337 



measured sixteen feet in length. It was brought to Port- 

 Louis, and after being left exposed for some time to the 

 inspection of the curious, was cut up and sold in the market. 

 It is said to be no bad substitute for beef. 



" The Musk-shrew {Sorex cceruleus) probably found its way 

 to these islands by the ships trading with India. This is the 

 animal so much dreaded by our wine-bibbers in the East, 

 who assert that if one of them happens to run over a bin of 

 wine, the whole becomes instantly tainted, its odour being of 

 so penetrating a nature as to make its way through the pores 

 of the glass. This story, which appears to be swallowed 

 with less reluctance than the musked wine, remains, however, 

 still to be verified ; the accounts being so various and so con- 

 tradictory that nothing conclusive is known respecting the 

 manner in which the contamination is effected. After 

 many inquiries on this subject, I never met with any person 

 who would positively maintain that he had known an instance 

 of wine bottled in Europe being tainted by the musk-rat. 

 Should this prove true, it would be conclusive of the question, 

 and remove the blame from the rats to the cork-venders, 

 who toss their bags into corners, where they lie exposed to 

 the nocturnal visits of these stinking vermin. 



" The Tandrec [Erinaceus Madagascarensis) is considerably 

 larger than the common Hedgehog, to which it bears a close 

 resemblance in its figure. Its fur is of a light-brown colour, 

 and is mixed with rigid bristles, of which those on the 

 shoulders and back of the neck only are spinous. These 

 animals feed on insects and fruit, and are seen everywhere 

 in the wood, either solitary or in small flocks. Their sphere 

 of vision seems to be particularly limited. 



" The Hare abounds in both islands, and furnishes the 

 most usual article of game for the table. The islanders 

 supply themselves, with little trouble, by sending a few dogs 

 into the cover to chase out the hares, while the sportsman 

 watches near their usual track, and shoots them as they run 

 past. In the eyes of our English sportsmen, this manner of 

 treating poor puss seemed little short of sacrilege; so, with 

 a view to introduce a more genei'ous system of warfare, they 



VOL. II. z 



