OBSERVATIONS ON THE MARMOT., 125 



of two feet ; and by a still further foresight, perceiving an 

 aperture below the door of two or three inches, it had taken 

 the precaution, before heaping up the earth and plaster, to 

 fix against this space a piece of board, which it had detached 

 from a shelf. Our marmot had then untied a straw rope 

 which enveloped twenty bottles, with which it formed a bed 

 from eight to ten inches thick, in a corner of the cellar ; and 

 afterwards, to protect itself apparently from the annoyance 

 of the rats, the industrious animal had broken several bottles, 

 and formed, with the greatest regularity, a half circle of 

 the broken pieces of glass, before its bed. Unhappily, my 

 servant roused it too hastily, and in attempting to seize it, 

 inflicted on it a mortal wound, which thus deprived me of 

 the pleasure I should have had of studying, in this animal, 

 habits which result from an instinct in the marmot, more 

 perfect than its apparent stupidity seems to indicate/ ' 



Our correspondent adds : — This mention of the marmot re- 

 minds me of a singular spot I visited in the course of a tour 

 last summer amongst the Alps, which is a favourite resort 

 of these animals. During a stay at Chamounix, I made an 

 excursion, in company with some friends, to the " Jardin," 

 a spot situated at several leagues across the Mer de Glace. 

 The name is given to a patch of rocks which rise in the 

 midst of a wide plain of snow, forming a horse-shoe basin 

 of considerable extent, and inclosed on all sides but at one 

 opening, by a circle of the highest Alps. This spot is situated 

 at a height of about 9000 feet, and its chief interest arises 

 from its forming an insulated patch of verdure in the midst 

 of a region of sterility and snows, — an oasis of spring in 

 a desert of winter. While resting there, on a rich bed of 

 turf and flowers, we looked around in vain for any other 

 appearance of life or vegetation. The eye stretched across 

 this plain of snows to the gray craggy mountains which rose 

 around us ; or still further, through the opening of this am- 

 phitheatre, across the valley of the Mer de Glace, for several 

 leagues, to the smooth dome of snows of Mont Blanc. The 

 marmots burrow in these rocks in great numbers. They 

 come out in wet weather, and towards evening, and may fre- 

 quently be heard in their burrows, especially on the approach 

 of rain, making a shrill and peculiar whistle, by imitating 

 which, and remaining quiet on the ground, they may be at- 

 tracted from their holes. The weather was fine and dry when 

 we visited this spot, and we neither heard nor saw anything 

 of them ; and our guides predicted from this circumstance a 

 continuance of good weather. 



