180 



THE AGOUTI. 



various colors by the American Indians, and are then used in the 

 decoration of their hunting-pouches, moccasins, and other articles, 

 and after the quills are extracted the remainder of the fur is 

 sufficiently soft to be used for clothing. The flesh of the Urson is 

 considered eatable, and is said to bear some resemblance to flabby 

 pork. 



The leno-th of the Urson is not quite four feet, the head and body 

 measuring rather more than three feet, and the tail about nine inches. 

 The teeth are of a bright orange. 



The Agouti is a native of Brazil, Paraguay, Guiana, and other 

 neighboring countries, but its numbers have been considerably thinned 



in many spots where cul- 

 tivation has been indus- 

 triously carried on. In 

 some of the Antilles, 

 where it formerly swarm- 

 ed, it is now nearly ex- 

 tirpated, and in St. Do- 

 mingo is but rarely seen. 

 All its movements are 

 sharp, quick, and active, 

 and even while sitting 

 upright and engaged in 

 fe(^ling itself by the as- 

 The Agouti (Da^yproda Agouti). sistance of its fore-paws, 



its head is being continually turned from side to side, and its bright 

 eyes glance in every direction in order to guard against a surprise. 

 As it is a nocturnal animal, and spends the whole of the day in 

 its dark hiding-place, its ravages take place under cover of night, 

 and are the more difficult to be repelled. Its usual resting-place is in 

 the cleft of a rock, or in the hollow of some decaying tree, Avhere 

 twenty or thirty of these animals may be found living amicably to- 

 gether. 



In these dark recesses the young Agoutis are born, and are laid upon 

 a soft bed of leaves, where they remain for a few weeks, and then sally 

 out with their parents on their nocturnal expeditions. There are gen- 

 erally two broods in each year, and the number of young at a birth is 

 from three to six. 



The name Dasyproda, which has been given to the genus, refers to 

 the thick hair which falls over the hind-quarters, and nearly conceals 

 the little pointed stump of a tail. The hair of this part of the body 

 is a bright golden brown, but on the back and sides the fur has a curi- 

 ous speckled aspect, on account of the black, brown, and yellow tints 

 with whicb each hair is marked. On the greater part of the body the 



