514 Mr. Rennie on the Contrivances 



hence, as is usual in such cases, it has been exaggerated by 

 the fancies of inaccurate observers. ' Their wit and under- 

 standing,' says Gesner, * is to be admired ; for, like beavers, 

 one of them falleth on the back, and the residue load his belly 

 with the carriage, and when they have laid upon him sufficient, 

 he girteth it fast by taking his tail in his mouth, and so the 

 residue draw him into the cave ;' but I cannot,' he well 

 adds, * affirm certainly, whether this be truth or falsehood ; for 

 there is no reason that leadeth thereunto, but that some of 

 them have been found bald on the back*.' I should not have 

 alluded to this evident fable here, were it not that it is still 

 met with in recent scientific publications, gravely stated as an 

 ascertained fact ; and M. Beauplan goes so far as to imagine 

 that he has seen a party trailing one of their loaded com- 

 panions by the tail, taking care not to overset him f . This 

 feat, however, seems to be outdone by the legend lately given 

 as authentic of the marmot's skill in haymaking. ' They bite 

 off the grass,' it is said, ' turn it, and dry it in the sun J ;' 

 stories too absurd for the almost indiscriminating credulity of 

 either Linnaeus or Buflfon, both of whom reject them. 



But even several animals which do not become torpid, and 

 provide no hay-lined cell as a snug retreat from the cold, con- 

 trive to prevent the dissipation of their animal heat by retreat- 

 ing under the snow itself, taking advantage of the covering 

 furnished by Providence for the protection of vegetables. The 

 latter is beautifully illustrated, as it appears to me, by what 

 occurs in the cultivation of Alpine plants in our gardens, many 

 of which, such as auriculas, some saxifrages, &c., are not 

 unfrequently destroyed or rendered unhealthy by our winters, 

 whilst they flourish amidst their native snow ; wholly, it is 

 probable, because, in the Alps, where they are growing wild, 

 they are throughout the winter covered with a complete coat- 

 ing of snow, which, from not being a rapid conductor of heat, 

 is instrumental in the earth's not parting quickly with its 

 warmth, in the same manner as woollen garments prevent the 

 escape of heat from the body ; this protects them through the 



* Hist. Animals, by Toplis, p. 407. 



t Descript. Ukraine. 

 I London and Medical Gazette for 1828, and Mag. of Nat. Hist, i.377, 



