No More Learning

The Common Beaver. These clever masons and carpenters are
natives of the most northern parts of Europe and Asia; but they
abound in North America; and there is little doubt but that, centu-
ries since, they were found in Britain; for Giraldus Cambrensis says,
that these " broad-tail'd animals " frequented the river Tivy, in Car-
diganshire : and in the reign of Howel Dda, their skins were valued
at the enormous sum of 120 pence each. This was in the tenth century.
In length, the beaver is about three feet; and the tail, which is
oval, about a foot more. The elephant, among the larger quadrupeds,
and the beaver among the lesser, are unequalled for sagacity.
The beavers live together in large families, between two and three
hundred in number, inhabiting dwellings which they build to the
height of eight feet above the water. There is a most valuable article
(too long to quote,) in Mr. Bingley's interesting work on the animal
kingdom, which you can refer to (vol. i. p. 423. ) The place they
select for their city is generally a pond: and if they cannot find one
to their liking, they choose a flat piece of ground, with a stream run-
ning through it. Capt. Cartwright says,^that the dams they form to
stop the streams, are sometimes a hundred feet long, composed of
stakes driven firmly into the ground, from five to six feet high, which
they ram so firmly down, and keep so perfectly level, that he has
frequently walked on the top as a bridge. The houses of their towns
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THE CREATION.
are constructed with the utmost ingenuity, of earth, stones, and sticks,
cemented together; and plastered on the inside with surprising neat-
ness. The number in each house is from two to twenty. They have
beds made of leaves. In the summer they leave their abodes, and have
their country-houses, sometimes here, sometimes there; but generally
under trees near the water.
The skin of this animal is very valuable, and is used by hatters;
and a good "beaver hat" cannot be equalled. The medicinal sub-
stance, called castor, which is produced by this animal, is considered
very valuable in some diseases. The Beaver is an animal of great
affection; and the utmost order seems to prevail in their little com-
munities. Two of this family were preserved in the Hudson's Bay
factory; they thrived very fast, and seemed happy; but one day one
of them was killed by accident. The survivor was inconsolable, and
after a little pined away, and died of starvation. O my beloved chil-
dren, what lessons we have before us in this little incident! How
few families live in the friendship of whole communities of the Beaver
tribe; and the man that would take and sell his fellow, after the man-
ner of the inhabitants of the southern of the United States of America,
might well go to this animal of their sister States in the North, and
learn lessons of fraternal love; for, let the white man remember that
immutable word, " God hath made of one blood all nations of men
for to dwell on all the face of the earth. " Acts xvii. 26. My dear
children, the Man-stealer and the Man-seller are surely abhorrent of God.
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Beavers are sometimes found living in loneliness: these have always
a black mark on their back. Capt. Cartwright supposes that these
recluses or hermits, as they are called, are not a separate breed; but
that, having lost their mate, they are gone into solitude. If this be
the case, what an example of deep affection! *
The Rat. This family contains all those animals which go under
the name of Murine animals; and although the name Rat has been
adopted as the name of the tribe, it includes also the Musk Rat.
The Musk Rat. This animal is about the size of a small rabbit, and
is found in America, from the high north of Hudson's Bay to the
south of Carolina. In the general form of their body, as well as in
their habits, they bear a strong resemblance to the Beaver. They
also build houses; they do not lay up for the winter, but have subter-
ranean lanes to go in quest of food. This animal is remarkable for a
strong musky smell, from whence it derives its name. The flesh is
sometimes eaten, and the fur is used for hats.
? The various contrivances for building that the form of the Beaver enables
it to use, are well calculated to fill us with admiration. If you passed by their
houses and dams, and were unacquainted with their natural history, though you
might not conjecture for what purpose these singular cities were built, yet you
would say, " carpenters have been here with their hatchets and saws, and masons
with their mortar and trowels;"--and so they have j for this ingenious little archi-
tect has used most diligently his teeth as an axe and saw, and with his paws he
has made up the mortar,--his tail has been both his hod to carry it, and his trowel
to spread and smooth it.
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THE CREATION.
The Brown Bat. This animal is well-known in England, and came
to us from Norway; and though it has in many places destroyed the
native race of black rats, yet he is no acceptable substitute for it,
being more fierce and voracious. When unmolested, this family so
rapidly increases, that in two years a pair might be multiplied to two
millions. But this increase is prevented, both by foreign enemies and
continual domestic broils. A large rat is as much dreaded by small
ones as any beast of prey: thus is this prolific race kept within bounds.
The Field Mouse. This little animal is well known. Although it
does not build houses as the beaver, yet it has its dwelling; but it is
more like the nest of a bird. They seem a much quieter race than
the rat.
The Harvest Mouse. This is the least of British quadrupeds; one
of them not weighing more than a halfpenny. One of our domestic
mice would outweigh them six times.
The Lemming Rat. These vary in size and colour. In Norway
they are as large as the water-rat; in Lapland much less. In Nor-
way they so abound that some of the inhabitants have thought that
they dropped from the clouds. They are very fierce; but never enter
houses.
The Hamster Bat. This singular voracious creature is found in
overwhelming numbers in some parts of Germany. It is about the
size of the large Norway rat. On each side, it has three large oval
white spots. It has, like the pelican, pouches to put by food for a
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time. This animal is as quarrelsome as our common rat; and its
time is chiefly spent in eating and fighting. It has no natural
affection: if its burrow is attacked, it will make off; and, deaf to the
cries of its young, it leaves them to the spoiler, and shuts up the way
of escape. If this should meet the eye of a cruel parent, who has
forsaken his own offspring, it may be the Lord will give such an one
to mark the wretchedness of imitating a being so low in creation as
the Hamster.
The Marmot. This family, though like the rat in appearance, is
yet widely different. There are eight species known.
The Alpine Marmot, as its name implies, is found in the Alps. It
is also found in the Pyrenees. It delights in the summit of the
mountains. In size, it is about eighteen inches long; and in some
things it is considered to resemble the bear as well as the rat . Its
flesh is very good for food; and its skin is valued for its fur. The
marmot never attacks others; but will defend himself most vigor-
ously if attacked.
The Bobac. This animal is a native of Poland and Russia; and
in most points is like the marmot. Both families are torpid during
winter. They are easily tamed; and are very playful and good-
tempered.
The Squirrel. This family is familiar to all. Light, nimble, and
sprightly, one is delighted to meet them in the woods. They have
two front teeth in each jaw, and five grinders on each side of the
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THE CREATION.
upper jaw, and four on the lower. They eat erect, holding their food
in their front paws.
The Common Squirrel. This elegant little animal is caressed by
every one; and is easily tamed. In spring, it is full of life; and seems
hardly to know how to contain its joy: but when summer comes, it
rarely shows itself. The nest of the squirrel manifests great inge-
nuity. Like most other animals in northern climates, they change
colour in the winter.
The Grey Squirrel. This animal is larger than the former; and the
fur is very beautiful. They are very fickle about their residence--
one year there may be tens and hundreds of thousands, and even more
than that, in the woods of a particular district; and the next year, not
one. Their mode of travelling by water is very curious. --When it
becomes necessary to cross a river or lake, they drag a piece of pine
to the water's edge; and then many of them together launch it, and
each one holds up its tail as a sail to the great vessel. If they have a
fair wind, they make a good voyage; but if the breeze is foul, or
increases, these little adventurous voyagers are wrecked; and the
Laplander, on whose shores they are washed, has a rich prize in their
skins. These animals also abound in the New World; and where
maize grows, of which they are immoderately fond, colonies of them
will destroy whole plantations. A price is therefore often put on
their heads; and in some years nearly a million have been taken.
The account given by Mr. Bingley, in his Animal Biography,
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is of great interest: indeed, there is a fund of information in those
volumes; and in forming this summary, I am greatly indebted to him.
The Black Squirrel. This family is nearly allied to the grey, in
everything but colour. Some have said, that none of this, nor any
other tribe of Squirrels, swim; but this is now quite disproved: short
distances they easily accomplish. When they migrate in large
numbers it is a sure sign of a severe winter,.
The Striped Squirrel. This animal is a native of America. Its tail
is long; but not bushy. It lives in caverns, like the marmot; but,
like all others of this family, is a terrible enemy to the farmer. The
Chinese purchase the skins of this animal in numbers.
The American Flying Squirrel. This animal, which is a native of
most parts of North America, has large black eyes, naked ears, and a
hairy membrane extending nearly round the whole body. On the
fore legs, it adheres as far as the toe>>; and on the hind leg it extends
to the ancles.
This beautiful little family seldom visit the ground; but live chiefly
in the trees; and by means of their wings they are enabled to leap ten
or twelve yards. Like the flying-fish, they do not flap their wings;
but extend them to the utmost, and the air underneath keeps them up.
They cannot skim upwards, but generally light on a tree lower than
that from which they spring.
These little animals are easily tamed; and love to creep into their
owner's sleeve for warmth.
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THE CREATION.
The European Flying Squirrel. This animal differs but little from
the kindred one of America. It is found principally in Siberia, Lap-
land, and the high northern regions; and feeds on the young branches
of the beech and pine.
The Dormouse. This little family sleep all the winter. When
they come out in the spring, they are full of life. They have two front
teeth and four grinders in each jaw.
The Common Dormouse. This pretty little animal is a little larger
than the common mouse, but more plump and rounded; its great dis-
tinctions are its full eyes and somewhat bushy tail.
The Jerboa. This animal approaches, on a diminutive scale, to
the kangaroo. They use their long hind legs in leaping like that
animal; and seldom go on all fours. They have two front teeth above
and two below.
The Siberian Jerboa. This little animal is found in the eastern
parts of Siberia, in Barbary, Syria, and some parts of Tartary. It is
about eight inches long, and the tail ten inches. There is one fact
connected with this animal which shows wonderful sagacity. They
have subterranean abodes, with one entrance; but then they work
up another road nearly to the surface; and when pursued in their
retreat, they make for their safety-valve, burst through the thin sur-
face covering, and so escape. The Arabs are very fond of them as food.
The Hare.
The generic character of this tribe is as follows:--
two front teeth above and below, the upper pair duplicate; the fore-
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feet have five toes; the hinder four. The hare is a very timid animal;
and thus, to be " timid as a hare," is a common proverb.
The Common Hare. This little animal is known in all the kingdoms
of Europe; indeed, in all the northern parts of the world. It has no
weapons of defence; and therefore, as Mr. Bingley beautifully ob-
serves, it has been endowed by Providence to a high degree with the
sentiment of fear: he also most truly adds, "Dogs and foxes pursue
the animal by instinct; wild cats, weasels, and birds of prey devour
it; and man, far more powerful than all its other enemies, makes use
of every artifice to seize upon an animal which constitutes one of the
chief delicacies of his table; and even the poor defenceless animal is
made an object of amusement, in the chace. But wretchedly indeed
is man's reason and intellect perverted, when exercised in so cruel, so
unmanly a pursuit. " In India, the hare is also hunted for sport, not
only with dogs, but with hawks; but in India, beloved children, they
do not profess to be under the authority of that blessed word which
declares that the children of God are to be merciful, as their Father
in heaven is merciful. (Luke vi. 36. )
The Rabbit. This well-known animal is found in most parts of the
world, but abounds in England; and they are so prolific, that if they
had no enemies, a single pair, in four years, would produce, it is said,
a million--it seems incredible. The mother takes an especial care of
her young, and nurses them with great assiduity until they are able to
help themselves.
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THE CREATION.
The fur of the rabbit is useful for hats, and the flesh is delicate for
food.
The Coney, or Hyrax. This little animal abounds in the Holy-
Land and Arabia. Its front paws are very weak, so that it is unable
to burrow as the rabbit, but makes its home in the rocks. (Ps. civ. 18. )
Solomon, when speaking of the coney, says, " They are little upon
earth, but exceeding wise: (the margin reads "wise made wise:")
they are a feeble folk, yet make they their houses on the rock. "
(Prov. xxx. 24. ) There is great instruction to us in this scripture:
--The man that is wise builds his house upon a rock. (Matt. vi.
24--28. )
The Alpine Hare. This beautiful little creature is not more than
nine inches long; its fur is dusky at the roots, and bright bay at the
ends, and tipped with white. A fact of no common interest occurs in
the history of this animal, having man's welfare so visible in it, that
I will mention it:--Though they take refuge at times between the
rocks, yet, like the coney, they generally pitch their tents in the
crevices; and like the ant, they have the wisdom to provide for the
stormy time of winter; and to this I before alluded. Their plan is as
follows:--in autumn, they collect together vast heaps of their most
favourite herbs and grasses, and get them nicely dried; these they
place in some sheltered place, in ricks of six feet high, and four feet
in diameter, or through. If the animals employed in this labour are
few, then the ricks are smaller; they are quite conical on the top, like
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the bottom of a tea-cup turned upside down. To the sable hunter,
the spoil of these little ricks is invaluable. Thus, whichever way we
turn, my beloved children, the goodness of the Lord is manifest; for
" He opens his hand, and fills all things living with plenteousness. "
(Ps. cxlv. )
FIFTH ORDER. --PECORA.
EIGHT GENERA. --MANY SPECIES.
Comprising, principally, the Camel, the Llama, the Musk, the Stag, the Elk, the Cam-
elopard, the Antelope, the Goat, the Sheep, and the Ox.
The characteristics of this order are, that the animals have cutting
teeth in their under, but not in their upper jaw, and but five molar
teeth on each side in both.
The Camel. There are two varieties of this most useful animal,
both of which are invaluable to the Arab in his parched deserts, and
to the inhabitants of other tropical countries. The one is called the
camel, and has two hunches on his back; the other, the dromedary,
which has only one. The latter is by far the most numerous; the
former is scarce, except in Turkey and the Levant. The camel has a
small head, short ears, and a long bending neck. Its height, to the
top of the hunches, is about six feet and a half. It has a long tail, and
small hoofs; flat feet, divided above, and not beneath; on the legs
are six callosities; and besides the four stomachs, which all ruminating
animals have, it has a fifth storehouse, which is its reservoir for water.
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THE CREATION.
In every way the camel is beneficial to man; and if you look over
the whole family of the animal kingdom, not one could supply its
place: it is found in the very spot where it is needed. By means
of this docile creature, the trade of Turkey, Persia, and Arabia, is
principally carried on. But every part of it is useful: its milk, flesli,
hair, &c. , are all turned to advantage.
The Dromedary is seldom as large as the camel, or as strong; but
numbers amply make up the deficiency.
The Llama. This is the camel of the New World; but, like all the
other animals, it is much less than that of the Old. It is found, how-
ever, only in the mountains extending from New Spain to the Straits
of Magellan. In Peru it abounds. This invaluable animal is not
above four feet high; its colour, varied. Its precision of tread, in
ascending and descending dangerous precipices, with lOOlbs. weight on
its back, is marvellous. Its life appears limited to about twelve
years.
The Musk. This animal inhabits the kingdom of Thibet, Tonquin,
and Boutan. They delight in mountains. They are a timid animal,
and flee from man. In length they are about three feet. The
medicinal drug, which gives the name to this animal, is found in a
little bag in the belly of the male, about the size of a hen's egg.
The Brazilian, Indian, and Guinea Musks are all of this family:
the latter is not more than ten inches long.
The Camelopard. This beautiful and stately animal has partially
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the form of the camel, and the skin of the leopard; and thus its
name. It is rarely brought to Europe. In appearance it is like a
very tall animal sitting. Its height varies; but it has been seen
eighteen feet and more. It is found in the sequestered parts of
Africa. It feeds entirely on herbs.
The Moose Deer, or Elk. This animal cannot exist in temperate
climates, but delights in the cold of Norway, Russia, Siberia, and
Tartary : it is also found in America. One of its peculiarities is an
excrescence under the throat. The antlers also are of a great size.
The Rein Deer. When, but now, we were in the deserts of Arabia,
we found the camel just adapted for its place ; but how entirely it
would fail, if carried to the hyperborean regions, to fill the place of
the rein deer, and vice versa. The rein deer cannot be too highly
prized: take it from the Laplander, and his case would indeed be
dreadful. It supplies to him the place of the horse, cow, and sheep;
for it draws his sledge, affords him milk, gives him clothing, and even
the very tendons answer, when whole, for bow strings, and when split,
for threads. A Lapland man's riches consist, not in how many
thousand pounds he has in the stocks, but in how many head of deer
he has in his fold.
The Stag, or Red Deer. This animal, as well as the fallow deer,
was once well known in this country; and though much alike, the
varieties never associate with each other. The stag is common to
almost all the northern parts of Europe.
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THE CREATION.
Like the rest of this family, the deer sheds its horns annually; and
thus we get that invaluable volatile spirit, called hartshorn, which
is procured from the shavings of the horn. The flesh of the stag
is esteemed above that of the fallow deer. They are very bold in
case of danger: there was an instance once, of a tiger cruelly let
into the same enclosure with a stag, but the latter made so stout a
resistance, that the tiger fled.
The Fallow Deer. This animal is now domesticated with us, and is
kept in the parks of the great. Their young are called fawns; and
the spots on their skins give them a beautiful appearance. The flesh
of the deer is called venison.
The Roebuck. This most beautiful little animal, the smallest of
this family known in England, once roamed through our woods, but is
now extinct in these kingdoms, except in the highlands of Scotland.
It is about three feet long, and two feet high. They have this
peculiarity: that they never herd together, except in domestic re-
lations. The roebuck is always faithful to its mate; and the family
live with them until they are old enough to go out into life, and
provide for themselves.
The Antelope or Gazelle. This singular animal is a kind of link
between the roebuck and the goat: like the goat, they never shed
their horns, and they have the form and motion of the roebuck.
The eyes are said to be very brilliant, and yet mild.
The Common Antelope. This animal is a native of Barbary, and is
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much like our fallow deer: its peculiarity is, that its horns are spirally
twisted, and encircled almost to the top with prominent rings. The
females are destitute of horns.
The White-footed Antelope. This beautiful species inhabits the
interior of Hindostan. Its horns are short, and project a little for-
ward. Its flesh is much esteemed in that country.
The Royal Antelope. This species is also called the Chevrotrin, and
is the smallest of all cloven-footed animals:--its height is about nine
inches, and length fourteen;--the shape is delicate beyond description,
like a beautiful stag in miniature. It is a native of Senegal, and the
hottest parts of Africa.
The Goat. This family is well known, and is a valuable animal
to us, especially on board ship, where it supplies, at least to a few,
milk for a long voyage. The goat is found in most parts of the world.
In several parts of Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, goats are an invalu-
able boon to the poor. All parts of this animal are of use. The kids
are very playful. This was one of the animals used, by God's appoint-
ment, in sacrifice. Though goats are now met with in America, there
were none found there on its discovery.
The Ibex. This bold animal is found on the Alps and Pyrenees :
he has large knotted horns, sometimes three feet in length. If the
incautious hunter follow him to narrow places, he will turn round,
and endeavour to throw him off the precipice; and if he fails, he will
throw himself down an amazing height, and, falling on his horns,
P
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THE CREATION.
will escape unhurt. How wonderful this provision--how full of
mercy!
The Goat of Angora. This animal seems confined to the limited
space of a few hundred miles, about Angora and Congar, in Asiatic
Turkey. It is famous for its beautiful hair.