158 EXCURSION TO ST. FE. 



The bizcacha* is well known to form a promi- 

 nent feature in the zoology of the Pampas. It is 

 found as far south as the Rio Negi'o, in lat. 41°, 

 but not beyond. It cannot, like the agouti, subsist 

 on the gravelly and desert plains of Patagonia, but 

 prefers a clayey or sandy soil, which produces a 

 different and more abundant vegetation. Near 

 Mendoza, at the foot of the Cordillera, it occurs 

 in close neighbourhood with the allied alpine spe- 

 cies. It is a very curious circumstance in its geo- 

 gi-aphical distribution, that it has never been seen, 

 fortunately for the inhabitants of Banda Oriental,, 

 to the eastward of the river Uruguay ; yet in this 

 province there are plains which appear admirably 

 adapted to its habits. The Uruguay has formed 

 an insuperable obstacle to its migration, although 

 the broader barrier of the Parana has been pass- 

 ed, and the bizcacha is common in Entre Rios, the 

 province between these two great rivers. Near 

 Buenos Ayres these animals are exceedingly com- 

 mon. Their most favourite resort appears to be 

 those parts of the plain which during one half of 

 the year are covered with giant thistles, to the ex- 

 clusion of other plants. The Gauchos affirm that 

 it lives on roots ; which, from the great strength of 

 its gnawing teeth, and the kind of places frequent- 

 ed by it, seems probable. In the evening the biz- 

 cachas come out in numbers, and quietly sit at the 

 mouths of their burrows on their haunches. At 

 such times they are very tame, and a man on horse-' 

 back passing by seems only to present an object 

 for their grave contemplation. They run very awk- 

 wardly, and when running out of danger, from their 



* The bizcacha (Lagostoinus trichodactylus) somewhat resem- 

 bles a large rabbit, but with bigger gnawing teeth and a long tail : 

 it has, however, only three toes behind, like the agouti. During 

 the last three or four years the skins of these animals have been 

 seat to England for the sake of the fur. 



