RODENTIA. 



153 



unfounded. The quills are prettily marked with 

 alternate rings of black and white. The upper parts 

 of the head and neck are furnished with a curved 

 crest of long stiff hairs. It is a quiet, harmless ani- 

 mal, burrowing by day, and feeding on roots, &c., 

 by night ; but displays a very low degree of intel- 

 ligence. There are several species allied to this, 



THE URSON (Hystrix Dorsata}. 



but less spinous, some from South America, with a 

 prehensile tail, one from North America, also a 

 climber, and one from India with a singular tuft at 

 the end of the tail. 



Lepus,* the Hare. 



This well-known genus is remarkable for having 

 two smaller incisors behind the principal ones in the 



* Its Latin name. 



H 5 



