THE EABBIT. 



25 



self-billeted on the inmates, like soldiers on obnoxious house- 

 holders, procuring lodging without permission, and eating the 

 inhabitants by way of board. 



The reason for the presence of the owls is not so evident, 

 though it is not impossible that they may also snap up an 

 occasional Prairie Dog in its earliest infancy, while it is very 

 young, small, and tender. These winged and scaled intruders 

 are not found in all the burrows, though many of the habita- 

 tions are infested by them. 



The general aspect of the Prairie Dog is not unlike that of its 

 near relative, the Alpine Marmot, so familiar in this country 

 through the mediumship of Savoyard boys, who carry the animal 

 about in a box, and exhibit it for haKpence. 





THE RABBIT WARKEN. 



One of the most familiar of the British burrowing rodents, 

 is the common Eabbit {Lepus cuniculus), an animal notable for 

 "sporting," as gardeners would say, into a vast number of 



