Volume 1

Buffon's Natural history, abridged. Including the history of the elements, the earth, mountains, rivers, seas, winds, whirlwinds, waterspouts, volcanoes, earthquakes, man, quadrupeds, birds, fishes, shell-fish, lizards, serpents, insects, and vegetables / [George Louis Leclerc Buffon].

  • Buffon, Georges Louis Leclerc, comte de, 1707-1788.
Date:
1792
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Buffon's Natural history, abridged. Including the history of the elements, the earth, mountains, rivers, seas, winds, whirlwinds, waterspouts, volcanoes, earthquakes, man, quadrupeds, birds, fishes, shell-fish, lizards, serpents, insects, and vegetables / [George Louis Leclerc Buffon]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    by its deformity, having a hunched back, and an exceed- ing fhort (nout; fo that the head feems to (hoot immedi- ately out of the (boulders; it is Called Micuacanens, from the name of its country. The third kind of thefe dogs, called 1Techichi, fufficiently refembles our little dogs; but its look is dull and favage. The Americans eat their fiefla. I he word Alco appears to be a generical term. The Tayra, or Galera, is about the fize of afmall rabbit, and refembles the weafel or the ferret. It burrows like thofe animals, and has its fore feet very ftrong, and confiderably (horter than the hinder ones. Its fnout is elongated, a little pointed, and adorned with a whifker. The body is oblong, and greatly refembles that of a rat; it is covered with brown hair, fome of which is pretty long, and in others much (horter. This animal refembles the fpecies of ferret, or pole-cat. Linnaeus, with fome reafon, fuppofes, that the black weafel of Brafil is alfo found in Guiana, where it is called Tayra, The Philander of Surinam.] This animal be- longs to the fame climate, and is of a near fpecies to the (ariga, marmofe, cayopolin and phalanger. It has very fparkling eyes, furrounded with a circle of deep brown hair. The body is covered with a foft hair, or rather a kind of wool, of a reddifh colour, which is fair on the back, and of a yellowifh colour on the fnout, forehead, belly and feet. The feet refemble the hands of the ape ; the fore feet hav- ing four fingers and a thumb, with fhort and obtufe nails; whereas, only the thumb or great toe of the hinder feet is flat and obtufe, the reft being armed with fmall, fharp claws. The young of thefe animals grunt fomewhat like a pig : they get on the back of their dam, and fix them- felves there, by fattening their tails to her’s. In this htu- ation, which is familiar to them, they are carried with as much fafety as fwiftnefs. The Akouchi is common in Guiana, and other parts of South America. It differs from the agouti by having a tail. The akouebi is generally fmaller than the agouti ; but its hair is not red, but olive. The Tucan, or Mexican Shrew, is a little larger than our mole, and, like that, is tat and flclhy, with fuch very (hurt legs, that its belly touches the ground. Its tail is