SS EARLESS MARMOT. 
a bright rust. The three middle toes of the fore 
feet are long, armed with long sharp claws ; the 
exterior and interior toes are short ; the last lies 
remote from the others, with a short blunt claw. 
It is the most elegant of the marmots, and has 
scarcely any external ears. 
The length of the animal is about one foot ; of 
its tail, to the end of the hairs, four inches and a 
half. It inhabits Bohemia, Hungary, and from 
the banks of the Wolga to India, and Persia, Si- 
beria, Great Tartary, Kamtschalka, and even the 
continent of America itself. It burrows, and 
forms its magazine of corn, nuts, &c. for its winter 
food. Like the squirrel, it sits up while it eats. 
Some inhabit the fields of Siberia, others penetrate 
into the granaries. The first form holes undeF 
the ground with a double entrance, where they 
sleep during winter ; those which inhabit grana- 
ries keep in motion even during the cold season. 
About the Lena, they couple at the beginning of 
May ; but about Astracan much earlier. They 
bring from five to eight young ones, which they 
bring up in their burrows ; only one inhabits each 
burrow ; the males are always, except in the 
coupling season, separate from the females. 
They whistle like the former species, are very 
irascible, and bite hard. They often quarrel with 
and tear each other ; yet they sit in multitudes 
near their holes. They are very fond of salt, and 
are taken in great numbers on board the barges 
laden with that commodity on the rivers. They 
are both herbivorous and carnivorous. They feed 
on plants, and destroy the young of birds and mice. 
The ladies of Bohemia were wont to make cloaks 
of their skins they are now used only for linings 
and appear very beautiful for that purpose. They 
dieep a lar^e portion of their time at all seasons. 
