470 



MAMMALIA. 



The Agoutis are natives of South America and the West 

 Indies. Woods spreading over hills and mountains are the 

 localities where they generally take up their abode ; and the 

 clefts of rocks, or the hollows in trees, serve for their retreats. 

 If ready-made places of shelter are not procurable, they dig 

 burrows. They are nocturnal in their habits, and feed princi- 

 pally on roots and fruit. But when in captivity they are 

 omnivorous, and manifest an unbearable voracity, for they gnaw 

 everything they can get at. 



The Agouti is hunted in America, just as the Hare and Eabbit 

 are in Europe, with Dogs, laid in wait for and shot, or taken in 



Fji,'. 202. — The Agoud {Dasyprocta agouti). 



traps and snares, for it constitutes excellent human food. It 

 can be very easily tamed. 



Beavers {Castor). — We now have to describe certain Mam- 

 mals which are celebrated all over the world for their industrious 

 habits and intelligence ; but, in the first place, let us attempt 

 to draw a portrait of these interesting Rodents. 



The Beaver does not possess a pleasing appearance. Its thick- 

 set shape, its large head, small eyes, cloven upper lip, which 

 shows its powerful incisors ; its long and wide tail, flattened 

 like a spatula and covered with scales — combine to give it 

 an awkward appearance. Its hind feet are larger than the 



