Chapter 8

FIG. 213.Coati.FIG. 214.Brown Capuchin.

FIG. 216.Saki.

THE SAJOU.[X]

[X]This word is abridged fromcayouvassouorsajouassou; the names by which these animals are called at Maragnon.

WE are acquainted with two varieties in this species, the Brown Sajou, (fig. 214.) commonly called thecapuchin monkey; and the Grey Sajou, which differs from the other only in the colour of its hair. They are of the same size, the same shape, and the same disposition: both are lively, active, and very amusing, by their tricks and nimbleness. We have had them alive; and of all the sapajous they appeared to be those with which the temperature of our climate seemed least to disagree. They live here for many years without much trouble, provided they are kept in a warm room during winter. We can even give examples of their producing in this country. Two were brought forth at Madame de Pompadour’s, at Versailles, one at M. de Reamur’s, at Paris, and another at Madame de Poursel’s, in Gatinois; but these were only single productions, whereas in their own climate they often bring forth two. These sajous are veryfantastical in their tastes and affections: they are extremely fond of some persons, and have as great an aversion for others.

We observed a singularity in these animals, which causes the females to be often taken for the males. The clitoris is prominent outwardly, and is as much seen as the sexual organ of the male.

Distinctive Characters of this Species.

The sajous have neither pouches on the sides of their jaws, nor callosities on their posteriors. Their face and ears are of a flesh colour, with a little down on them. The partition of the nostrils is thick, and their apertures are placed pretty close to each other. Their tail is prehensile, naked underneath at the extremity, and very bushy over every other part. Some have black and brown hair, as well about the face as on all the upper parts of the body. Others are grey about the face, and of a light brown on the body. Their hands are always black and naked. They are but a foot long from the extremity of the muzzle to the insertion of the tail. They walk on all fours.[Y]

[Y]In a description of M. Vosmaër, printed at Amsterdam in 1770, there is an account of asingular species of the flying American ape, &c. which, however, appears to be the same animal as our brown sajou.

THE SAI.

OF the Sai (fig. 215.) we have seen two which seem to make a variety in the species. The hair of the first was a deep brown, and that of the second, which we have called theWhite-throated Sai, has white hair on the breast, neck, and round the ears, and cheeks; and it differs also from the first, in its face being less hairy; but in other respects they perfectly resemble each other; being of the same disposition, size, and shape. Travellers have described these animals by the name ofweepers, from their plaintive moan. Others have called themmusk monkeys, because like the maucauco they have a musky odour. They have likewise been termed macaque, borrowed from the animals so called in Guinea; but the macaque is a monkey with a flaccid tail; while the animals we are speaking of belong to the sapajous, their tails being prehensile. The females have only two teats, and bring forth but one or two at a time. They are gentle, docile,and so timid, that their common cry, which resembles that of a rat, becomes a kind of groaning when they are threatened with danger. Their food in this climate is principally snails and beetles, which they prefer to any other; but in their native country of Brasil, they chiefly live upon grain and wild fruits which they pluck from the trees, from whence they seldom descend till they have stripped their habitation of its treasure.

Distinctive Characters of this Species.

The sai has neither pouches on the sides of his jaws, nor callosities on his posteriors. The partition of the nostrils is very thick, and the apertures are placed on the side, and not beneath the nose. The face is round and flat, and the ears almost naked. The tail is prehensile and naked towards the extremity. The hair on the upper part of the body is a deep brown, and on the lower parts, of a yellowish grey. These animals are not above fourteen inches long, and their tails are longer than the head and body together. They walk always on four feet. The females are not subject to the periodical emanation.

THE SAIMIRI.

THE Saimiri is commonly known by the name of theAurora, theOrange, orYellow Sapajou. It is very common at Guiana, for which reason many travellers have styled it theCayenne Sapajou. From the gracefulness of its motions, the smallness of its size, the brilliant colour of its coat, the fullness and brightness of its eyes, and its small round visage, the saimiri has ever taken the lead of every other sapajou, and it is, in fact, the most beautiful and pleasing of this tribe; but it is also the most delicate and the most difficult to transport and preserve. From these characters, and particularly from that of the tail, which may be said to be but half prehensile, for though it makes use of it to climb up trees, yet it can neither strongly hold, nor firmly fix itself by it, it seems to form the shade between the sapajous and the sagoins.

Distinctive Characters of this Species.

The saimiri has neither pouches on each side the cheeks, nor callosities on the posteriors. The partition which divides the nostrils is thick, and the apertures are placed on the side and not under the nose. He may be said to have no forehead. His hair is of a bright yellow colour; and he has two flesh-coloured rings round the eyes. His nose is elevated at the root, and flat towards the nostrils. The mouth is small, the face flat and naked, and the ears are garnished with hair and a little pointed. The tail is half-prehensile and longer than the body. He is scarcely more than ten or eleven inches in length. He stands on his hind feet with great ease, but he commonly walks on all fours.

THE SAKI.

THE Saki, (fig. 216.) commonly called theFox-tailed Monkey, from its tail being cloathed with very long hair, is the largest of the sagoins, being above seventeen inches long when full grown, whereas the largest of theother five species is not above nine or ten. The saki has very long hair on its body, and still longer on its tail: its face is red, and covered with a whitish down: it is easy to be known and distinguished from every other sagoin, sapajou, or monkey, by the following characters:

Distinctive Characters of this Species.

The saki has neither pouches on the sides of his jaws, nor callosities on his posteriors. His tail is not prehensile but flaccid, and half as long again as his head and body. The apertures of the nostrils are placed on the side of the nose, and the partition is very thick. The face is brown, and covered with a fine short, whitish down. The hair on the upper parts of the body is of a deep brown, and those of the lower of a reddish white. The hair is very long on the body, and still longer on the tail, extending near two inches beyond the point; this hair on the tail is generally of a deep brown colour. There seems to be a variety in this species with respect to colour, as there are sakis to be met with whose hair is of a reddish yellow colour. This animal goes on all fours, and is about a foot and an half long, from the tip of the nose to the insertion of the tail. The females of this species have not the periodical emanation.

THE TAMARIN.

THIS is the name which the animal bears in Cayenne: it is called the little black monkey by some, and the great-eared monkey by others. It is much smaller than that which we have just described, and differs from it in many characters, particularly in the tail, which is cloathed only with short hair, whereas that of the saki is furnished with very long. The tamarin has also large ears and yellow feet. It is a pretty and lively animal, and very easily tamed, but so exceedingly delicate as to be unable long to resist the intemperance of our climate.

Distinctive Characters of this Species.

The tamarin has neither pouches on the sides of his jaws, nor callosities on his posteriors. His tail is flaccid, and as long again as his head and body. The partitions between the nostrils are very thick, and the apertures are on the sides, and not under the nose. The face is of a dark flesh colour. The ears are square, large, naked, and of the same colour, and the eyes are of a chesnut. The upper lip is slit, nearly like that of the hare. The body, head, and tail, are covered with a dark brown hair, and the hands and feet with a short hair of an orange colour. The body and legs are well proportioned. He walks on all fours, and measures not above seven or eight inches in length, his head included.

Engraved for Barr’s Buffon.

FIG. 217.Ouistiti.

FIG. 218.Marikina.FIG. 219.Mico.

THE OUISTITI.[Z]

[Z]So called from a noise made by this animal which has that sound.

THIS animal (fig. 217.) is smaller than the tamarin, being not above six inches long, including the head; his tail is more than double that length, and annulated with black and white rings, like that of the maucauco, yet at the same time it is more bushy than that animal’s. The face of the ouistiti is naked, and of a flesh colour. He has two very singular tufts of long white hair on the fore part of the ears, which entirely conceals them when we look at the animal full in the face. Mr. Parsons has given a good description of this animal in the Philosophical Transactions; andMr. Edwards has given a very good figure of it: he speaks of having seen several of them, and says that the largest did not weigh above six ounces, and the smallest only four and a half: he very judiciously observes, that the supposition of the small Ethiopian monkey, which Ludolph speaks of by the name offonkes, orguereza, being the same animal as the ouistiti, has no foundation. It is very certain that neither the ouistiti, nor any other sagoin, is to be met with in Ethiopia; and it is very probable that thefonkes, orguereza, of Ludolph, is either themaucauco, or theloris, which are common in the southern parts of the Old Continent. Edwards farther says, that when the ouistiti (sanglin) is in good health he has a great deal of hair, and very bushy; that one of those which he saw, and which was healthy, fed upon several things, as biscuits, fruits, herbs, insects, and snails; that being one day unchained, he darted at a little gold fish in a glass globe, which he killed, and devoured with the greatest avidity; that afterwards some small eels were presented him, which frightened him at first, by twisting about his neck, but that he soon conquered and ate them. Mr. Edwards adds a fact which proves that these little animals might be multiplied in the southernparts of Europe. He says that they produced young in Portugal, where the climate is favourable to them. At first they have an ugly appearance, having scarcely any hair on their bodies; and they cling close to the teats of their dam. When they grow a little older they fix themselves on her back or shoulders, and when she is weary of carrying she releases herself by rubbing them off against the wall, which being done, the father, if he is by, will allow them to get upon his back.

Distinctive Characters of this Species.

The ouistiti has neither pouches on the sides of his jaws nor callosities on his posteriors. His tail is flaccid, very bushy, with alternate annulated bars of black and white, or rather brown and grey, and is as long again as the head and body. The partition of the nostrils is very thick, and the apertures are placed at the side. The head is round, and cloathed with black hair above the forehead, and above the nose is a white spot without hair. His face is almost all naked, and of a deep flesh colour. He has a tuft of long white hair on each side of the head before the ears. His ears are round, flat, thin, and naked. His eyes are of a chesnut colour. His body is covered with a soft, grey,ash-coloured hair; his throat, breast, and belly, of a light grey, with a slight tincture of yellow. He walks on all fours, and is often not above six inches long. The females are not subject to the periodical emanation.

THE MARIKINA.

THE Marikina (fig. 218.) is commonly known by the name of the little Lion Ape. We reject this compound denomination, because the marikina is not an ape but a sagoin, and no more resembles the lion than a lark resembles an ostrich, there being no affinity between them, except in the long hairs that surround the face of the marikina, and a tuft of hair at the end of his tail. His hair is long, soft, and glossy. His head is round, face brown, eyes red, ears round, and naked, and concealed under the long hairs which surround his face. These hairs are of a bright red, and those on the body and tail of a very pale yellow, approaching a white. This animal has the same manners, the same vivacity, and the same inclinations as the other sagoins. He seems tobe of a more robust temperament, for we have seen one which lived five or six years in Paris, without any other particular care than keeping it during the winter in a chamber, wherein there was a fire every day.

Distinctive Characters of this Species.

The marikina has neither pouches on the sides of his cheeks, nor callosities on his posteriors. His tail is flaccid, and nearly as long again as both his head and body. The apertures of the nostrils are on each side of the nose, and the partition which divides them very thick. His ears are round and naked. The hair is long, of a yellowish red colour about the face[AA], and bright yellow hairs, nearly of an equal length, over every other part of the body; his tail is terminated with a considerable tuft of hair. He walks on all fours, and is not above eight or nine inches long.

[AA]The face is flat, and of a dull purple colour.Pennant.

THE PINCH.

THIS animal, though very small, is still larger than either the ouistiti, or the tamarin. Including the head and body, he isabout nine inches long, and his tail is full eighteen He is remarkable for a kind of white smooth hair upon the top and sides of the head, more especially as this colour is wonderfully contrasted with that of the face, which is black, shaded by a small grey down. His eyes are black; his tail is of a bright red from its insertion to near the middle, where it changes to a deep brown, and continues so to the end. The hair on the upper parts of the body is of a yellowish brown colour; that on the breast, belly, hands, and feet, is white. The skin is black, even where covered with white hair. His throat is naked and black like his face. This animal, though of a very singular figure, is nevertheless very handsome. His voice is soft, and resembles more the chaunting of a little bird, than the cry of a quadruped. He is very delicate, and cannot be transported from America to Europe, without the greatest precaution.

Distinctive Characters of this Species.

The pinch has neither pouches on the sides of his cheeks, nor callosities on his posteriors. His tail is flaccid, and as long again as his head and body together. The partition of the nostrils is thick, and the apertures are placed atthe side, and not under the nose. The face, throat, and ears are black. The hair on the head is white; the muzzle broad, and the face round. The hair on the body long, and of a reddish colour, until it approaches the tail, and then it becomes of an orange; it is white and shorter on the breast, belly, hands, and feet. The tail is of a bright red at its insertion, darker as it proceeds towards the middle, and entirely black at its extremity. He walks on four feet, and is not above nine inches long.

THE MICO.

WE are indebted for the knowledge of this animal (fig. 219.) to M. de la Condamine, and shall therefore give his account of it in his Voyage up the river Amazon. “The monkey, of which the governor of Para made me a present, was the only one of its kind that had been seen in the country. The hair on its body was of the most beautiful silvery white colour: and that on its tail was of a glossy chesnutapproaching to black. Its ears, cheeks, and muzzle, were tinctured with so bright a vermilion, as to have the appearance of being the work of art. I kept it a year, and it was alive at the time I was writing this account, almost within sight of the French coast; but, notwithstanding the continual precautions that I took to preserve it from the cold, yet the rigour of the season killed it before my arrival. I preserved it in aqua vitæ, which will prove my description is not exaggerated.” By this recital of M. de la Condamine, it is obvious that his description will apply to no other animal than the mico; and that it is a different, and probably, scarce species, since no author or traveller before him has made any mention of it, though it is remarkable for the bright red which animates its face, and for the beauty of its hair.

Distinctive Characters of this Species.

The mico has neither pouches on the side of his cheeks, nor callosities on his posteriors. He has a flaccid tail, which is about half as long again as the head and body. The partition of the nostrils is not so thick as in other sagoins, but their apertures are at their sides. His face andears are naked, and of a vermilion colour. The muzzle is short, the eyes are distant from each other; the ears are large; his hair is of a beautiful silver white colour, and of a glossy brown on the tail. He walks on all fours, and is about seven or eight inches long. The females are not subject to the periodical emanation.

ACCOUNT OF SOME ANIMALS NOT EXPRESSLY TREATED OF IN THIS WORK.

WE have now finished, to the utmost of our ability, the History of Quadrupeds, but in order to render it still more complete, we shall not pass over in silence those of which we have not been able to obtain an exact knowledge. They are but few, and of those few, many must be looked upon as varieties of those species we have before mentioned; yet feeling it as a duty to state all we knew, or could gain a knowledge of, in the animal kingdom, we determined to add the following, and in which we have been as particular as possible.

1. THE WHITE BEAR.

THIS is a noted animal in our most northern climates. Martin and some other travellers mention it, but none of them give a sufficient description of it to enable us positively to pronounce, whether it be a different species from the common bear. Supposing every thing they have written to be fact, then that must be the case: but as we know that the species of the bear varies greatly according to the difference of climate; that there are brown, black, white, and others variegated, the colour becomes a nugatory character in constituting different species; and, consequently, the denomination ofwhite bearis insufficient to prove the species different. I have seen two small bears that were brought from Russia entirely white; nevertheless, they were most certainly of the same species as our bears of the Alps. These animals also vary greatly with respect to size; as they live a long time, and become larger and fatter in those parts of the world where theyfind ample provision, and are not disturbed, the character drawn from the size is still more equivocal; therefore, we have not a sufficient foundation to assert, that the bear of the northern seas is a particular species, merely because it is white and larger than our common bear. The difference of habits does not seem to be more decisive than that of colour and size. The bear of the northern seas lives upon fish; he never quits the sea coasts, and even often inhabits the floating islands of ice. But if we consider that the bear in general is an animal which feeds indifferently on every thing, and that when pressed with hunger, he has no particular choice, and that he has not the least dread of water, these habits will not appear sufficiently different to conclude that the species is not the same. The fish which the bears of the northern seas feed upon, may rather be termed flesh, as it chiefly consists of the carcasses of whales, seals, &c. and that too in a climate which produces no other animals, nor even grain nor fruits; and where, consequently, the bear is under the necessity of subsisting on the productions of the sea. Is it not probable, therefore, if the bears of Savoy were transported to the mountains of Spitzbergen, not finding any nutriment onland, they would plunge into the sea to seek for subsistence?

Colour, size, and method of living, being therefore insufficient, there remains only those essential characters which may be derived from their figure. Now, all that travellers have said of the sea-bear is simply, that his head, body, and hair, are longer than in our bears, and his head much harder. If these differences be real and striking, they would suffice to constitute a different species: but I am doubtful whether Martin examined them with accuracy, and whether the others, who copied from him, have not exaggerated. “These white bears (says he) are shaped quite otherwise than those in our country; they have a long head like that of a dog, and the neck is also long; they bark almost like dogs that are hoarse; they are not so clumsy, and more nimble than our bears; they are nearly of the same size; their hair is long, and softer than wool. It is said, that common bears have a very tender head, but it is quite contrary with the white bear, for though we gave one several blows over the head, he was not in the least stunned, although they were sufficient to have knocked down an ox.[AB]” We may remark from this description, first, that the author does not speak of thesebears as being larger than ours, and that, consequently we ought to suspect the testimony of those who have affirmed, that the sea-bears were thirteen feet long. Secondly, that the hair being as soft as wool does not constitute a specific character, since an animal’s going frequently in the water is a sufficient cause for the hair becoming softer, and even more bushy, as is seen by the land and water beaver: those that live upon land, rather than in the water, having a rougher and thinner hair; and what makes me suspect that the other differences are not real, nor even so apparent as Martin speaks of, is that Dithmar Blefklein, in his description of Iceland, speaks of these white bears, and asserts having seen one of them killed in Greenland, which reared itself on his hind feet like other bears; but in this recital, he does not say a word which indicates that the white Greenland bear is not entirely like ours. Besides, when these animals find prey upon land, they do not seek for food in the sea: they devour rein-deer, and any other beast they can seize; they even attack men, and dig up dead bodies. But when almost famished, as they often find themselves in those desart and barren lands, they are obliged to frequent the water, in quest of seals, young walruses, and small whales.They get upon the islands of ice, where they wait for their prey; and as long as they find abundance of subsistence, they never quit their post; so that when the ice begins to float in spring, they suffer themselves to be carried away with it, and as they cannot regain the land, nor even quit the ice on which they are embarked for a long time, they frequently perish in the open sea. Those which arrive on the coasts of Norway or Iceland with these floats of ice, are so nearly famished, that they devour, with the greatest voracity, every thing they meet; and this may have occasioned the prejudice that these sea bears are more fierce and voracious than the common kind. Some authors have been persuaded that the sea-bears were amphibious, like the seals, and that they can remain as long as they please under water; but the contrary is evident, from the manner in which they are hunted. They can swim but a short time together, nor can they go above the space of a league: they are followed by a small boat, and are soon weary. If they could dispense with respiration they would plunge to the bottom, in order to rest themselves; but when they dive it is only for a short time, being obliged to rise to the surface of the water for fear of drowning, and then the hunters kill them.

[AB]Martin’s Voyage to Spitzbergen.

The common prey of these white bears is seals, but the walruses, from whom they sometimes take away their young, wound them with their tusks and oblige them to retreat. The whales also drive them from the places they frequent by their weight and magnitude, but they sometimes devour the young whales. All bears are naturally very fat, and the white bears, which feed only on animals loaded with grease, are much more so than the rest. Their fat is also nearly like that of the whale. The flesh of these bears is said not to be bad eating, and their skin makes a very warm and durable fur.

SUPPLEMENT

I HAVE since received a drawing of a White Bear[AC], from Mr. Collinson, and if that be perfect, the land and sea-bears are certainly distinct species, the difference in the length of their heads being sufficient to constitute them such. By this drawing it also appears that the feet of the sea-bear are formed like those of dogs, and other carnivorous animals, whereas thoseof the land-bear are shaped like the human hand. From the assertion of several travellers we also understand, that the former of these bears are much larger than the latter; Gerard de Veira says, that the skin of one which he killed measured twenty-three feet in length, which is three times the length of a common bear. In the collection of Voyages to the North it is stated that these bears are larger and more ferocious than those of our parts; but in the same work it is said, that although they are of a different shape, their heads and necks being much longer, and their bodies more slender, yet they are nearly of the same size with the others.

[AC]For which see vol. vi. page 270, of this Edition.

It is generally admitted by travellers that the heads of these sea-bears are so hard that a blow which would fell an ox does not stun them, and that their voice is more like the barking of a dog than that of a common bear. Robert Lade says, that he killed two sea-bears near the river Rupper of a prodigious size, which were so ferocious that they attacked the hunters, wounded two Englishmen, and killed several savages. It is mentioned in the third Dutch Voyage to the North, that a sea-bear was killed by the sailors on the coast of Nova Zembla, whose skin was thirteen feetlong. From all which I am inclined to believe that this animal, which has been so frequently distinguished for its ferocity, is a much larger species than the common bear.

2. THE TARTARIAN COW.

M. GMELIN, in the New Memoirs of the Academy at Petersburg, has given a description of this animal, which seems, at first sight, to be quite different from all those which we have spoken of under the article buffalo. “This cow (says he) which I saw alive, and of which I had a drawing made in Siberia, came from Calmuck. It was about the length of two Russian ells and a half; by this standard we may judge of its other dimensions, the proportion of which the designer has well executed. The body resembles that of a common cow: the horns bent inward; the hair on the body and head is black, except on the forehead and spine of the back, where it is white. The neck is covered with a mane, and the rest of the body with very long hair, which descendsto the knees, so that the legs appear very short; the back is raised in the form of a hunch; the tail resembles that of a horse, is white, and very bushy; the fore legs are black, the hind ones white, and resemble those of the ox; there are two tufts of long hair upon the hind feet, one before and the other behind, but on the fore-feet there is but one, which is placed on the hind part. The excrements are more solid than those of the common cow; and in discharging its water the animal bends its body backward. It does not low like an ox, but grunts like a hog. It is wild, and even ferocious, for, excepting the man who gives it food, it strikes with its head all those that come near it. It dislikes the company of domestic cows, and when it sees one of them it grunts, which it seldom does on any other occasion." To this description M. Gmelin adds, “that it is the same animal spoken of by Rubruquis in his Travels into Tartary: that there are two species of these animals in that country; the first calledsarluk, which is the same as he describes; the secondchainuk, which differs from the other in the largeness of the head and horns, and also by the tail, which resembles that of the horse towards itsinsertion, and terminates like that of a cow: but that they both have the same dispositions.”

There is but a single character in all this description which indicates that the Calmuck Cows are of a particular species, which is their grunting instead of lowing, for as to all the rest, they so strongly resemble the bisons, that I do not doubt they are of the same species, or rather the same race. Besides, though the author says that these cows do not low but grunt, yet he acknowledges they do that only very seldom; and this was, perhaps, a particular affection of the individual he saw, for Rubruquis, and others whom he quotes, do not speak of this grunting; perhaps the bisons, when they are irritated, have also an angry grunt; even our bulls, especially in the rutting season, have a hollow interrupted voice, which much more resembles grunting than lowing. I am, therefore, persuaded that this grunting cow (vacca grunnicus) of M. Gmelin is no other than a bison, and does not constitute a particular species.

3. THE TOLAI.

THIS animal, which is very common in the country which borders on the Lake Baikal, in Tartary, is a little larger than a rabbit, which it resembles in figure, colour of the hair, taste of the flesh, and in the habit of burrowing in the earth to conceal itself. Their internal structure is also the same, and they differ only in the tail, which is considerably longer than that of the rabbit; it, therefore, seems very probable that it does not really constitute a different species, but is only a variety in that of the rabbit. Rubruquis, speaking of the animals of Tartary, says, “There are rabbits with long tails, which have black and white hairs at the end. There are no stags, few hares, many gazelles, &c.” This passage seems to indicate that our short-tailed rabbit is not to be met with in Tartary, or rather that it has undergone some variations in that climate, and especially in the length of the tail; for as the tolai resembles the rabbit inevery other respect, I do not think it necessary to consider them as a distinct and separate species.

4. THE ZISEL.

SOME authors, and among the rest, Linnæus, have doubted, whether thezisel, orziesel(citillus) were a different animal from the hamster[AD](cricetus). It is true they resemble each other in many respects, and inhabit nearly the same country; but they differ by a sufficient number of characters to convince us they are really different species. The zisel is smaller than the hamster; its body is long and slender like the weasel; whereas that of the hamster is thick like the rat. It has no external ears, but only auditory passages concealed under the hair. The hamster has short ears, but they are very broad and apparent. The zisel is of a uniform cinereous grey colour, but the hamster is marked with three largewhite spots on each side of the breast. These differences, joined to that of their not mixing together, though natives of the same country, are sufficient to decide the fact of their being two different species, though they resemble each other in the shortness of their tails and legs, in their teeth, being like those of the rat, and have the same natural habits, such as burrowing in the earth, laying up magazines of provisions, destroying grain, &c. Besides, to leave no doubt on this subject, we shall observe, that Agricola, an exact and judicious author, in his little Treatise of Subterraneous Animals, gives a description of both, and so clearly distinguishes them, that it is impossible to confound them; therefore, we may certainly affirm that the hamster and the zisel are two different species; and, perhaps, as distinct from each other as the weasel and the rat.

[AD]Thehamsteris found in Misnia, Thuringia, and Hanover. Theziselis found in Hungary, Austria, and Poland, where it is calledsuset.

5. THE ZEMNI.

THERE is another animal in Poland and Russia, calledziemni, orzemni, which is of the same genus as thezisel, but larger, stronger,and more mischievous. It is somewhat smaller than the domestic cat. Its head is large, its body slender, and its ears short and round. It has four large incisive teeth which project out of the mouth, the two in the lower jaw being thrice as long as the two in the upper. The feet are very short, and covered with hair; they are divided into five toes, and armed with crooked claws. The hair is soft, short, and of a mouse colour. The tail moderately large. The eyes small and hidden like those of the mole. Rzaczynski has called this animal thesmall subterranean dog. This author seems to be the only one who has spoken of the zemni, though it is very common in some provinces of the North. Its natural disposition and habits are nearly the same as those of the hamster and zisel. It bites dangerously, eats greedily, and plunders orchards and gardens. It burrows an habitation in the earth, and lives upon grain, fruits, and pot-herbs, which it stores in magazines for its winter support.

6. THE POUCH.

THE same author, Rzaczynski, mentions another animal, called by the Russianspouch: it is larger than the domestic rat; its muzzle is long, it burrows, and commits depredations in the gardens, &c. There were such numbers near Suraz and Volhinia, that the inhabitants were obliged to abandon the culture of their gardens. This pouch is possibly the same as what Seba calls theNorwegian rat, of which he gives a figure and description.

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