Page images
PDF
EPUB

No. LXX.

ON THE HABITATIONS OF ANIMALS IN

GENERAL.

Behold the acting and comparing powers
One in their nature, which are two in ours!
And reason raise o'er instinct as you can,
In this 'tis God directs, in that 'tis man.

POPE.

INSTINCTIVE ingenuity, in the construction of their habitations, is not confined to insects: it is visible, for the same common ends, in the admirable contrivances of quadrupeds and birds. In some former papers, I entered into a discussion of instinct in general1, exemplified by the natural history of the beaver, and by some observations on the nidification of birds; and I shall devote my present essay to some considerations on the habitations of animals in general.

With regard to quadrupeds, many of them employ no kind of architecture, but live constantly in the open air. When not under the immediate protection of man, they shelter themselves in rough, or stormy weather, among trees or bushes, or retire under the coverture of projecting rocks, or the sides of hills opposite to those from which the wind proceeds. Beside these arts of defence, to which they are prompted by instinct and experience, Nature furnishes them, during the winter months, with a double portion of long hair, which protects them from cold, and other assaults of the weather.

Of the quadrupeds that make or choose habitations for themselves, some dig holes in the earth,

No. LXVIII.

2 No. LXIX.

3 No. LXIV.

some take refuge in the cavities of decayed trees, and in the clefts of rocks, and some actually construct cabins or houses. But the artifices they employ, the materials they use, and the situations they select, are so various, and so numerous, that I am necessarily confined to a few of the more curious examples.

Of the operations and architecture of the beaver, I have already, as observed above, given a very ample account. The Alpine marmot is a quadruped about sixteen inches in length, and has a short tail. In figure, the marmots have some resemblance both to the rat and to the bear. When tamed, they eat every thing presented to them; as flesh, bread, fruit, roots, herbs, insects, &c. They delight in the regions of frost and snow, and are only to be found on the tops of the highest mountains. They remain in a torpid state during winter. About the end of September or beginning of October, they retire into their holes, and never come abroad again till the beginning of April. Their retreats are formed with much art and precaution. With their feet and claws, which are admirably adapted to the purpose, they dig the earth with amazing quickness, and throw it behind them. They do not make a simple hole, or a straight or winding tube, but a kind of gallery in the form of a Y, each branch of which has an aperture, and both terminate in a capacious apartment, where several of the animals lodge together. As the whole operation is performed on the declivity of a mountain, this innermost apartment is alone horizontal. Both branches of the Y are inclined. One of the branches descends under the apartment, and follows the declivity of the mountain. branch is a kind of aqueduct, and receives and carries off the excrements of the animals; and the other, which rises above the principal apartment, is used for coming in and going out. The place of their

This

abode is well lined with moss and hay, of which they lay up great store during the summer. They are social animals. Several of them live together, and work in common when forming their habitations. Thither they retire during rain, or upon the approach of danger. One of them stands centinel upon a rock; while the others gambol upon the grass, or are employed in cutting it, in order to make hay. If the centinel perceives a man, an eagle, a dog, or other dangerous animal, he alarms his companions by a loud whistle, and is himself the last that enters the hole. As they continue torpid during winter, and, as if they foresaw that they would then have no occasion for victuals, they lay up no provisions in their apartments. But, when they feel the first approaches of the sleeping season, they shut up both passages to their habitation; and this operation they perform with such labour and solidity, that it is more easy to dig the earth any where else than in such parts as they have thus fortified. At this time they are very fat, weighing sometimes twenty pounds. They continue to be plump for three months; but afterward they gradually decline, and, at the end of winter, are extremely emaciated. When seized in their retreats, they appear rolled up in the form of a ball, and covered with hay. In this state, they are so torpid that they may be killed without seeming to feel pain. The hunters select the fattest for eating, and keep the young ones for taming. Like the dormice, and all the other animals which sleep during winter, the marmots are revived by a gradual and gentle heat: and it is remarkable, that those which are fed in houses, and kept warm, never become torpid, but are equally active and lively during the whole year.

The habitation where moles deposit their young merits a particular description; because it is constructed with peculiar intelligence, and because the

mole is an animal with which we are well acquainted. They begin by raising the earth, and forming a pretty high arch. They have partitions, or a kind of pillars, at certain distances, beat and press the earth, interweave it with the roots of plants, and render it so hard and solid, that the water can'not penetrate the vault, on account of its convexity and firmness. They then elevate a little hillock under the principal arch; upon the latter they lay herbs and leaves for a bed to their young. In this situation they are above the level of the ground, and, of course, beyond the reach of ordinary inundations. They are, at the same time, defended from the rains by the large vault that covers the internal one, upon the convexity of which last they rest along with their young. This internal hillock is pierced on all sides with sloping holes, which descend still lower, and serve as subterraneous passages for the mother to go in quest of food for herself and her offspring. These by-paths are beaten and firm, extend about twelve or fifteen paces, and issue from the principal mansion like rays from a centre. Under the superior vault we likewise find remains of the roots of the meadow saffron, which seem to be the first food given to the young. From this description it appears, that the mole never comes abroad but at considerable distances from her habitation. Moles, like the beavers, pair; and so lively and reciprocal an attachment subsists between them, that they seem to disrelish all other society. In their dark abodes they enjoy the placid habits of repose and solitude, the art of securing themselves from injury, of almost instantaneously making an asylum or habitation, and of procuring a plentiful subsistence without the necessity of going abroad. They shut up the entrance of their retreats, and seldom leave them, unless compelled by the admission of water, or when their mansions are demolished by art.

The nidification of birds has at all times deservedly called forth the admiration of mankind. Their nests, in general, are built with such exquisite art, that an exact imitation of them exceeds all the powers of human skill. Their style of architecture, the materials they employ, and the situations they select, are as various as the different species. Indi viduals of the same species, whatever region of the globe they inhabit, collect the same materials, arrange and construct them in the same form, and make choice of similar situations for erecting their temporary habitations; for the nests of birds, those of the eagle-kind excepted, after the young have come to maturity, are for ever abandoned by the parents.

To describe minutely the nests of birds would be a vain attempt. Such descriptions could not convey an adequate idea of their architecture to a person who had never seen one of those beautiful and commodious habitations, which even astonish and excite the amazement of children.

The different orders of birds exhibit great variety in the materials and structure of their nests. Those of the rapacious tribes are in general rude, and composed of coarse materials, as dried twigs, bents, &c. But they are often lined with soft substances. They build in elevated rocks, ruinous and sequestered castles and towers, and in other solitary retirements. The aërie or nest of the eagle is quite flat, and not hollow, like those of other birds. The male and female commonly place their nest between two rocks, in a dry and inaccessible situation. The same nest, it is said, serves the eagle during life. The structure is so considerable, and composed of such solid materials, that it may last many years. Its form resembles that of a floor. Its basis consists of sticks about five or six feet in length, which are supported at each end, and these are covered with several

« PreviousContinue »