316 APPENDICES. 



ably fond of rice and plumb-pudding; they could eat partridges 

 and fresh venison very freely, but I never tried them with fish, 

 though I have heard they will at times prey on them. In fact 

 there are few of the graminivorous that may not be brought to be 

 carnivorous. It is well known that our domestic poultry will eat 

 animal food ; thousands of geese that come to London market 

 are fattened on tallow scraps ; and our horses in Hudson's Bay 

 would not only eat all kinds of animal food, but also drink freely 

 of the wash or pot liquor intended for the hogs. And we are as- 

 sured by the most authentic author, that in Iceland, not only black 

 cattle, but also the sheep, are almost entirely fed on fish and fish- 

 bones during the winter season. Even in the Isles of Orkney, 

 and that in summer, the sheep attend the ebbing of the tide as 

 regular as the Esquimaux curlew, and go down to the shore which 

 the tide has left to feed on the sea- weed. This however is through 

 necessity ; for even the famous Island of Pomona will not afford 

 them an existence above high water mark. 



With respect to the inferior or slave beaver, of which some 

 authors speak, it is in my opinion very difficult for those who 

 are best acquainted with the economy of this animal, whether there 

 are any that deserve that appellation. It sometimes happens 

 that a beaver is caught which has but a very indifferent coat, and 

 which has broad patches on the back and shoulders, almost 

 wholly without hair. This is the only foundation for asserting 

 that there is an inferior or slave beaver among them. And when 

 one of the above description is taken, it is perhaps too hastily 

 inferred, that the hair is worn off from these parts by carrying 

 heavy loads ; whereas it is most probable that it is caused by a 

 disorder that attacks them somewhat similar to the mange, for 

 were that falling off of the hair occasioned by performing extra 

 labor, it is natural to think that instances of it would be more 

 Trequent than there are ; as it is rare to see one of them in the 

 course of seven or ten years. I have seen a whole house of these 

 animals that had nothing on the surface of their bodies but the 

 fine soft down, all the long hairs having molted off. This and 

 every other deviation from the general run is undoubtedly owing 

 to some particular disorder. 



