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NATURE STUDY REVIEW 



[7:8— Nov., 1911 



chucks. But the particular family of rodents in which the 

 guinea-pig belongs, the cavy family, is one found wild in South 

 America alone. In that continent occur many sorts of wild 

 cavies which range in size from that of a mouse to that of a good- 

 sized dog. These wild cavies vary greatly in their habits and 

 habitats. Some kinds live in the mountains hidden among the 

 rocks by day and coming out in the twilight to feed upon tender 

 herbs and grass. Oth- 

 er kinds lead a sim- 

 ilar life in the 

 river valleys and 

 make sad havoc with 

 the farmer's crops. 

 One of the largest 

 kinds lives in the wa- 

 ter of the streams, 

 somewhat after the 

 manner of a hippo- 

 potamus. All t h e 

 cavies are strict vege- 

 tarians, and for the 

 most part inoffensive. 

 They depend upon 

 their agility to escape 

 enemies, as rabbits 

 do, and, like rabbits, 

 a band of cavies is 

 not weakened by the 

 occasional loss of a 

 member or two to a 

 beast of prey or to 

 man. The loss is 

 soon made up if the 

 food holds out, for 

 they multiply with 

 great rapidity. 



The Indians be- 

 fore America was 

 discovered, killed the 

 abundant wild cavies 

 for food, as their de- 

 scendants do at the present time, and in order to have a regular 

 supply on hand took to keeping in their cabins a certain kind a 



Fig'. 4 (Top) — Albino Angora Guinea-Pig. 

 Fig. 5 (Self-Colored Abyssinian Guinea-Pig. 

 Fig. 6 (Bottom) — Albino Peruvian Guinea-Pig. 



