NATURAL HISTORY. 279 



under a necessity of voiding its excrements, it drops 

 them near the threshold of its prison, and, when the 

 door is opened, it is sure to push them out. 



THE RACOON. 



THE Racoon is an animal of about the same size 

 as a small badger. Its body is short and bulky. Its 

 fur is fine, long, thick, blackish at the surface, and 

 grey towards the bottom. Its head is like that of the 

 fox, but its ears are round and shorter. Its eyes are 

 large, of a yellowish green, and over them there is a 

 black and transverse stripe. Its snout is sharp. Its 

 tail is thick, but tapering towards a point, and marked 

 alternately from one end to the other with black and 

 white rings, and is at least as long as the body. Its 

 fore legs are much shorter than the hind ones, and 

 both are armed with five strong, sharp claws. 



This animal uses its paws to hold its food while 

 eating ; and its pointed claws enable it to climb trees 

 with great dexterity. It runs up the trunk with the 

 same swiftness that it moves over the plain, and fro- 

 lics about to the extremity of the branches with great 



