230 



of 



it has a taper tail. It inhabits, says Mr. 

 Pennant, the vast deserts of Saara, which 

 extend beyond Mount Atlas ; and burrows 



KCBIANOS.) 



in sandy ground, which shows the use of 

 valves to the ears. It is so exceedingly swift 

 that it is very rarely taken alive : feeds on 

 insects, especially locusts ; sits on its rump ; 

 is very vigilant, and barks like a dog, but 

 much shriller. A fine species of Fennec was 

 lately brought alive from S. Africa, and pre- 

 sented to the Zoological Society of London, 

 by Capt. Sir Edw. Belcher. There seem to 

 be two, if not three, species. 



The name of an order of Mam- 

 malia, to which the Cats, Dogs, Bears, &c. 

 belong. [See CAKMVOKA.] 



FERRET. (Musida furo.) This useful 

 but ferocious little animal, of the weasel 

 kind, is kept in a domesticated state in Eu- 

 rope, and is used for rabbit-hunting, as well 

 as for destroying rats. In its general form 

 it resembles the Polecat, but is rather small- 

 er ; its usual length being about thirteen 

 inches, exclusive of the tail, which is about 



no.) 



five. It has a very sharp nose, red and fiery 

 eyes, and round ears. Its colour is a pale 

 yellow, but it also occasionally partakes of 

 all the colours common to the weasel kind, 

 white, black, brown, &c. In the slendcrness 

 of its body and the shortness of its legs it 

 also resembles the weasel. In its wild state 

 it is a native of Africa, whence it was ori- 

 ginally imported into Spain, and from Spain 

 gradually introduced into other European 

 countries. The cold of our winters is, in 

 fact, too severe for it, so that it becomes ne- 

 cessary to keep it in a warm box, with wool 

 or some other substance in which it may 

 imbed itself. In this state it sleeps almost 

 continually ; and when awake, immediately 

 begins to search about for food : that which 



it is usually given Is bread and milk, but its 

 favourite food is the blood of smaller ani- 

 mals. It is by nature an enemy to the rab- 

 bit ; and Button affirms, that whenever a 

 dead rabbit is presented for the first time to 

 a young Ferret, he flies upon it in an instant, 

 and bites it with great fury ; but if it be 

 alive, he seizes it by the throat and sucks its 

 blood. When sent into the burrows of rab- 

 bits, the Ferret is always muzzled, that he 

 may not kill the rabbits in their holes, but 

 only drive them out to be caught in the nets 

 prepared for them. If the Ferret become 

 unmuzzled he is often lost ; for after sucking 

 the blood of his victim, he generally falls 

 asleep in the burrow, from whence he emerges 

 only when by the calls of hunger he goes 

 forth in pursuit of fresh prey ; and there, in 

 the midst of abundance, he continues to 

 lead a rapacious life, till the severity of the 

 weather proves fatal to him. 



The Ferret, as we have before said, in its 

 nature -is ferocious ; it is tame without at- | 

 tachment ; and such is its appetite for blood, | 

 that it lias been known to attack and even i 

 kill children in their cradles. It is of an 

 irascible nature, and when irritated, the 

 odour it emits is very disagreeable, and its 

 bite not easily cured. The female has two 

 broods in the year, each consisting of from | 

 six to nine. She not unfrequently devours 

 her young as soon as they are born ; in which ! 

 case she usually has another brood very soon. | 



FIBER. A genus of glirine Mammalia, 

 close to the Beaver, the only known species 

 of which is the N. American Ondruta, or 

 Castor zibethicus, L. [See BEAVEI;.] 



FILANDER. The name given by Brun 

 to the E. India Island Kangaroo, Haitiiaturus 

 Asiaticus. 



FINFOOTS. The name applied to two 

 grallatorial birds, allied to the Coots, and 

 closely connected with the web-footed order. 

 One of these, Jldiornis Surinamensis, is a 

 native of S. America ; while the other, 

 Podica Se.neyalcnsis, or African Finfoot, is, as 

 the name implies, a native of W. Africa. 



FILARIA. A genus of Entozoa, having 

 a long, slender, and thread-like body, re- 

 sembling that of the Gordii among the An- 

 nelidae, but with mere marks on the body 

 instead of the rings. These parasitic animals 

 are imbedded in the parenchyma of the cel- 

 lular tissues, between the coats of the viscera, 

 &c., often existing in numerous bundles, 

 contained in a common cyst or tunic. They 

 are not confined to the larger animals, but 

 are found in insects and their larvae, and 

 even in various Mollusca. Of these the most I 

 common, or at all events the most dreaded 

 by man, is the Filar la Medinensis, or Guinea | 

 Worm, a most troublesome animal in hot 

 climates, where it insinuates itself under the 

 skin, generally of the leg, and sometimes 

 causes the most excruciating pain. At the 

 seventh anniversary of the Microscopical 

 Society of London, held Feb. 10. 1847, a 

 paper was read, entitled "Observations on 

 the Structure and Nature of the Filaria Me- 

 dinensis, or Guinea Worm," by G. Busk, 

 Esq. The author, before entering upon the 



