408 



MAMMALIA. 



Guinea-pigs (Fig. 200) may very easily be fed, for llic-y will 

 eat bread, roots, vegetables, and grasses. It bas been com- 

 monly tbougbt tbat tbey never drink; but tbis is a mistake. 

 Wben their nutriment is of a dry nature, and tbey bave water 

 wftbin reacb, tbey use it. 



Almost worthless, it is not easy to see tbe reason wbicb bas 

 induced Man, for so many ages, to rear tbem in a state of 

 domesticity. Tbeir diminutiveness and tbe unsavouriness of 



iig. 200,— Guinea-Pigs {Cavin opcrcri). 



tbeir flesb place tbem verj' low among animals wbicb are fit 

 for food. It must be, therefore, from curiosity, rather than 

 with any real views of profit, that tbe Guinea-Pig has been 

 naturalized in Eurojje, and tbat a place is sometimes assigned 

 it among our domestic animals. 



Tbe Guinea-Pig is found wild in South America, princi- 

 pally in Guiana, Peru, and Brazil. Tbey lead a nocturnal 

 life, and, according to the species, either dig out burrows for 

 themselves or find a retreat among the herbage. Tbeir fruitful- 



