58 



Quadrupeds. 



rats, but unfortunately they often commit great havoc 

 among poultry. 



The mode in which the Ichneumon seizes a serpent is 

 thus described by Lucan in his Pharsalia : 



" Thus oft the Ichneumon, on the banks of Nile, 

 Invades the deadly aspic by a wile ; 

 While artfully his slender tail is played, 

 The serpent darts upon the dancing shade, 

 Then turning on the foe with swift surprise, 

 Full on the throat the nimble traitor flies, 

 And in his grasp the panting serpent dies." 



THE WEASEL. (Mustela vulgaris.) 



THE animals belonging to this genus, notwithstanding 

 their small size, are all carnivorous, and from their slen- 

 der and lengthened bodies, short legs, and the very free 

 motion in every direction, permitted by the loose articu- 

 lations of the spine, are well formed for pursuing their 

 prey into the deepest recesses. Constituted by nature 

 to subsist on animals, many of which have great strength 

 and courage, they possess an undaunted and ferocious 

 disposition. The Weasel has a long and thin body ; its 

 length, with its tail, is ten inches, and its height not 

 more than an inch and a half. In the northern parts of 



