the lesser owl takes by force the nest of some other bird I 

 number of eggs : the other owls build near the place where 

 they chiefly prey : a single owl more serviceable than six 

 cats, in ridding a barn of mice : an army of mice devoured 

 at Hallontide by a number of strange painted owls : are shy 

 of man, extremely untractable, and difficult to tame : the 

 white owl in captivity refuses all nourishment, and dies of 

 hunger: account of M. Buffon to this purpose, iv. 113, &c. 



Ox, on the fertile plains of India it grows to a size four times 

 as large as the same kind bred in the Alps, ii. 94. One in 

 England sixteen hands high, its growth depends on the rich- 

 ness of pasture, 233. 



Oysters, a horse known to be fond of oysters, ii. 165. Sur- 

 prising manner in which monkeys manage an oyster, iii. 311. 

 Bivalved shell-fish are self-impregnated : the particulars in 

 which they differ from the muscle : growing even amidst 

 branches of the forest : have no other seeming food than 

 the afflux of sea-water : they are deposited in beds where 

 the tide comes in, at Colchester, and other places of the 

 kingdom : these said to be better tasted : amazing size of 

 oysters along the coast of Coromandel, v. 236. The pearl 

 oyster has a large whitish shell, the internal coat of which 

 is the mother-of-pearl, 243. 



Paca, improperly called American rabbit, an animal of South 

 America ; its cry, and manner of eating ; is most like the 

 agouti, yet differs in several particulars ; its description ; 

 places where generally found ; its flesh considered a deli- 

 cacy, and eaten, skin and all, like a young pig ; is seldom 

 taken alive, defending itself to the last extremity ; perse- 

 cuted not only by man but by every beast and bird of 

 prey ; breeds in such numbers the diminution is not per- 

 ceptible, iii. 165. 



Pachomac (deserts), where the formidable bird condor is 

 chiefly seen, men seldom venture to travel, hissing serpents, 

 and prowling panthers, being the scattered inhabitants, iv. 

 87. 



Pacific Sea, the winds never change in it, i. 291. 



Pacos, a kind of camel in South America ; its wool very va- 

 luable, iii. 382. 



Paddock-moon, the silence of frogs in dry weather may serve 

 to explain an opinion, that there is a month in the year so 

 called, in which they never croak, v. 267. 



Pain, nothing but repeated experience shows how seldom pain 

 can be suffered to the utmost, ii. 71. 



