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jtature. 301 



reddish, and on each side the body are three 

 white spots, those on the shoulders being 

 the largest : the ears are rather large, and 

 rounded. On the hind feet are five toes, and 

 on the fore feet are four, with a claw in 

 place of a fifth. They sometimes vary in 

 colour ; and the male is invariably larger 

 than the female. The quantity of grain 

 which they consume is very great ; and 

 what they cannot devour, they carry off in 

 their cheek-pouches, and deposit in their 

 holes for their winter subsistence. Their 

 dwellings are formed under the earth, and 

 consist of more or fewer apartments, ac- 

 cording to the age of the animal : a young 

 Hamster makes them hardly a foot deep ; 

 an old one sinks them to the depth of four 

 or five feet, and the whole diameter of the 

 residence, taking in all its habitations, is 

 sometimes eight or ten feet. The principal 

 chamber is lined with dried grass, and serves 

 for a lodging : the others are vaults destined 

 for the preservation of provisions, of which 

 he amasses a great quantity during the au- 

 tumn. Each hole has two apertures ; the 

 one descending obliquely, and the other per- 

 pendicularly, and it is through the latter 

 that the animal makes its ingress and egress. 

 The holes of the females, who never reside 

 with the males, have more numerous pas- 

 sages. The female breeds two or three times 

 a year, producing from six to ten, and some- 

 times more : the growth of the young is 

 very rapid, and at about the age of three 

 weeks the old one forces them out of the 

 burrows to shift for themselves. 



The Hamster is carnivorous as well as 

 granivorous, for though it feeds on all kinds 

 of herbs as well as corn, it occasionally at- 

 tacks and devours the smaller kinds of ani- 

 mals. On the approach of winter the Ham- 

 ster retires into his subtenanean abode, the 

 entry of which he closes with great care ; 

 and thus remaining tranquil and secure, 

 feeds on his collected store till the frost be- 

 comes severe : he then falls into a profound 

 slumber, and in that dormant state con- 

 tinues rolled up, apparently lifeless, his limbs 

 inflexible and his body perfectly cold. This 

 lethargy of the Hamster has been generally 

 ascribed to the effect of cold alone : but more 

 recent observations have proved, that unless 

 at a certain depth beneath the surface, so as 

 to be beyond the access of the external air, 

 the animal does not fall into its torpid state, 

 and that the severest cold on the surface does 

 not affect it. On the contrary, when dug 

 put of its burrow and exposed to the air, it 

 infallibly wakes in a few hours. The waking 

 of the Hamster is a gradual operation: he 

 first loses the rigidity of his limbs, then makes 

 deep inspirations, at long intervals ; after 

 this he begins to move his limbs, open his 

 mouth, and utters an unpleasant rattling 

 sound : he at length opens his eyes, and 

 endeavours to rise, but reels about for some 

 time, as if in a state of intoxication, till at 

 length he perfectly recovers his usual powers. 

 When exposed to a cold air he is sometimes 

 two hours in waking ; but in a warmer air 

 the transition is effected in half the time. 

 The character which naturalists have given 

 of these animals is very unfavourable. They 



constantly reject all society with one another, 

 and they will not only destroy every animal 

 which they are capable of conquering but 

 will fight, kill, and devour their own species: 

 yet, fierce as they are, they quail before their 

 deadly enemy the polecat, which chases 

 them into their holes, and unrelentingly 

 destroys them. The fur of the Hamster is 

 said to be valuable ; and the peasant who 

 ' goes a hamster nesting ' in the winter, ob- 

 tains not only the skin of the animal, but 

 his hoard, which is said commonly to amount 

 to two bushels of good grain in each maga- 

 zine. Buffon says, that in Gotha, where 

 these animals were proscribed on account of 

 their vast devastations among the corn, 

 146,132 of their skins were delivered at the 

 Hotel de Ville of the capital in the course 

 of three years. 



HARE. (Lepus.~) A well-known genus 

 of Rodent mammalia, containing several 

 species. We shall first describe 



The COMMOX HARE (Lepw timidus\ which 

 possesses all the characters of the genus Lepus 

 in such a degree as to form its most perfect 

 type. Its hearing and sight are most acute ; 

 its timidity is unequalled ; and its swiftness 

 is surpassed by none. The general length of 

 the Hare is about two feet; the colour a sub- 

 ferruginous gray, with the cliin and belly 

 white : the throat and breast ferruginous, and 



COMMON HARE. (LEPU3 T1MIDUS,) 



the tips of the ears blackish: the tail is black- 

 ish above, and white below : the feet are co- 

 vered beneath as well as above with fur ; the 

 upper lip is divided; the eyes are large, pro- 

 minent, and placed laterally ; and they are 

 said to be constantly open even during sleep: 

 the hinder legs are much longer than the fore 

 legs ; the feet are hairy ; and the tail is 

 short and turned up. Its favourite residence 

 is in rich and somewhat dry and flat grounds, 

 and it is rarely discovered in very hilly or 

 mountainous situations. It feeds principally 

 by night, and remains concealed during the 

 day in its form, beneath some bush or slight 

 shelter. To this spot it constantly returns, 

 and becomes so attached to it, that it is with 

 difficulty compelled to abandon it : in 

 choosing its place of rest, however, it is 

 governed by the seasons, and while a cool 

 and shady spot is its resort in summer, it 

 selects for its winter lair a situation where it 

 can best receive the genial warmth of the 

 sun. 



The Hare is a very prolific animal, gene- 

 rally producing three or four young at a 

 time, and breeding several times in a year. 

 The eyes of the young are open at birth : 

 the dam suckles them about twenty days, 

 after which they leave her, and procure their 



