and partaking of different natures, they want those in stincts which animals formed but for one element alone are found to possess. They seem to be a kind of strangers in Nature-creatures taken from some other element, and capriciously thrown to find a precarious subsistence upon land.

THE PANGOLIN. The pangolin, which has been usually called the "scaly lizard," Mr. Buffon very judiciously restores to that denomination by which it is known in the countries where it is found. The calling it a lizard, he justly observes, might be apt to produce error, and occasion its being confounded with an animal which it resembles only in its general form and in its being covered with scales. The lizard may be considered as a reptile produced from an egg; the pangolin is a quadruped brought forth alive, and perfectly formed. The lizard is all over covered with the marks of scales; the pangolin has scales neither on the throat, the breast, nor the belly. The scales of the lizard seem stuck upon the body even closer than those of fishes; the scales of the pangolin are only fixed at one end, and capable of being erected, like those of the porcupine, at the will of the animal. The lizard is a defenceless creature; the pangolin can roll itself into a ball like the hedgehog, and presents the points of its scales to the enemy, which effectually defend it.

The pangolin, which is a native of the torrid climates of the ancient continent, is of all other animals the best protected from external injury by Nature. It is about three or four feet long-or, taking in the tail, from six to eight. Like the lizard, it has a small head, a very long nose, a short thick neck, a long body, legs very short, and a tail extremely long, thick at the insertion, and terminating in a point. It has no teeth, but is armed with five toes on each foot, with long white claws. But what it is chiefly distinguished by is its scaly covering, which in some measure hides all the proportions of its body. These scales defend the animal on all parts, except the under-part of the head and neck, under the shoulders, the breast, the belly, and the inner side of the legs-all which parts are covered with a smooth soft skin, without hair. Between the shells of this animal at all the interstices are seen hairs like bristles, brown at the extremity, and yellow towards the root. The scales of this extraordinary creature are of different sizes and different forms, and stuck upon the body somewhat like the leaves of an artichoke. The largest are found near the tail, which is covered with them like the rest of the body. These are above three inches broad and about two inches long, thick in the middle and sharp at the edges, and terminated in a roundish point. They are extremely hard, and their substance resembles that of horn. They are convex on the outside, and a little concave on the inner; one edge sticks in the skin, while the other laps over that immediately behind it. Those that cover the tail conform to the shape of that part, being of a dusky-brown colour, and so hard when the animal has acquired its full growth as to turn a musket-ball.

attempts to force it. They tread upon it, they roll it about, but all to no purpose; the pangolin remains safe within, whilst its invader almost always feels the reward of its rashness. The fox often destroys the hedgehog by pressing it with his weight, and thus obliges it to put forth its nose, which he instantly seizes, and soon after the whole body; but the scales of the pangolin effectually support it under any such weight, whilst nothing that the strongest animals are capable of doing can compel it to surrender. Man alone seems furnished with arms to conquer its obstinacy. The Negroes of Africa when they find it beat it to death with clubs, and consider its flesh as a very great delicacy.

But although this animal be so formidable in its appearance, there cannot be a more harmless, inoffensive creature when unmolested. It is even unqualified by Nature to injure larger animals, if it had the disposition, for it has no teeth. It would seem that the bony matter, which goes in other animals to supply the teeth, is exhausted in this in supplying the scales that go to the covering of its body. However this be, its life seems correspondent to its peculiar conformation. Incapable of been carnivorous, since it has no teeth, nor of subsisting on vegetables, which require much chewing, it lives entirely upon insects, for which Nature has fitted it in a very extraordinary manner. As it has a long nose, so it may naturally be supposed to have a long tongue; but, to increase its length still more, it is doubled in the mouth, so that when extended it is shot out to above a quarter of a yard beyond the tip of the nose. This tongue is round, extremely red, and covered with an unctuous and slimy liquor, which gives it a shining hue. When the pangolin, therefore, approaches an ant-hill-for these are the insects on which it chiefly feeds-it lies down near it, concealing as much as possible the place of its retreat, and stretching out its long tongue among the ants, keeps it for some time quite immoveable. These little animals, allured by its appearance and the unctuous substance with which it is smeared, instantly gather upon it in great numbers; and when the pangolin supposes a sufficiency, it quickly withdraws the tongue and swallows them at once. This peculiar manner of hunting for its prey is repeated either until it be satisfied, or till the ants, grown more cautious, will be allured to their destruction no longer. It is against these noxious insects, therefore, that its only force or cunning is exerted; and were the Negroes but sufficiently sensible of its utility in destroying one of the greatest pests to their country they would not be so eager to kill it. But it is the nature of savage men to pursue the immediate good, without being solicitous about the more distant benefit they lose. They therefore hunt this animal with the utmost avidity for its flesh; and as it is slow and unable to escape in an open place, they seldom fail of destroying it. However, it chiefly keeps in the most obscure parts of the forest, and digs itself a retreat in the clefts of rocks, where it brings forth its young, so that it is but rarely met with, and continues a solitary species, and an extraordinary instance of the varieties of Nature.

Of this animal there is a variety which is called the "phatagin," much less than the former, being not above a foot long from the head to the tail, with shells differently formed, with its belly, breast, and throat covered with hair, instead of a smooth skin, as in the former; but that by which it is peculiarly distinguished is the extent of its tail, which is above twice the length of its body. Both are found in the warm latitudes of the East, as well as in Africa; and, as their numbers are but few, it is to be supposed their fecundity is not great.

covered with shells. It would seem that Nature had reserved all the wonders of her power for these remote and thinly-inhabited countries, where the men are savage and the quadrupeds various. It would seem that she becomes more extraordinary in proportion as she retires from human inspection. But the real fact is, that wherever mankind are polished or thickly planted they soor rid the earth of these odd and half-formed productions, that in some measure encumber the soil. They soon disappear in a cultivated country, and continue to exist only in those remote deserts where they have no enemies but such as they are enabled to oppose. The armadillo is chiefly an inhabitant of South America-a peaceful, harmless creature, incapable of offending any other quadruped, and furnished with a peculiar covering for its own defence. The pangolin, described above, seems an inactive, helpless being, indebted for safety more to its patience than its power; but the armadillo is still more exposed and helpless. The pangolin is furnished with an armour that wounds while it resists, and it is never attacked with impunity; but the armadillo is obliged to submit to every insult without any power of repelling its enemy; it is attacked without danger, and is consequently liable to more various persecutions.

This animal being covered, like a tortoise, with a shell, or rather a number of shells, its other proportions are not easily discerned. It appears at first view a round mis-shapen mass, with a long head, and a very large tail sticking out at either end, as if not of a piece with the rest of the body. It is of different sizes, from one to three feet long, and covered with a shell divided into several pieces, which lap over each other like the plates in a coat of mail, or in the tail of a lobster. The differ ence in the size of this animal, and also the different disposition and number of its plates, have been considered as constituting so many species, each marked with its own particular name. In all, however, the animal is partially covered with this natural coat of mail, the conformation of which affords one of the most striking curiosities in natural history. This shell, which in every respect resembles a bony substance, covers the head, the neck, the back, the sides, the rump, and the tail to the very point. The only parts to which it does not extend are the throat, breast, and the belly, which are covered with a soft white skin, somewhat resembling the skin of a fowl when stripped of its feathers. If these naked parts be observed with attention, they will be found covered with the rudiments of shells of the same substance with those which cover the back. The skin, even in the parts that are softest, seems to have a tendency to ossify; but a complete ossification takes place only on those parts which have the least friction, and are the most exposed to the weather. The shell which covers the upper part of the body differs from that of the tortoise in being composed of more pieces than one, which lie in bands over the body, and, as in the tail of the lobster, slide over each other, and are connected by a yellow membrane in the same manner. By this means the animal has a motion in its back, and the armour gives way to its necessary inflections. These bands are of various numbers and sizes, and from these animals have been distinguished into various kinds. In general, however, there are two large pieces that cover the shoulders and the rump. In the back, between these, the bands are placed in different numbers, which wrap over each other and give play to the whole. Besides their opening crossways, they also open down along the back, so that the animal can move in any direction. In some there are but three of these bands between the large pieces; in others there are six; in a third there are eight; in a fourth kind, nine; in a fifth kind, twelve; and, lastly, in the sixth kind there is but one large piece, which covers the shoulders, and the rest of the body is covered with bands all down to the tail. These shells

are differently coloured in different kinds, but they are usually of a dirty grey. This colour arises from another peculiar circumstance in their conformation, for the shell itself is covered with a softish skin, which is smooth and transparent.

But although these shells might easily defend this animal from a feeble enemy, yet they could make but a slight resistance against a more powerful antagonist. Nature, therefore, has given the armadillo the same method of protecting itself with the hedgehog or the pangolin. The instant it finds itself attacked it withdraws the head under its shells, and lets nothing be seen but the tip of the nose; if the danger increases, the animal's precautions increase in proportion; it then tucks up its feet under its belly, unites its two extremities together, while the tail seems as a band to strengthen the connection; and it thus becomes like a ball, a little flattish on each side. In this position it continues obstinately fixed while the danger is near, and often when the danger is over. In this situation it is tossed about at the pleasure of every other quadruped, and but little resembles a creature endowed with life and motion. Whenever the Indians take it (which is in this form), by laying it close to the fire they soon oblige the poor animal to unfold itself, and to face a milder death to escape one more severe.

This animal is a native only of America, for they were utterly unknown before the discovery of that continent. It is an inoffensive, harmless creature, unless it finds the way into a garden, where it does a great deal of mischief by eating the melons, the potatoes, and other vegetables. Although a native of the warmest parts of America, yet it bears the cold of our climate without any inconvenience. We have often seen them shown among other wild beasts, which is a proof they are not difficult to be brought over. Their motion seems to be a swift walk, but they can neither run, leap, nor climb trees; so that, if found in an open place, they have no method of escaping from their pursuers. Their only resource in such an extremity is to make towards their hole as fast as they can; or, if this be impracticable, to make a new hole before the enemy arrives. For this they require but a very few moments' advantage; the mole itself does not burrow swifter than they can. For this purpose they are furnished with claws extremely large, strong, and crooked, and usually four upon each foot. They are sometimes caught by the tail as they are making their way into the earth; but such is their resistance, and so difficult is it to draw them backward, that they leave their tail in the hand of their pursuer, and are very well contented to save their lives with its loss. The pursuers, sensible of this, never drag the tail with all their force, but hold it while another digs the ground about them, and thus these animals are taken alive. The instant the armadillo perceives itself in the power of its enemies it has but one last resource to roll itself up, and thus patiently wait whatever tortures they think proper to inflict. The flesh of the smaller kinds is said to be delicate eating; so that we may suppose they receive no mercy. For this reason they are pursued with unceasing industry; and, although they burrow very deep in the earth, there have been many expedients used to force them out. The hunters sometimes contrive to fill the hole with smoke, which is often successful; they at other times force it by pouring in water. They also bring up a small kind of dog to the chase that quickly overtakes them, if at any distance from their burrow, and obliges them to roll themselves up in a ball, in which figure the hunters carry them home. If, however, the armadillo be near a precipice, it often escapes by rolling itself up, and then tumbling down from rock to rock without the least danger or inconvenience. They are sometimes taken in snares laid for them by the sides of rivers and low moist places, which they particularly frequent; and

this method in general succeeds better than any of the former, as their burrows are very deep, and they seldom stir out except in the night. At no time are they found at any great distance from their retreats, so that it requires some patience and skill to intercept them.

There are scarce any of these that do not root the ground like a hog, in search of such roots as make a principal part of their food. They also live upon melons and other succulent vegetables, and all will eat flesh when they can get it. They frequent water and watery places, where they feed upon worms, small fish, and water insects. It is pretended that there is a kind of friendship between them and the rattlesnake-that they live peaceably and commodiously together, and are frequently found in the same hole. This, however, may be a friendship of necessity to the armadillo; the rattlesnake takes possession of its retreat, which neither is willing to quit, while each is incapable of injuring the other.

As to the rest, these animals, though they all resemble each other in the general character of being clothed with a shell, yet differ a good deal in their size, and in the parts into which their shell is divided. The first of this kind, which has but three bands between the two large pieces that cover the back, is called the "tatu apara." I will not enter into an exact description of its figure, which, how well written soever, no imagination could exactly conceive; and the reader would be more fatigued to understand than I to write it. The tail is shorter in this than in any other kind, being not more than two inches long, while the shell, taking all the pieces together, is a foot long and eight inches broad. The second is the tatou" of Ray, or the "encoubert" of Buffon; this is distinguished from the rest by six bands across the back; it is about the size of a pig of a month old, with a small long head and a very long tail. The third is the "tatuette," furnished with eight bands, and not by a great deal so big as the former. lts tail is longer also, and its legs shorter in proportion. Its body, from the nose to the insertion of the tail, is about ten inches long, and the tail seven. The fourth is the "pig-headed armadillo," with nine bands. This is much larger than the former, being about two feet long from the nose to the tail. The fifth is the “kabassou,” or cataphractus," with twelve bands, and still bigger than the former, or any other of its kind. This is often found about three feet long but is never eaten as the rest are. The sixth is the "weasel-headed armadillo," with eighteen bands, with a large piece before, and nothing but bands backward. This is above a foot long, and the tail five inches. Of all these, the kabassou and the encoubert are the largest; the rest are of a much smaller kind. In the larger kinds the shell is much more solid than in the others, and the flesh is much harder and unfit for the table. These are generally seen to reside in dry upland grounds, while the small species are always found in moist places, and in the neighbourhood of brooks and rivers. They all roll themselves into a ball; but those whose bands are fewest in number are least capable of covering themselves up completely. The tatu apara, for instance, when rolled up presents two great interstices between its bands, by which it is very easily vulnerable even by the feeblest of quadrupeds.

CHAP. IV.

ANIMALS OF THE BAT KIND.

Having in the last chapter described a race of animals that unite the boundaries between quadrupeds and insects, I come in this to a very different class, that serve to fill up the chasm between quadrupeds and birds.

Some naturalists, indeed, have found animals of the bat kind so much partaking of the nature of both, that they have been at a loss in which rank to place them, and have doubted, in giving the history of the bat, whether it was a beast or a bird they were describing. These doubts, however, no longer exist; they are now universally made to take their place among quadrupeds, to which their bringing forth their young alive, their hair, their teeth, as well as the rest of their habitudes and conformation, evidently entitle them. Pliny, Gesner, and Aldrovandus, who placed them among birds, did not consider that they wanted every character of that order of animals, except the power of flying. Indeed, when this animal is seen, with an awkward and struggling motion, supporting itself in the air at the dusk of the evening, it presents in some measure the appearance of a bird; but naturalists, whose business it is to examine it more closely, to watch its habitudes, and inspect into its formation, are inexcusable for concurring in the mistake.

The bat in scarce any particular resembles the bird, except in its power of sustaining itself in the air. It brings forth its young alive-it suckles them-its mouth is furnished with teeth-its lungs are formed like those of quadrupeds-its intestines and its skeleton have a complete resemblance, and even are in some measure seen to resemble those of mankind.

The bat most common in England is about the size of a mouse, or nearly two inches and a half long. The membranes that are usually called wings are, properly speaking, an extension of the skin all round the body, except the head, which, when the animal flies, is kept stretched on every side by the four interior toes of the fore-feet, which are enormously long, and serve like masts that keep the canvas of a sail spread and regulate its motions. The first toe is quite loose, and serves as a heel when the bat walks, or as a hook when it would adhere to anything. The hind-feet are disengaged from the surrounding skin, and divided into five toes, somewhat resembling those of a mouse. The skin by which it flies is of a dusky colour. The body is covered with a short fur, of a mouse-colour tinged with red. The eyes are very small-the ears like those of a mouse.

This species of the bat is very common in England It makes its first appearance early in summer, and be gins its flight in the dusk of the evening. It principally frequents the sides of woods, glades, and shady walks; and is frequently observed to skim along the surface of pieces of water. It pursues gnats, moths, and nocturnal insects of every kind. It feeds upon these; but will not refuse meat wherever it can find it. Its flight is a laborious, irregular movement; and if it happens to be interrupted in its course it cannot readily prepare for a second elevation; so that if it strikes against any object and falls to the ground it is usually taken. It appears only in the most pleasant evenings, when its prey is generally abroad, and flies in pursuit with its mouth open. At other times it remains in its retreatsthe chink of a ruined building or the hollow of a tree. Thus this little animal, even the summer, sleeps the greatest part of its time, never venturing out by daylight, nor in rainy weather-never hunting in quest of prey, but for a small part of the night, and then returning to its hole. But its short life is still more abridged by continuing in a torpid state during the winter. At the approach of the cold season the bat pre pares for its state of lifeless inactivity, and seems rather to choose a place where it may continue safe from interruption than where it may be warmly or conveniently lodged. From this reason it is usually seen hanging by its hooked claws to the roofs of caves, regardless of the eternal damps that surround it. The bat seems the only animal that will venture to remain in these frightful subterranean abodes, where it continues in a torpid state, unaffected by every change of the weather. Such

of this kind as are not provident enough to procure themselves a deep retreat, where the cold and heat seldom vary, are sometimes exposed to great inconveniences, for the weather often becomes so mild in the midst of winter as to warm them prematurely into life, and to allure them from their holes in quest of food when Nature has not provided a supply. These, therefore, have seldom strength to return; but, having exhausted themselves in a vain pursuit after insects which are not to be found, are destroyed by the owl, or any other animal that follows such petty prey.

The bat couples and brings forth in summer, generally from two to five at a time: of this I am certain, that I have found five young ones in a hole together; but whether they were the issue of one parent I cannot tell. The female has but two nipples, and those forward on the breast, as in the human kind. This was a sufficient motive for Linnæus to give it the title of "primas," to rank it in the same order with mankind, and to push this contemptible animal among the chiefs of creation. Such arbitrary associations produce rather ridicule than instruction, and render even method contemptible; however, we are to forgive too strong an attachment to system in this able naturalist, since his application to the particular history of the animal counterbalances the defect.

From Linnæus, we learn that the female makes no nest for her young, as most birds and quadrupeds are known to do. She is content with the first hole she meets, where, sticking herself by her hooks against the sides of her apartment, she permits her young to hang at the nipple, and in this manner to continue for the first or second day. When after some time the dam begins to grow hungry, and finds a necessity of stirring abroad, she takes her little ones and sticks them to the wall in the manner she before hung herself; there they immoveably cling, and patiently wait till her return.

Thus far this animal seems closely allied to the quadruped race its similitudes to that of birds is less striking. As Nature has furnished birds with extremely strong pectoral muscles to move the wings and direct their flight, so has it also furnished this animal. As birds also have their legs weak and unfit for the purposes of motion, the bat has its legs fashioned in the same manner, and is never seen to walk (or more properly speaking, to push itself forward with its hind-legs) but in cases of extreme necessity. The toes of the forelegs, or, if we may use the expression, its extremely long fingers, extend the web like a membrane that lies between them; and this, which is extremely thin, serves to lift the little body into the air: in this manner, by unceasing percussion much swifter than that of birds, the animal continues and directs its flight; however, the great labour required in flying soon fatigues it; for, unlike birds, which continue for days together upon the wing, the bat is tired in less than an hour, and then returns to its hole, satisfied with its supply, to enjoy the darkness of its retreat.

If we consider the bat as it is seen in our own country, we shall find it a harmless, inoffensive creature. It is true that it now and then steals into a larder, and, like a mouse, commits its petty thefts upon the fattest parts of the bacon. But this seldom happens; the general tenor of its industry is employed in pursuing insects that are much more noxious to us than the bat can possibly be; while its evening flight and its unsteady, wabbling motion amuse the beholder, and add one figure more to the pleasing group of Animated Nature.

The varieties of this animal, especially in our country, are but few, and the difference scarce worth enumeration. Naturalists mention the long-eared bat, much less than that generally seen, and with much longer ears; the horse-shoe bat, with an odd protuberance round its upper lip, somewhat in the form of a horse

shoe; the rhinoceros bat, with a horn growing from the nose, somewhat similar to that animal from whence it has the name. These, with several others, whose varieties are too numerous and differences too minute for a detail, are all inoffensive, minute, and contemptible-incapable, from their size, of injuring mankind, and not sufficiently numerous much to incommode him. But there is a larger race of bats found in the East and West Indies that are truly formidable; each of these singly is a dangerous enemy, but when they unite in flocks they then become dreadful. Were the inhabitants of the African coasts, says Des Marchais, to eat animals of the bat kind as they do in the East Indies, they would never want a supply of provisions They are there in such numbers, that when they fly they obscure the setting sun. In the morning, at peep of day, they are seen sticking upon the tops of trees, and clinging to each other like bees when they iwarm, or like large clusters of cocoa. The Europeans often amuse themselves with shooting among this huge mass of living creatures, and observing their embarassment when wounded. They sometime enter the houses, and the Negroes are expert at killing them; but although these people seem for ever hungry, yet they regard the bat with horror, and will not eat it although ready to

starve.

Of foreign bats, the largest we have any certain accounts of is the rousette, or the " great bat of Mada gascar." This formidable creature is near four feet broad when the wings are extended, and a foot long from the tip of the nose to the insertion of the tail. It resembles our bat in the form of its wings, in its manner of flying, and in its internal conformation. It differs from it in its enormous size-in its colour, which is red, like that of a fox-in its head and nose also, which resemble those of that animal, and which have induced some to call it the flying fox; it differs also in the number of its teeth, and in having a claw on the fore-foot, which is wanting in ours. This formi dable creature is found only in the ancient continent, particularly in Madagascar, along the coasts of Africa and Malabar, where it is generally seen about the size of a large hen. When they repose, they stick themselves to the top of the tallest trees, and hang with their heads downward. But when they are in motion nothing can be more formidable; they are seen in clouds darkening the air, as well by day as by night, destroying the ripe fruits of the country, and sometimes settling upon animals, and man himself; they devour indiscriminately fruits, flesh, and insects, and drink the juice of the palm-tree; they are heard at night in the forests at more than two miles distance, with a horrible din; but at the approach of day they usually begin to retire. Nothing is safe from their depredations; they destroy fowls and domestic animals, unless preserved with the utmost care, and often fasten upon the inhabitants themselves, attack them in the face, and inflict terrible wounds. In short, as some have already observed, the ancients seem to have taken their ideas of harpies from these fierce and voracious creatures, as they both concur in many parts of the description, being equally deformed, greedy, uncleanly, and cruel. An animal not so formidable, but still more mischievous than these, is the American vampyre. This is still less mischievous than the former, but more deformed, and they are more numerous. It is furnished with a horn like the rhinoceros bat, and its ears are very long. The other kinds resort to the forest and the most deserted places; but these come into towns and cities, and after sun-set, when they begin to fly, cover the streets like a canopy. They are the common pest both of men and animals; they effectually destroy the one and often distress the other. "They are," says Ulloa, "the most expert blood-letters in the world. The inhabitants of those warm latitudes being obliged by the excessive

46

heats to leave open the doors and windows of the chambers where they sleep, the vampyres enter, and if they find any part of the body exposed they never fail to fasten upon it. There they continue to suck the blood; and it often happens that the person dies under the operation. They insinuate their tooth into a vein with all the art of a most experienced surgeon, continuing to exhaust the body until they are satiated. I have been assured," continues he, by persons of the strictest veracity, that such an accident has happened to them; and that, had they not providentially awaked their sleep would have been their passage into eternity, having lost so large a quantity of blood as hardly to find strength to bind up the orifice. The reason why the puncture is not felt is, besides the great precaution with which it is made, the gentle refreshing agitation of the bat's wings, which contribute to increase sleep and soften the pain." The purport of this account has been confirmed by various other travellers, who all agree that this bat is possessed of the faculty of drawing the blood from persons sleeping, and thus often destroying them before they awake. But still a very strong difficulty remains to be accounted for-the manner in which they inflict the wound. Ulloa, as has been seen, supposes that it is done by a single tooth; but this we know to be impossible, since the animal cannot infix one tooth without all the rest accompanying its motions-the teeth of the bat kind being pretty even and the mouth but small. Mr. Buffon therefore supposes the wound to be inflicted by the tongue; which, however, appears to me too large to inflict an unpainful wound, and even less qualified for that purpose than the teeth. Nor can the tongue, as Mr. Buffon seems to suppose, serve for the purpose of suction, since for this it must be hollow, like a syringe, which it is not found to be. I should therefore suppose that the animal is endowed with a strong power of suction; and that, without inflicting any wound whatsoever, by continuing to draw, it enlarges the pores of the skin in such a manner that the blood at length passes, and that more freely the longer the operation is continued; so that, at last, when the bat goes off, the blood continues to flow. In confirmation of this opinion, we are told that where beasts have a thick skin this animal cannot injure them; whereas in horses, mules, and asses they are very liable to be thus destroyed. As to the rest, these animals are considered as one of the great pests of South America, and often prevent the peopling of many parts of that continent-having destroyed at Barja, and several other places, such cattle as were brought there by the missionaries in order to form a settlement.

CHAP. V.

OF AMPHIBIOUS QUADRUPEDS.

The gradations of Nature from one class of beings to another are made by imperceptible deviations. As we saw in the foregoing chapters quadrupeds almost degraded into the insect tribe, or mounted among the inhabitants of the air, we are at present to observe their approach to fishes, to trace the degrees by which they become more unlike terrestrial animals, till the similitude of the fish prevails over that of the quadruped.

As in opposite armies the two bodies are distinct and separated from each other, while yet between them are various troops that plunder on both sides and are friends to neither, so between terrestrial and aquatic animals there are tribes that can scarce be referred to any rank, but lead an amphibious life between them. Sometimes in water, sometimes on land, they seem fitted for each element, and yet completely adapted to neither. Wanting the agility of quadrupeds upon land, and the perseverance of fishes in the deep, the variety of their powers

only seems to diminish their force; and, though pos sessed of two different methods of living, they are more inconveniently provided than such as have but one.

All quadrupeds of this kind, though covered with hair in the usual manner, are furnished with membranes between the toes, which assist their motion in the water. Their paws are broad and their legs short, by which they are more completely fitted for swimming; for, taking short strokes at a time, they make them oftener and with greater rapidity. Some, however, of these animals are more adapted to live in the water than others; but as their power increases to live in the deep, their unfitness for living upon land increases in the same proportion. Some, like the otter, resemble quadrupeds in everything except in being in some measure web-footed; others depart still further, in being, like the beaver, not only web-footed, but having the tail covered with scales like those of a fish. Others depart yet further, as the seal and the morse, by having the hind-feet stuck to the body like fins; and others, as the lamentin, almost entirely resemble fishes, by having no hind-feet whatsoever. Such are the gradations of the amphibious tribe. They all, however, get their living in the water, either by habit or conformation; they all continue a long time under water; they all consider that element as their proper abode; whenever pressed by danger they fly to the water for security; and, when upon land, appear watchful, timorous, and unwieldy.

THE OTTER.-In the first step of the progression from land to amphibious animals we find the otter, resembling those of the terrestrial kind in shape, hair, and internal conformation-resembling the aquatic tribes in its manner of living, and in having membranes between the toes to assist it in swimming. From the peculiarity of its feet, which are very short, it swims even faster than it runs, and can overtake fishes in their own element. The colour of this animal is brown, and it is somewhat of the shape of an overgrown weasel, being long, slender, and soft-skinned. However, if we examine its figure in detail, we shall find it unlike any other animal hitherto described, and of such a shape as words can but weakly convey. Its usual length is about two feet long from the tip of the nose to the insertion of the tail; the head and nose are broad and flat; the mouth bears some similitude to that of a fish; the neck is short, and equal in thickness to the head; the body long; the tail broad at the insertion, but tapering off to a point at the end; the eyes are very small, and placed nearer the nose than usual in quadrupeds. The legs are very short, but remarkably strong, broad, and muscular. The joints are articulated so loosely that the animal is capable of turning them quite back, and bringing them on a line with the body, so as to perform the office of fins. Each foot is furnished with five toes, connected by strong broad webs like those of water-fowl. Thus Nature in every part has had attention to the life of an animal whose food is fish, and whose haunts must necessarily be about water.

This voracious animal is never found but at the sides of lakes and rivers, particularly the former, for it is seldom fond of fishing in a running stream; the current of the water having more power upon it than the fishes it pursues, if it hunts against the stream it swims too slow, and if with the stream it overshoots its prey. However, when in rivers it is always observed to swim against the stream, and to meet the fishes it preys upon rather than to pursue them. In lakes it destroys much more than it devours, and is often known to spoil a pond in the space of a few nights. But the damage they do by destroying fish is not so great as their tearing in pieces the nets of the fishers, which they do whenever they get entangled. When they find themselves caught they go to work with their teeth, and in a few minutes destroy nets of considerable value.