. Sketch of the North-West of America [microform]. Hudson's Bay Company; Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson; Indians of North America; Zoology; Indiens; Zoologie. fi! i\ ^MA II. 166 is an inhabitant of the Rocky Mountains. Neither of them has the power of flying, properly so called ; but membranes joining their fore paws to their hinder ones, act as wings or parachutes, and enable them to spring from one tree to another at a considerable distance, but their flight is inclined downwards. To complete the enumeration of rodents provided with perfect clavicles, there remains to be mentioned a species o
. Sketch of the North-West of America [microform]. Hudson's Bay Company; Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson; Indians of North America; Zoology; Indiens; Zoologie. fi! i\ ^MA II. 166 is an inhabitant of the Rocky Mountains. Neither of them has the power of flying, properly so called ; but membranes joining their fore paws to their hinder ones, act as wings or parachutes, and enable them to spring from one tree to another at a considerable distance, but their flight is inclined downwards. To complete the enumeration of rodents provided with perfect clavicles, there remains to be mentioned a species of sand rat, the Mole-shaped Sand Rat, Qeomys Talpoides, which lives in extensive burrows that it makes in the form of galleries. Although resembling the mole, this animal cannot live on earth-worms, for there are none of these in our latitudes. It uses its pouches or cheeks for carrying earth from the galleries, which it begins to clean out as soon as the snow melts, and until the thawing of the soil enables it to add new galleries to those already made. None of these animals are valued in this country. In times of scarcity all of them are eaten, but they are not sought after by our Indian epicures. The Section of rodents, embracing those having imperfect clavicles, fii'st offers to our attention the Hystrix Pilosus, the Canada Porcu- pine, of about thirty inches in length. The coat of this animal is composed of three kinds of hair : that next its skin is of a dirty brown color; then come longer hairs either white, black or party-colored, scattered through the under coating, and lastly the quills which are characteristic of the animal; these cover the whole body from the nape of the neck where they are shorter, closer and stiffer, to the haunches, Avhere they are longer and more supple. Porcupine flesh is excellent, and much sought after not only by Indians, but, also, by others who have tasted it. This animal is a very slow mover and a poor traveller, for it spends whole weeks
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, booksubjecti, booksubjectzoology
