OKDEU X. THE KOBENTIA. 



321 



of the most elevated niountain.s, siieli as tlie Alps, and near the mnrgin of the 

 rciiion ot" perpetual snow. The ehief loud of these is no doubt tlic iiard 

 Alpine grasses, and other plants whirh are found in regions of so scanty 

 vegetation ; and tiieso arc found oid}' for a part of the year, not more than 

 half of it in the more elevated haunts of the animals. Hut in their haliits the^ 

 arc as seasonal as the places where they reside ; for, when the cold weather 

 sets in, they descend into the ilepths of their burrows, and thci'c remain in a 

 (hirmant or iiiljernating state during (he whole of the inclement season. 

 Thus their ^-ears of activity arc reduced to half years, ami during these they 

 are very slow in their motions, and at no time is there such action in their 

 s\steni as to occasion that waste and necessity for food which take place in 

 more active animals. Accordingly, barren as their pastures comi)aratively 

 are, tlicy get very fat towards autumn, and are covered with lard like little 

 jiigs, or perhaps rather stored with grease like bears, when they retire to their 

 winter domiciles. Their hybcrnatiim, which is not, e\ en in the greatest depth 

 of its (j^iiietude, a total cessation of all the animal t'unctions, is gradual at its 

 commencement, and the recovery from it is also gradual. Owing to these 

 circumstances, the iiit is wholly a!)sorbed by the time the animals are able 

 to come aljroad ; and in the brief space of their short year they have to 

 recover their strength, rear their broods, and again become fat, preparatory 

 to a new hibernation. 



At ;dl seasons they are ground animals, and spend the whole of their time, 

 except what is taken up in feeding, in their Ijurrows, which the}- dig with 

 great case and rapidity, and to a considerable depth, always sloping down- 

 wards, so tiiat the dwelling may lie beyond the reach of the intense cold of 

 the winter, and yet so contrived as to be in no danger of filling with water 

 during the rains or the melting of the snow. 



Some of them are animals of considerable size, not less tlian the common 

 wild rabbit. But though easily taken, as their i)rogressi\e motion is slow, 

 and it is not very difficult to dig them out of their burrows,' they arc of little 

 value to mankind as game. 



In countries where rlmbarb plants arc found, the marmots are said usually 

 to fix their residence near them ; and, if ten or twenty of those plants arc 

 growing adjacent to each other, several burrows arc always found imme- 

 diately under the shade of the leaves. Every animal has its own favorite 

 vegetable. 



But the marmots find a more congenial home on the vast prairies which 

 stretch away towards the setting sun, west of the ^lississippi. The mild 

 climate and soft, loamy soil seem to be adapted to their nature and peculiar 

 habits, and here they organize their societies and construct their villages. 

 Tliese are very numerous, and variable in extent ; in some places covering 



NO. IX. 41 



