HISTORY OF QUADRUPEDS. 455 



fifti ; is fond of poultry ; frequently deals into the hen 

 roofts, bites off the heads of the fowls, and fucks their 

 blood ; is very fetid ; and, when irritated, has a molt 

 loathfome fmell. — Its length, from nofe to tail, is twenty 

 inches ; tail four. — Its fur is of a dark brown colour, ve- 

 ry gloily and beautiful. 



The SEA- OTTER. 



Vaft numbers of thefe animals inhabit the coaft of 

 Kamtfchatka, and the numerous iflands contiguous to it, 

 as well as the oppofite coafts of America : They are alfo 

 found in fome of the larger rivers of South-America. 



Their (kins are of great value, and have long formed a 

 confiderable article of export from Ruflia. They difpofe 

 of them to the Chinefe at the rate of feventy or a hun- 

 dred rubles each, and receive in return fome of their 

 moft valuable commodities. 



The fur of the Sea-Otter is thick and long, of a beau- 

 tiful mining black colour, but fometimes of a filvery 

 hue j the legs are thick and (hort j the toes joined by a 



Ff 4 



