ORDER CARNASSIER. 253 



disturbed at the sight of a brush, which particular, relative 

 to a specimen kept and described by Linnseus himself, is, 

 by some mistake, applied byBuffon to the Coati Mondi, 

 and is quoted in a note belonging to the history of that ani- 

 mal, in his work on quadrupeds. 



The Racoons produce from two to three young at a birth, 

 generally in the month of May. Their fur is used by hat- 

 ters, and is considered as next in merit for this purpose to 

 that of the Beaver. 



The next subdivision of our author embraces the Coatis, 

 the first species of which is the Red Coati ( Viverra Nasua.) 

 M. F. Cuvier complains of the poverty of the French 

 language in describing the multifarious colours which dis- 

 tinguish the animal tribes. This reproach, we apprehend, 

 is applicable to all languages, and to our own in a much 

 greater degree than to the French. Whatever advantages 

 the English language may possess, it certainly must resign 

 the palm here ; for it possesses neither delicacy nor variety 

 of terms for the discrimination of colours. But the truth 

 is, that nature in this, as in most others of her wonderful 

 manifestations, is an overmatch for man and for his lan- 

 guage. The magnificent splendour and the infinite variety 

 of hues in which she delights to clothe her wondrous works, 

 must ever set the ingenuity of man at defiance to describe 

 them. The attempt indeed to convey colours through any 

 medium, but that of vision, must ever prove, more or less, 

 a failure. No man ever formed a just idea of any animal 

 which he had not seen, from mere description. Hence the 

 indispensable necessity of figures to natural history, which 

 must very imperfectly attain its end without them. The 

 species which we are now about to describe, is sufficient to 

 demonstrate the unsatisfactoriness of verbal colouring, by 

 the errors of synonymy to which it has given rise ; errors. 



