MR.  E.  T.  BENNETT  ON  THE  CHINCHILLIDiE. 
39 
Abbe  Vidaure,  the  original  of  which  I  have  not  at  present  an  opportunity  of  consulting. 
In  these  the  Viscacha  of  the  western  slope  of  the  Andes  is  again  described  as  having  the 
size  and  nearly  the  shape  of  a  large  rabbit,  but  with  shorter  legs.  Its  fur  is  said  to  be 
soft,  and  of  a  mixed  grey  and  black  colour ;  while  its  tail,  which  is  like  that  of  a  fox, 
is  furnished  w^ith  bristles  so  rigid  as  to  resemble  spines.  By  agitating  this  tail  it  defends 
itself  from  its  enemies.  Its  flesh  is  good  to  eat.  It  lives  in  burrows  which  it  forms  for 
itself ;  and  passes  the  night  in  carrying  to  the  opening  of  its  hole  whatever  it  finds  in 
the  adjacent  country,  insomuch  that  if  a  traveller  loses  any  thing,  he  has  only  to  look 
for  it  at  the  entry  of  the  burrows  of  the  Viscachas,  where  he  is  almost  sure  to  recover 
it^  This  account  is  in  several  particulars  apocryphal,  as  well  as  dissimilar  from  those 
of  previous  writers  ;  and  it  will  be  seen,  on  comparing  it  with  the  notices  to  be  here- 
after quoted  of  the  Lagostomus,  that  the  author  has  confounded  the  habits  of  the  eastern 
and  western  species,  the  former  alone  being  actuated  by  that  mania  for  collecting  every 
thing  wdthin  its  reach,  which  he  has  apparently  transferred  to  the  latter.  It  may  there- 
fore be  doubtful,  notwithstanding  the  locality  assigned,  to  which  of  these  animals  the 
notice  in  question  actually  refers. 
The  same  may  also  be  said  of  the  notice  of  the  Viscacha  by  the  Abbe  Molina,  whose 
work,  originally  published  in  1782  and  reprinted  with  considerable  alterations  in  1810, 
contains  a  similar  account,  evidently  copied  in  some  of  its  parts  from  the  preceding. 
He  describes  the  animal  as  resembling  the  hare  in  its  head,  ears,  muzzle,  moustaches, 
dentition,  toes,  mode  of  eating,  and  upright  posture  in  sitting ;  while  it  approaches  the 
squirrel  in  colour,  and  in  the  form  of  its  tail,  which  is  long,  curved  upwards,  clothed 
with  long  rough  hair,  and  serves  as  a  w^eapon  of  defence  against  its  enemies.  He 
speaks  of  the  employment  of  its  wool  among  the  ancient  Peruvians,  and  adds,  that  the 
Chilians  use  it  at  the  present  day  in  the  manufacture  of  hats.  Its  burrows,  according 
to  the  report  of  eye-witnesses,  have  two  flats,  communicating  by  a  spiral  staircase ;  in 
the  lower  it  deposits  its  food,  while  it  lives  in  the  upper,  which  it  seldom  quits  except 
at  night.  It  collects  round  the  mouth  of  its  burrow  whatever  has  been  left  behind  or 
lost  by  travellers ;  and  its  flesh,  which  is  white  and  tender,  is  preferred  to  that  of  the 
rabbit  or  the  hare^. 
Two  other  brief  notices,  from  the  pens  of  modern  English  travellers,  complete  the 
'  "  La  Viscaque  est  de  la  grosseur  et  presque  de  la  figure  d'un  grand  Lapin,  quoiqu'elle  ait  les  jambes  plus 
courtes.  Son  poil  est  doux  et  mele  de  gris  et  de  noir.  Sa  queue,  qui  ressemble  a  celle  du  renard,  est  garnie 
de  soies  si  dures  qu'ils  ressemblent  a  des  epines.  II  se  defend  de  ses  ennemis  en  agitant  sa  queue.  Sa  cbair 
est  bonne  a  manger.  II  vit  dans  des  terriers  qu'il  se  forme.  II  passe  la  nuit  k  porter  a  I'entree  de  son  trou 
tout  ce  qu'il  trouve  dans  la  campagne.  Quand  les  voyageurs  ont  perdu  quelque  chose,  ils  vont  la  chercher  a 
I'entree  des  terriers  des  viscaques,  et  sont  presque  toujours  surs  de  I'y  trouver."  p.  478-9. 
^  "  La  Viscaccia  secondo  i  caratteri  naturali  deve  formare  un  genere  a  parte  tra  gli  Scojattoli  e  le  Lepri. 
Ella  si  rassomiglia  alia  Lepre  nella  testa,  nelle  orecchie,  nel  muso,  nei  mustacchi,  nella  dentatura,  nelle  dita, 
ed  anche  nella  maniera  di  mangiare,  e  nel  tenersi  diritta  a  sedere  ;  del  resto  poi  s'  accosta  alio  Scojattolo  nel 
colore  e  nella  coda,  die  ^  assai  langa,  ripiegata  in  su,  e  vestita  di  lungo  e  ruvido  pelo,  coUa  quale  si  defende  da' 
