564 



Crocgurg of Batumi 



with long whiskers ; the colour of the head, 

 and the whole upper part of the body, is a 

 deep iron gray, bordering on black ; the 

 throat and belly are of a dirty white ; and 

 the feet and legs are of a dirty pale flesh- 



colour, almost destitute of hair. The ears 

 are rounded, long, and naked; the eyes large; 

 the feet plantigrade, with five toes on each ; 

 but the thumb on the anterior pair is con- 

 cealed within the skin, except the terminal 

 joint, with its claw. In its habits it re- 

 sembles the Brown Rat, both in respect to 

 its destructive propensities and its amazing 

 fecundity ; and in warmer climates, where 

 there is no winter to interrupt their breed- 

 ing, or to diminish their supply of food, the 

 multiplication of this species, as well as of 

 the Brown Rat, is enormous. Like most of 

 the genns, it can hold its food in the fore 

 paws whilst eating, and drinks by lapping. 

 The Rat is a cleanly animal ; and as it oc- 

 cupies the greater part of its time in cleaning 

 itself, its skin is ordinarily kept in excellent 

 order. 



The WATKR RAT, or WATER VOLE (Ar- 



vicola amphibia) belongs to another group of 

 Rodentia, but may be as well deseri! 



cribed 



here. This animal is found in most parts 

 of Europe ; frequenting the banks of rivers, 

 ditches, and ponds ; excavating its habita- 

 tions to a considerable distance, and breed- 

 ing in the burrows it has thus formed. It 



is not at all carnivorous, its food consist- 

 ing entirely of roots, subaquatic plants, and 

 other vegetable substances ; yet, from its 

 being confounded with the common Brown 

 Rat, it is by no means unusual to hear it 

 asserted that it destroys young ducks, small 

 fish, frogs, &c. It is an expert swimmer and 

 diver, instantly seeking the water upon every 

 alarm, and plunging at once to the bottom ; 

 where, however, it can remain only for about 

 a minute at a time without coining to the 

 surface for respiration. This animal is nearly 



as large as the Brown Rat, but has a larger 

 head, a nose more blunt, and smaller eyes : 

 its ears are very short, and almost hid in the 

 fur ; and the tip of its tail is whitish : the 

 cutting teeth are of a deep yellow colour in 

 front, very strong, and much resembling 

 those of the Beaver. Its head and back are 

 covered with long black hair, and its belly 

 with iron gray. Tail more than half the 

 length of the body, covered with hairs. Fur 

 thick and shining ; of a rich reddish brown, 

 mixed with gray above, yellowish gray be- 

 neath. The female produces a brood of five 

 or six young once (and sometimes twice) 

 a year. 



RATEL. (Ratellusmellivorus.) The name 

 given by the Hottentots to an animal of the 

 weasel-kind which inhabits the country near 

 the Cape of Good Hope, and is celebrated for 

 the destruction it makes among the nests of 

 the wild bee, to the honey of which it is 

 very partial, and in the discovery of these 

 nests it is said to be assisted by the actions 

 and voice of a bird, called the Honey-guide. 

 It has a blunt black nose ; no external ears, 



EL. (RiTELI.OS MELLIVOBT3 ri.) 



but a small rim round the orifice ; a rough 

 tongue ; short legs, and very long claws. 

 The colour of the forehead, crown, and whole 

 upper part of the body, is a cinereous gray ; 

 the cheeks, throat, breast, belly, and limbs 

 are black ; and a dusky line extends from 

 each ear to the tail along the sides, beneath 

 which there is another of gray. It has a 

 remarkably tough and loose skin, with thick 

 hair. Its length from the nose to the tail is 

 forty inches, and the tail is twelve. 



RATTLESNAKE. (Crotalus horridus.) 

 One of the most deadly of poisonous serpents, 

 sometimes found as thick as a man's leg, and 

 six feet in length ; but more usually from 

 four to five feet long. Till the discovery of 

 the Western Hemisphere the knowledge of 

 these Serpents was concealed from the rest 

 of the world, and naturalists then first be- 

 held with amazement a reptile of the most 

 fatal nature, furnished, as if by a peculiar 

 institution of Providence, with an instrument 

 capable, in general, of warning mankind of 

 their danger in too near an approach. There 

 are several species, two of which are well 

 distinguished, viz. the Crotalus horridus (or 

 Banded Rattlesnake) of the United States, 

 and the Crotalus durissus of Guiana. The 

 former is of a yellowish brown colour, marked 

 throughout its whole length with several 

 transverse and somewhat irregular fascine of 

 deep brown, and from the head to some dis- 

 tance down the neck run two or three longi- 

 tudinal stripes of the same colour : the head 

 is large, flat, and covered with small scales ; 

 the rest of the upper parts with moderately 



