•8:34 



Gleanings in Natural Hiftorf. 



[Oa. 1, 



boards ; and had not perfons been fla- 

 fioned to watch tlie trap, he would have 

 efFe<5ted his efcape in the courfe of half or 

 three quarters of an hour, for be foon 

 rent the inner fronn the outer door, and 

 gnawed the pales through half their thick- 

 refs. Bofman was called to the fpot ; and, 

 to fecure the animal, he put the muzzle of 

 his gun, loaded with three balls, betwixt 

 the pales. The furious bead eagerly 

 catched at it with his mouth, and was 

 killed by its fingle difcharge. 



Cantrary to the received opinion, this 

 traveller found that the tiger is not much 

 afraid of fire : for in fpite of the great 

 fires that were kindled for the purpofe of 

 preventincr ihe approach of tlie above- 

 mentioned animal, he often came appa- 

 rently fearlcfs to the (lieep-folds, and de- 

 iroursd his prey unreftrained by the light. 



THE RACCOON. 



This animal is frequently hunted by 

 dogs in fome parts of North America. 

 And when it runs up a tree to fave itfelf, 

 which, if pofTible, it contrives to do, a 

 man generally climbs after it, and (hakes 

 it to the ground, vhcn the dogs kill it. 

 It is a very dcftru6\ive animal amorgft 

 poultry, creeping by nigh; into the houfcs 

 where they are kept, and fometimes de- 

 flroying at one cnfet a whole ftock. It is 

 eafiiy tamed, and may even be rendered 

 fo docile as to run about the fireets, like 

 adomeftic animal. But it is altogether 

 in-ipoffihle to break it of its mifchicvous 

 habit of thieving. Sugar and other fweet 

 meats mwft be carefully hidden from it, 

 for if the chefts or boxes containing 

 thef- be not conftantly fattened, it 

 opens them, and devours their contents 

 with great eagernefs. It is on this ac- 

 count chiefly that many perfons are in- 

 duced to forbear the diveifion which this 

 ape-ltke animal would otherwife afford 

 Xhem. 



The flefli of the raccooTi is eaten, and 

 is faid to be exceedingly well flavoured. 

 Their fKJns are ufed in the manufaflure of 

 hats, and the fur is faid to rank next to 

 that "of the beaver for excellence. The 

 inhabitants of America frequently wear 

 the tail round their necks in winter, 



Thefe animals, in their wild ftate, lodge 

 in the hollows of trees during the day, 

 mover going out except at night, unlefsthe 

 «)ay be cloudy, and unufually dark. Pro- 

 fefior Kaim was informed by feveral per- 

 sons Well acquainted with the manners of 

 tb.e raccoons, that in bad weather, efpeci- 

 ally during fnow, w Itofms, they will 



fometimes He in their holes for a week to- 

 gether without once making their appear- 

 ance abroad. In gardens they often do 

 much damage among the apples, chef- 

 nuts, plums, and grapes. When they 

 ohferve a hen fitting on her eggs, they aie 

 faid fiift to kill the bird, and then devour 

 the eggs. 



THE PORCUPINE. 



Thefe animals are found in plenty in the 

 woods of Ceylon ; and t!ie" Dutch fcttlers 

 frequently hunt thgm with dogs. Their 

 (harp quills, however, often fallen into 

 the bodies of dogs that rufli too eagerly 

 upon them, fo that it is by no means un- 

 common for them to lofe their lives in th« 

 purfuit. — 7hunbef^'s Travels, vol. iv. 

 p. Z33. 



THE STORK. 



In the winter feafon llorks are very 

 numerous in Seville. Almoft every tower 

 in the city is peopled with them, and they 

 return every year each to their proper 

 nefts. They dcftroy all the vermin to be 

 found on the tops of the houfes ; and from 

 this circumftance and their devouring a 

 great number of fnakes, which abound in 

 the neighbourhood, they are confidered 

 by the inhabitants as welcome guefts, and 

 are looked upon with peculiar veneration. 

 — Dilloji's Travels in Spaw, p. 308. 



THE NIGHTINGALE. 



This bird fpends its winter in Lower 

 Egypt. Scnnini law feveral in different 

 parts of the Delta, where they prefer the 

 clofeft covert, and places near the water. 

 Here they do not exert that melodioua 

 voice, nor thofe biilliant modulations 

 which make our European groves refound. 

 The only found they utter here is that 

 kind of hoarfe note, that rattling in tht 

 throat, which in Europe fucceeds their 

 iifual ftrains. They arrive in Egypt in 

 the autumn, and depart in fprlng. Thej 

 are, however, perhaps, more freely dif. 

 perfed through Syria, and fome other dii- 

 trifls of Alia, than Egypt. Sonnini, 

 however, obferves that they are fufiicientljr 

 common in the latter co\m\sy .—Sennini'' s 

 Travels in Egypt vol. ii. p. 51. 



THE COMMON SNIPE. 



The fields about Rofetta, which had 

 juft been ftripped of the crop of rice, were 

 filled with fnipes. They were lingularly 

 numerous. Thefe birds arrive in Egypt 

 in the beginning of November, and pafs 

 their whole winter there. — Sonnini, vol. i. 



p. 338. 



CTc be continued.) 



ORIGINAL 



