. A general history of quadrupeds : the figures engraved on wood . in the fur; its nofe blunt; tail broad and flat, nearlyof an oval form, and covered with fcales—it ferves notonly as a rudder to diredi its motions in the water, butas a moft ufeful inflrument for laying on the clay, pref-fing it into the crevices, and fmoothing the outward ct)-vering; its fore feet are fmall, and not unlike thofe of aDd 2 420 HISTORY OF QUADRUPEDS. Rat; the hind feet are large and flrong, with membranesbetween each toe; its length, from nofe to tail, is aboutthree feet; the tail is eleven inches long, a
. A general history of quadrupeds : the figures engraved on wood . in the fur; its nofe blunt; tail broad and flat, nearlyof an oval form, and covered with fcales—it ferves notonly as a rudder to diredi its motions in the water, butas a moft ufeful inflrument for laying on the clay, pref-fing it into the crevices, and fmoothing the outward ct)-vering; its fore feet are fmall, and not unlike thofe of aDd 2 420 HISTORY OF QUADRUPEDS. Rat; the hind feet are large and flrong, with membranesbetween each toe; its length, from nofe to tail, is aboutthree feet; the tail is eleven inches long, and threebroad. The caftor produced from thefe animals is found ina liquid ftate, in bags near the anus, about the fize of anegg. When taken off, the matter dries, and is reducibleto a powder, which is oily, of a (harp bitter tafte, anda ftrong difagreeable fmell.—Thefe bags are found indif-ferently in males and females, and were formerly fup-pofed to be the animals tefticles, which, when purfued,it was faid to bite off, and by that means efcape with HISTORY OF QUADRUPEDS. 421
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1800, booksubjectmammals, bookyear1800
