368 



ANIMALS OF 



this they imitate the epicures of Europe very 

 exactly, whose taste seldom relishes a dish till 

 the nose gives the strongest marks of disappro- 

 bation, ^s to the rest, this animal a good 

 deal resembles the beaver in its habits and dis- 

 position ; but, as its instincts are less powerful, 

 and its economy less exact, I will reserve for 

 the description of that animal a part of what 

 may be applicable to this. 



THE CRICETUS. 



THE Cricetus, or German Rat, which Mr. 

 Buffon calls the hamster, greatly resembles the 

 water rat in its size, small eyes, and the short- 

 ness of its tail. It differs in colour, being 

 rather browner, like the Norway rat, with the 

 belly and legs of a dirty yellow. But the 

 marks by which it may be distinguished from 

 all others are two pouches, like those of a 

 baboon, on each side of its jaw, under the skin, 

 into which it can cram a large quantity of 

 provision. These bags are oblong, and of 

 the size, when filled, of a large walnut. They 

 open into the mouth, and fall back along the 

 neck to the shoulder. Into these the animal 

 can thrust the surplus of those fruits or grains 

 it gathers in the fields, such as wheat, peas, or 

 acorns. When the immediate calls of hunger 

 are satisfied, it then falls to filling these ; and 

 thus loaded with two great bunches on each 

 side of the jaw, it returns home to its hole to 

 deposite the spoil as a store for the winter. 

 The size, the fecundity, and the voraciousness 

 of this animal, render it one of the greatest 

 pests in the countries where it is found, and 

 every method is made use of to destroy it. 



But although this animal is very noxious 

 with respect to man, yet, considered with re- 

 gard to those instincts which conduce to its 



' own support and convenience, it deserves our 

 admiration. 3 Its hole offers a very curious 

 object for contemplation, and shows a degree 

 of skill superior to the rest of the rat kind. It 

 consists of a variety of apartments, fitted up 

 for the different occasions of the little inhabit- 



, ant. It is generally made on an inclining 

 ground, and always has two entrances, one 

 perpendicular, and the other oblique ; though, 

 if there be more than one in a family, there 



Buffon, vol. xxvi. p. 159. 



are as many perpendicular holes as there are 

 individuals below. The perpendicular hole is 

 usually that through which they go in and out: 

 the oblique serves to give a thorough air to keep 

 the retreat clean, and, in case one hole is 

 stopped, to give an exit at this. Within about 

 a foot of the perpendicular hole, the animal 

 makes two more, where are deposited the 

 family's provisions. These are much more 

 spacious than the former, and are large in pro- 

 portion to the quantity of the store. Beside 

 these, there is still another apartment, warmly 

 lined with grass and straw, where the female 

 brings forth her young ; all these communicate 

 with each other, and all together take up a 

 space of ten or twelve feet in diameter. These 

 animals furnish their store-houses with dry 

 corn, well cleaned ; they also lay in corn in 

 the ear, and beans and peas in the pod. 

 These, when occasion requires, they afterwards 

 separate, carrying out the pods and empty ears 

 by their oblique passage. They usually begin 

 to lay in at the latter end of August; and, as 

 each magazine is filled, they carefully cover 

 up the mouth with earth, and that so neatly, 

 that it is no easy matter to discover where the 

 earth has been removed. The only means of 

 finding out their retreats are, therefore, to ob- 

 serve the oblique entrance, which generally 

 has a small quantity of earth before it ; and 

 this, though often several yards from their per- 

 pendicular retreat, leads those that are skilled 

 in the search to make the discovery. Many 

 German peasants are known to make a liveli- 

 hood by finding out and bringing off their 

 hoards, which, in a fruitful season, often 

 furnish two bushels of good grain in each 

 apartment. 



Like most others of the rat kind, they pro- 

 duce twice or thrice a year, and bring five or 

 six at a time. Some years they appear in 

 alarming numbers, at other times they are not 

 so plentiful. The moist seasbns assist their 

 propagation ; and it often happens on such 

 years that their devastations produce a famine 

 all over the country. Happily, however, for 

 mankind, these, like the rest of their kind, de- 

 stroy each other; and of two that Mr. Buffon 

 kept in a cage, male and female, the latter kill- 

 ed and devoured the former. As to the rest, 

 their fur is considered as very valuable ; the 

 natives are invited by rewards to destroy 

 them ; and the weasel kind seconds the wishes 



