AGUTI. 



25 



cast of orange colour, with blackish freckles^ be- 

 ing, in reality, a mixture of red, brown, and 

 black : the rump is orange coloured. This ani* 

 mal's manner of moving resembles that of a hare, 

 and its voice is like the grunting of a young 

 pig. It feeds on various roots, nuts, fruit. Sec. 

 &c. and resides in woods, where it forms subter- 

 raneous burrows, and sometimes lodges in the 

 hollows of trees. 



According to Mons. de la Borde, a correspond- 

 ent of the Count de Buffon, the Aguti is about 

 the size of a hare : his skin is hard, and lasts very 

 long when made use of as an upper-leather for 

 shoes. His flesh is white, and nearly as good as 

 that of the rabbet, having a similar taste and fla- 

 vour ; and whether old or young, it is always ten- 

 der ; but those which inhabit the sea-coasts are 

 superior in this respect. They are taken in traps, 

 or hunted with dogs. The Indians and negroes, 

 who know how to allure them by whistling, or 

 imitating their cries, kill as many as they please. 

 When pursued, they conceal themselves, like rab- 

 bets, in the holes of old trees. They hold their 

 food in their paws like squirrels. Their ordinary 

 food, which they often conceal in the earth, to be 

 used occasionally, are the nuts of the Maripa, 

 the Tourlovri, the Corana, &c. and, after conceal- 

 ing these nuts, they often touch them not for 

 six months. They multiply as fast as rabbets, 

 producing three, four, and sometimes five young- 

 ones, during every season of the year. They live 

 not in numbers in the same hole, but are either 



