FIG. 68.Pine Weasel.FIG. 69.Weasel.
FIG. 71.Roselet.FIG. 70.Ermine.
THE WEASEL.
The Weasel (fig. 69.) is as frequent in warm and temperate climates, as it is scarce in cold ones; the ermine (fig. 70.) on the contrary, is numerous in the northern, is scarcely to be met with in the temperate, and never in the warm climates. These animals, therefore, form two distinct species. The circumstance who may have given rise to their being confounded, was possibly our common weasel being sometimes white during winter: in this characteristic they are alike; but there are others in which they widely differ. The ermine, red in the summer, and white in winter, has, at all times, the end of the tail black; whereas the end of the weasel’s tail is yellow, even of that which turns white in the winter; it is besides much smaller, and its tail is shorter; nor does the weasel shun the habitations of man like the ermine, to reside in woods and deserts. I have kept both species together, but found no reason to suppose that animals which differ inclimate, temperament, and disposition, would intermix. Among the weasels, it is true, there are some larger than others; but this difference never exceeds an inch in the whole length of the body; but the ermine is full two inches longer than the largest weasel. Neither of them are to be tamed, but must always be kept in an iron cage. Neither of them will eat honey, nor ransack the bee-hives, like the marten and polecat; and therefore, the ermine is not the wild weasel, the ictis of Aristotle, which he says is easily tamed, and very fond of honey. So far are the weasel and ermine from being easily tamed, that they will not even eat if taken notice of, but are in continual agitations, endeavouring to conceal themselves; and in order to preserve them it is necessary they should be supplied with a parcel of wool or flax, in which they may hide themselves, and which they make a receptacle for whatever is given them, and seldom ever eat but in the night; and rather than eat fresh meat they keep it for two or three days that it may corrupt. They sleep three parts of the day, and even when at liberty they set apart the night for the search of their prey. When a weasel enters a hen-roost he never meddles with the cocks or old hens, but singles out the pullets and youngchicks, which he kills by a single bite on the head, and then carries away the whole, one after another; he also destroys the eggs, and sucks them with incredible avidity. In winter they generally reside in granaries, or hay-lofts, where the females often continue in the spring, and bring forth their young among the hay and straw; and during this period she makes war with the rats and mice with more success than the cats, since she follows them into their holes, and so renders it impossible for them to escape; she also attacks and destroys the pigeons in their houses, and sparrows, and other birds, in their nests. In summer they remove to some distance from the houses, always choosing low grounds, about mills and streams, hiding themselves among the bushes, to catch the birds; they sometimes take up their abodes in old willows, where the females bring forth their young, for which she prepares a bed of grass, straw, and leaves; she litters in the spring, and it generally consists of from three to five. They are brought forth with their eyes closed but they very soon acquire growth and strength sufficient to follow the mother to the chace. They attack adders, water-rats, moles, field mice, &c. and traversing the meadows devour quails and their eggs. Theyhave not a regular walk, but bound forward by unequal and precipitate leaps; when inclined to mount a tree they make a spring, by which they are elevated several feet at once; and thus they also act when they attempt to seize a bird.
These animals have also a very strong and disagreeable smell, which is much worse in summer than winter, and when pursued or irritated they infect the air to a great distance. They always move with all possible silence, and never exert their voices but when they are hurt, of which the sound is rough, and very expressive of anger. As their own odour is very bad they seem to feel no inconvenience from any foreign stench. A peasant in my neighbourhood took three new-littered weasels out of the carcass of a wolf, which had been suspended by its hind legs from a branch of a tree; for though the wolf was almost rotten, the female weasel had brought grass and leaves, and made a bed for her young in the thorax of this putrid carcass.
SUPPLEMENT.
The Comtesse Noyan declares in a letter which she favoured me with, that I have done great injustice to the character of the weasel, in saying that it is not to be tamed, since she had reared one who would lick her hand when she gave it food, and was as fond and familiar as a dog or squirrel. And N. G. de Mornas assures me that he trained one who would follow him about; and he says that they are to be tamed by frequent stroking them on their backs, and beating them when they offer to bite.
THE ERMINE.
The weasel with a black tail is called the Ermine or Roselet (fig. 71.) the ermine when it is white, and the roselet when it is red or yellowish. Though not so numerous as thecommon weasel, yet many of them are found in ancient forests, and sometimes during winter in the neighbourhood of woods. They are easy to be distinguished at all times, as the end of their tails are always black, and the extremities of their ears and feet white.
We have little to add, with respect to this animal, to those observations we made in treating of the weasel. I kept one for more than a twelvemonth, which to the last remained wild and also retained its noisome odour. It is a pretty little animal, and but for the last circumstance, an agreeable one; it has lively eyes, a pleasing countenance, and so rapid in its motions that it is impossible for the eye to follow them. It was always fed with eggs and flesh, but the latter he would not eat until it became putrid. It disliked honey, and having kept it three days without any other food, it died after eating a very little. The skin of this animal is very valuable; it is far more beautiful than that of the white rabbit; but it very soon changes somewhat yellow; though indeed the ermines of these climates have always a yellow shade.
Ermines abound in the north, particularly in Norway, Russia, and Lapland; where, as every where else, they are red in summer, and white in winter. They feed upon a species of ratsand other small animals, very numerous in Norway and Lapland, and of which we shall hereafter treat. They are scarce in temperate, and never found in warm climates. The animal of the Cape, which Kolbe calls by that name, and whose flesh he says is wholesome and well-tasted, is not an ermine, but a different species. The weasels of Cayenne, mentioned by M. Barrere, and the grey ermines of Tartary and the North of China, mentioned by some travellers, are also animals different from our weasels and ermines.
SUPPLEMENT.
It is remarked by Pontoppidan that, in Norway, the ermines live among the fragments of rocks; that he catches mice, is very fond of eggs, and that when the weather is calm, he will swim across the sea to the neighbouring islands for the sake of sea fowls which are there in great numbers. He says it is asserted that when the female brings forth upon an island, she will bring her young to the continentupon a piece of wood, directing it with her snout; that this animal though very small, will kill bears and rein-deer, which it does by surprising them when asleep and fastening to their ears, where he holds so fast that they cannot disengage him; he also springs upon the backs of eagles and heath-cocks, and will suffer them to take him up in the air, from whence by sucking their blood he soon forces them to descend.
THE GRISON.
This animal is added by our author in his Supplement, it having been introduced in a Dutch Edition of his work, where he says, it is thus mentioned by M. Allamand. "This little animal, said he, was sent to me from Surinam, and was named in the catalogue grey-weasel, from which I derived Grison. (fig. 72.) The upper part of its body is brown, but the hair having white points, it has the appearance of being a brownish grey; the throat and neck is a bright grey; its nose, and the lower part of its body and legs are black, which forms a singular contrast with its head and neck; it is about seven inches long, its head is large in proportion to its body; its ears are nearly a half circle, its eyes are large, it has strong teeth, five toes upon each foot, yellow claws, and a long tail which ends with a point. It more nearly resembles the weasel than any other animal, but yet it certainly belongs to some other species. I cannot find it mentioned by any traveller, and many persons who had resided at Surinam to whom I shewed it, declared it to be a stranger to them; from which it is evident, it must be a scarce animal, even in its own country, and lives in unfrequented places; of course I have not been enabled to obtain any further particulars of it."
Engraved for Barr’s Buffon.
FIG. 72.Grison.
FIG. 73.Squirrel.
THE SQUIRREL.
The squirrel (fig. 73.) is a pretty little animal, is only half wild, and from its gentleness, docility, and even innocence of manners,is almost entitled to an exemption from this class. He is neither carnivorous nor injurious, though he sometimes seizes on birds; his common food consists of fruit, almonds, nuts, beech mast, and acorns; he is handsome, lively, alert, and industrious; his eyes are full of fire, he has a good countenance, nervous body, and supple limbs; the beauty of his form is heightened by a spreading tail, resembling a plume of feathers, which he raises above his head, to form a kind of shade against the sun. The under part of his body is furnished with an apparatus to the full as remarkable, and which indicate strong generative faculties. The squirrel may be said to be less a quadruped than any other four-footed animal. He generally holds himself almost upright, using his fore feet like hands in conveying food to his mouth. Instead of hiding under the earth he is continually in the air, approaching the birds by his lightness and activity, like them he dwells upon the tops of trees, traverses the forests, by leaping from branch to branch, builds himself a nest, picks up grains and seed, drinks the dew, and does not descend to the earth but when the trees are violently agitated by the wind. He is never found in fields nor open countries; he approaches not thehabitations of men, remains not among bushes and underwood, but resides among the lofty trees of the forest. He avoids the water still more than the earth; and it is even asserted, that when he wants to cross a river, or stream, he uses the bark of a tree as a boat, and makes his tail supply the place of a rudder and sails. He does not sleep, like the dormouse, during winter, but is always awake and lively, insomuch, that if only the trunk of the tree is touched, on which he may be reposing, he instantly flies to another, or conceals himself under a branch. He collects a quantity of nuts during the summer, which he deposits in the hollow part of some old tree, and has recourse to them in the winter; which even then he will endeavour to obtain by scratching off the snow as he passes along. His voice is more shrill and loud than that of the marten; he has besides a loud growl of discontent, which he makes when irritated. As his motions are too quick to walk he generally leaps, or bounds forward; and such is the sharpness of his claws, and agility of body, that he instantaneously climbs a beech tree let the bark be ever so smooth.
During the fine nights in summer the squirrels may be heard crying as they chase eachother among the trees. Seemingly averse from the heat of the sun they remain all day in their holes or nests, from which they come at night to feed, copulate, exercise and divert themselves. Their nests are clean, warm, impenetrable to rain, and generally formed where the large branches fork off into small ones. They begin its formation by carrying small twigs, which they interweave with moss; this they repeatedly press and stamp upon to give it capacity and solidity to hold themselves and their young; they only leave one opening, which is near the top, and that so small as to be hardly sufficient for them to go in and out; over the opening is a kind of roof, in a conic form, which shelters the whole, and occasions the rain to run off on each side. The females usually produce three or four at a litter; they come in season in the spring, and bring forth about the end of May, or beginning of June. They change their hair at the close of winter, and the new hair is more red than that which they throw off; they comb and dress it with their fore feet and teeth, are very cleanly, have no ill smell, and their flesh is tolerably good to eat. The hair of their tail is used to make brushes for painters, but their skin is of no value to the furrier.
Several species approach that of the squirrel, though there are few varieties in the species itself. Some few are of an ash-colour, but the most of them are inclined to red. Thepetits-grisare a different species, and remain always grey. And, without mentioning the flying squirrels, which are very different from the others, the white squirrel of Cambaye, which is very small, that of Madagascar, calledtsitsihi, which is grey, and, as Flacourt says, is neither handsome nor easily tamed, the white squirrel of Siam, the grey spotted squirrel of Bengal, the streaked squirrel of Canada, the black squirrel, the large grey squirrel of Virginia, the white striped squirrel of New Spain, the white Siberian squirrel, the variegated squirrel, ormus ponticus, the little American squirrel, those of Brasil and Barbary, the palmist, &c. which form so many separate and distinct species from those which we have been treating of, we shall find them all nearly the same.
SUPPLEMENT.
The squirrel is so very numerous in Siberia, that we may rather suppose it to be a nativeof the northern than temperate regions. M. Gmelin says, they take them there in traps baited with dry fish. M. Aubry, curate of St. Louis, has an entire black squirrel sent him from Martinico, and which had also little or no hair on its ears.
M. de la Borde mentions a species of squirrel at Guinea, which he says is of a red colour, lives in the woods, feeds on grain, and is about the size of a rat; is always seen alone, and is easily tamed. But I very much doubt whether this is a real squirrel, from its being found in so warm a climate. M. Kalm says there are several species in Pennsylvania, that the smallest sort are the most handsome, and that the larger kind are very destructive to the plantations of maize, and that they will come in large bodies and destroy a whole field in a single night, nay, that they are so mischievous, that a price is set upon their heads. Their flesh is esteemed by the inhabitants, but no value is put upon their skins. Their figures, modes, and manners, he describes to be similar to those of Sweden, and states them to be more numerous in Pennsylvania than formerly.
Engraved for Barr’s Buffon.
FIG. 75.Water Rat.FIG. 74.Rat.
FIG. 76.Mouse.FIG. 77.Long tailed Field Mouse.FIG. 78.Short tail’d Mouse
THE RAT.
If we descend by degrees from great to small, from strong to weak, we find that Nature has uniformly maintained a balance throughout her works; attentive only to the preservation of each species, she creates a profusion of individuals, and supports by numbers those she has formed of a diminutive size, and left unprovided with arms, courage, or resources; she has not only enabled these inferior species to resist and maintain their ground by their own numbers, but has added a kind of supplement to each, by multiplying the neighbouring species. The rat (fig. 74.), the mouse (fig. 76.), the field mouse (fig. 77.), the water-rat (fig. 75.), the short-tailed field mouse (fig. 78.), the dormouse, the shrew mouse, with several others, which I shall not mention here, because they do not belong to our climate, form so many distinct and separate species, but yet so little varied, that should any one chance to fail, its absence would be hardly perceptible. It is this great number of approximate species that firstgave naturalists the idea of genera, an idea which can only be employed when we view objects in the gross, but which vanishes when we apply it to reality, or when we consider Nature minutely.
Men began by appropriating different names to objects which appeared to them distinctly different, and at the same time, they gave general denominations to such as seemed to resemble each other. Among unenlightened nations, and in the infancy of languages, there are hardly any but general names, or vague or ill-formed expressions for objects of the same order, though in themselves highly different. Thus the oak, beech, linden, fir, yew, pine, had at first no name but that of tree; afterwards the oak, beech, and linden, were called oak, when they came to be distinguished from the fir, pine, and yew, which in like manner would be called fir. Particular names could proceed only from a minute examination of each species, and of course those names would be increased in proportion as the works of Nature were more studied and better understood; the more they studied her, the more generic and specific names would be introduced. To represent Nature, therefore, by general denominations, or genera, is to refer us back to the dark and infant stateof human knowledge. Ignorance produced genera, but science will ever continue to create proper names; and we shall not be afraid of increasing the number whenever we have occasion to delineate different species.
Under the generic name of rat several species of little animals have been comprised and confounded; but we appropriate this name solely to the common rat, which is of a blackish colour, and lives in our houses; they generally inhabit barns and granaries, from whence, when food is scarce they invade our dwellings. The rat is carnivorous, or if the expression may be allowed, an omnivorous animal; he prefers hard substances to soft ones, he gnaws wool, linen, and furniture of all sorts; eats through wood, makes holes and hiding places in walls, ceilings, and behind wainscots, from whence he issues in search of food, and frequently returns with as much as he can drag along, forming, especially when he has young to provide for, a magazine of the whole. The females bring forth several times in the year, though mostly in the summer, and have five or six at a time. They love warmth, and in winter they generally shelter themselves near chimneys, or among hay and straw. In defiance of cats, poison, and traps, these animals multiply somuch as frequently to do considerable damage. In old country-houses, where great quantities of grain are kept, and where neighbouring barns and hay-stacks favour their retreat and their increase, they often become so numerous that the inhabitants are under the necessity of quitting their dwellings, unless they happen to devour each other, and this is no uncommon thing when they are straightened for provisions; for in case of a famine being occasioned by their numbers the strong kill the weak, open their heads, first eat the brains, and then the rest of the body: the next day hostilities are renewed in the same manner, nor do they suspend their havock until the majority are destroyed; and this is the reason why, in a place that has been for some time infested with rats, they seem to disappear of a sudden, and return not for a long time. It is the same with field-mice, whose prodigious increase is checked solely by their cruelties to each other when provisions become scarce. Aristotle attributes their sudden destruction to the effect of rains, but rats are not exposed to the weather, and field-mice know well how to secure themselves from its effects, for their subterraneous habitations are not even moist.
Rats are as lascivious as voracious; they have a kind of yelp in their amours, and whenthey fight they cry. They prepare a bed for their young, and almost immediately provide them with food; and when they first quit their hole the mother watches, defends, and will even fight the cats to save them. A large rat is more mischievous, and almost as strong as a young cat; its fore-teeth are long and strong; and as the cat does not bite hard, but is obliged to depend upon her claws, she must not only be vigorous but well experienced in warfare. The weasel, though smaller, is yet a more dangerous enemy, because he can follow the rat into its hiding places: the combat between these two is often sharp and long, from their strength being nearly equal, but their manner of fighting is different. The rat can only wound by snatches, and with his fore-teeth, which are more calculated for gnawing than biting, and have but little strength; whereas the weasel bites fiercely with his whole jaw, and instead of letting go sucks the blood thro' the wound, and therefore the rat always falls a victim to this formidable enemy.
There are many varieties in this species, as in all those which have numerous individuals. Besides the common rat which is nearly black, there are some brown, grey, reddish, and quite white. The white rat, likeall animals perfectly white has red eyes. The whole species, with all its varieties, appear to be natives of temperate climates, and have been diffused in much greater abundance over warm countries than cold ones. Originally they had none in America, but were transported with the first European settlers, and where they increased so fast as to become the pest of the colonies, and where indeed they had no enemies but the large serpents which swallowed them up alive. The European ships have also carried them into the East Indies, all the islands of the Indian Archipelago, and into Africa, where they are now found in great numbers. In the north they have never multiplied beyond Sweden, and those which are called Norway and Lapland rats, are animals of a different species.
SUPPLEMENT.
It is asserted by Pontoppidan, that rats cannot live further north than Norway, and that those on the banks of the south side of the river Vorman, very soon die if they are taken to thenorth, which he attributes to the exhalations of the soil. From the Vicomte Querhoënt I understand that rats multiplied so fast on their first introduction to the isle of France, as even to compel the Dutch to leave it: they have been somewhat lessened by the French, but they still remain in great numbers. He adds, that when a rat has resided some time in India he acquires a very strong smell of musk; and this is confirmed by M. la Boullaye-le-Goux in his voyages. The Dutch voyagers also say that there are scented rats in Madura.
THE MOUSE.
The mouse is much smaller than the rat, more numerous and more generally diffused. Its instinct, temperament, and disposition is the same; and it differs only in its weakness, and the habits resulting from it. Timid by nature, and familiar from necessity, fear and want are the sole springs of its actions. It never leaves its hiding place but to seek for food; nor does it go from house to house, like the rat, unless forced; nor is it near so mischievous;its manners are milder, and to a certain degree it may be tamed, but it is incapable of attachment; how indeed is it possible to love those who are perpetually laying snares for us! Though weak he has more enemies than the rat, from whom he has no means of escape but his agility and minuteness. The owls, birds of prey, cats, weasels, and even rats, make war upon mice, while man, by snares and other means, destroy them by thousands. But for their immense fecundity they could not subsist; they bring forth at all seasons, several times in the year, generally have five or six at a time, and which in less than 15 days are sufficiently strong to shift for themselves. As they so soon attain perfection, their duration of life must be short, a circumstance which must necessarily heighten our ideas of their prodigious multiplication. Aristotle[O]tells us that he put a pregnant mouse into a vessel with plenty of corn, and that he soon after found 120 mice all sprung from the same mother.
[O]Vide Aristotle Hist. Animal. Lib. vi. Cap. 37.
[O]Vide Aristotle Hist. Animal. Lib. vi. Cap. 37.
These little animals are not ugly, but have much vivacity and acuteness in their looks; nor is there any foundation for that horror some people hold towards them, but the littlesurprises and inconveniences they sometimes occasion. All mice are rather white under the belly, some are quite white, others more or less brown or black. The species is generally spread over Europe, Asia, and Africa; but it is said they had no mice formerly in America, and that, though now so very numerous, they were originally brought from the old continent. Certain it is that this little animal, while it fears human society, closely attends it, and this probably from its natural appetite for bread, cheese, bacon, oil, butter, and other kinds of food which man prepares for himself.
THE FIELD-MOUSE.
This animal sometimes called the mulot, is less than the rat, but larger than the common mouse. It is not to be found in houses, but lives in woods and fields. It is remarkable for its large and prominent eyes; and it differs also from the rat and mouse in the contour of its hair, which is tolerably white under the belly, and a reddish brown on the back; they are very generally and abundantly diffused, especially in hilly countries. They appearto be a long time in attaining their full growth, as they vary considerably in size. The largest are better than four inches in length, and the smaller, which appears to be aged, are an inch shorter; and as they are found of all the intermediate sizes there can be no room to doubt their being the same species. It was probably from ignorance of this fact that some naturalists have distinguished them into two species, calling the one the Great Field Rat, and the other the Field Mouse. Ray, who first fell into this error, seems to acknowledge himself unacquainted with any more than one species; and though the short description he gives of two species appear to differ, yet we ought not to conclude that both exist, first, because he himself knew but one; secondly, because we know only one, and notwithstanding all my researches, I have been enabled to discover but one kind; thirdly, because Gesner, and other naturalists, speak only of one, under the name ofmus agrestis major, which they affirm to be common; and because Ray says the other kind, which he callsmus domesticus medius, is also very common; it is therefore impossible but that one or other of these authors must have seen both since they declare they are both common;fourthly, because as in this same species large and small individuals are found, that circumstance might lead them to consider the former as one, and the latter as another; and, lastly, because the descriptions of these two pretended species are in no respect complete; and we ought not to trust such vague characteristics to establish a specific difference.
The ancients, indeed, mention two species, the one under the denomination ofmus agrestis major, the other under that ofmus agrestis minor. These two species are very common, and we are as well acquainted with them as the ancients were; the first is our long-tailed field-mouse; and the other, known by the name of the short-tailed field-mouse, but as it materially differs both from the rat and long-tailed field-mouse, I have not followed the generic appellation, but adopted that of the Italian, and call itcampagnol.
The long-tailed field-mice, as we have already intimated, are fond of dry and elevated grounds. They are to be found in great numbers in woods and in adjoining fields. They conceal themselves in holes under brush-wood, or trunks of trees, which they find already made, or which they dig, in which they amass such quantities of nuts and acorns, that a bushel hasbeen found contained in one of them; and this provision is not proportioned to the wants of the animal, but to the capacity of the place allotted for its reception. These 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 considerable damage done by these animals in plantations. They will follow the furrow of a plough and take up all the new-sown acorns, which they convey 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 every tenth pace distance, through the whole extent of the new-sown ground. No other bait is necessary than placing a roasted nut under a flat stone, supported by a piece of stick, to which the nut must be fastened; this they are very fond of, and will come eagerly to seize; but no sooner do they touch it than the stone falls and crushes them to death. I have made use of the same expedient against the campagnol, which is also very destructive. When I first adopted this method, I desired care might be taken to bring me all the animals that were caught in the traps, and it was with astonishment I foundmore than 100 were taken daily, and this in a piece of land consisting of not more than 40 acres. I obtained more than 2000 in this manner, from the 15th of November to the 8th of December; their numbers afterwards decreased gradually, till the hard frosts commenced, when they retire to their holes, and feed upon what they have collected. A number of years have elapsed since I first made this experiment, and which I always repeated when I sowed trees, and never had reason to complain of its inefficacy. It is in autumn they chiefly abound; in spring they are not so numerous, for if their provisions run short during the winter the strong devour the weak; they also eat the short-tailed species, and several sorts of birds, beginning always with the brains and finishing with the rest of the body. I once put a dozen of these field-mice in a cage, and accustomed them to be fed every morning by eight o’clock; but neglecting them one morning for about a quarter of an hour, one of them had been eaten by the rest; next day they devoured another, and in a few days only one remained; the others having been killed and in part devoured; even the one that survived had his legs and tail mutilated.
The rat multiplies very fast, but the increaseof the long-tailed field-mouse is more considerable. The latter brings forth more than once a year, and generally nine or ten at a time, while the rat seldom produces more than five or six. A peasant, on my estate, took twenty-two out of one hole, consisting of two dams and twenty young ones.
This animal is very generally diffused over Europe. It is found in Sweden, and is called by Linnæus,mus cauda longa, corpore nigro flavescente, abdomine albo. It is very common in France, Italy, and Switzerland. Gesner calls itmus agrestis major. It is also in Germany and England, where it is called the field-mouse. Its greatest enemies are the wolf, fox, marten, birds of prey, and its own species.
THE WATER-RAT.
This animal is about the size of a common rat, but in habits and disposition more resembles the otter than the rat. Like the otter it frequents fresh water; is found on the borders of rivers, rivulets, and ponds, and seldom feeds on any thingbut fish, though he will sometimes eat frogs, water insects, and even the roots of plants. He has not, like the otter, membranes between his toes; an error which originated with Willoughby, and has been copied by Ray and other naturalists. Though every toe is separated, he swims with facility, keeps a long time under water, and carries off his prey to eat upon the grass or in his hole. Sometimes he is surprised in his hole by fishermen who are searching for craw-fish, whose fingers he bites, and then plunges into the water as his only place of refuge. His head is shorter, his nose broader, his hair more erect, and his tail much larger than the common rat. Like the otter he avoids large rivers, or rather those which are too much frequented. The dogs pursue it very furiously. He is never found in houses or barns, nor does he wander so far from the borders of the waters as the otter, which is sometimes found at a league distant upon land. The water-rat does not frequent high grounds nor dry plains but in moist and marshy valleys they are very numerous. The females come in season about the close of winter, and bring forth in April, generally having six or seven in a litter; they may probably bring forth oftener than once a year, but of this we have no certain knowledge.
Their flesh is not absolutely bad, being eaten by the peasants in catholic countries during Lent, as well as that of the otter. This species is found throughout Europe, the very extremities of the north excepted. If Bellon may be believed they inhabit the banks of the Nile, but the figure he gives of it has so little resemblance to our water-rat, that there is great reason to suppose them different animals.
THE CAMPAGNOL.
The Campagnol, or short-tailed field-mouse, is still more common and generally diffused than the long-tailed kind. The latter generally prefers elevated grounds, while the former is found in woods, meadows, and even gardens. It is remarkable for the bigness of its head and shortness of its tail, which is not above an inch long. It digs holes in the earth, where it amasses corn, nuts, and acorns; the former of which it appears to prefer to every kind of food. About the month of July, whenthe corn begins to ripen they collect together from all quarters, and frequently do great damage by cutting the stalks to come at the ears; they also seem to follow the reapers and pick up all the grain that falls. When the gleanings are exhausted, they resort to the new-sown lands, and not unoften destroy the hopes of the succeeding year. At the end of autumn, and in winter, most of them withdraw into the woods where they feed on beech-mast, nuts and acorns. Some years they appear in such great numbers that they would destroy every thing were they to continue for any length of time, but for want of food they eat each other, and are also destroyed by the long-tailed field-mouse, the fox, wild cat, marten, and weasel. In its internal parts, this animal more resembles the water-rat than any other; but externally it differs from him in many essential characters: First, in size, the campagnol not being more than three inches long, whereas the water-rat is seven; secondly, by the dimensions of its head and body, those of the former being thicker in proportion than those of the latter; thirdly, by the length of the tail, that of the campagnol not exceeding one third, while that of the water-rat is nearly two thirds the length of its body; and lastly, by appetite and inclinations, forthe former neither feeds upon fish nor plunges into the water, but lives upon grain, acorns, and bulbous roots. Their holes resemble those of the long-tailed field mouse, and are often divided into two apartments, though they are less spacious and are not dug so deep. Several of them sometimes live together. When the females are about to bring forth they collect grass to make beds for their young. They produce in spring and summer, and generally from five to eight at a time.
Engraved for Barr’s Buffon.
FIG: 79.Guinea-Pig.
FIG: 80.Hedge Hog.FIG: 81.Shrewmouse.
THE GUINEA PIG.
This little animal (fig. 79.) though a native of Brasil and Guinea, lives and breeds in temperate, and even in cold countries, provided it is properly taken care of and sheltered from the inclemency of the weather. The Guinea-pig is frequently reared in France, and though very prolific, they are far from being numerous, for the attention they require is poorly rewarded by the profits derived from them. Their skin is of little or no value, and their flesh, though people do eat it, is very indifferent; a circumstance which might in some measure be removed, by rearing them in warrens, where they might have air, space to range in, and an agreeable choice of herbs. Those kept in houses have the same kind of bad taste with the house rabbit, and those kept in gardens during summer their flesh is less disagreeable, but still insipid.
These animals are of so hot a nature that they begin to copulate so early as at five or six weeks old; their growth, however, is not completed before the end of eight or nine months, though their increase is in bulk and fat only after the sixth, by which time all their solid parts are completely developed. The females go with young three weeks, and they have been known to bring forth at the age of two months. The first litters do not consist of more than four or five, the second five or six, and afterwards they will sometimes have eleven or twelve. She does not suckle her young more than twelve or fifteen days, and when the male returns to her, which he never fails to do three weeks after she has littered, she drives them from her, and if they persist in following he often kills them. Thus these animals bringforth at least every two months; and as their young produce in the same period their multiplication is astonishing. In one year 1000 might be obtained from a single couple; but their consequent increase is checked by the various means of their destruction; they perish from cold and wet; without resistance they suffer themselves to be devoured by the cats; the females, not having had time to form an attachment to their young, see them destroyed without attempting to protect them. They seem to have no distinct sentiment but that of love, and when disputing for a particular female they will shew themselves susceptible of anger, fight bitterly, and are sometimes killed in the conflict before they will yield. They pass their lives in eating, sleeping and love: their sleep is short, but frequent; they eat every hour, night and day, and indulge in their amours as often as they eat; they emit urine every minute, although they scarcely ever drink. They feed on all sorts of herbs, especially parsley, which they prefer to grain or bread; of apples, and other fruits, they are also very fond. Like the rabbit they eat little at a time, but precipitately, and very often. They grunt like a young pig; make a chirping noise when pleased with their females, and havea sharp loud cry when hurt or irritated. They are very delicate, and so chilly that it is difficult to preserve them through the winter, therefore they must be kept in a place which is thoroughly warm, dry, and healthy. When they feel cold they assemble and press close together, and in this situation the frost often surprises them, and they are sometimes found dead. They are naturally mild and tame, seem equally incapable of doing harm or good, and never form any attachments. Mild by temperament, docile by weakness, almost insensible to every thing round them, they have the appearance of being so many living machines, merely possessed of abilities to propagate a species.
THE HEDGEHOG.
The hedge-hog (fig. 80.) possesses the power to defend itself without fighting, and to annoy without attacking. Having little strength and no agility to escape his foes, he has received from Nature a prickly armour, with the power of rolling himself up like a ball, and presenting from every part of his body a poignant weapon of defence. His fears provean additional security, for the smell of his urine, which they make him throw out when attacked, and which he scatters over his whole body, always proves sufficient to disgust his enemy. Thus dogs content themselves with barking at the hedge-hog, and never shew an inclination to seize it. The fox, however, has the address to master it, by contriving to wound its feet, from which the blood runs into its mouth, but from the weasel, marten, polecat, ferret, or birds of prey, it has nothing to dread.
The females, as well as males, are covered with prickles from the head to the tail, and the under parts of their bodies only are covered with hair; wherefore these arms, so useful to them against their enemies, are highly inconvenient in their amours, as they cannot unite, like other quadrupeds, but face to face, either upright or lying. They come in season in spring, and bring forth at the beginning of summer. I have frequently had the mother and her young brought me in the month of June; their litters generally consist of from three to five; they are white at first, and only the marks of their prickles appear. Desirous to rear some of them, I put a dam and her little family into a tub, with plenty of meat, bread, bran, and fruit, but, instead of suckling, shedevoured them one after another. I was surprised that so indolent an animal should discover such marks of impatience at confinement. A hedge-hog which had one day got into the kitchen, took some meat out of a small kettle, and then defiled it with its excrement. I kept males and females in the same apartments, but though they lived they never coupled. I put several of them in my garden, where they did so little damage that it was hardly perceivable they were there; they lived upon the fallen fruits, and dug the earth to a small depth with their snouts; they eat caterpillars, worms, beetles, and some roots; and they are also very fond of flesh, which they devour either raw or roasted.
In the country they are commonly found in the woods, under the trunks of old trees, in the clefts of rocks, and in vineyards. I do not believe they climb trees, as has been asserted, or make use of their prickles to carry off the fruit; they seize with the mouth every thing they eat, and though they are very numerous in our forests, I never heard of one being seen upon a tree, but are always found in hollow places, or under moss. They remain inactive all day, and only go about during the night. They seldom approach human habitations;they prefer dry and elevated grounds, yet are sometimes found in meadows. When touched they do not offer to escape or defend themselves, either with their feet or teeth; but roll themselves up, and are only to be made to extend by plunging them into cold water; they sleep during the winter, and therefore if, as it is said, they amass provisions in summer, they would be entirely useless. They at no time eat much, and can exist a long time without any food. Like all other animals who sleep in winter, their blood is cold; their flesh is not good to eat, nor is their skin, though it was formerly employed in the preparation of hemp, converted to any use.
According to some authors there are two species of the hedge-hog, one with a snout like a hog, and the other with a short muzzle like a dog; but I know of but one, and of which there are even no varieties in our climates. This animal is pretty generally diffused; they are in every part of Europe, except Lapland, Norway, and the other very cold countries. Flacourt says there are hedge-hogs at Madagascar, where they are called Sora. The hedge-hog of Siam, mentioned by Father Tachard, seems to be another animal. Those of America and Siberia evidently approachthe nearest to our common hedge-hogs, and lastly, the hedge-hog of Malacca seems to be more of the porcupine than the hedge-hog.
THE SHREW MOUSE.
The shrew mouse (fig. 81.) seems to form a shade in the order of small animals, and to fill up the interval between the rat and the mole, which though they resemble each other in size, differ greatly in form, and are a totally distinct species. The shrew is smaller than the common mouse, resembles the mole in its snout, which is longer than the jaw-bones; in its eyes which, though larger than those of the mole, are in the same manner concealed, and smaller than those of the mouse; in the number of its toes, having five on each foot, in its tail and legs, particularly the hind ones, which are shorter than those of the mouse; in its ears, and lastly, in its teeth. This extremely little creature has a strong smell peculiar to itself, and so offensive to cats, that though they chace and kill, they will not eat it.This noisome odour, and the aversion of the cats, most probably gave rise to the notion that the shrew mouse is a venomous animal, and that its bite is hurtful, particularly to horses; but the truth is, that it is neither venomous nor able to bite, for its mouth is not capable of sufficient extension to take in the double thickness of another animal’s skin, which is absolutely necessary in order to bite. Besides, the distemper among horses, which is vulgarly attributed to the shrew mouse, is a swelling proceeding from an internal cause, and therefore can have no connexion with the bite, or the puncture of this little animal.
The shrew mouse, especially in winter, fixes its residence in stables, hay-lofts, or barns; it feeds on grain, insects, and putrid flesh. It also resides in woods and fields, where it lives on grain; it sometimes conceals itself under moss, leaves, the trunks of trees, and sometimes in holes abandoned by moles, or in holes of a smaller size, which it digs for itself, with its claws and snout. The shrew produces, it is said, as many young at a time as the common mouse, but not so frequently. Its cry is more sharp, but it is not near so nimble, and as it sees imperfectly, and runs slowly, there is very little difficulty in taking it. Their usualcolour is brown mixed with red, though some are ash-coloured, and all of them are white under the belly. They are very common throughout Europe, but do not seem to exist in America. The animal of Brasil, which Marcgrave mentions as the shrew mouse, and describes with three black stripes upon the back, is larger, and appears to be of a different species.
THE WATER SHREW MOUSE.
This animal, though a native of these climates, was unknown to any of our naturalists, until M. Daubenton first discovered and described it in the Memoires de l’Academie, in 1756. To the former animal we have only to add, that this is taken near the source of fountains, as the sun rises and sets; that in the day it remains concealed in the clefts of rocks, or in holes at the edges of rivulets; that it brings forth in spring, and has generally nine young ones at a time.
THE MOLE.
The mole, (fig. 82.) without being blind, has eyes so small, and so concealed, that it can make but little use of seeing, but in recompence Nature has supplied it with an ample portion of the sixth sense. Of all animals the mole is the most profusely furnished with generic organs, and of course with the relative sensations. The senses of hearing and feeling it enjoys in an eminent degree; a skin as soft as velvet, and its little paws, with five claws, are very different from other quadrupeds, and nearly resemble the hand of a human being; they have great strength in proportion to the size of their bodies, and so strong and reciprocal an attachment subsists between the male and female, that they seem to have a dread of, and a disgust to, all other society. They enjoy the mild habitudes of solitude and repose; the art of securing themselves, of instantaneously forming an asylum, of extending it, and of obtaining a plentiful subsistence without a necessity for relinquishing it. Such arethe dispositions, manners, and talents, of this animal, and they doubtless are preferable to qualities more brilliant, which are perhaps more incompatible with happiness than even an absolute deprivation of sight.
The mole shuts up the entrance to its retreat, which it seldom leaves, unless forced by heavy rains, or it becomes demolished by man. It prefers cultivated grounds, and is never to be found in those which are muddy, hard, or stony; and delights in a soft soil, well supplied with esculent roots, insects and worms, of which its principal nourishment consists. As they seldom come above ground they have but few enemies, and easily elude the pursuit of carnivorous animals. Their greatest calamity is an inundation, and when that happens, they are seen swimming in great numbers, and using every effort to save themselves by reaching the high grounds; but the greatest part of them perish, as well as their young who remain in the holes. Were it not for such accidents, from their great fecundity, they would be extremely incommodious to farmers. They couple at the beginning of spring, and their young ones are found as early as May. They generally have four or five at a time, and it is easy to distinguish the mole-hill under which theyhave littered, as they are more elevated, and made with greater art than the rest. I am inclined to think they bring forth more than once a year, but I cannot absolutely assert it; this however is certain, that young ones are met with from April to August, which, however, may be owing to some coupling later in the year than others.
The hole in which they deposit their young is formed with singular skill and deserves a particular description. They begin by raising the earth and forming a tolerably ample roof, leaving divisions or pillars at certain distances to support it, all round which they beat and press the earth, interweave it with roots and plants, and render it so firm that the water cannot penetrate it; the apartment in the hillock is above the level of the ground, and therefore less subject to accidents from slight inundations; under this they form another kind of hill, upon the top of which they lay grass and leaves as a bed for their young. Here they lay secure from wet, and the female proceeds to make their retreat equally free from danger; for all round this internal hillock she pierces holes still deeper, which part from the middle apartment like rays from a centre, and extend about fifteen feet in every direction; into these the mother makes hersubterraneous excursions, and from them supplies her young with roots and insects; but they contribute still more to the general safety, for as the mole is very quick of hearing, the instant she finds her habitation attacked she takes to one of the burrows, and unless the earth be dug away by several men at once, she and her young always make good their retreat.
Some authors have asserted that the mole and badger sleep the whole winter: but that this is not true with respect to the badger, we have already observed, from the traces which he leaves upon the snow; and so far is the mole from sleeping the whole winter, that she continues to raise the earth then as well as in the summer; and it is almost proverbial with the peasantry of France, that “when the mole is at work a thaw is at hand.” They are indeed fond of warm places, and the gardeners often catch them round their beds in the months of December, January, and February. This animal is never to be met with in barren deserts or cold climates, where the ground is frozen for the greatest part of the year. The Siberian mole, with green and yellow hair, is of a different species from our mole, which abounds only from Sweden to Barbary; at least from the silence of travellers we may presume it isnot an inhabitant of hot climates. The moles of America, particularly the red ones, are also different. The Virginian mole, however, is not unlike ours, except in the colour of the hair, which is mixed with a deep purple. In our common moles there are only two or three varieties; some are more or less brown or black, and some few we have seen entirely white. Seba mentions, and gives a figure of a mole with black and white spots[P], which he found in East Friesland, and which was rather larger than our moles.