Biography of the Vizcacha. 305 



article is lost by night — whip, pistol, or knife — the 

 loser next morning visits the vizcacheras in the 

 vicinity, quite sure of finding it there. People 

 also visit the vizcacheras to pick up sticks for 

 firewood. 



The vizcachas are cleanly in their habits ; and the 

 fur, though it has a strong earthy smell, is kept ex- 

 ceedingly neat. The hind leg and foot afford a 

 very beautiful instance of adaptation. Propped by 

 the hard curved tail, they sit up erect, and as firmly 

 on the long horny disks on the undersides of the 

 hind legs as a man stands on his feet. Most to be 

 admired, on the middle toe the skin thickens into a 

 round cushion, in which the curved teeth-like bristles 

 are set ; nicely graduated in length, so that " each 

 particular hair " may come into contact with the 

 skin when the animal scratches or conibs itself. As 

 to the uses of this appendage there can be no dif- 

 ference of opinion, as there is about the serrated 

 claw in birds. It is quite obvious that the animal 

 cannot scratch himself with his hind paw (as all 

 mammals do) without making use of this natural 

 comb. Then the entire foot is modified, so that 

 this comb shall be well protected, and yet not be 

 hindered from performing its oflBce : thus the inner 

 toe is pressed close to the middle one, and so de- 

 pressed that it comes under the cushion of skin, and 

 cannot possibly get before the bristles, or interfere 

 with their coming against the skin in scratching, as 

 would certainly be the case if this toe were free as 

 the outer one. 



Again, the vizcachas appear to form the deep 

 trenches before the burrows by scratching the earth 



X 



