear abroad till the returning spring again calls them into life. Some of the animals, huge and unwieldy as they may seem, are capable of climbing into trees, in pursuit of prey, or to escape from their enemies. Such, however, is generally their weight, and the form of their body, that they cannot, like the smaller climbing quadrupeds, descend with their head foremost; but, with great apparent clumsi- ness, they descend backward, THE ( 208 ) THE BADGER*. BROCK. GREYPATE. GREY. THE Badger is an indolent and stupid animal, passing the greater part of its life in sleep. Dur- ing the whole day it continues in its den, and never appears abroad till the shades of night se- cure it from observation; when, for a little while, it ranges around in search of food. As soon as its appetite is satisfied, it again retreats to its place of repose. From thus indulging in indolence and sleep, it sometimes becomes excessively fat. Most naturalists have asserted that this animal passes the severe weather of winter in an entirely torpid state. A German writer has taken upon himself to assert, that such is not the case; but that the Badger preserves its heat and animation through the cold months, by its address in burrowing so deep into the ground as to be beyond the reach of the frost. This writer has, however, entirely neglected to in- form us on what food it is that the Badger subsists during this period! * Ursus meks. Linn&us. La Blaireau. Buffon. For the description of the Badger, see the Synopsis, p. 33, No. 18. From THE BADGER. 209 From the circumstance, principally, of the Badger's being an animal of great muscular pow- ers, and unusual strength of body* he has suffered very severely from vulgar prejudices. He has been accused by the farmers of destroying Rabbets and Lambs. But surely the mischief he commits can- not be very extensive, since it is not yet satisfac- torily ascertained whether he lives on animal, or on vegetable food. There are many reasons for supposing that, except in scratching up the ground in search of roots, he is perfectly harmless and in- offensive. The writers who defend the Badger from the charge of being carnivorous, assert, that, besides roots, he feeds on fruit of various kinds; on grass, insects, and frogs. The habitation of the Badger is a den, generally deep in the earth, the opening to which is in some woody or sheltered place. In mountainous countries he frequently finds some cleft in a rock, which, with little trouble, he is able to form into a comfortable residence. He is a cleanly animal; and his subterraneous mansion is always exceed- ingly neat. In compensation for want of speed, in the Badger, Nature has endowed him with strength, and with such weapons, both offensive and de- fensive, that scarcely any creature will venture, singly, to attack him. The address and courage with which, on all occasions, he defends himself, have caused Jhim frequently to be baited by Dogs, P as 210 THE BADGER. as a popular amusement. Although his disposition is naturally indolent, yet on these barbarous occa- sions he uses the most vigorous efforts of strength. Throwing himself back on his haunches,, his mo- tions are so rapid that the Dogs are often des- perately wounded on the first assault, and com- pelled to give up the contest. His skin also is so thick and loose, as not only to resist the im- pressions of their teeth, but also to suffer him, even when within their gripe, to turn round upon and wound his adversaries in their most tender parts. In this manner he gallantly resists the re- peated attacks of men and Dogs from all quarters; till, overpowered by numbers, and enfeebled by wounds, he is at last compelled to submit to his miserable fate. These animals, if taken young, may easily be domesticated. They will play with Dogs, and readily follow any person who is in the habit of feeding them. They are neither mischievous nor voracious ; and it is said, that in a state of domes- tication they prefer raw meat to any other food, though they do not refuse either bread, fruit, or vegetables. They are such chilly animals, that, when permitted to range at pleasure about a house, they will scarcely ever quit the fire; and they often approach so close to it as to burn themselves. Badgers usually live in pairs; but at the time of the female's producing her young, they separate. She collects a quantity of herbage, which she carries THE BADGER. carries to the bottom of her den, and there con- verts into a commodious bed. She brings forth in the summer, and generally has two or three young ones at a birth. It is said that Badgers are subject to a disorder similar to the mange ; and that this will infect Dogs which penetrate into their burrows. The greatest age which these animals are supposed to attain % is from eight to twelve years. It was formerly believed that they lived to a very old age; and that when, in consequence of this, they lost their sight, they kept entirely in their burrows, and were fed by their offspring. Another ancient opinion was, that the legs on their right side were always longer than those on the left; and that, consequently, when they ran, they at all times took care to chuse the slope either of a hill, a bank, or a furrow. One of the modes of catching the Badger is, when the animal is ranging abroad in the night, by fastening a sack into the mouth of his den. One person remains near the hole on watch, whilst ano- ther beats round the fields with a Dog, in order to drive him home. As soon as the man at the hole hears, by the rustling, that a Badger has run in, he immediately seizes the mouth of the sack, ties it and carries it off. This, in many parts of the country, is termed {f sacking the Badger" Another mode is by means of a pitfall, dug across the accustomed path of one of these ani- mals. This is covered over with small sticks, or P 2 boughs, THE BADGER. boughs, with their leaves on; and when the Badger treads on them, they give way and let him in. The digging of Badgers out of their dens is generally a work of time; and, if the Terriers do not keep the animal constantly at bay, he is able to pe- netrate the earth, and bury himself faster than the workmen can follow him*. The skin of the Badger, when properly dressed, with the hair on, is not easily penetrated by moisture, and consequently is often used for knapsacks, pistol furniture, and the coverings of trunks. The Highlanders make their pendant pouches of it. The hair is also made into brushes, to soften and harmonize the shades in painting, which, therefore, are called sweetening tools. The flesh is in great esteem among the Chinese. Mr. Bell speaks of having seen the flesh of a dozen Badgers exposed at the same time for sale in the markets at Pekin. In England the hind quarters are the only parts of the Badger that are eaten ; but the hams are considered as superior in flavour to those of the Hog. The fat was formerly in great request for ointments and salves. Badgers are occasionally found in most of the wild and uncultivated parts both of Great Britain and Ireland. * Daniel's Rural Sports, i. p. 364. This THE BADGER. 213 This animal, in Wales, is called pryf llwyd, pryf penfreth: in France, Uaireau, taisson: in Italy, tasso : in Spain, tasugo, texon: in Portugal, texugo: in Germany, tachs, dachs, dar : in Holland, das darkens das : in Hungary, bors: in Sweden, graf- swin: in Denmark, gremlin, brok : in Poland, jas- wicc, borsuc, kol-dziki, zbik: in Norway, gravling, sviin-sax: in Russia, barsuk, iaz welz. P 3 OF ( 214 ) OF MOLES IN GENERAL. THE Moles are easily distinguishable from all other quadrupeds, by their peculiar shape, and their singu- lar habits of life. Their body is thick and muscular. Their head is likewise thick, and has a somewhat lengthened snout, the upper jaw being considerably longer than the lower. These animals have no ex- ternal ears ; and their eyes are so small as generally to be concealed by the fur. All the legs are short, but particularly the fore ones, which, externally, are scarcely visible : they are, however, furnished with feet unusually large and powerful. The fore- feet are admirably adapted to the wants of the ani- mals, which, as they live almost wholly beneath the surface of the ground, sometimes have to dig sub- terranean passages, or galleries, of many fathoms in length. Connected with these galleries, the Moles form hollow and spacious nests, in which the females produce their offspring; and in which the families reside, during those months of the year when the cold weather forbids their going abroad, or con- tinuing their accustomed labours. Seven species of Moles have been discovered in different parts of the world. Of these, five are found, exclusively, in North America; one at the Cape OF MOLES IN GENERAL. 215 Cape of Good Hope; and one, the Common Mole, in Europe. They are, for the most part, harmless animals, except where, in cultivated countries, their num- bers become very great. In this case they some- times prove injurious to the labours and industry of the farmer. The fur of all the species is peculiarly soft and fine. THE COMMON MOLE*. MOLD-WARP, OR WANT. IT is asserted that the Mole has not hitherto been discovered to inhabit any part of Ireland. If this be correct, it is a very surprising fact, since the ani- mal is an inhabitant of almost all the cultivated grounds of Great Britain. It is chiefly found in those where the soil is loose and fertile. Here its sub- terraneous labours are carried on with great ease; and it has a full supply of nutriment in the roots, worms, and larva of insects, which always abound in * Talpa Europea. Linnceus. La Taupe. Buffbn. For the Description of the Mole, see the Synopsis, p. 35, No. 49. P 4t * such 216 TEE COMMON MOLE. such situations. During the winter months, it feeds almost entirely under the earth; but in the warm nights of summer, it often runs about in the open air in search of food, and thus, occasionally, becomes the prey of owls, and other predacious animals. Since the extremes of heat and cold are equally pernicious to Moles, we find that they work their covered ways or galleries at different depths, ac- cording to the temperature of the atmosphere at the time. In warm weather, these are usually four or five, or sometimes not more than a couple of inches below the surface; but in cold, and particu- larly in frosty weather, they are much deeper. When their habitations are attacked, the animals will frequently sink themselves, by digging imme- diately from thence a perpendicular hole some feet in depth. I have been informed by an experienced mole-catcher, that, in one instance, he dug with his spade to the depth of four feet after a Mole, and that the animal at last escaped him. These little creatures are so expert in forming a passage for themselves in the ground, that if they are put upon the grass in any field where the soil is tolerably light, they will penetrate it, and cover themselves almost in a moment. Even on a gravelly and hard turnpike road, a Mole has been known completely to cover itself in less than five minutes. The principal times at which Moles work during fine weather, are said to be at sun-rise, and for a little THE COMMON MOLE. little while at the end of about every four hours,, till dark. In the mild weather of winter, they may be found at their labours through the whole of the day; and it is only when the frost sets in so hard as to render the ground altogether impermeable, that they are compelled either to discontinue their operations entirely, or to proceed in them at such depths as to be beyond the reach of our discovery. During the winter months, they generally get into warm and sheltered situations, such as under thick and shady hedge-rows, or into gardens which have fruit-walls. Gardeners, consequently, often catch them in the months of December,, January, and February. Previously to any great change of the weather, such as heavy rain or storms, the Moles are said always to work particularly hard. In sum- mer time, if the season happens to be a dry one, they repair to the borders of ditches,, the banks of rivers, or places contiguous to hedges, for mois- ture, and for a necessary protection against the heat. The fore-feet of the Mole, from their size and enormous strength, as well as their oblique posi- tion outwards, are, as before observed, peculiarly fitted to aid all the subterraneous labours of the animal. By means of these, in forming its galle- ries or runs, it scrapes the earth towards each side, till the quantity becomes too great for it to pro- ceed onward with ease. It then works to the sur- face ; and by pushing with its head, and its nervous paws, 218 THE COMMON MOLl. paws, gradually raises out of its way the mould which incommodes it. To this process is owing those small hillocks so common in our fields. After thus getting rid of the earth, the animal proceeds in its labour as before; and a person may easily discover how many Moles are contained in a certain space of ground, by counting the newly raised mole- hills which have no connexion with each other. The hills made by a single Mole are often from three to nine or ten in number, according to the age, strength, or sex of the animal. Those of the males are generally the largest and most numerous of any. If the gallery happen, by any chance, to be stopped up or interrupted, the Mole seldom fails to re-establish the communication, by forming a vault of earth, or a kind of oblong mole-hill, to reunite the extremities. These animals sometimes do incredible damage in gardens and meadows. M. de Buffon informs us, that, of the acorns which he planted on sixteen acres of land, the greater part of them were, in a very short time, carried away by the Moles. He consequently set his servants to work, and in less than three weeks they destroyed thirteen hundred of them. Moles are able to swim over brooks and narrow streams of water, without any difficulty; and they are often observed by the mole-catchers in the act of crossing them. A person who has paid attention to these animals for many years, informs me, that he THE COMMON MOLE. 219 he has more than once known them to have an out- let from a hole, on one side of a ditch, and an open- ing to another in the bank opposite. He says, that they swim with great ease and quickness. This person once tried to drown a Mole ; and with that intention kept it swimming about for more than half an hour. He was at last necessitated to hold it for some time under the water, in order to de- stroy it. In the Linnean Transactions, a Mole is mentioned as crossing a piece of water, near a hundred and eighty yards in width, in order to ar- rive at a small island which stood at that distance from the bank. This was in the loch of Clunie, in Scotland, the property of Lord Airly. When these animals are seized, after being dug out of the ground, they generally utter a shrill scream, which has been compared to that of a child. They also exert their teeth and claws to effect, if possible, their escape. The former are very sharp; and when once their hold is fixed, it is no easy matter to loose them again. Moles are sometimes so ferocious as to attack and devour each other, particularly when, in the cold weather of winter, their customary food becomes scarce. At this season of the year, the animals caught in the traps are often half devoured before the mole- catcher can arrive to take them out. The Moles begin to couple in the month of March, and about this time it is that they are often to be found in great numbers. A mole-catcher informed 220 THE COMMON MOLE. informed me, that he caught in one hole, and by a single trap, no fewer than twenty-five in the course of three weeks. The animals soon afterwards begin to prepare the habitation for their offspring. This is always formed in a dry situation, out of the reach of inun- dations, and is usually sheltered by a hedge or bush. It is a kind of arched apartment, from a foot to a foot and half or two feet in diameter at the bottom, having the sides and roof well and firmly compacted. The nest is made of leaves and grass. It is sometimes so large that the materials would fill a gallon measure, and occasionally so small that they scarcely cover the ground. The hillock, un- der which this nest is deposited, is easily distin- guishable, by its being generally five or six times as large as any of the rest. Connected with the apartment in which the young Moles are laid, there are generally several galleries, that extend to the distance of some feet, like rays from a centre. Into these the mother makes her excursions for food, to supply herself and her offspring. And it is said that the instant she hears her habitation attacked by the mole-catcher from above, she takes to one of the burrows; and if the litter have attained suffi- cient strength to walk, the dam and her brood ge- nerally make good their retreat. The young, which are usually from three to five in number, are perfectly naked when first produced ; an$ at that time they are said to have much the appearance of young THE COMMON MOLE. young Rats. M. de BufFon was of opinion that Moles bring forth more than once in the year ; at least, he says,, it is certain that young ones are to be met with at different times from April to August. This, however, may arise from the period of their production being uncertain; or, as in a few other animals, the Moles may,, perhaps, produce a second litter, where the first has by some accident been destroyed. The skins of Moles were in former times held in considerable estimation. They were used for the linings of winter garments, made into covers for beds, and into hats. In England they seem at pre- sent to be thought of little value. Persons who earn their subsistence by destroying Moles, make their chief attacks in the spring of the year, and particularly about the month of March, when the animals are much more active than at any other season. They are in the fields before sun- rise ; for about that time, the earth and grass may be frequently seen to move in the places where Moles are at work. When this is the case, the mole-catcher has nothing more to do than cut off the retreat, by striking a spade into the ground immediately behind, and then to dig them up. Where a fresh mole-hill is observed by itself, and appears to have no communication with any other, (which is always the case when a Mole has worked from the surface downwards,) it should be turned up with a spade, and a quantity of water should THE COMMON MOLE. should be poured over the mouth of the passage, This will compel the animal, which can be at no great distance, to come forth, when it may be easily caught with the hand. It is easy to discover whe- ther a hill, apparently of this kind, has communi- cation with any other. The mole-catcher lies down and applies his ear to it, and at the same time coughs and makes a loud noise. If it has no commu- nication, the terrified animal may be heard by its motion in the ground. In this case, either water may be poured into the hole, or the earth turned up with the spade, till the Mole is found. With respect to catching the animals in subter- raneous traps, it is an important circumstnance to discover which are their most frequented, and which their bye roads. This is effected by making a mark on every new mole-hill, by a light pressure of the foot; and the next morning observing whe- ther a Mole has passed that way, and obliterated the foot-mark. This must be done for two or three successive days. These foot-marks should not be deeply impressed; lest tjie animal be alarmed on his return, and thus form a new branch of road rather than open the obstructed one. The traps are then to be set in the frequented streets, so as to fit nicely the divided canal. These consist of a hollow semi-cylinder of wood, with grooved rings at each end, in which are placed nooses of horse- hair, fastened loosely by a peg in the centre, and stretched above the surface of the ground by a bent stick. THE COMMON MOLE. 223 stick. When the Mole has passed half-way through one of the nooses, and in his progression removes the central peg, the bent stick rises by its elasticity, and strangles him*. Many of the common people believe that the Mole is both blind and deaf, since its eyes and ears are so extremely minute, and so closely covered with fur, as not easily to be perceptible. Had either of these organs been of much larger size, they would have been perpetually liable to injury in the ground, by the earth falling into them. The eyes, however, have every property that is necessary towards distinct vision ; a very small degree of which must be sufficient for an animal destined to live beneath the surface of the earth. The ears terminate externally in minute auditory holes; yet such is the animal's quickness of hearing, that it takes alarm, and seeks for safety in flight, at the most distant approach of danger. There have been discovered in Great Britain three varieties of the Common Mole, distinguishable >y their different colour: The White Mole, the Spotted or Variegated Mole, and the Tawny or Cream-coloured Mole. * See Animal Biography, i. p. 398400. In THE COMMON MOLE. In Wales this animal is called twrcli-daear : in France, taupe: in Spain, topo : in Italy, talpa : in Portugal, toupeira : in Germany, muhlwerf, maul- werf: in Holland, mol : in Austria, scheer, scheer- maus : in Hungary, wa-kondok : in Sweden, mull- vad, surk: in Denmark, muldwarp : in Poland, kret: in Russia, krot, zemla naja, sose dka or suse dka. OF ( 225 ) OF SHREWS IN GENERAL. THESE animals are nearly allied both to the Moles and Mice. Like the former, they have a carti- laginous moveable snout,, formed by an elongation of the parts surrounding the upper jaw, of use for rooting up the ground in search of food. But they differ from them in having their anterior feet re- sembling the posterior ones, instead of being broad and palmated. Their eyes, though very small, are easily discernible. In the general appearance of their head, therefore, and also in many of their habits of life, they resemble the Moles ; but in the structure, though not the arrangement of their teeth, in the general form of their bodies, and par- ticularly in that of their feet, they exhibit a close alliance to the Murine quadrupeds. All the Shrews burrow, with great ease, into the ground, where, for the most part, they live out of the sight of men, and sheltered from the observa- tion of such animals as otherwise would destroy them in great numbers, Their habitations are ge- nerally not far distant from the banks of rivers or other streams; and many of the species are able to swim with great agility. They feed, for the most part, on worms, and the larva of such insects as they meet with in their progress through the ground. Q Their 226 THE FETID SHREW. Their voice is somewhat shrill. The effluvium from their bodies is, in general,, fetid and unplea- sant. The females produce from four to six young ones at a litter. THE FETID SHREW*. SHREW. SHREW-MOUSE. SHROVE-MOUSE, OR HARDY- SHREW. THE Fetid Shrew resides in a little burrow which it forms under the surface of the ground. Some- times, however, it saves itself the labour of con- triving an habitation, by adopting one (of larger dimensions, indeed, than it has need of) which has been abandoned by a Mole. It occasionally has a concealment under the moss that grows round the bottom of .large trees; or amongst the matted leaves and moss in old and thick hedge-rows. Not unfrequently it is to be observed about hay-ricks and dung-hills; and in the most filthy of the latter * Sorex araneus, LinncBus. La Musaraigne. Buffbn. For the description of the Fetid Shrew, see the Synopsis, p. 36, No. 20. it THE FETID SHREW. 227 it will root with its snout, like the Hog, for food. It is generally considered to live on corn, worms, insects, and the larva of insects, the latter of which it finds in abundance in decayed dung. It runs more slowly than the Common Mouse; and on this account is easily overtaken, when pursued on open ground. Its voice is a kind of shrill chirp or whistle, not unlike that of some species of grass- hopper. The odour of these Shrews is musky, and so very disagreeable, that although Cats are often knowa to destroy them in great numbers, they will never eat the bodies. To this nauseous smell, and well- known aversion, is probably owing the ridiculous notion, prevalent among the common people of most parts of Great Britain, that the Fetid Shrew is a venomous animal; and that, in particular, its bite is hurtful to Horses. When a Horse, in the field, hap- pened to be suddenly seized with any thing like a numbness in his limbs, he was immediately judged, by the old farriers, to be either planet-struck or shrew- run. The mode of cure which they prescribed, and which they considered as in all cases infallible, was to drag the animal through a piece of a bram- ble that grew at both ends. Had any of these sages in horse-medicine taken the trouble to have ex- amined the mouth of a Shrew, they would have found it so small as by no means to be capable of admitting double the thickness of any part of a Q 2 Horse's THE FETID SHREW. Horse's skin, which is certainly necessary before the animal can inflict a bite. The females are supposed to breed more than once in the year; and to produce, in general, four or five young ones at a birth. Spring and summer are the usual times in which the young have been found. Mr. Pennant mentions a fact relative to the Fetid Shrews, which I have never remarked, and which, on enquiry, I cannot find to have been re^ marked by any of my acquaintance, (but which may, nevertheless, have been correctly ascertained by him,) that there is an annual mortality in these animals, great numbers of them being found dead in the paths, every August, without any apparent cause. The Fetid Shrew is one of the most common of the British quadrupeds. In Wales this Shrew is called llygoden goch, ch-wisf- len, llyg: in France, musaraigne: in Italy, toporag- no : in Spain and Portugal, murgariho, muferhano : in Germany, muger, spigmus, zismus, spitzmaus, haselmaus : in Holland, spitzmuis : in Switzerland, miirer : in Savoy, muset, musette: in Hungary, patkaanj: in Sweden, nabbmus: in Denmark, angel- muus, nczbmuus, tnuuseskier: in Norway, nebbe- muus, museskicer : in Lapland, zibac. THE ( 229 ) THE WATER SHREW*. WATER MOLE., OR LAVELLAN. THE Water Shrew is an inhabitant of some parts of France, Germany,, Prussia,, and Great Britain. In France it was unknown till the year 1756, when it was first observed and described by the justly celebrated Daubenton. It has been long recog- nized as a native of England ; but it is by no means a common animal. It is occasionally met with in the counties of Lincoln, Cumberland, and Lan- caster. I have found it in the parish of Christ- church, Hants; and Dr. Maton informs me, that he has seen it in the vicinity of the river Avon, at Alderbury, near Salisbury. This Shrew inhabits the banks of ditches, streams, and rivers; and seems, says Mr. Pennant, to be the same animal which the inhabitants of Sutherland call the Water Mole, and those of Cathness, La- vellan-\. By the latter it is held in great abhor- * Sorcx fodiens. Linnceus. La Musaraigne d'Eau. Buffbn. For the description of the Water Shrew, see the Synopsis, p. 37, No. 21. f Penn. Brit. Zool. i. p. 127. Q, 3 rence, 230 THE WATER SHREW. rence, from a belief that it sometimes poisons cattle. It burrows into the banks, and is seldom to be seen out of its hole at any time, except in the evenings. It swims with great facility both on the surface of the water, and submersed in it. Its voice resembles the chirp of a grasshopper. The female usually produces her offspring in the early part of the summer; and brings about eight young ones at a litter. In the gall-vessel of one of these animals, M. Daubenton discovered a considerable quantity of worms, which, he informs us, were of a kind some- what similar to the fasciolae, or fluke-worms, found in the livers of sheep and some other animals*. * Note by Latreille, in Buff. Sonn. xxv. p. 253, n. THE THE FRINGE-TAILED WATER SHREW*. IN most of their habits and economy, there can be no doubt that the animals of the present species resemble those of the last. A single indi- vidual only, has, however, been hitherto disco- vered ; and this was caught by W. J. Hooker, Esq. in the month of June, 1803, in a ditch near Norwich, where he remarked that it swam and dived with as much facility as a Water Rat. The stuffed skin is now in the possession of Mr. Hooker. * Sorex ciliatus. Sowerby. For the description of this Shrew, see the Synopsis, p. 38, No. 22. Q, 4 THE ( 232 ) OF URCHINS IN GENERAL. URCHINS are animals usually of small size. They feed, for the most part, on roots, worms, and the larva of insects, which they dig up out of the earth, by means of their muzzle or snout. None of the species are carnivorous. They are never guilty of commencing an attack on other animals; nor, generally speaking, have they much cause to fear the result of any attack from them. In their own defence, they do not exert either their teeth or claws. On the first alarm, they roll themselves closely lip into a ball, which presents on all sides a multitude of spines, so sharp and strong that few animals have the power of doing them the slightest injury. They continue in this passive state till their adversary has retired, when they leisurely unfold themselves, and proceed in their usual employments. Of the complicated and very curious organiza- tion of the muscles, by which this singular mode of defence takes place, the following is the abridged description of M. Cuvier, professor of anatomy in Paris: " It is necessary, (he says,) in the first place, to observe, that these muscles, being attached to the skin, change their situation with it, and that they are OF URCHINS IN GENERAL. 233 are therefore fixed with respect to their points of attachment only. We must then suppose the animal placed in certain positions, in order that the parts described may be more easily found. " Let us suppose the Urchin rolled up, as in the position the animal assumes for defence. All the body is then enveloped under the skin, by an oval- shaped sac, composed of fleshy and concentric fibres. These fibres adhere closely to the skin, and even to the root of the spines which cover it, and it is difficult to detach them with instruments. The fleshy purse they form is thickest at the margin of its aperture, which corresponds to the belly, at which place they form a kind of sphincter, or muscle, with orbicular fibres. " When the body of the Urchin is elongated, as in standing or running, the figure of this muscle is completely changed. It is situated on the animal's back, where it forms an oval, the middle part of which is very thin, but the circular margin con- siderably thicker, and more elevated. Several ac- cessary muscles arise from the different points of the margin. " Towards the head, or at the anterior extremity of the oval, we observe two pairs of accessary muscles; one has its origin in the middle line, and is inserted into the bones of the nose; the other, which arises more externally, appears to be con- founded with the exterior orbicular fibres, and is inserted anteriorly into the lateral parts of the nose and 234 OF URCHINS IN GENERAL. and intermaxillary bones. Another pair of muscles arises from the posterior extremity of the oval. They are of a broad pyramidal form, and are like- wise continued with the external orbicular fibres. The tendinous point of each is inserted laterally near the end of the tail. There are also two other sub-cutaneous muscles, situated towards the belly, or below the great orbicular muscle. " When the skin of the belly is removed, we readily perceive three distinct portions of fleshy fibres. The first is situated under the throat, and corresponds to the cutaneus colli. It comes from the top of the breast, under the skin, and is in- serted . on the lateral parts of the head, near the ears. The portion of one side unites to its cor- respondent by a middle line, which is composed of fat. The second comes from the middle line of the sternum ; it takes an oblique direction, becom- ing thicker and narrower above the shoulders, as it proceeds to join the edge of the great orbicular muscle. The third ventral portion, which is still more slender than the two former, extends over the whole surface of the abdomen; it arises from the circumference of the arms, from the lateral parts of the tail, and from the tops of the thighs: upon reaching the ribs it divides. The internal portion, which is .the broader of the two, passes under the arm-pi^ and is inserted into the upper part of the os humeri. The external portion is prolonged OF URCHINS IN GENERAL. 235 prolonged laterally, and unites with the great or- bicular cutaneus, towards the neck. " These are the muscles of the superficial layer : there are still some others, which are appendices of the former, and are situated under the muscles of the back. One arises from the head, where it is attached, on both sides, to the posterior edge of the external meatus auditorius. It is lost poste- riorly in the anterior point of the orbicular mus- cle. Another small bundle of fleshy fibres arises from the last cervical processes, and is lost in the cutaneus of the back. Lastly, below the great orbicular muscle, we observe some transverse fibres, which form a very thin layer. The anterior are attached to the internal and upper part of the humerus: the posterior, to the external bundle of the third neutral portion. " Let us now consider the use of these muscles. " The animal, when rolled up like a ball, is enveloped by the orbicular muscle. To preserve this position, it is sufficient to contract the mar- ginal fibres, which are very strong, and which, in closing the purse so as to cover the belly, have the effect of a sphincter. When the animal wishes to return to its ordinary posture, it unrolls itself thus: The middle fibres of the oval contract; the Exter- nal fibres at first relax, and leave the belly and the feet free; all the circular fibres then contract toge- ther, and gather up towards the back. By this general contraction the accessary muscles are ren- dered 236 OF URCHINS IN GENERAL. dered fixed, and capable of contracting. The anterior move the head upward, and extend it towards the back. The posterior raise the tail. Those of the deep-seated layer elevate the head and neck. The animal is then enabled to walk. "If the approach of danger induce the Urchin to roll itself up, it accomplishes this in the follow- ing manner: #** "* This animal is called draenog, and draen y coed, in Wales: in France, herisson: in Italy, riccio, erinaceo, aizzo : in Spain, erizo: in Portugal, ourizo, Shaw's General Zoology, i. p. 576. orico THE- HEDGEHOG. 243 orico cachero: in Germany, igel: in Holland, egel, eegel-varken, yzervarchen, yseren verchen: in Sweden, igelkot : in Denmark, pind-swin: in Po- land,, jez, zcennay : in Norway, bustivil : in Russia, iefti. END OF PART I, BRITISH QUADRUPEDS PART II. .1 ( 247 ) GLIRES. OF MURINE QUADRUPEDS IN GENERAL. NEARLY all the animals of the present tribe are, in some measure,, injurious to the labours of mankind, in every country where they are found. The inhabitants of Great Britain are very little annoyed by them, comparatively with those of several of the countries both of Europe and Asia; since out of about fifty species, in the whole, there are only seven that are natives of our islands. In many parts of Russia and Siberia, they collect to- gether in numbers almost beyond conception, and wander in immense troops from place to place, carrying devastation through their whole progress. Most of the species reside in burrows which they dig in the ground, among the chinks of rocks, under stones, or in the holes of walls or other buildings. In these retreats they remain concealed during the day time, and only emerge at night in pursuit of food. This consists, for the most part, S 2 of 248 THE NORWAY OR BROWN RAT. of vegetables. Many of the animals, however, are omnivorous, and devour, with avidity, almost every kind of substance, animal or vegetable, that lies in their way. They are, in general, well adapted for climbing trees, rocks, or walls; and some of them are able to swim with great agility. All the species are prolific. The females have from eight to twelve teats; and generally produce, (more than once in the year,) from six to fourteen young ones at a litter. THE NORWAY OR BROWN RAT*. ALTHOUGH this Rat is popularly known by the name of Norway Rat, it is, in fact, a native of Persia and India, from whence it was originally introduced into Europe. It first appeared in Eng- land in the beginning of the last century ; and it did not reach the neighbourhood of Paris till towards the year 1750. Professor Pallas assures us, that these Rats, now very common in all parts of Russia and Siberia, were not at all known at Ja'ik, in 1766. It was in the summer of that year, * Mus decumanus. Linnctus. Le Surmulot. Buffon. For the description of this Rat see the Synopsis, p. 40, No. 24. which THE NORWAY OR BROWN RAT. 249 which happened to be very hot and dry, that they one evening arrived, in immense multitudes,, from the heaths of the river Samara, to the environs of Ja'itzkoi-gorodok, the capital of theCossacs of Ja'ik. The inhabitants say, that part of the animals entered the town by climbing over the ramparts, and that others passed through one of the gates. Since this period, they have proved themselves a serious scourge to the people; but what is peculiarly deserving of remark is, that by far the greater part of the Rats continue to reside only on the eastern side of the principal street of the town. This writer likewise informs us, that Serepta, a town situated on the bank of the Volga, a few years be- fore his arrival there, (in 1793,) was suddenly infested by vast multitudes of Brown Rats. The animals, however, after swimming over the mill- dam, in open day, continued their route towards Tzaritzin ! There were no Rats in North America till they were transported thither by the European settlers ; but their numbers are now increased so as to become 2i serious pest to the colonies.- The depredations which they commit in the plantations are occasion- ally very great indeed. The Brown Rats, wherever they have taken up their residence amongst us, have entirely extir- pated the formerly common kinds; and in Ireland it is said that they have very nearly destroyed even the whole race of frogs. Few animals are, indeed, S3 in 250 THE NORWAY OR BROWN RAT. in every respect, so voracious and destructive as these. They not only devour in the fields young Rabbets, Hares, and various kinds of winded game, but they often get into hen-roosts, where, like the Polecat, they generally destroy many more than they are able to eat. They likewise gnaw in pieces, clothes, furniture, paper, and leather ; in short, nothing seems to come amiss to them. In- stances have occurred of their even attacking Pigs that have been put up to fatten: they have some- times overcome these, and eaten through their thick and tough hide, into the body. When other provisions fall short, they are often known to de- vour their own species; and it is to this propensity that we are chiefly indebted for the number of the animals being kept within any tolerable bounds. It is not, perhaps, generally known that the Nor- way Rats will devour fruit, and particularly apples, with great avidity. In the travels of Sonnini into Greece, a somewhat singular instance of this pro- pensity is related. Whilst his ship was at anchor in the harbour of Rhodes, it was full of these destruc- tive animals. A Greek bark, laden with apples, cast anchor at a little distance from the vessel. The French sailors, without making any noise, affixed to her, during the night, a hawser, which they drew tight, in order to serve as a bridge by which the Rats might pass into the bark. The v animals passed along the rope, without the ex- ception THE NORWAY OR BROWN RAT. 25 1 ception of a single one, and thus entirely cleared the ship*. A large Rat is an exceedingly strong and power- ful animal ; and it sometimes requires great cou- rage and strength in a Cat to oppose and defeat one of them. The Weesel, though smaller, is a more dangerous enemy than the Cat, because it can fol- low the Rats into their closest retreats. The com- bat between these two creatures is often sharp and long. Their manner of. fighting is very different; and this gives the Weesel much the advantage. The Rat can only wound by snatches, and with his fore- teeth, which are more calculated for gnawing than biting; whereas the Weesel bites fiercely with its whole jaw, and instead of afterwards letting go, like the Rat, it continues its hold, and sucks the blood through the wound, till the Rat sinks ex- hausted under its gripe. The males are said generally to be much larger, more strong and mischievous, than the females. When closely pursued, they have sometimes cou- rage to turn upon the assailant, and seize the stick or hand of the person who attempts to strike them. Their bite is by many people thought to be poi- sonous. M. de BufFon says, that it is generally fol- lowed by a painful swelling, and that the wound, though small, does not soon heal. -* Sonnini's Travels in Greece and Turkey, i. p. 140. During 252 THE NORWAY OR BROWN RAT. During the summer, the animals,, for the most part, leave their habitations about buildings, to reside in holes in the neighbourhood of rivers, ditches, and ponds. In these places Dogs will chace them with the same eagerness that they do the Water Rat. When thus pursued, the Rats can equally take to the water, or shelter them- selves amongst the close and thorny bottoms of hedges and thickets. They even prefer the former, plunging in without dread, and swim- ming or diving with the greatest facility. It is from this circumstance that the real Water Rats are, by many persons, believed to frequent barns and outhouses during the winter season, and to commit their depredations like the Brown and the Black Rats. About the month of November, but sooner or later according to the season, the females and young ones of the present species quit the fields, and proceed, sometimes in troops, to the outhouses. The old males are said still to remain in the fields, each in his hole, where he has accumulated acorns, beech-mast, and other pro- visions, to serve him during the cold season. They do not become torpid in winter; but/ in fine days, are often observed to venture abroad out of their holes. The females produce young ones generally more than twice in the year; and at each litter they have as many as from ten to twenty in number. M. de Buflfon informs us, that when these animals were first THE NORWAY OR BROWN RAT. 1253 first seen in France, he received some females that were with young. He kept them in cages for two or three days; and before they brought forth, he observed that they gnawed into minute pieces the interior wooden part of the cages, and put the frag- ments together as beds for their little ones. The inhabitants of California, and some other foreign countries, eat the flesh of Rats, and consider it a palatable and excellent food. Some of the Japanese tame these animals, and teach them to perform many entertaining tricks; and, thus in- structed, they are exhibited as a show for the diver- sion of the people*. We are informed, in the Statistical Account of Scotland, that white Rats are often seen in the Highlands during the winter monthsf. In France the Brown Rats are sometimes called rats de bois ; but, as in England, they are generally confounded with the ensuing species. * Kaempfer's Japan, i. p. 126. t Sinclair' Statistical Account of Scotland, i. p. 487. THE ( 254 ) THE COMMON OR BLACK RAT*. THE present species, like the former, is believed to have been originally brought into Europe, though several centuries ago, from Persia or some parts of India. Its numbers, however, of late years, have been greatly diminished ; and from some countries it has been almost extirpated, in con- sequence of the prevalence and superior strength of the Norway Rats. In their general manners and habits of life there is a near alliance betwixt the two species ; but the Black Rats, from their smaller size and inferior powers of body, are capable of by no means so much mischief as the others. By the change, there- fore, of the Black for the Norway Rats, in this country, instead of deriving a benefit, we have, in many respects, been considerable sufferers. What is a very remarkable circumstance in these Rats is, that they have a singular predisposition for the stone. M. Morand, of Paris, fn minutely ex- amining more than twenty Rats,, observed, that * Mus Eattus.LiniKEUs. Le Eat. Bujfon. For the description of the Black Rat, see the Synopsis, p. 4J, No. 25. above THE COMMON OR BLACK RAT. 255 above half of them were attacked by this disease. He informs us that it is much more frequent in males than females ; and that almost all Rats, when they become old, have stones in their urinary passages, and swellings and ulcers in the kidneys. In one Rat, M. Morand found twelve stones, of which nine had become of the size of a coriander seed, and three were smaller. From others he took out stones of the size of a grain of wheat. The composition of these stones was very different from that of stones found in other animals. Instead of having, like those, a somewhat spherical nu- cleus, serving as a basis to concretions which are formed round it in an infinite number of ex- tremely thin layers, the present had the same com- position throughout. Their shape also was dif- ferent, some of them being oval, and others cubical : and the cubical ones, it was remarked, had always a shining surface*. Like the former species, the Black Rats breed frequently in the year ; and they commonly pro- duce six or seven young ones at a litter. For these the females form a comfortable nest, of wool, bits of cloth, hay, or straw, in some dry and warm place, about barns or other outhouses. It is said that they do not suckle them long ; but that, as soon * Letter of M. Morand, Medecin de la Faculte" de Paris, inserted in Melanges d'Histoire Naturelle, i. p. 138. as 256 THE WATER RAT. as their stomachs will bear it, they are fed with more solid food. M. de Buffon informs us, that when the young ones first quit their holes, the dams watch, defend, and will even fight Cats to save them*. The name by which the Black Rat is known in Wales, is llygodenjferngig: in France, Rot: in Italy, rottodicasa: in Spain, raton, rata: in Portugal, rato: in Germany, ratz : in Holland, rot, rotte : in Sweden, rotta: in Denmark, rotte: in Poland, sczurez: in Hungary, gasu, malomeger: in Russia, krysa. THE WATER RATf. IN its manners and disposition, the Water Rat somewhat resembles the Otter. Like that animal, it forms a lodgement in the bank of some river, ditch, or pond, and seeks its subsistence from the adjacent water. Its prey consists chiefly of small fish, frogs, and tad-poles; and where all these are * Buffoiij par Sonnini, xxv. p. 189. { Mus amphibius. Linncem. Le Eat cTEau.- Buffon. For the description of the Water Rat, see the Synopsis, p. 42, No. 26. scarce, THE WATER RAT. 257 scarce., which indeed can seldom be the case in the places where it takes its residence, the Water Rat has recourse to aquatic plants for subsist- ence*. This animal is never found about houses or barns; but it has sometimes been observed in meadows and gardens., feeding on the roots of herbs and shrubs. As a farmer of Selborne, in Hampshire,, in the winter of 1769,, was ploughing up a dry chalky field, far removed from any water, he turned out of the earth a Water Rat, that was curiously laid up in an liybernaculum, or winter's nest, neatly and compactly formed of grass and leaves. At one end of the burrow there was found more than a gallon of potatoes, all regularly stored, laid up, no doubt, for the support of the animal till the returning spring. The Rev. Mr. White, from whose writings this anecdote is taken, asks these questions: How came thia^amphibious animal to fix its winter station at such a distance from the water? Was it determined, in its choice of the place, by the accident of finding the potatoes which were planted there? Or js it the constant practice of the Water Rat to forsake the neighbour- hood of water during the colder monthsf? *Two or three Water Rats that I have opened, had their stomach entirely filled with a macerated vegetable substance. f White's W T orks in Natural History, ii. p. 129. T those 258 THE WATER RAT. Notwithstanding the circumstance of its toes be- ing unconnected by webs, and thus differing from those of most other animals which seek their food in the water, this Rat riot only swims on the sur- face, but under it, with singular facility. It is also able to continue, for a great length of time, submersed, without coming to the surface to breathe. Its general enemies seem to be the larger and more voracious species of fish, and particularly the pike, in the stomach of which it has often been found. Dogs also pursue it with great eager- ness. It is a savage animal; and, when laid hold of, will bite with great keenness and ferocity. The females usually litter in the month of April, producing six or eight young ones at a birth. It is probable that they may procreate more than once in the year; but this has not yet been ascer- tained. At some particular seasons they have a strong musky odour. The flesh of the Water Rats is held* in. high esteem by the inhabitants of several parts of the Russian empire, as an article of food; and in all Roman Catholic countries it is allowed to be eaten during lent. This animal, in Wales, is called llygoden y dwft : in France, rat cVeau : in Italy, sorgo morgange : in Spain 1 THE COMMON MOUSE. 259 Spain, raton de agua: in Portugal, rato de agoa: in Germany, wqffermusz: in Holland, water rot: in Sweden, ivatn-rotta : in Denmark, vand-rotte: in Poland, myss-wodna: in Norway, vas muus vands- Jcicer: in Russia, wodjanoi fcrot : in Hungary, gaati- eger. THE COMMON THE Mouse is an inhabitant of almost every part of the world ; and although there is some doubt whether it was originally a native of America, it is now become very common in that country, and is likewise at p'resent found in most of the American islands. Timid by nature, and familiar only from neces- sity, fear and want are the sole springs of its actions ; and, consequently, it seldom leaves its hiding place but for the purpose of seeking food. It is entirely a domestic animal, and never to be found in fields, or in countries unfrequented by mankind. * MILS Musculus. Linn&us. La Souris. Bujfon. For the description of the Mouse, see the Synopsis, p. 43, No. 27. T 2 It 260 THE COMMON MOUSE. It is a mischievous little creature,, eating or gnawing almost every thing that comes in its way. Occasionally it is very frolicsome, squatting on its tail,, and cleaning its face and fur with its paws; and then suddenly leaping up and gamboling about in the most pleasing antics. From the general neatness of its form, and the great degree of sprightliness and vivacity that is expressed in all its actions, it is certainly an interesting animal. When it first creeps out of its hole into a room where any person happens to be sitting, the least noise or motion will send it back, with precipitation, to its retreat. But if it is often suffered to enter without interruption, and particularly if food is placed for it on the floor, it by degrees attains confidence, and at length will venture to run about the room apparently without fear. Still, however, its timi- dity is so great, that, on the slightest recurrence of the noise, it is driven to its hole for shelter and security. I recollect, that once, after having caught a Mouse in a wire trap, I set it before me on the table at which I was writing, in order that I might observe its motions. At first it was greatly alarmed, in its new and exposed situation; but when, in the course of a quarter of an hour, I presented it with a bit of sugar, the animal, without much hesitation, took it from my fingers, and, sitting nearly upright on its hind legs, and holding the sugar in its fore-feet, in a moment devoured it. I cut off part of its hair, and THE COMMON MOUSE. 26 1 and set it at liberty. It is almost needless to say, that it -never again visited its prison. This little anecdote proves, that, notwithstanding the naturally fearful disposition of these animals, their timidity is to be overcome by hunger. From their weakness and small size, Mice have more enemies than Rats. They are preyed upon by Cats, Weesels, Rats, owls, and various other animals; and men, by means of traps, &c. de- stroy them in immense numbers. The root of white hellebore and staves-acre, powdered and mixed with meal, is a certain poison to them. The fecundity of these animals is immense, since they breed several times in the year, and produce at each litter from six to ten young ones, which, in the course of fifteen days, become sufficiently strong to procure food for themselves. A variety of the Common Mouse is sometimes observed of a milk-white colour, with red eyes. This is found not only in temperate climates, but in both the northern and southern parts of the two ' continents of Europe and America. In England it sometimes, but very rarely, occurs. In Wales this little animal is called llygoden: in France, souris: in Italy, topo, sorice, sorgio di casa: in Spain, rat, raton: in Portugal, ratinho : in Ger- T 3 many, THE FIELD MOUSE* many, musz, maus : in Holland,, muis, huis-muis : in Sweden, mus: in Denmark, mum, lille muus: in Poland, myss: in Hungary, eger : in Norway, huus- muus : in Russia, mysch, domascliaaja mijsch. THE LONG-TAILED FIELD MOUSE*. FIELD MOUSE. FIELD RAT, OR WOOD MOUSE. The Field Mice frequent dry and elevated grounds, particularly jsuch as are woody, or co- vered with thickets. They are extremely common in all the temperate parts of Europe. In some districts of France, and even in our own country, these animals, small as they are, have at times proved seriously destructive to the industry of the farmer; ravaging, and committing great de- predations in his corn-fields, and particularly in such as are sown with beans or peas, of which they sometimes devour the greatest part of the seed. They likewise frequent meadows, woods, and gar- * Mus sylvaticus. Linnaeus. Le Mulot. Buffbn. For the description of the Field Mouse, see the Synopsis, p. 44, No. 23 dens, THE FIELD MOUSE. 263 dens, where they feed on acorns, beech-mast, and nuts of different kinds. "Their places of concealment (saysM. deBuffon, whose account is so excellent, that I shall quote nearly the whole of it) are holes under brush-wood, or trunks of trees. They here amass such quantities of nuts and acorns, that a bushel of these lias often been found contained in one of them,- and this provison does not seem to be proportioned so much to the wants of the animals, as to "the capacity of the places allotted for its reception. The holes are generally more than a foot underground, and often divided into two cells, the one for living in with their young, and the other as a granary. " I have often witnessed the great damage done by these animals. They will run along the furrow of a plough, and taking up the newly-sown acorns, will convey them, one by one, to their holes; and in a nursery of trees they are more destructive than all the birds and other animals put together. The only method I could ever find to prevent this evil, was to set traps, at the distance of about every ten. paces, through the whole extent of the newly sown ground. No other preparation is necessary than placing a roasted walnut under a flat stone, sup- ported by a piece of stick, to which the walnut must be fastened. This bait they are very fond of, and will come eagerly to seize it ; but no sooner do they begin to gnaw, than the stone falls upon and crushes them to death. When I first adopted T 4 this 264 THE FIELD MOUSE. this method, I desired that all the animals caught in the traps might be brought to me ; and I was greatly astonished when I found that more than a hundred were taken every day, in a piece of land consisting dnly of about forty acres. I obtained in this manner more than two thousand, in the course of twenty-three days, from the fifteenth of Novem- ber to the eighth of December. Their numbers afterwards decreased gradually, till the hard frosts commenced, when the remaining animals retired to their holes, to feed upon what they had collected*." In some parts of the continent, the multitudes of Field Mice have occasionally been so immense as to plunder whole districts, leaving scarcely any thing that was eatable, either in the gardens or fields. Muschenbroek has related, that they were so nu- merous in Holland, in the year 1742, that one pea- sant killed in his fields betwixt five and six thou- sand. This scourge is the more terrible, since it frequently happens that every attention, and every imaginable stratagem, are insufficient to destroy them, till the violent rains set in, which often thin their numbers, by drowning them in thousands at a time. The rains, however, sometimes come too late for the farmer, and then, instead of the crops of corn which he had reasonably looked forward to, he has nothing to reap but a wreck of the straw. * Buffon par Sonnini, xxv. p. 208, 209. It THE FIELD MOUSE. 265 It is in the autumn that these Mice chiefly abound. In spring they are not so numerous; for when- ever, in the winter, their provisions run short, the strong animals always attack and devour the weak ones. They are likewise destroyed, in great num- bers, at all times of the year that they appear abroad, by hawks, owls, Foxes, and Weesels. Asa proof that, on the least scarcity of provi- sions, they will devour their own species, M. de BufFon informs us, that he once put a dozen Field Mice into a cage, and accustoined them to be regu- larly fed every morning at eight o'clock : but neg- lecting them one morning for about a quarter of an hour, one of them had been eaten by the others. Next day they devoured another; and in the course of a few days only one was left, all the rest having been killed, and in part eaten : even the one that survived had his legs and tail much mutilated*. The increase of these animals is, if possible, more rapid than that of Rats. The females bring forth three or four times in the year; and seldom have fewer, though sometimes many more, than nine or ten young ones at a litter. A peasant, on the estate of M. de BufFon, once took twenty young ones out of a single nest. The females make a bed for their offspring, either in a tuft of grass, or * Buffon par Sonnini, xxv. p. 210. immediately 266 THE HARVEST MOUSE. / immediately below the surface of the ground, in a place nicely prepared for the purpose. In Wales thi species of Mouse is called Uygoden ganolig, llygoden y macs: in France, mulot, grand rat des champs, ratte a la grand queue, rat saute- relle : in Denmark, voed. THE HARVEST MOUSE*. Tins Mouse, which is the smallest of all the British quadrupeds, seldom exceeds the sixth part of an ounce in weight. It was first discovered in Hamp- shire, by the late Rev. Mr. White of Selborne, about the year 1767 ; and it is not hitherto known to inhabit any part of the world, except some of the southern counties of England. Like the Field Mouse, it does not enter dwelling- houses ; but it is often carried in sheaves of corn, out of the field, into corn ricks : and, as the fe- males produce their offspring in the autumn, it often happens that a hundred, or more, are found * Mus Messorius. Shaw. The Harvest Mouse was unknown to Linnaeus. For the descrip- tion of it, see the Synopsis, p. 45, No. 29. in L I ffe THE HARVEST MOUSE. 267 in a single rick, when pulled down to be housed. Those that are not thus carried away in the sheaves, shelter themselves, during winter, under the surface of the ground, in some deep burrow; at the bot- tom of which they form a warm and comfortable bed of grass, and other softer substances. About the middle of September, 1804, I had a female Harvest Mouse given to me by Mrs. Camp- bell, of Chewton House, Hants. It had been put into a Dormouse cage, immediately when caught, and a few days afterwards produced eight young ones. I entertained some hopes that the little animal would have nursed these, and brought them up ; but hav- ing been disturbed in her removal, about four miles, from the country, she began to destroy them, and I took them from her. The young ones, at the time I received them, (not more than two or three days old,) must have been at least equal in weight to the mother. After they were removed, she soon became re- conciled to her situation; and, when there was no noise, would venture to come out of her hiding place, at the extremity of the cage, and climb about among the wires of the open part, before me. In doing this, I remarked that her tail was, in some measure, prehensile; and that, to render her hold the more secure, she generally coiled the ex- tremity of it round one of the wires. The toes of all the feet were particularly long and flexile, and she could grasp the wires very firmly with any of them. 268 THE HARVEST MOUSE. them. She frequently rested on her hind-feet, somewhat in the manner of the Jerboa, for the pur- pose of looking about her; and in this attitude could extend her body, at such an angle as at first greatly surprised me. She was a beautiful little animal; and her various attitudes in cleaning her face, head, and body, with her paws, were peculiarly graceful and elegant. For a few days after I received this Mouse, I neglected to give it any water; but when I after- wards put some into the cage, she lapped it with great eagernesss. After lapping, she always raised herself on her hind feet, and cleaned her head with her paws. She continued, even till the time of her death, exceedingly shy and timid ; but whenever I put into the cage any favourite food, such as grains of wheat or maize, she would eat them before me. On the least noise or motion, however, she imme- diately ran off", with the grain in her mouth, to her hiding place. One evening, as I was sitting at my writing desk, and the animal was playing about in the open part of its cage, a large blue^fly happened to buzz against the wires. The little creature, although at twice or thrice the distance of her own length from it, sprang along the wires with the greatest agility, and would certainly have seized it, had the space betwixt the wires been sufficiently wide to have admitted her teeth or paws to reach it. I was sur- prised at this occurrence, as I had been led to be- lieve THE HARVEST MOUSE. lieve that the Harvest Mouse was merely a grani- vorous animal. I caught the fly, and made it buzz in my fingers against the wires. The Mouse,, though usually shy and timid, immediately came out of her hiding place., and running to the spot, seized and devoured it. From this time I fed her with insects, whenever I could get them; and she always pre- ferred them to any other kind of food that I offered her. When this Mouse was first put into her cage, a piece of fine flannel was folded up into the dark part of it, as a bed, and I put some grass and bran into the large open part. In the course of a few days all the grass was removed; and on examining the cage, I found it very neatly arranged betwixt the folds of the flannel, and rendered more soft by being mixed with the knap of the flannel, which the animal had torn off in considerable quantity for the purpose. The chief part of this opera- tion must have taken place in the night; for al- though the Mouse was generally, awake and active during the day time, yet I never once observed it employed in removing the grass. On opening its nest, about the latter end of October, 1804, 1 remarked that there were, amongst the grass and wool at the bottom, about forty grains of maize. These appeared to have been arranged with some care and regularity; and every grain had the corcule, or growing part, eaten out, the lobes only being left. This seemed so much like an operation 270 THE HARVEST MOUSE. operation induced by the instinctive propensity that some quadrupeds are endowed with, for storing up food for support during the winter months, that I soon afterwards put into the cage about a hundred additional grains of maize. These were all in a short time carried away; and on a se- cond examination, I found them stored up in the manner of the former. But though the animal was well supplied with other food, and particularly with bread, which it seemed very fond of, and al- though it continued perfectly active through the whole winter, on examining its nest a third time, about the end of November, I observed that the food in its repository was all consumed, except about half a dozen grains. This interesting little animal died in the month of December, 1806, after a confinement of two years and a quarter. I have some reason to believe that its death was occasioned by water being put into its cage, in a shell picked up on the sea shore, that had been much impregnated with salt. School-boys, in various parts of Hampshire, keep these Mice in cages. They catch them when very young; and the animals then become so exceed- ingly tame as to allow themselves to be handled, without any symptoms of alarm. But those that are caught when full grown, generally continue shy and timid as long as they live. There is no- thing unpleasant in the smell of these little crea- tures, as there is in most others of the murine tribe. The THE HARVEST MOUSE. 27 I The Harvest Mice are observed to be most abundant about the month of September, when the young ones are large and strong enough to run about. The females build their nest amongst the straws of the corn, above the ground, and some- times in thistles. This nest is round and compact, composed of blades of corn and grass, and is gene- rally found to contain about eight young ones. One of the nests is thus described by Mr. White of Selborne. " It was most artificially platted, and composed of blades of wheat; perfectly round, and about the size of a cricket-ball ; with the aperture so ingeniously closed, that there was no discover- ing to what part it belonged. It was so compact and well filled, that it would roll across the table without being discomposed, though it contained eight young Mice that were naked and blind. As this nest was perfectly full, how could the dam come at her litter respectively, so as to administer a teat to each ? Perhaps she opens different places for that purpose, adjusting them again when the business is over ; but she could not possibly be contained her- self in the ball with her young, which, moreover, would be daily increasing in bulk. This wonderful procreant cradle, an elegant specimejj of the efforts of instinct, was found in a wheat-field, suspended in the head of a thistle*/' White's Works in Natural History, i. p. 59. THE ( 272 ) THE MEADOW MOUSE*. SHORT-TAILED FIELD MOUSE. IN their general manners,, and in most of their -habits of life, these animals, which are oftentimes found in too great abundance both in great Britain and Ireland, seem very nearly allied to the Field Mice. It has, however, been remarked, that they frequent moist, in preference to dry situations, and that they are seldom known to infest gardens. They dig holes in the earth, where they amass corn, nuts, and acorns; but corn is their most favourite food. Their holes, although they are generally less spacious, and not dug so deep in the ground, are si- milar to those of the Long-tailed Field Mice, and are usually divided into two compartments. Dr. Barry informs us, that the roads, or tracks, made by these animals amongst the moss, and short heath, in : the Orkney Islands, are about three inches in breadth, and sometimes extend for several miles in length. * Mus arvalis. Linnceus. Le Campagnol. Buffbn. For the description of the Meadow Mouse, see the Synopsis, p. 46, No. 30. He THE MEADOW MOUSE. 273 He says that they are much worn by continual treading, and that they are warped into a thousand different directions*. As soon as the corn begins to ripen, the Meadow Mice collect together from all quarters, and fre- quently commit great havoc, by cutting the stalks in order to come at the ears. When all the corn is carried out of the fields, and nothing more is left for them there, they generally resort to the newly sown lands; and, if the numbers happen to be great, their depredations will sometimes defeat all the hopes of the succeeding year. Many of them, like the Harvest Mice, are conveyed in the sheaves into corn-ricks and barns, where they occasionally do much damage. But those that are left in the fields, either retire into the woods, if there happen to be any in the neighbourhood, to feed on the fallen acorns and beech-mast, or retreat to their holes for the winter, and there live upon what food they have previously amassed to- gether. We are informed by M. de Buffon, that in France the Meadow Mice appear, in some years, in such amazing numbers, that, were they to con- tinue undiminished for any great length of time, they would commit the most alarming devasta- tions. When their proper food becomes scarce, Barry's History of the Orkney Islands, p. 316. U they, 274- THE MEADOW MOUSE. they, however, attack and devour their own spe- cies. It is said that Dogs will eat these Mice with great eagerness; but that Cats, though they often kill them, always reject them as food*. The females form, for their young ones, a soft nest, of grass and other materials from the fields, generally in moist meadows. They produce twice in the year, in spring and summer, and have from six to eight young ones at each litter. The affection of these animals for their offspring is scarcely exceeded by any others whatever. Mr. Pennant assures us, that a female Meadow Mouse was seduced into a wire trap, by placing its brood into it; and she was so intent on fostering them, as to seem perfectly regardless of her captivityf. The Meadow Mouse is called, in Wales, llygoden gwtta'r maes: in France, campagnol, mulot a court t queue, petit rat des champs, ratte couette: in Italy, campagnoli: in Germany, kleine feldmaus : in Aus- tria, erdzeist : in Holland, veldmuus : in Denmark, maarkmuus, skier-muus : in Sweden, molle : in Russia, pestzoisoaja-mysch. * Buffon par Sonnini, xxv. p. 224. t Pennant's British Zoology, i. p. 124. OP ( 275 ) OF SQUIRRELS IN GENERAL. THE Squirrels are elegantly formed animals; and most of the species are remarkable for the spright- liness of their motions. They climb the smooth trunks of trees with the utmost agility ; and skip about among the branches almost like birds. Two or three of the species reside in burrows, which they dig under the surface of the earth. These never climb; and consequently have the name of Ground Squirrels. About six are furnished with mem- branes, extending on each side of their body, from the fore to fhe hind legs, by which they are ren- dered so buoyant in the air, that, in leaping from the high branches of one tree to the lower ones of another, they can pass a very considerable space, without danger of falling to the ground. The tails of all the Tree Squirrels are exceedingly long, bushy, and light, having the long hairs so ex- tended towards each side, as to render this member much wider than it is deep. In the extensive leaps that the animals take from tree to tree, their tail seems to serve the same purpose which the feather does to an arrow: it balances the body, arid renders their motion through the air much more steady than it would otherwise be. In their ordinary mo- tions, or when they are at rest, the Squirrels gene- 1 U 2 rally 27 6 OF SQUIRRELS IN GENERAL. rally carry their tails erect, or laid over their back,, in order, say some writers, to protect them from the sun or rain. All the species live on vegetable food, such chiefly as fruit, nuts, and the bark, seeds, and buds of trees. They sit upright on their hind legs to eat. None of them are carnivorous. Some few of the species live in troops, consisting of immense numbers; and they are occasionally known to commit great depredations in cultivated countries. A reward of three pence per head was offered by the government of Pennsylvania, in the year 1749, for the destruction of the Grey Squir- rels*; and, in the course of twelve months, this reward was claimed for no fewer than six hundred and forty thousand. Most of the Squirrels may be rendered tame; and, in confinement, they are generally frolicsome and playful animals. But, on the least irritation, they will bite very keenly. The skins of all the species are considered va- luable as furs; and their flesh is a very palatable food. * Sciurus dnereus of Linnaeus. THE 277 THE COMMON SQUIRREL*. No animal is more admired for elegance of form,, -or general beauty of appearance, nor can any be more active,, sprightly, or graceful in its motions, than this. During the whole day it is constantly awake and alert; and, in its native woods, may often be observed moving about with admirable agility among the branches of the trees, sometimes elevating its light and spreading tail, and sometimes carrying it stretched out at full length. It runs along the trunks and branches of trees without any apprehension of danger, and leaps from tree to tree with such certainty as seldom indeed to lose its hold. This activity renders it a very difficult task to take full-grown Squirrels alive. School-boys, however, sometimes contrive to do this, by going, in great numbers, into the woods, and pursuing the animals with violent noises. On such occasions their recollection forsakes them, and they often fall to the ground from terror and alarm. * Sciurus vulgaris. Linnaeus. L'ecureuiL Buffon. For the description of the Squirrel, see the Synopsis, p. 47, No. 31. U 3 These 278 THE COMMON SQUIRREL. These sprightly and diverting animals live en- tirely on vegetable food. They eat nuts of all kinds, and acorns ; and are particularly fond of the buds and young shoots of trees. Their gullet is more narrow than that of most other quadrupeds of equal size with themselves. In a large Squirrel that I examined, I remarked that the gullet was not more than the tenth part of an inch in diameter. A conformation so singular is supposed to be given for the purpose of preventing them from disgorging their food in descending the trunks or branches of trees, or in their leaps from above downward. When these animals eat, or clean themselves, they sit erect, covering the body with their tail, and using their fore-feet like hands. The Squirrel seldom exerts its voice. When, however, it is particularly pleased, it sometimes makes a purring noise, not much unlike that of a Cat ; and when wounded, it emits a very shrill and piercing note. It has, besides these, a loud growl of discontent, which it occasionally utters when teased or irritated. In the spring of the year these creatures are pe- culiarly active, pursuing each other among the trees, and exerting various efforts of agility. Dur- ing the warm evenings of summer they may be observed in a similar exercise. At the approach of winter they lay up a store of provisions, consisting chiefly of nuts and acorns, to serve them for food during those succeeding months that the ground is covered THE COMMON SQUIRREL. covered with snow. These provisions are not often deposited in the nests of the animals, but in' some hollow part of the tree ; and recourse is never .had to them except in case of necessity, and when >no other food is conveniently to be found abroad. If the winter proves longer and more severe than usual, it is said that the store is sometimes con- sumed before the snow is entirely off the ground. In this case, (which indeed very seldom occurs,) the animals descend from the trees and scratch under the snow, where they can always find sufficient food to preserve them alive till the trees again put forth their buds. At the commencement of spring, the Squirrels come into season ; and the females produce their three or four young ones, generally about the end of May or the beginning of June. The nest in which these are deposited, and which the old animals after- wards make their chief place for repose, is exceed- ingly curious in its construction. It is generally formed amongst the large branches of a great tree, where they begin to fork off into small ones. After having chosen the place, where the timber is some- what decayed, and where a hollow may the more easily be formed, the Squirrels begin their work by making a kind of level between these forks. Then bringing moss, twigs, and dry leaves, they weave these together with so much art and ingenuity, that they are capable of resisting the most violent storms. The nest is covered up on all sides, and U 4 has 280 THE COMMON SQUIRREL, has but a single opening at top, just large enough to admit the animal to pass and repass; and this opening is itself defended from the weather, by a kind of canopy, formed like a cone, so as to throw off the rain, however heavily it may fall. In the in- side, the nest is so formed as to be exceedingly roomy and commodious. It is soft, well knit toge- ther, and in every respect warm, comfortable, and convenient. Squirrels, when caught young, are often kept in cages, or sometimes fastened by long chains, and rendered docile. But they are generally very irri- table animals, and on the slightest offence will bite even the person from whom they receive the greatest attention. They likewise gnaw almost every thing they can reach, such as clothes, linen, or furniture; and if once they can escape from their confinement, they are gone for ever. The Hon. Daines Harrington amused himself many years by keeping Squirrels; and he observed in these ani- mals the same variety of character and disposition that Mr. Cowper remarked in his tame Hares*. He has had them inanimate and sprightly, wild and familiar, mischievous and harmless, obedient and headstrong. But what is singular, he re- remarked in almost all the Squirrels he possessed, See the account of these Hares in p. 298. (and THE COMMON SQUIRREL. 281 (and at different times he had a great many,) that they had a peculiarly musical ear. Whenever any instrument was played upon, they moved in mea- sure in their cage, or beat their feet upon the ground in something like regular cadence. Mr. Barrington says, that he has seen them continue in one measure to an allegro movement, for near ten minutes together : -after a short pause they began another measure; and after a longer one, he has seen them take a third. He had two Squirrels, a male and a female, in the same cage. These often performed a particular kind of dance, which he has thus explained. The male, in his motions, described a part of a circle on one side of the cage; and the female, which he kept exactly before him, described, in her motions, a part of a circle somewhat smaller. In these ac- tions, their feet always came so regularly down together, as only to produce a single sound. In confinement, as well as in their native woods, Squirrels are animals remarkable for their cleanli- ness. Mr. Barrington says, that he never knew his Squirrels to foul their bed-place in the least; and they occupied a considerable part of their time, when awake, in cleaning and dressing their fur. He informs us, likewise, that a Squirrel will on no account give up any food that it has in its paws, for the purpose of taking what is offered that it may happen to like better. The animal always hides what it had before obtained, in some part of its cage, THE COMMON SQUIRREL, cage, and then proceeds to take the fresh supply. The sagacity of the above mentioned little crea- tures, in their choice of food, was at all times so admirable, that Mr. Barrington had no difficulty in believing what is usually said of Squirrels, that, 'in all their store of winter provisions, there can never be found an unsound or a bad nut. He had made innumerable trials with them, but in every instance they rejected a nut that was not good, almost the moment it was put into their paws. The courage of these animals is somewhat sur- prising. This observing naturalist says, that he has often seen a Squirrel tremble very much at the first appearance of a Dog or Cat; and after some minutes, passed in efforts with itself, it has. by degrees approached its formidable adversary, and even ventured to come directly under its nose. He informs us, that the approach is always made by quick and short leaps; the animal in these motions beating the ground firmly with its feet, and assum- ing an affected boldness of countenance, as if for the purpose of imposing on its adversary by the appearance of courage. During all the time that Mr. Barrington kept these Squirrels, no instance occurred of the females producing young ones in their confinement. The flesh of the Squirrel is a well-flavoured and palatable food. The skin is of some value as a fur; and the long hairs of the tail are made into pencils, which are used by painters and gilders. In THE COMMON SQUIRREL. 283 In the north of Europe and America, the red summer coat of the Squirrels, on the approach of winter, changes to grey : and in gelid climates, it is said that this change will take place even in a room from which the cold air is perfectly excluded. In some of the northern parts of Great Britain, a variety of the Common Squirrel is now and then observed, which has the usual colours in every part except the tail, and this is white. This animal is called gwiware, in Wales: in France, ccureuil: in Italy, schirivolo, chirivolo, schirato, schiratolo, schiarro: in Spain, Jiarda-esqui- lo y hardilla: in Germany, eychorn, eichliermlyn : in Portugal, ciuro: in Holland, inkhoorn, eckoorn, eickhoorn: in Sweden, ikora, ikorn, graskin: in Po- land, wijervijorka : in Denmark, egern: in Austria, eichkatze: in Norway, ikorn: in Lapland, orre: in Hungary, mookusch : in Russia, bjelka. OF ( 284 ) OF DORMICE IN GENERAL. IN their general appearance and manners, the Dormice are allied both to the Murine Quadrupeds and the Squirrels. Their tails,, however, though covered thicky with hair, are by no means so bushy as the tails of the latter animals; and in their bodies, they are, on the whole, considerably more plump and round than these. They feed on fruit, nuts, seeds, and corn ; and, in eating, they sit upright and carry the food to their mouth with their fore-feet. We are informed by Linnaeus, that Dormice, when thirsty, do not lap like other quadrupeds, but that they dip their fore- feet, with the toes bent, into the water, and drink from them*. The pace of these animals is a kind of leap, performed chiefly with the hind-legs, assisted by the tail. Some species of Dormice form their nests of dried leaves, mosses, and grass, in the hollows of decayed trees ; and others, among the branches of low and thick shrubs. In these they sleep in the day time, only venturing abroad, in search of food, in the evening and night. During the winter months * Linn. Syst Nat. Gmel. i. p. 157. they THE COMMON DORMOUSE. 285 they lie, in an entirely torpid state, in holes or burrows, under the surface of the ground. The females breed in the spring or summer, and generally produce from three to twelve young ones at a litter. THE COMMON DORMOUSE*. SLEEPER. THESE animals were once classed by Linnaeus among the Micef; but whatever may be their ge- neral external resemblance to Mice, they seem, in their habits of life, and in most of their actions, to have a nearer alliance to the Squirrels. They inhabit woods or thick hedges; and form their nests in the hollows of low trees, or near the bot- tom of close shrubs. They want much of the sprightliness of the Squirrel; and never ascend to the tops of trees, or, like that animal, attempt to bound even from one branch of a shrub to another. * Myoxus Muscardinus. Linnaeus. Le Muscardin. Buffon. For the description of the Dormouse, see the Synopsis, p. 49, No. 32. t Under the name of Mus aveUanarius. During 286 THE COMMON DORMOUSE. During the winter, they are to be found only in a torpid state, in the burrows which they form in the ground; each in its separate hole, rolled closely up like a ball. But as, in the course of that season, they are liable to be sometimes revived by the warmth of sunny days, they store up, previously t6 their retirement, a sufficient quantity of nuts, acorns, and other provisions, to support them when they are thus occasionally roused from their slum- ber. Some very interesting observations respecting the hibernation of these animals were made in the year 1792, by a gentleman of Middleshaw, whose name is Gough. He procured, in the month of January, two Dormice, which had been taken from the woods only a few days before they came into his hands; and confined them in a cage furnished with a thermometer, and placed in a chamber where no fire was kept. They were supplied regu- larly with water, and with food, consisting of hazel- nuts and biscuits. The weather in February being warm, for the season, at the beginning and end of the month, and frosty from the 16th to the 28th, Mr. Gough had an opportunity to observe, that whenever the thermometer, which was attached to the cage, fell to 42, the Dormice became inactive, and remained apparently insensible as long as the heat of that part of the chamber did not exceed the above-mentioned temperature ; but whenever the mercury reached 47, they became very sus- ceptible THE COMMON DORMOUSE. 87 V ceptible of external impressions, and awaked in the evenings,, when they had recourse to their stock of provisions, of which they consumed not a little. The same dry food being injudiciously continued through the summer, they became sickly, and died; so that Mr. Gough had not a second opportunity to attend to the economy of this couple during the cold season. About the middle of April, 1793, he obtained a third Dormouse. Experience taught him to ma- nage this in a manner more congenial to its con- stitution. In addition to the nuts and biscuits, it was constantly supplied with green hazel-buds, or raisins, in spring; with ripe fruits in summer; and with apples and raisins in winter. This generous diet not only preserved the little animal in health and high condition, but appeared to fortify it against the benumbing effects of cold, which it supported the following winter much better than the other couple had done; for it never slept more than forty-eight hours successively, and that but seldom, without visiting the cup which contained its provisions. Mr. Gough now began to suspect that the torpidity of the Dormouse, in a wild state, was only a habit imposed by necessity, on a con- stitution which nature had intended to retain life during the cold season of winter, with but little food and an imperfect degree of respiration, as well as a languid, or perhaps, partial action of the sanguiferous system. The uncommonly severe wea- ther 288 THE COMMON DORMOUSE. \ ther which ushered in the year 1795, confirmed thfo opinion apparently beyond dispute ; for, notwith-* standing the hard frost, the animal braved the cold with wonderful indifference. It awoke every even- ing, and generally consumed, in the course of the night, a quantity of food amounting to about a hundred or a hundred and twenty grains ; and it frequently gnawed the ice which covered the water in its cage. It even undertook, in the coldest part of January,, to repair its nest, which happened to receive an injury, and it accomplished the task in the course of a single night. The Dormouse has, in no instance, been known to frequent houses ; and it is very seldom to be found even in gardens. The female forms her nest of interwoven moss, dead leaves, and grass, about six inches in diameter, with*an orifice near the top, generally amongst the branches of nut-trees, or other underwood. In this, about the month of May or June, she brings forth her offspring, which are usually three or four in number. In some parts of the continent, the flesh of the Dormouse constitutes a favourite article of food. In Wales this animal is called pathew : in France, muscardin, croque-noix, rat-d'or: in Italy, mm car- dino: in Spain, liron : in Germany, rothe, wald- maus: in Holland, hazel muns : in Sweden, skogs- mus : in Denmark, liasel muus: in Russia, slepz. OF ( 289 ) OF THE HARE TRIBE IN GENERAL. HARES subsist entirely on vegetables. The habitations of most of the species are burrows, formed under the surface of the ground. Some of them collect into flocks of five or six hundred, or even more, and migrate in these numbers' from place to place, frequently to a great distance, in search of food. In Dr. Shaw's excellent work on General Zoology, a very curious particular is related respecting these animals. He informs us, that when Hares are con- sidered with anatomical exactness, they exhibit some peculiarities of structure, by which they make an indistinct approach to the ruminating animals; and that the Common Hare is, by many persons, supposed actually to ruminate. This opinion has been derived not merely from the peculiar motions observable in the mouth, which present an obscure appearance of rumination, but from the structure of the stomach, which is marked, as it were, into two regions, by a particular fold or ridge. The females generally produce from three to eight young ones at a birth. In the northern latitudes, where the frosts of winter are very intense, and where snow lies for several months on the ground, all the Hares, at the X approach 290 THE COMMON HARE. approach of that season, change their colour to white. Their furs are considered valuable, as arti- cles of commerce. THE COMMON HARE*. Few animals have more natural shyness and timi- dity than the Hare; and, as it is a weak and defence- less creature, it is often indebted to this timidity for its preservation. It rarely leaves its form, or seat, during the day-time; but in the night, takes a circuit round the neighbouring copses or fields, in search of food. When its appetite is satisfied, it returns always by the same tracks, and through the same menses, or passes. With step revers'd She forms the doubling maze ; then, ere the morn Peeps through the clouds, leaps to her close recess. Of this constant return by the same path, the poacher too often avails himself, by laying snares, or nets, in the meuses. By these means, great numbers of Hares are annually destroyed. In the * Lepus timidus. Linnaus. Le Lievre.Bujfon. For the description of the Hare, see the Synopsis, p. 50, No. 33. spring tfiE COMMON fiARE. 291 Spring of the year the Hares are generally to be found on fallows, or amongst green corn. During the autumn, they frequent stubbles, and turnip fields; and in winter they seat themselves among brambles, or tufts of thorns. In the latter season, they are said generally to be found in a southern aspect, where they receive all the possible warmth of the sun. During the fine moonlight evenings of summer, several of these animals may often be seen sporting together, leaping about, and pursuing each other with the greatest playfulness; but the least noise alarms them, and they precipitately scamper off, each in a different direction* Their most favourite food is green corn, parsley, pinks, or birch; and in young plantations they sometimes prove very injurious, by eating the bark from the trees : this they do from every sort, ex- cept the alder and lime. A Suffolk gentleman, in 1798, was obliged to destroy his Hares, near some new plantations; and the amount of what were known to have fallen victims, was one thousand and eighty two. In some districts on the continent, these animals are very numerous, and consequently very destructive. In two days shooting, at the chateau of Prince Adam Daversperg, in Bohemia, in the year 1788, there were very nearly eleven hundred Hares killed. The nobility, and other privileged owners of landed property, in various parts of Germany and Prussia, are extremely tena- cious of their game, and preserve them with the X 2 utmost 292 THE COMMON HARE. utmost rigour, occasionally hunting or shooting them for the use of their family, and not unfre- quently for sale*. Male and female Hares may be distinguished when running -in the fields, but particularly when they are hunted, by the following marks. A buck Hare is known, on first starting from his seat, by the whiteness of his hinder parts. His head also is shorter, his ears are more grey, his shoulders are redder, and his body is smaller than those of the doc. It has been remarked by some sportsmen, that if a Hare, in its seat, has its ears lying on its shoulders, close to each other, it is a male ; and that if they are laid on each side of the neck, it is a female. A Hare that is hunted to its form along highways, and feeds faraway from cover, and makes its doublings and crossings wide and large, is a buck; for the doe generally keeps close to the side of some cover: and when she goes to feed in corn- fields, she seldom crosses over the furrows, but fol- lows the track of them. When does are hunted, they frequently turn, use many stratagems, and seldom leave the country round their seat; whilst the buck, after two or three turns about his form, runs straight forward for four or five miles, and then probably squats down in some place where he has before preserved himself. * Daniel's Rural Sports, i. p. 322. A young THE COMMON HARE. 293 A young Hare may be known from an old one by the following signs. When the animal is dead, if the thumb-nail be thrust against the knee-joints of the fore-legs, it will be easy to distinguish whe- ther the heads of the bones are close together or not. If there is no space, the Hare is an old one; but if there is a separation betwixt them, it is a sure proof that the animal is young; and the greater the separation is, the younger the Hare may be considered. If the under jaw is easily broken, the Hare is a young one. The cleft of the lips spreading very much, the claws being blunt and rugged, and the ears dry and tough, are signs of old age. When, on the contrary, the ears easily tear, the cleft of the lip is narrow, and the claws are smooth and sharp, the Hare is young*. A Hare, when newly killed, will be stiff, and the flesh of a pale colour : if it is limber, and the flesh is beginning to turn black, it may to a certainty be considered as stale. Hare hunting is at present a popular amusement amongst country gentlemen in most parts of Eng- land; and it was formerly so much followed, that, as appears from a manuscript written in the early * " La Venerie," par M. du Fouilloux. See also Daniel's Rural Sports, i. p. 323 and 353. X 3 part THE COMMON HARE, part of the fourteenth century, the ladies of that period had hunting parties by : themselves, in which they rode astride upon the saddle. It is, however, to be presumed, that this indecorous custom was not of long continuance; for a writer of the seventeenth century informs us, that "the ladies of Bury> in Suf- " folk, who used hawking and hunting, were once in a " great vaine of wearing breeches." Queen Elizabeth was very fond of the chase, and frequently indulged herself in following the Hounds. " Her majesty/' (says Rowland White, in a letter to Sir Robert Sidney, written only a few years before the death of the queen) "is well, and excellently disposed to hunting; for every second day she is on horse-