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literary attainments, Don Ignacius Huidobrio, Mar- 

 quis of Casa Reale, is a species of beaver, in high 

 estimation for the fineness of its fur. Its length, 

 from the end of the nose to the insertion of the tail, 

 is about three feet, and its height two. The colour 

 of the hair is grey, dark upon the back, and whitish 

 on the belly ; of this, like the northern beaver, it has 

 two kinds, the one short and fine and softer than that 

 of a rabbit, the other long and coarse and easily de- 

 tached from the skin. The short fur readily takes 

 any colour, and I have seen cloth manufactured from 

 it dyed black and blue, which had all the beauty of 

 velvet ; it is also used for making hats, that are 

 no way inferior to the real beaver. The head of 

 this animal is almost square, the ears are short and 

 round, and the eyes small, the nose is blunt, and the 

 mouth is furnished with two very sharp incisors in 

 each jaw, and with sixteen grinders ; on each foot it 

 has five toes, those before are edged with a narrow 

 membrane, and the hinder ones are palmated ; its 

 back is very broad, and the tail long, flat, and cover- 

 ed with hair. The guillino produces no substance 

 analogous to the castor ; it inhabits the rivers and 

 the deepest lakes, and can remain a longtime under 

 water without respiring. It feeds upon fish and 

 crabs, and is usually surprised and killed by the 

 hunters when it goes to void its excrements, which 

 it regularly does every day, like a cat, in the same 

 place. It is a voracious animal, and so fearless that 

 it frequently robs the nets and baskets of fish in the 

 presence of the fishermen. The female has two or 

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