Chap. 81.1 HAEES. 349 



rabbit f' it is extremely prolific, and produces famine in the 

 Balearic islands, by destroying the harv^ests. The young ones, 

 either when cut from out of the body of the mother, or taken 

 from the breast, without having the entrails removed, are con- 

 sidered a most delicate food ; they are then called laurices.^^ 

 It is a well-known fact, that the inhabitants of the Balearic 

 islands begged of the late Emperor Augustus the aid of a 

 number of soldiers, to prevent the too rapid increase of these 

 animals. The ferret^* is greatly esteemed for its skill in 

 catching them. It is thrown into the burrows, mth their 

 numerous outlets, which the rabbits form, and from which cir- 

 cumstance they derive their name,^ and as it drives them out, 

 they are taken above. Archelaus informs us, that in the hare, 

 the number of cavernous receptacles in the body for the excre- 

 ments always equals that of its years f^ but still the numbers 

 are sometimes found to differ. He says also, that the same in- 

 dividual possesses the characteristics of the two sexes, and that 

 it becomes pregnant just as well without the aid of the male. 

 It is a kind provision of Nature, in making animals which are 

 both harmless and good for food, thus prolific. The hare, which 

 is preyed upon by all other animals, is the only one, except 

 the dasj'pus,^'' which is capable of superfoetation ;^^ while the 

 mother is suckling one of her young, she has another in the 

 womb covered with hair, another without any covering at all, 

 and another which is just beginning to be formed. Attempts 



32 Or coney, " cuniculus." Hardouin makes some observations upon 

 the derivation of this term, to show that Pliny was mistaken in supposing 

 it to be of Spanish origin ; we have also an observation of Cuvier's to the 

 same effect. — B. 



33 "Laurices;" we have no explanation of this word in any of the 

 editions of Pliny. Its origin appears to be quite unknown. 



^ According to Cuvier, the Mustela furo of Linnaeus. Ajasson, nbi 

 mpra. — B. 



35 Because, as Yarro says, De Re Rus. B. iii. c. 12, they are in the habit 

 3f making burrows — cuniculos — in the earth. 



36 This reference to the opinion of Archelaus appears to be from Yarro, 

 %bi supra; the same reference is made by^lian, Hist. Anim. B. ii. c. 2. — B. 



3^ Respecting the dasypus of Pliny, it has been doubted whether it be a 

 I iistinct species, a variety of the hare, or merely a synonyme. — B. 



3s It is by some contended, that the human female, and perhaps some 

 )ther animals, have occasionally been the subjects of what is termed super- 

 ■oetation ; whereas, according to Pliny, in the hare and the dasypus it takes 

 Dlace frequently, but in no other animals. — B. On this subject, see B. vii. 

 ;. 9. 



