Part 3
This beautiful little creature is of a bright brown colour, inclined to red; the breast and belly are white; the ears are ornamented with long tufts of hair; the eyes are large, black, and lively; the fore teeth strong and sharp; and the fore legs are curiously furnished with long stiff hairs, which project on each side like whiskers. When it eats, it sits upright, and uses its fore feet as hands to convey food to its mouth. It is equally admired for its neatness and elegance of form, as for its liveliness and activity. Its disposition is gentle and harmless. Though naturally wild, and very timid, it is easily taught to receive with freedom the most familiar caresses from the hand that feeds it. It usually lives in woods, and makes its nest of moss or dry leaves in the hollow of trees. It seldom descends upon the ground, but leaps from tree to tree with great agility. Its food consists of fruits, almonds, nuts, and acorns; of which it collects great stores for winter provision, and secures them carefully near its nest. In the summer it feeds on buds and young shoots, and is very fond of the cones or apples of the fur and pine trees. The tail of the Squirrel is its greatest ornament, and serves as a defence from the cold, being large enough to cover the whole body; it likewise assists it in leaping from one tree to another.
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THE DORMOUSE.
This animal is very much like the common mouse. Its colour is a tawny red, the throat white, the tail tufted. When it is thirsty it does not lap, but dips its fore feet, with the toes bent, into the water, and drinks from them. In the summer this curious little creature is very industrious, laying up its provision for the winter, which consists of nuts, beans, and acorns. As soon as the cold weather approaches, it rolls itself up into a ball, with its tail curled over its head between its ears, and continues in that state till the warm weather comes again.
[Illustration:
THE DORMOUSE. ]
Dormice build their nests either in the hollows of trees, or near the bottom of thick shrubs, and line them with moss, soft birchens, and dried leaves. Conscious of the length of time they have to pass in their solitary cells, they are very choice of the materials they make use of.
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THE RAT.
[Illustration:
THE RAT. ]
There are two kinds known in this country—the Black Rat, which was formerly universal, but is now very rarely seen, having been almost all destroyed by the large brown kind, generally distinguished by the name of the Norway Rat. This formidable invader is now found throughout the country, from whence every method has been tried in vain to expel it. It is about nine inches long; of a light brown colour, the throat and under part of a dirty white inclining to grey; its feet are naked, and of a pale flesh colour; and the tail is as long as the body. It is a very bold little animal, and when closely pursued, will turn and fasten on its assailant. Its bite is keen, and the wound it inflicts is painful, and difficult to heal, owing to the form of its teeth, which are long, sharp, and irregular. It is a very singular fact in the history of these animals, that the skins of such as have been devoured in their holes, (and they frequently feed upon each other,) have been found curiously turned inside out; every part being completely turned, even to the ends of the toes. How the operation is performed, it would be difficult to discover; but it appears to be effected by some peculiar mode of eating out the contents. Besides the numbers that perish in this unnatural way, they have many fierce and terrible enemies that take every opportunity to destroy them.
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THE WATER RAT.
[Illustration:
THE WATER RAT. ]
The Water Rat is somewhat smaller than the common brown Rat; its head and nose are thicker; its eyes are small; its ears short, scarcely appearing through the hair; its teeth are large, strong and yellow. In an old one, the lower front teeth measure somewhat more than half an inch in length. The hair on its head and body is thicker and longer than that of the common Rat, and chiefly of a dark brown colour, mixed with red; the belly is grey; the tail five inches long, covered with short black hairs, and the tip of the tail is white. The Water Rat generally frequents the sides of rivers, ponds, and ditches, where it burrows, and forms its nest. It feeds on frogs, small fish, and spawn; swims and dives remarkably fast; and can continue a long time under water.
The Musk Rat somewhat resembles the one just described. The eyes are large; the ears short, rounded, and covered both inside and outside with hair. Its fur is soft, glossy, and of a reddish-brown colour; and beneath this is a much finer fur or thick down, which is very useful in the manufacture of hats. The tail is flattened and covered with scales.
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THE MOUSE.
[Illustration:
THE MOUSE. ]
This little creature we all know, because it eats our cheese, and tries all the good things in the larder, we keep a cat to catch it: yet it is very pretty. It hides itself in the walls and under the floors; and in these places it sometimes lays up a considerable store of provision for future subsistence. Its food is various; and, as it is able to pass through a very small hole, there are few places secure from its approach. It seems a constant attendant on man, and is to be found only near his dwelling. Its sight and hearing are extremely acute: and as soon as it observes the least motion, or hears the slightest noise, it listens attentively, sitting erect on its hinder feet; and, if the alarm continues, it runs in haste to its retreat. But if it be gradually encouraged, and nourishment and security are offered, it will, by degrees, lose those fears. An instance is related of a Mouse that made its appearance every day at the table of its benefactor, and there waited until it had received its usual portion of food, which it devoured, and then ran away. Some few of this species are of a pure white colour; but whether they be a permanent kind, or only an accidental variety, cannot well be determined.
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THE MOLE.
[Illustration:
THE MOLE. ]
This animal is mostly found in grounds where the soil is loose and soft, and affords the greatest quantity of worms and insects, on which it feeds. Destined to seek its food under the surface of the earth, it is wonderfully adapted by the all-wise Author of Nature, to its peculiar mode of living. It enjoys the sense of hearing and smelling in a very eminent degree: but is almost void of sight. To an animal of such habits, a larger degree of sight would be attended with great inconvenience, as well as be liable to continual injuries. Its eyes are extremely small, and completely hid in the fur. The form of this creature’s body, and particularly the construction of its fore feet, are admirably adapted to the purpose of making its way in the earth, which it does with wonderful ease: these feet are quite naked, very broad, with large palms, almost like a hand: there are five toes on each, with strong nails at the end. The hind feet are very small, with five slender toes and a small thumb on the inside. Whenever surprised on the surface of the ground, the mole disappears in an instant.
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THE HEDGEHOG.
[Illustration:
THE HEDGEHOG. ]
The Hedgehog generally resides in small thickets and hedges; lives on fruits, worms, beetles, and all kinds of insects; it conceals itself in the day, and feeds only during the night. This animal is provided by nature with a prickly armour, which defends it from the attacks of all the smaller beasts of prey. When alarmed, it immediately collects itself into the form of a ball, and presents on all sides a surface covered with sharp points, which few animals are hardy enough to engage. The more it is harassed, the closer it rolls itself. There are few dogs that will venture to attack the Hedgehog. This little animal has been so far domesticated as to learn to turn a spit by means of a small wheel in which it is placed; it likewise answered to its name. In the winter, it wraps itself up in a warm nest, made of moss, dried grass, and leaves; and sleeps out the greater part of that season. It is frequently found so completely encircled with herbage that it resembles a ball of dried leaves.
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THE BAT.
This curious animal appears at first sight to be a bird, but it has nothing in common with them, but the power of raising itself into the air. The common species of this animal is about the size of a mouse, or nearly two inches and a half in length: the wings are in fact an extension of the skin all round the body; it is stretched on every side when the animal flies, by the four inner toes of the fore feet, which are very long.
[Illustration:
THE BAT. ]
The body of the Bat is covered with a short fur, of a mouse colour, tinged with red; the eyes are very small, and the ears like those of a mouse.
The Bat appears early in the summer, and begins its flight towards evening. It feeds upon gnats, moths, and almost all insects. This animal sleeps away the greater part of its time, never venturing abroad by day-light, nor yet in wet weather.
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THE GUINEA PIG.
[Illustration:
THE GUINEA PIG. ]
This curious little animal, which is sometimes called the Restless Cavy, is a native of Brazil, but many of them are kept in a domestic state in various countries. It is of the rabbit kind, and resembles that animal very much in its appearance and habits. It is not quite so large as the rabbit, and is marked with white, black, and orange colours. It has not got any tail, which makes it look very curious. It is a very neat animal, and spends much of its time in cleaning the fur of its companions. It never seems to form any attachment, and will suffer its young to be taken away and destroyed, without making any resistance. If any of their young ones chance to get dirtied the female takes such a dislike to them, that she will never let them come near her again.
Guinea Pigs will sometimes scratch and kick each other till they are covered with blood.
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THE OTTER.
[Illustration:
THE OTTER. ]
These animals are, in general, rather more than three feet long from the point of their nose to the tip of their tail. Their legs are very short, but they are strong and muscular. The colour of their body is mostly of a deep brown.
Otters live chiefly on the banks of rivers or brooks. They make the entrance to their burrows under water, and work upwards, forming several lodges, that they may have a retreat in case of high floods; they end by making a small hole for the purpose of admitting air, but they take care that this hole shall come out in the midst of some thick bush, so that they may not be discovered. They are easily tamed, and are kept by many fishermen, being found of great service. The fishermen send them into the water, and they will often drive the fish into their nets, and sometimes bring out the larger ones in their mouths.
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THE ICHNEUMON.
This curious little animal is a native of Egypt, Barbary, and the Cape of Good Hope. It is, in general, about the size of a common cat, but rather longer in its body, and shorter in its legs. Its colour is a pale reddish grey. It is sometimes streaked with a variety of colours, in the same manner as a domestic cat. While eating, it sits upright, and uses its fore feet like hands.
[Illustration:
THE ICHNEUMON. ]
This animal is the boldest and most useful of the weasel kind. It is of very great service in Egypt, and indeed is almost worshipped there, for it destroys a great quantity of the eggs of the crocodile, and will even attack the crocodile itself. Rats, mice, birds, serpents, and lizards become its prey; and it will even seize the most poisonous reptiles, and if bitten by them, it is said to be able to cure itself by the use of some herb. The Egyptians esteem it so much, that they keep it in their houses, as we do the cat.
THE END.
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● Transcriber’s Notes: ○ Missing or obscured punctuation was silently corrected. ○ Typographical errors were silently corrected. ○ Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation were made consistent only when a predominant form was found in this book. ○ Text that: was in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_).