AND AMERICAN RURAL SPORTS. 
129 
chilla. We proceed to translate from the latter those pas- 
sages which relate to the subject. | 
“The Chinchilla,” he says, “is another species of field- 
rat, in great estimation for the extreme fineness of its wool, 
if a rich fur as delicate as the silken webs of the garden 
spiders may be so termed. It is of an ash-grey, and suffi- 
ciently long for spinning. The little animal which produces 
it is six inches long from the nose to the root of the tail, 
with small pointed ears, a short muzzle, teeth like the 
house-rat, and a tail of moderate length, clothed with a deli- 
cate fur. It lives in burrows underground in the open 
country of the northern provinces of Chili, and is very 
fond of being in company with others of its species. It 
feeds upon the roots of various bulbous plants which grow 
abundantly in those parts; and produces twice a year five 
or six young ones. It is so docile and mild in temper that 
if taken into the hands it neither bites nor tries to escape; 
but seems to take a pleasure in being caressed. If placed 
in the bosom it remains there as still and quiet as if it were 
in its own nest. This extraordinary placidity may possibly 
be rather due to its pusillanimity, which renders it extremely 
timid. As it is in itself peculiarly cleanly, there can be no 
fear of its soiling the clothes of those who handle it, or of 
its communicating any bad smell to them, for it is entirely 
free from that ill odour which characterizes the other species 
of Rats. For - this reason it might well be kept in the 
houses with no annoyance and at a trifling expense, which 
would be abundantly repaid by the profits on its wool. 
The ancient Peruvians, who were far more industrious than 
the modern, made of this wool coverlets for beds and valua- 
ble stuffs. There is found,” he adds, “ in the same north- 
ern provinces, another little animal with fine wool called the 
Hardilla, which is variously described by those who have 
seen it; but as I have never observed it myself, I cannot 
determine to what genus it belongs.” There can be little 
doubt, we should imagine, that this animal is identical with 
the Chinchilla, the latter, as we have already seen, being 
frequently spoken of by the name of Arda, the same with 
Harda, of which Hardilla is only the diminutive. 
We shall conclude our quotations of former notices with 
the following extract from Schmidtmeyer’s “ Travels into 
Chile over the Andes,” London, 4to., 1824; which fur- 
nishes some particulars, apparently derived from the travel- 
ler’s own observation, that had not been touched upon by 
previous writers. “ The Chinchilla,” he says, “is a woolly 
field-mouse, which lives under ground, and chiefly feeds on 
wild onions. Its fine fur is well known in Europe; that 
which comes from Upper Peru is rougher and larger than 
the Chinchilla of Chile, but not always so beautiful in its 
colour. Great numbers of these animals are caught in the 
neighbourhood of Coquimbo and Copiapo, generally by 
Kk 
boys with dogs, and sold to traders who bring them to 
Santiago and Yalparayso, from whence they are exported. 
The Peruvian skins are either brought to Buenos Ayres 
from the eastern parts of the Andes, or sent to Lima. The 
extensive use of this fur has lately occasioned a very consi- 
derable destruction of the animals.” 
Such is the history of our knowledge of this interesting 
animal until the arrival of a living specimen which was 
brought to England by the late expedition to the north-west 
coast of America, under the command of Captain Beechey, 
and by him presented to the Zoological Society. An entire 
skin, rendered particularly valuable in consequence of its 
having the skull preserved in it, was at the same time 
brought home by Mr. Collie, the surgeon of Captain 
Beechey’s vessel, and deposited in the collection of the 
British Museum. We have thus fortunately placed within 
our reach the means of correcting many of the errors into 
which former writers have fallen with regard to it, and of 
giving a more complete description of it than has yet been 
laid before the world. 
To begin with its generic characters. The slightest in- 
spection of its teeth was sufficient to prove that it could no 
longer be associated with the groups in which it had been 
previously placed; and a closer examination served only to 
confirm the idea that it was equally distinct in character 
from every other known genus of Rodentia. In proof of 
the former part of this assertion we borrow from the Zoolo- 
gical Journal Mr. Yarrell’s description of these organs, 
taken from the specimen before mentioned, with one indis- 
pensable alteration, of which that gentleman has himself 
since seen the necessity. He there describes the teeth as 
consisting of two incisors in each jaw, and of four molars on 
either side; the three anterior of the upper jaw formed of 
two parallel bony portions with three alternating lines of 
enamql, and the fourth having an additional portion of bone 
and ehamel, but smaller than the two principal ones. The 
direction of the parallel laminae of these teeth is not at right 
angles with the line of the maxillary bone, but inclining 
obliquely from without backwards; and the molars of the 
lower jaw are placed still more obliquely than those of the 
upper. 
But the examination on which this statement was found- 
ed was made under circumstances of great disadvantage, 
inasmuch as it is almost impossible to obtain a distinct view 
of the teeth of any animal while the skull remains within 
the skin, from which it was of course not allowable in the 
present instance to remove it. The necessity for the altera- 
tion to which we have before alluded has been rendered 
obvious only since the skin was transferred to the British 
Museum, by the extraction from the lower jaw of the two 
anterior molars of the right side, which are now shown 
