THIS animal is a native of Canada, where it is called the Ondatra. It is about the size of a rabbit; its head is thick and short, resembling that of a water-rat; its hair is soft and glossy; beneath the outward hair there is a thick fine down, very useful in the manufacture of hats; it is of a redish brown colour; its breast and belly ash, tinged with red; its tail is long and flat, covered with scales; its eyes are large; its ears short and hairy; it has two strong cutting-teeth in each jaw,-those of the under jaw are about an inch long, but the upper ones are shorter.

In many respects, it very much resembles the beaver, both in form and manners. It is fond of the water, and swims well. At the approach of winter, several families associate together. They build little huts, about two feet in diameter, composed of herbs and rushes, cemented with clay, forming a dome-like covering; from these are several passages, in different directions, by which they go out in quest of roots and other food.-The hunters take them in spring, by opening their holes, and letting the light suddenly in upon them.-At that time their flesh is tolerably good, and is frequently eaten; but in the summer it acquires a scent of musk, so strong, as to render it perfectly unpalateable.

THE MUSCOVY MUSK-RAT,

Is about the size of the common rat; its nose is long and slender; it has no external ears, and its eyes are very small; the tail is compressed sideways, and its hind feet are webbed; it is of a dusky colour; the belly is of a light ash. It is a native of Lapland and Russia, frequents the banks of rivers, and feeds on small fishes. It is often devoured by pikes and other fish; to which it communi

cates so strong a flavour of musk, as renders them very unpleasant to the taste.

From its tail is extracted a kind of musk, very much resembling the genuine sort. Their skins are frequently laid amongst clothes to preserve them from moths.-In Lapland, it is called the desman.

THIS animal, remarkable for the singular construction of its legs, is found in Egypt, Barbary, and Palestine.-It is somewhat less than a rat; its eyes are large and full; the fore-legs are only one inch in length, and are used as hands to convey victuals to its mouth; the hind legs are naked, and very much resemble that of a bird, having only three toes on each, the middle one longest; its tail is much longer than its body, and terminated with a black tuft, the tip of which is white; its hair is long and soft, of a redish colour on the back; the under parts of the body are white: across the thighs there is a large black band, in the form of a crescent.

The motions of the Jerboa, are similar to those of the kanguroo. Its goes forward very nimbly on its hind feet, taking leaps of five and six feet from the ground. It is a lively, harmless animal, lives entirely on vegetables, and burrows in the ground like a rabbit. It is fond of warmth, making its nest of the finest and most delicate herbage; and seems sensible of the approach of bad weather by wrapping itself up close in hay, with its head between its thighs.-It sleeps during winter without nourishment.

THIS animal is larger than a mouse, with a coat of short, glossy, black hair. Its nose is long and pointed, resembling that of a hog, but much longer; its eyes are so small, as to be scarcely discernable; and it has no external ears. The body is thick and round, terminated by a very short tail; and its legs also are so extremely short, that the animal seems to lie flat upon its belly; the feet appearing as if they grew immediately out of the body. The fore legs are short and strong, furnished with five claws to each, and turned backward, as the hands of a man when swimming; the hind legs are longer and weaker, being only used to assist its motions, whereas the others are continually employed in digging.

Admirably fitted for a life of darkness and solitude, this animal has no appetites but what it can easily indulge, no enemies but what it can easily elude or conquer. When it has once buried itself in the earth, it seldom stirs out, unless disturbed by violent rains in summer, or when in pursuit of prey, it happens to come too near the surface, and thus gets into the open air. In general it chooses the looser softer grounds, beneath which it can travel with facility, and in which it finds the most ample supply of worms and insects.-The female usually produces about the beginning of May; and in order to form a retreat for the reception of her young, she begins by erecting the earth into a tolerably spacious apartment, supported at a proper distances by partitions, that prevent the roof from falling. She then procures grass and dry leaves, as a bed for her offspring, and carefully prepares several subterraneous paths, by which she may convey them, if necessary, beyond the reach of an invading enemy.

The varieties of this animal are but few; some, however, are seen in Poland which are perfectly white, and those of Virginia are of a black colour mixed with a deep purple.

AMPHIBIOUS quadrupeds, though covered with hair in the usual manner, are in general 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 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. They all, however, get their subsistence in the water, either by habit or conformation; and all consider that element as their proper abode; whenever pressed by danger, they retire to the water for security; and when upon land, appear watchful, timorous, and unweildy.

Of this species, the creature most to be dreaded is the crocodile. The tail of this animal is two-edged; the feet triangular, the fore ones having five, and the hinder only four toes. Within the mouth of this beast are two jaws of numerous sharp-pointed teeth, thirty or more on each side; its eyes are large and fiery, projecting out of the head, and secured with an osseous orbit, but immovable, so that they can only see as they walk straight forward. The upper part of the snout and forehead consists of one fixed bone, reaching to the ears, which are broad, surrounded with a little border, and growing near the joint of the upper jaw, where also the largest scales begin.

The armour with which the upper part of the body is coated, may be accounted among the most elaborate pieces of Nature's mechanism. In the full-grown animal

it is so strong as easily to repel a musket-ball; on the lower part, it is much thinner and more pliable. The whole animal appears as if covered with the most curious carved work. The colour of the full-grown crocodile is blackish-brown above, and yellowish-white beneath; the upper parts of the legs and sides are varied with deep yellow, and in some parts tinged with green.

The crocodile and alligator (the latter being so exactly like the former in its form and natural propensities, that we shall decline its history), have the largest mouths of almost any animals. It has been asserted by various writers, that both their jaws are moveable; a single glance, however, at their skeletons, will afford sufficient proof that the upper jaw is fixed, and that the motion is altogether confined to the under jaw. They are also generally believed to have no tongue; this again is an error, for the tongue in both species is even larger than that of the ox; but it is so connected with the sides of the lower jaw as to be incapable of being stretched far forwards, as in other animals.-In various parts of Asia and Africa, they exceed twenty feet in length; and chiefly haunt such large rivers as the Niger, Ganges, Nile, or near the seashore; they are exceedingly voracious, but capable of sustaining abstinence for many weeks together.

THE seal resembles a quadruped in some respects, and a fish in others. The head is round, the nose broad, the eyes large and sparkling, and the neck well proportioned, and of a moderate length; but the body is thickest where the neck is joined to it; from thence the animal tapers down to the tail, growing all the way smaller, like a fish. The whole body is covered with a thick shining hair,