Guinea Pigs eaten . 
157 
John Lerius, a Frenchman who lived in Brazil during the 
years 1557 and 1558, tells us:— 
“ There is also among the Americans a certaine red wilde beast, 
which they name agouti, of the height of a weaned pig of thirty dayes 
old, with a cloven foot, a very short tayle, and with the nose and eares 
almost of an hare, most delightfull to the taste. There are also others 
of two or three kindes, which they call tapitis, not much unlike our 
hares, but somewhat of a reddish haire.” ( Purchas , vol. iv. p. 1326.) 
Instead of a cloven foot, the agouti has four well-developed 
toes. 
This author also describes the pretty little Paca, a 
species of cavy. Like the agouti it is easily 
tamed, and of lively habits. Specimens are 
occasionally brought over to this country. Lerius writes:— 
“ Pag, or pague (for after what manner they pronounce it, you can 
scarce, or not at all understand), is a wilde beast of the indifferent 
height of an hound, with a deformed head, the flesh comming neere 
the taste of veale, with a very faire skinne, distinguished with white, 
russet, and blacke spots, so that it would be of great price with us, if 
they were to be gotten.” 
Guinea Pig-. 
The Guinea Pig, though now only kept as a pet in 
this country, was once apparently considered 
a palatable dish. In a list of the expenses 
of a dinner given by William Muigay, Mayor of Norwich, 
to the Duke of Norfolk and the principal knights of the 
county, in the year 1561, we read, among other items, 
two brace of partridges at two shillings, four couple 
rabbits at one and eightpence, and two “ guiny piggs ” 
at a shilling. 
This little animal has been strangely misnamed. It 
is not a pig, but a species of cavy. It is not found in 
Guinea, but in Brazil and Peru. 
The Hare is frequently mentioned by poets and 
dramatists, while allusion to its more plebeian ^ 
relative, the rabbit, is rare. Drayton gives 
a description of the hunting of the hare, which, though 
