177 



by a kind of canopy that throws off the rain, thougli 

 never so heavy. The nest thus formed with a very 

 little opening above, is nevertheless, very commodious 

 and roomy below : soft, well knit together, and every 

 way convenient and warm. In this retreat the little 

 animal brings forth its young, shelters itself from the 

 heat of the sun, which it seems to fear, and from the 

 storms and inclemency of the winter, which it is still 

 less capable of supporting. Its provision of nuts; 

 and acorns is seldom in its nest, but in the hollosvs of 

 the tree, laid up carefully together, and never touched 

 but in cases of necessity. Thus one single tree serves 

 for a retreat and a store-house, and without leaving 

 it during the winter, the squirrel possesses all those 

 enjoyments that its nature is capable of receiving. 



The Marmot is almost as big as a hare, but is more 

 corpulent than a cat, and has shorter legs. Its head 

 pretty nearly resembles that of a hare, except that its 

 ears are much shorter. It is clothed all orer with 

 very longhair, and a shorter fur below. These are of 

 different colours, black and grey. 



The length of the hair gives the body the appear- 

 ance of greater corpulence than it really has, and at 

 the same time shortens the feet so that its belly seems 

 to touch the ground. Its tail is tufted and well fur* 

 nishcd with hair, and it is carried in a straight direction 

 with its body, it has five claws' behind, and only 

 four before. These it uses as the squirrel does, to 

 carry its food to its month, and it usually sits upon 

 its hinder parts, to feed in the manner of that little 

 animal. It is readily taught to dance, to wield a cud. 

 gel, and to obey the voice of its master. Like the 

 cat, it has an antipathy to the dog, and when it be- 

 comes familiar to the family, and is sure of being sup- 

 ported by his master, it attacks and bites even the 

 largest mastiff. From its squat muscular make, it has 

 great strength joined to great agility. However, it is 

 in general a very inoffensive animal ; and, except 

 its enmity to dog3 ; seems to live in friendship with 

 i 5 



