RAT KIND. 189 



They open into the mouth, and fall back along 

 the neck to the shoulder. Into these the animal 

 can thrust the surplus of those fruits or grains it 

 gathers in the fields, such as wheat, peas, or 

 acorns. When the immediate calls of hunger are 

 satisfied, it then falls to filling these ; and thus, 

 loaded with two great bunches on each side of 

 the jaw, it returns home to its hole to deposit the 

 spoil as a store for the winter. The size, the 

 fecundity, and the voraciousness of this animal, 

 render it one of the greatest pests in the countries 

 where it is found, and every method is made use 

 of to destroy it. 



But although this animal is very noxious with 

 respect to man, yet, considered with regard to 

 those instincts which conduce to its own support 

 and convenience, it deserves our admiration.* 

 Its hole offers a very curious object for contem- 

 plation, and shows a degree of skill superior to 

 the rest of the rat kind. It consists of a variety 

 of apartments fitted up for the different occasions 

 of the little inhabitant. It is generally made on 

 an inclining ground, and always has two entran- 

 ces, one perpendicular, and the other oblique ; 

 though, if there be more than one in a family, 

 there are as many perpendicular holes as there 

 are individuals below. The perpendicular hole 

 is usually that through which they go in and 

 out ; the oblique serves to give a thorough air to 

 keep the retreat clean, and, in case one hole is 

 stopped, to give an exit at this. Within about a 



* Buffon, vol. xxvi. p. 159. 



