l68 TRAVELS IN UPPER 



" examined, he never saw a single variation as to 

 " the number of toes. But what has led Messrs. 

 *' BufFon and Sonnini into an error, is the faulty 

 " description given by Gmelin, who never saw any 

 <( but a single individual, probably disfigured, and 

 " which presented to him only three toes and a 

 " spur, or four toes*. He is likewise mistaken with 

 " respect to the manners of thisanimal, in ascribing 

 li to it those of the lepus ogotona ; an error which 

 " has been since copied by the younger Gmelin. 

 " Messer-Chmidt, who had left a good description 

 " of this animal, does not pretend to say that it had 

 t( only four toes-]-. It must be admitted then that 

 " this species is entirely distinct from the follow-' 

 " ing, which has only three toes on the hinder foot. 



M The gerbo, of which M. BufFon has given us 

 <f a very good description, after M. AllamandJ, and 

 *' which M. Pallas calls mus sagitta\\, and M. Pen- 

 " nant Egyptius gerboa\, is found in Asia, between 

 u the Tanai's and the Volga, where M. Pallas fre- 

 " quently saw it, and in the sandy hills to the south 

 " of the Irtis, as well as in the schistes of the Olta- 

 *' ique mountains. In general, it inhabits countries 

 " more meridional, and digs its hole in sandy and 

 " soft ground, not inhabited by the jalma. It is 



* Pallas, book already quoted, p. 282. f Id. p. 282. 



% Button, Supplem. vol. vi. p. 292. (| Pallas, above, p. 306, 



§ Hist, of Quadr. p. 427. 



« well 



