ears are fhort and hid in the hair: its head, body, and upper part of its tail, are covered with long foft hair, in which are interfperfed a number of strong sharp fpines; its tail is fhorter than that of the preceding fpecies, and it ufes it in the fame manner in defcending trees, frequently fufpending itself from the branches. Urfon.-The urchin, or urfon, is about two feet in length, and when fat, the fame in circumference. He is commonly called hedge-hog or porcupine, but differs from both those animals in every characteristic mark, excepting his being armed with quills on his back and fides; thefe quills are nearly as large as a wheat ftraw, from three to four inches long, and, unless erected, nearly covered by the animal's hair; their points are very hard and filled with innumerable very small barbs or fcales, whole points are raised from the body of the quill. When the urchin is attacked by a dog, wolf, or other beaft of prey, he throws himfelf into a pofture of defence, by fhortening his body, elevating his back, and erecting his quills. The affailant foon finds fome of thofe weapons ftuck into his mouth, or other parts of his body, and every effort which he makes to free himself caufes them to penetrate the farther; they have been known to bury themselves entirely in a few minutes. fometimes they prove fatal, at other times they make their way out again through the fkin from various parts of the body. If not molefted it is an inoffenfive animal. He finds a hole or hollow which he makes his refidence, and feeds on the barks and roots of vegetables. His flefh, in the opinion of hunters, is equal to that of a fucking pig. Is found in the northern States. ARMADILLO. This animal is found only in South-America, where there are feveral varieties of them. They are all covered with a frong cruft or fhell, and are diftinguished from each other by the number of the flexible bands of which it is compoled. It is a harmless, inoffenfive animal, feeds on roots, fruits and sther vegetable, grows very fat, and is greatly esteemed for the delicacy of its flefh. The Indians hunt it with fmall dogs trained for that pur. pole. When furprifed it runs to its hole, or attempts to make a new one, which it does with great expedition, having ftrong claws on its fore feet, with which it adheres fo firmly to the ground, that if it fhould be caught by the tail whilft making its way into the earth, its refiftance is fo great, that it will fometimes leave it in the hands of its purfuers: to avoid this the hunter has recourfe to artifice, and by tickling it with a stick it gives up its hold, and fuffers itself to be taken alive, If no other means of escape be left, it rolls itfelf up within its covering by drawing in its head and legs, and bringing its tail round them as a band to conneft them more forcibly toge ther in this fituation it fometimes efcapes by rolling itself over the edge of a precipice, and generally falls to the bottom unhurt. The most fuccefsful method of catching armadillos is by fnares laid for them by the fides of rivers or other places where they frequent. They all burrow very deep in the ground, and feldom ftir out, except during the night, whilft they are in fearch of food. To give a minute defcription of the fhells or coverings of the armadillos would be extremely difficult, as they are all com pofed of a number of parts, differing greatly from each other in the order and difpofition of the figures with which they are diftinguifhed: but it may be neceffary to obferve, that in general there are two large pieces that cover the fhoulders and the rump, between which lie the bands, which are more or less in number in different kinds. These bands are not unlike thofe in the tail of a lobster, and, being flexible, gives way to the moti ons of the animal. The first we shall mention is the Three-banded Armadillo.-Its fhell is about twelve inches long, with three bands in the middle; the cruft on the head, back and rump, is divided into a number of elegant railed figures, with five angles or fides; its tail is not more than two inches long; it has neither cutting nor canine teeth, and has five toes on each foot. Six-banded Armadillo.-Is about the fize of a young pig. Between the folds of the bands there are a few fcattered hairs; its tail is long, thick at the bafe, and tapers to a point. It is found in Brafil and Guiana. Light-banded Armadillo.—Its ears are long and upright, eyes fmall and black; it has four toes on the fore feet and five on the hind; its length, from nose to tail, is about ten inches, the tail nine. It inhabits Brafil, and is reckoned more delicious cating than the others. Nine-banded Armedio has a tenth band, moveable half way up on each fide; the shell on the shoulders and rump is marked with hexangular figures; the breaft and belly are covered with long hairs; its tail is long and taper, and the whole animal three feet in length. One of this kind was brought to England a few years ago from the Mufquito fhore, and lived fome time. It was fed with raw beef and milk, but refused to eat our fruits and grain. The Kabaffou is furnifhed with twelve bands, and is the largeft of all the armadillos, being almoft three feet long from nofe to tail; the figures on the fhoulders are of an oblong form, thofe on the rump hexangular. It is feldom eaten. Weafel-headed Armadillo, fo called from the form of its head, which is flender, has eighteen bands from its shoulder to its tail; the shell is marked with square figures on the shoulders, thofe on the legs and thighs are roundish; the body is about fifteen inches long, tail five. All these animals have the power of drawing themselves up under their fhells, either for the purpose of repofe or fafety. They are furnifhed with ftrong laterel mufcles, confifting of numberless fibres, croffing each other in the form of an X, with which they contract themselves fo powerfully, that the strongest man is fcarcely able to force them open. The fhells of the larger armadillos are much stronger than thofe of the smaller kinds; their flesh is likewife harder and more unfit for the table. ANIMALS OF THE MARMOT KIND. Quebec Marmot.--This animal is called in the United States the woodchuck; his body is about fixteen inches long, and nearly the fame in circumference; his tail is moderately long and full of hair; his colour is a mixture of fallow and grey. He digs a burrow in or near fome cultivated field, and feeds on pulle, the tops of cultivated clover, &c. He is generally very. fat, excepting in the fpring. The young are good meat, the old are rather rank and difagreeable. In the beginning of October they retire to their burrows, and live in a torpid ftate about fix months. In many respects he agrees with the marmot of the Alps, in others he differs, and on the whole is probably not the fame. An animal refembling the woodchuck is found in the fouthern ftates, which is fuppofed to form another fpecies, it is called the Maryland Marmot. Befides the above there are three other fpecies of this genus found in America, the Hoary, the Tail-lefs, and the Ear-lefs Marmot; the two former are found in the northern parts of the continent, and the latter on the western fide only. ANIMALS OF THE SQUIRREL KIND. Fox Squirrel.-Of this animal there are feveral varieties, black, red and grey. It is nearly twice as large as the common grey squirrel, and is found in the fouthern States, and is peculiar to the American continent. Grey Squirrel.-The grey fquirrel of America does not agree exactly with that of Europe, but is generally confidered as of the fame fpecies. Its name indicates its general colour; but fome are black, and others black on the back and grey on the fides. They make a neft of mols in a hollow tree, and here they deposit their provifion of nuts and acorns; this is the place of their refidence during the winter, and here they bring forth their young. Their fummer houfe, which is built of ticks and leaves, is placed near the top of the tree. They fometimes migrate in confiderable numbers. If in their courfe they meet with a river, each of them takes a fhingle, piece of bark, or the like, and carries it to the water: thus equipped they embark, and erect their tails to the gentle breeze, which foon wafts them over in fafety; but a sudden Daw of wind fometimes produces a destructive fhipwreck. The greater part of the males of this fpecies is found caftrated, They are found from New-England to Chili and Peru. A grey fquirrel is found in Virginia nearly twice as large as this; whether it be the fame, or a different fpecies, is uncertain. Red Squirrel. This is lefs than the grey fquirrel. It has a red lift along its back, grey on its fides, and white under the belly. It differs in lome refpects from the common European fquirrel; but M. de Buffon confiders it as the fame fpecies. Its food is the fame as that of the grey fquirrel, except that it sometimes feeds on the feeds of the pine and other evergreens; hence it is loinetines called the pine fquirrel, and is found in general, farther to the northward than the grey fquirrel. It Ipends part of its time on trees in queft of food; but confiders its hole, under fome rock or log, as its home. Striped Squirrel.-This is ftill less than the laft mentioned; its colour is red; it has a narrow ftripe of black along its back; at the distance of about half an inch on each fide is a ftripe of white, bordered with very narrow ftripes of black; its belly is white. In the males the colours are brighter and better defined than in the female. It is fometimes called a moufe íquirrel and ground fquirrel, from its forming a burrow in loose ground, Linnæus confounds it with a triped moufe fquirrel found in |