A SPECIES of the weasel kind, found chiefly in Egypt, where he has been long domesticated, and even deified on account of his great utility in destroying serpents, snakes, rats, mice, and other vermin; he is also fond of crocodile's eggs, which he digs out of the sand where they have been deposited. He is a very fierce, though small animal, fearing neither the vengeance of the dog, the insidious malice of the cat, the claws of the vulture, nor the sting of the serpent. It has been asserted (upon what foundation we cannot ascertain) that the Ichneumon jumps into the jaws of the crocodile, and entering his throat, gnaws his inside, and by attacking his vitals, puts the animal to death.

The following particulars are related by M. D'Obsonville, in his Essays on the Nature of various foreign Animals:-"I had an Ichneumon very young, which I brought up. I fed it at first with milk, and afterward with baked meat mixed with rice. It soon became even tamer than a Cat; for it came when called, and followed me, though at liberty in the country. One day I brought this animal a small water serpent alive, being desirous to know how far his instinct would carry him against a being with which he was as yet totally unacquainted. His first emotion seemed to be astonishment mixed with anger, for his hair became erect; but in an instant he slipped behind the reptile,

and with remarkable swiftness and agility leaped upon its head, seized it, and crushed it between his teeth. This essay, and new food, seemed to have awakened in him his innate and destructive voracity, which till then had given way to the gentleness he had acquired from education. I had about my house several curious kinds of fowls, among which he had been brought up, and which, till then, he had suffered to go and come unmolested and unregarded: but a few days after, when he found himself alone, he strangled them every one, ate a little, and, as it appeared, drank the blood of two."

THIS animal is a native of North America, Siberia, Kamtschatka, and Asiatic Russia; it frequents the banks of rivers, and the thickest parts of the woods. They live in holes under the ground, and especially under the roots of trees; but they sometimes make their nests, like the squirrel, in the hollows of trees. The skin of the Sable is more valuable than that of any other animal of equal size. One of these skins, not more than four inches broad, has sometimes been valued at as high a rate as fifteen pounds; but the general price is from one pound to ten pounds, according to the quality. The Sable's fur is different from all others, in the hair turning with equal ease either

way. The tails are sold by the hundred, at from four to eight pounds.

The Marten, like the Sable, boasts of the honour of adorning with his fur the rich and the beautiful; as princes, ladies, and opulent people of all nations pride themselves in wearing his spoils. He is about as big as a cat, but the body is much longer proportionally, and the legs shorter. His skin is of a light brown, with white under the throat, and yellow on the back. The fur of the Marten fetches a high price, and is much used in European countries; the best is imported from Sweden, Russia, and Muscovy.

THE body of the Great Ant-eater is covered with exceedingly coarse and shaggy hair. Its head is very long and slender, and the mouth but just large enough to admit its tongue, which is cylindrical, nearly two feet in length, and lies folded double within it, The tail is of enormous size, and covered with long black hair, somewhat like the tail of a horse. The whole animal, from the end of the snout to the tip of the tail, is sometimes eight or nine feet in length. The food of

this very singular animal consists principally of ants, and these he obtains in the following manner :-When he comes to an ant-hill, he scratches it up with his long claws, and then unfolds his slender tongue, which much resembles an enormously long worm. This being covered with a clammy matter or saliva, the ants adhere to it in great numbers: then, by drawing it into his mouth, he swallows thousands of them alive; and he repeats the operation till no more are to be found.

He also tears up the nests of wood-lice, which he in like manner discovers; and frequently climbs trees in quest of these insects, and of wild bees or their honey. But should he meet with little success in his pursuit of food, he is able to fast for a considerable time without inconvenience. The motions of the Ant-eater are in general very slow. He, however, swims over great rivers with sufficient ease; and on these occasions, his tail is always thrown over his back. With this extraordinary member, when asleep, or during heavy showers of rain, the animal also covers its back; but at other times he trails it along, and sweeps the ground.

GROWS to the height of about two feet and a half, and his body is covered with hair and sharp quills, from ten to fourteen inches long, and bent backwards.

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When the animal is irritated, they stand erect; but it is a folly to believe, and nonsense to repeat, after illinformed naturalists, that the Porcupine can shoot them at his enemies. The female goes seven months with young, and brings forth only one at a time. They are reported to live from twelve to fifteen years. The Porcupine is dull, fretful, and inoffensive; feeds upon fruits, roots, and vegetables of many sorts; and inhabits India, Persia, Italy, and almost every part of Africa.

Mr. Bewick, in his History of Quadrupeds, asserts, that, upon the smallest irritation, this animal erects its quills, and shakes them with great violence, directing them to the quarter whence it is in danger of being attacked. "We have observed," says he, " on an occasion of this sort, when the animal was moulting or casting its quills, that they would fly out to the distance of a few yards, with such force as to bend the points of them against the board where they struck: and it is not improbable that a circumstance of this kind may have given rise to an opinion of its power to use them in a more effectual manner."

Is somewhat like a porcupine in miniature; and, in shape, resembles the animal from which he derives his name; he is covered all over with strong and sharp