t?10 NATURAL HISTORY. 



early period of life they are also, which might not In- 

 expected, exceedingly handsome ; for then the long, 

 and almost bare tail, which renders their figure very 

 disagreeable afterwards, is very short. They play 

 with all the innocence and sprigJitliness of young cats ; 

 they never bite, and might be easily reared, were it 

 not for their obnoxious smell. 



CHAP XV. 



OF THE PECCARY, OR MEXICAN HOG OF THE T1CR- 



NAT BAT THE SPECTRE THE FLYING SQUIRREL 



THE GREY SQUIRREL THE PALM SQUIRREL, 



AND THOSE OF BARBARY, &C. THE ANT- 

 EATERS THE SHORT AND LONG TAILED 



MANIS THE ARMADILLO THE SPOT- 

 TED CAVY THE OPPOSSUM THE 



MARMOSE THE CAYOPOLIN. 



THE PECCARY, OR MEXICAN HOG. 



AMONG the animals of the New World, we meet 

 with few species more numerous, or more remarkable, 

 than that of the peccary, or Mexican hog. At the 

 first glance this animal resembles our wild boar, or ra- 

 ther the hog of Siam, which, as we have already ob- 

 served, is, like our domestic hog, a variety of the wild 

 boar, or wild hog ; and for this reason it has been. cal- 

 led the boar or hog of America. The peccary, howe- 

 ver, is of a distinct species, and refuses to engender 

 either with the wild boar or the hog. It differs, how- 

 ever, from the hog, in "a "number of characteristics, 



