LETTEES FEOM ALABAMA. 
299 
from the gorgeous surface, which rapidly sped 
past, like a splendid vision. 
Wilson tells us that the Carolina Parrot feeds 
greedily on the seeds of the cocklehur, and that its 
rarity or abundance in any locality is partly depen- 
dent on the presence of this plant. If this be so, 
the beautiful parroquet ought to be common, for 
there is no lack of the vile weed in question, as the 
, poor horses and cattle find to their cost, for their 
legs and sides are sometimes almost covered with 
the tenacious burs, especially after they have spent 
the night in neglected pastures. The curiously 
hooked bristles which grow on the exterior of these 
seed-vessels constitute one of those beautiful pro- 
visions which we find for the dispersion of seeds to 
a distance from their place of birth : they catch 
hold of the hair of animals, adhering on the 
slightest touch, and maintain their grasp with a 
tenacity which almost defies removal. 
I had heard with some incredulity that the 
Beaver inhabits the Alabama river, in the clay 
banks of which it is said to form its habitation. 
This is described as a simple burrow, with none 
of the architectural instinct displayed in its con- 
struction that marks the celebrated dams of the 
northern builders. I had supposed that the Beaver 
did not extend its range nearly so far south as this 
region ; but all doubt was removed by specimens 
having been recently brought to me, taken in the 
immediate neighbourhood. Being on the point of 
returning to England, I wished to purchase all I 
could procure, knowing the value of beaver fur in 
the market ; but when I came to examine the skins, 
the almost total absence of the under-coat of woolly 
down that constitutes the real worth of the fur, told 
