148 CLASS MAMMALIA. 



heaps, and transport them by degrees into their burrows, after 

 having left them some time in the open air to dry. Like 

 the Loir and the Marmot, they are in a lethargic state during 

 the winter. They remain in their retreat all day, and sally 

 forth by night to seek their provision, which consists prin- 

 cipally in herbs or succulent plants, in roots, fruits, small 

 birds, and insects. They also devour each other, and always 

 begin by eating the eyes and brain. In the deserts situated 

 to the west of Tartary they feed on the bulbs of tulips, which 

 are there very abundant, and of various other plants, such as 

 the Chenopodium, the Atriplex, the Salsola, and the Salicor- 

 nus. Beyond the lake Baikal, they find bulbs of the Lilium 

 Pomponium. In warm climates the females produce many 

 times a year, and the number of their little ones should be 

 considerable, as their teats are eight in number. They dig 

 their burrows with sagacity and surprising activity, scraping 

 away the earth with their fore-paws, and plucking out with 

 their teeth all the roots in their way. They take but a few 

 minutes to make an excavation of two or three inches. Their 

 dwellings are about half an ell deep, Russian measure. 

 The burrow extends obliquely into the earth, and there 

 are many openings above which cut it perpendicularly. 

 These may, with probability, be deemed a kind of breathing 

 holes. 



The least degree of cold reduces the Alactagas to their 

 lethargic state, and what is more remarkable, a great degree 

 of heat will produce on them a similar effect. They foresee 

 the cold and rainy seasons, and close their burrows with 

 most astonishing punctuality. In the seasons which are dry, 

 but yet cloudy, they come forth from their retreats in the 

 day-time. 



The swiftness of these animals, especially when pursued, 

 is almost incredible. It is so great, that they scarcely seem 

 to touch the earth, and according to the report of Pallas, 

 they cannot be overtaken, even on horseback. Their tail 



