156 



ZOOLOGY. 



utmost elegance of arrangement Some enclose their victim, 

 in addition, with tlnv;i<ls ol'the web, so as to afford them time 

 to pierce it with their venomous rl;iv 



Squirrel. 



The Archer of the Ganges, a fish living on insects, spirts 

 water on those he sees on aquatic herbs, and is said seldom 

 to miss his prey, even at the distance of several feet. 



Finally, to instinct must be ascribed most of the wiles prac- 

 tised by quadrupeds during the chase of their prey. 



323. To the same class of instincts must be referred tin- 

 cumulative or store-forming habits of certain animals. The 

 common squirrel furnishes us with an example of this pro- 

 pensity to lay up a store of provisions against a scarcity, to 

 be dreaded or expected in winter; but the propensity exists 

 where no change of season indicates the reasonableness of 

 such an event. The young commence laying up stores of 

 provision during summer in hollows of trees, which they 

 readily find in winter, even though concealed with snow. 

 The JLagomys pica, a Siberian rodent, not only lays up a 

 store for the winter, but he turns his grass into hay , exactly 

 as our farmers do it, before he stores it. Under each 

 magazine of hay, prepared in fine weather with the greatest 

 care and foresight, he digs a passage to his burrow, that 



