14 LAKES AND RIVERS. 



visited my new acquaintance. When under water he 

 looks gray, on account of the pearly cluster of minute 

 air-bubbles that adhere to his fur and bespangle him 

 all over. He swims very rapidly, and though he 

 appears to dart, his very nimble wriggle is clearly dis- 

 cernible." 



As an example of the order Carnivora we give 

 the Otter (Lutra vulgaris\ the most important of 

 our aquatic mammalia. It is allied to the weasels,, 

 among which JLinnaeus classed it. It is found from 

 3! to 4 feet in length, and varies in colour according 

 to age and locality, from grayish-brown to chocolate 

 on the back, while the under parts of the neck and 

 breast are grayish or brownish white. The head is. 

 very wide and flat, the muzzle short, broad, and round, 

 with a thick upper lip and a flat nose ; the neck is very 

 thick, almost as much so as the thorax. The body is 

 very much elongated and flexible, having almost a 

 snake-like movement ; its feet have five sharp prehen- 

 sile claws, which are webbed somewhat like those of a 

 seal ; the tail is long, thick, and muscular, and is most 

 important in the economy of the animal, as facilitating 

 its steering and swimming, for it. acts both as a rudder 

 and as a scull, a peculiarity connecting it with the 

 Fishes, although its tail is not nearly of the importance 

 that a fish's tail is. It would be possible for an otter 

 to live without its tail, not so a fish. The teeth of 

 the Otter are very powerful, which any one finds to his 

 cost who has the misfortune to be bitten by the animal ; 

 they seize with the ferocity and tenacity of a ferret, 

 but from their much greater size with vastly more 

 power. The fur of the Otter is extremely serviceable. 



