The palmist is about the size of a rat, or a small squirrel; he lives
upon the palm-trees, from which he takes his name. Some call him the
palm-rat, and others the palm-tree squirrel; but as he is neither a rat
nor a squirrel, we call him palmist. (_fig. 123._) His head is nearly
the same form as that of the campagnol, and covered with rough hair.
His long tail does not lie on the ground, like that of the rat, but
he carries it erect vertically, without, however, throwing it down on
his back like the squirrel; it is covered with hair longer than that
of his body, but shorter than the hair of the tail of a squirrel. His
back is variegated with white and brown stripes, which distinguish
the palmist from all other animals, except the squirrels of Barbary
and Switzerland. These three animals are so much alike, that Mr. Ray
thought they made but one species; but if we consider that the palmist
and the squirrel of Barbary, are only found in the warm climates of the
ancient continent, and that the squirrel of Switzerland, described by
Lister, Catesby, and Edwards, is only to be met with in the cold and
temperate regions of the New World, we must judge them to be different
species. By minute observation it is easy to perceive that the white
and brown stripes of the Swiss are disposed differently from those of
the palmist, whose white stripe extends all along the back, while it
is black or brown in the Swiss; and this brown stripe in the latter
is followed by a white stripe, in the same manner as the white stripe
in the former is by a brown; besides, the palmist has but three white
stripes, while the Swiss has four; he also brings down his tail on
his back, which the palmist does not: the latter dwells upon trees,
and the Swiss is an inhabitant of the earth; from which difference he
is called the land squirrel. In fine, he is smaller than the palmist,
consequently there can be no doubt of their being two different species.
As for the squirrel of Barbary, as he is of the same continent and
climate, of the same size, and nearly the same form as the palmist,
they might be considered as varieties of the same species; yet in
comparing the description and figure of the squirrel of Barbary, given
by Caius, and copied by Aldrovandus and Johnson, with the description
given here of the palmist, and comparing afterwards the description
and figure of the squirrel of Barbary, given by Edwards, it is easy to
discern that they are different animals. We have seen them all in the
king's cabinet. The squirrel of Barbary has the head and forehead more
round, the ears longer, and the tail more bushy than the palmist; he is
more like a squirrel than a rat, by the form of his head and body; and
a palmist resembles more a rat than a squirrel. The squirrel of Barbary
has four white stripes, and the palmist has no more than three; the
white stripe is on the palmist's back bone, but that on the squirrel
of Barbary is brown and red. These animals have very near the same
habits and dispositions as the common squirrel. Like him they feed upon
fruit, and use their fore paws in carrying it to the mouth; they have
the same voice and cry, the same instinct, and agility; they are lively
and tractable, easily tamed, and so fond of their habitations, that
they never go out but on diversion, and return spontaneously to their
residence. They are both of a pretty figure; their coats, which has
white stripes, is more valuable than that of the squirrel; their size
is shorter, their body lighter, and their motions equally quick. The
palmist, and the squirrel of Barbary, dwell on trees like the common
squirrel, but the Swiss lives upon the earth, and, like the field
mouse, forms a retreat that the water cannot penetrate; he is also less
docile and less gentle than the two others; he bites without mercy,
except completely tamed, from which it appears he is more like a rat,
or a field mouse, than a squirrel, by instinct and nature.
_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._
[Illustration: FIG. 124. _Great Ant Eater._]
[Illustration: FIG. 125. _Short tail'd Manis._]
[Illustration: FIG. 126. _Long tail'd Ditto._]