AND AMERICAN RURAL SPORTS. 



129 



chilla. We proceed to translate from the latter those pas- 

 sages which relate to the subject. 



" The Chinchilla," he says, ''is another species of field- 

 rat, in great estimation for the extreme fineness of its wool, 

 if a rich fur as delicate as the silken webs of the garden 

 spiders may be so termed. It is of an ash-grey, and suffi- 

 ciently long for spinning. The little animal which produces 

 it is six inches long from the nose to the root of the tail, 

 with small pointed ears, a short muzzle, teeth like the 

 house-rat, and a tail of moderate length, clothed wilhadeli- 

 cate fur. It lives in burrows under ground in the open 

 country of the northern provinces of Chili, and is very 

 fond of being in company with others of its species. It 

 feeds upon the roots of various bulbous plants which grow 

 abundantly in those parts: and produces twice a year five 

 or six young ones. It is so docile and mild in temper that 

 if taken into the hands it neither bites nor tries to escape; 

 but seems to take a pleasure in being caressed. If placed 

 in the bosom it remains there as still and quiet as if it were 

 in its own nest. This extraordinary placidity may possibly 

 be rather due to its pusillanimity, which renders it extremely 

 timid. As it is in itself peculiarly cleanly, there can be no 

 fear of its soiling the clothes of those who handle it, or of 

 its communicating any bad smell to them, for it is entirely 

 free from thatillodour which characterizes the other species 

 of Rats. For this reason it might, well be kept in the 

 houses with no anno5'anceand at a trifling expense, which 

 would be abundantly repaid by the profits on its wool. 

 The ancient Peruvians, who were far more industrious than 

 the modern, made of this wool coverlets for beds and valua- 

 blestuffs. "There is found," he adds, " in the same north- 

 ern provinces, another little animal with fine wool called the 

 Hardilla, which is variously described by those who have 

 seen it; but as I have never observed it mj'self, I cannot 

 determine to what genus it belongs." There can be little 

 doubt, we should imagine, that this animal is identical with 

 the Chinchilla, the latter, as we have already seen, being 

 frequently spoken of by the name of Arda, the same with 

 Harda, of which Hardilla is only the diminutive. 



We shall conclude our quotations of former notices with 

 the following extract from Schmidtmeyer's "Travels into 

 Chile over the Andes," London, 4to., 1824; which fur- 

 nishessome particulars, apparently derived from the travel- 

 ler's own observation, that had not been touched upon by 

 previous writers. " The Chinchilla," he says, "is a woolly 

 field-mouse, which lives under ground, and chiefly feeds on 

 wild onions. Its fine fur is well known in Europe; that 

 which comes from Upper Peru is rougher and larger than 

 the Chinchilla of Chile, but not always so beautiful in its 

 colour. Great numbers of these animals are caught in the 

 neighbourhood of Coquimbo and Copiapo, generally by 

 Kk 



boys with dogs, and sold to traders, who bring them to 

 Santiago and Valparayso, from whence they are exported. 

 The Peruvian skins are either brought to Buenos Ayres 

 from the eastern parts of the Andes, or sent to Lima. The 

 extensive use of this fur has lately occasioned a very consi- 

 derable destruction of the animals." 



Such is the history of our knowledge of this interesting 

 animal until the arrival of a living specimen which was 

 brought to Englandby the late expedition to the north-west 

 coast of America, under the command of Captain Beechey, 

 and by him presented to the Zoological Society. An entire 

 skin, rendered particularly valuable in consequence of its 

 having the skull preserved in it, was at the same time 

 brought home by Mr. Collie, the surgeon of Captain 

 Beechey's vessel, and deposited in the collection of the 

 British Museum. We have thus fortunately placed within 

 our reach the means of correcting many of the errors into 

 which former writers have fallen with regard to it, and of 

 giving a more complete description of it than has yet been 

 laid before the world. 



To begin with its generic characters. The slightest in- 

 spection of its teeth was sufficient to prove that it could no 

 longer be associated with the groups in which it had been 

 previously placed; and a closer examination served only to 

 confirm the idea that it was equally distinct in character 

 from every other known genus of Rodentia. In proof of 

 the former part of this assertion we borrow from the Zoolo- 

 gical Journal Mr. Yarrell's description of these organs, 

 taken from the specimen before mentioned, with one indis- 

 pensable alteration, of which that gentleman has himself 

 since seen the necessity. He there describes the teeth as 

 consisting of two incisors in each jaw, and of four molars on 

 either side; the three anterior of the upper jaw formed of 

 two parallel bony portions with three alternating lines of 

 enamel, and the fourth having an additional portion of bone 

 and enamel, but smaller than the two principal ones. The 

 direction of the parallel laminfe of these teeth is not alright 

 angles with the line of the maxillary bone, but inclining 

 obliquely from without backwards; and the molars of the 

 lower jaw are placed still more obliquely than those of the 

 upper. 



But the examination on which this statement was found- 

 ed was made under circumstances of great disadvantage, 

 inasmuch as it is almost impossible to obtain a distinct view 

 of the teeth of any animal while the skull remains within 

 the skin, from which it was of course not allowable in the 

 present instance to remove it. The necessity for the altera- 

 tion to which we have before alluded has been rendered 

 obvious only since the skin was transferred to the British 

 Museum, by the extraction from the lower jaw of the two 

 anterior molars of the right side, which are now shown 



