and ^lalities of other Creatures, 1 47 



Pole-cat's bleffing confifls in hearing di- 

 rectly forward, deaf as an Adder (when he 

 is prowling) to prey or danger behind. I 

 offer this not as conjecture, but matter of 

 certainty, the animal's ears being con- 

 ftruCted for fuch Angularities, efpecially the 

 ** pafTage directing to xhQOspetrofujn, which, 

 " in an Owl's ear, is produced father out 

 *' above than below, for the greater and 

 ** better reception of found from below : 

 *' in a Fox, exadily the contrary, and calcu- 

 " lated to intercept the niceft noife from 

 ** above : in a Cat, far behind, to take the 

 ** forward found : but the ear of a Hare is 

 ** fupplied with a tube directed extremely 

 ** backward." As I already faid, fhe dreads 

 no danger fo much as what lies behind her, 

 therefore her ears are capable, by reafon of 

 fuch backward tubes, of receiving the 

 fmalleft found that happens from that quar- 

 ter. I could inflance notable differences in 

 the ears of other creatures, but it being fo- 

 reign to my purpofe, fhall proceed to another 

 well experienced deficiency of the poor Hare, 

 which is her want of light. 



L 2 Almofl 



