by the hind feet, which are furnished with strong, acutely-pointed claws. The majority eat insects and worms, but a few are fruit eaters. They are most abundant in tropical countries. North American species, about twenty-five.

NOCTILIONIDE.

LARGE-NOSED BAT. Nyctinomus brasiliensis, Geoffroy.

VESPERTILIONIDÆ.

TWILIGHT BAT. Nycticejus crepuscularis, LeConte.

RED BAT. Atalapha noveboracensis, (Erxleben) Peters.

HOARY BAT. Atalapha cinerea, (Beauvois) Peters.

CAROLINA BAT. Vesperugo serotinus, (Schreber) Keys. and Blas.; fuscus. GEORGIAN BAT. Vesperugo georgianus, (F. Cuvier) Dobson.

LITTLE BROWN BAT. Vespertilio subulatus, Say.

SILVERY-HAIRED BAT. Scotophilus uoctivagans, LeConte.
BLUNT-NOSED BAT. Vespertilio lucifugus, LeConte *
BIG-EARED BAT. Plecotus macrotus, LeConte.

ORDER INSECTIVORA. INSECT EATERS.

A group of small mammals, possessing many of the characteristics of the bats, but having both fore and hind limbs adapted for walking. The two bones of the fore-arm are separate. The mammae are inguinal.

This order, of which the common mole forms a well-known example, is composed mostly of burrowing animals, which feed upon insects and live a secluded life. Few or none are of economical value, and the moles, at least, prove obnoxious to the farmer by injuring his pasture land.

SORICIDE.

MASKED SHREW. Sorex personatus, Geoffroy.

CAROLINA SHREW. Blarina brevicaudata, (Say), Baird.

*Vespertilio_virginianus, Audubon and Bachman, a species of uncertain identity, is included by Gibbes in the South Carolina fauna. “V. nigrescens, Bachman," also given by Gibbes, I have been unable to find a description of.

TALPIDE.

COMMON MOLE. Scalops aquaticus, (Linné) Fischer.
STAR-NOSED MOLE. Condylura cristata, (Linné) Desmarest. (G.)

ORDER GLIRES. RODENTS.

A large order of mammals, at once distinguishable from all other placental mammals by the form of incisor teeth, which are bent into an are of greater or less magnitude, possess a chisel or gouge-like edge, and grow perpetually from a soft pulp. Canine teeth are wanting; the feet are suited for walking and leaping.

The species of rodents are more numerous than those of all other orders of mammals combined. They are distributed throughout the world. Some, as the squirrels and chipmunks, are adapted for arboreal life, while others, as the marmots, live in the open prairies. The common rat has been introduced everywhere where commerce has penetrated.

The rodents are of comparatively little commercial value, although some families, as the beavers, furnish beautiful furs, and others, as the squirrels and hares, may supply some considerable amount of palatable food. On the other hand, many members of the family Murida, or rats, are injurious to grain and other products of husbandry.*

SCIURIDE.

? EASTERN CHICKADEE. Scuirus hudsonius, Pallas; hudsonius. SOUTHERN FOX SQUIRREL. Sciurus niger, Linné; niger.

? NORTHERN GRAY SQUIRREL. Sciurus carolinensis, Gmelin; leucotis. SOUTHERN GRAY SQUIRREL. Sciurus carolinensis, Gmelin; carolinensis. FLYING SQUIRREL. Sciuropterus volucella, (Pallas) Geoff.; volucella. CHIPMUNK; STRIPED SQUIRREL. Tamias striatus, (Linné) Baird. WOODCHUCK; GROUND HOG. Arctomys monax, (Linné) Schreber.

*The Jumping Mouse, Zapus hudsonius, (Zimm.) Coues, representing the family Zapodidæ, is included by Gibbes in the fauna of South Carolina, but apparently without

reason.

MURIDE.

BROWN RAT. Mus decumanus, Pallas. (Introduced.)
BLACK RAT. Mus rattus, Linné. (Introduced.)
COMMON MOUSE. Mus musculus, Linné. (Introduced.)
MUSK RAT. Fiber zibethicus, (Linné) Cuvier.

PINE MOUSE. Arvicola pinetorum, (LeConte) A. and B.
COMMON MEADOW MOUSE. Arvicola riparius, Ord.
HARVEST MOUSE. Ochetodon humilis, (Aud. and Bach.) Wag.
RED MOUSE. Hesperomys aureolus, (Aud. and Bach.) Wag.
COTTON MOUSE. Hesperomys gossypinus, LeConte.
GRAY-BELLIED MOUSE. Hesperomys leucopus. Wagner.
RICE-FIELD MOUSE. Hesperomys palustris, (Harlan) Wagner.
FLORIDA OR WOOD RAT. Neotoma floridana, Say and Ord.
COTTON RAT. Sigmodon hispidus, Say and Ord.

CASTORIDEÆ.

AMERICAN BEAVER. Castor fiber, Linné. (Extinct.)

LEPORIDE.

GRAY RABBIT. Lepus sylvaticus, Bachman; sylvaticus.
MARSH HARE. Lepus palustris, Bachman.

SUB-CLASS DIDELPHIA.

A sub-class of mammals distinguished from the preceding by the fact that the young are born in an incompletely developed condition, and are protected in a pouch on the abdomen of the mother, where they are retained for several months, being nourished by the milk secreted by the mammae therein contained. The sub-class contains but a single order, the Marsupalia.

The marsupials vary very much in size, and are mostly confined to Australasia. A single family, the Didelphida, or opossums, inhabits America, and is peculiar to our continent.

DIDELPHIDÆ.

OPOSSUM. Didelphys virginiana, Shaw.

CLASS AVES. BIRDS.

A class of oviparous, warm-blooded, air-breathing vertebrates, having the anterior limbs greatly modified for flight. Hind limbs always present. Exoskeleton in the form of feathers. Teeth in existing species absent. In certain extinct forms, Odontorniths, teeth are present.

The birds form a remarkably compact class of animals. They have attracted more attention on account of their beauty and prevailing harmlessness than, perhaps, any group of animals, and vie with the mammals in the degree of their usefulness to man.

No corner of the globe is without representatives of this group. About nine hundred and twenty-four species and sub-species are North American. Many orders, such as the ostriches, are not represented in our country.

ORDER PASSERES. PASSERINE BIRDS.

Birds having four toes fitted for perching, but never versatile, i. e., capable of being turned laterally from one position to another. Hind toe on a level with the others, and always with a claw as long or longer than that of the middle toe. Tail-feathers twelve, primaries (the stiff feathers inserted from the bend of the wing to the tip, and usually ten in number), nine or ten. Sternum uniform in pattern in the various species.

This group of birds is the most numerous of all in species. The musical capabilities are developed in a high degree, and throughout their structure they display "the highest grade of development and the most complex organization of the class."-(Coues). Their relations to the success of agriculture are varied, some families being granivorous, and doing much damage to corn and grain, others being insectivorous, and hence of importance in reducing the abundance of noxious insects. Recognized North American species, about three hundred and forty.

TURDIDE.

WOOD THRUSH. Hylocichla mustelina, (Ginel.) Baird. WILSON'S THRUSH. Hylocichla fuscescens, (Steph.) Baird. ?GREY-CHEEKED THRUSH. Hylocichla aliciæ, Baird.

OLIVE-BACKED THRUSH. Hylocichla ustulata swainsoni, (Caban.) Ridgw.

HERMIT THRUSH. Hylocichla unalascæ pallasi, (Cabanis) Ridgway.
AMERICAN ROBIN. Merula migratoria, (Linné) Sw. and Rich.
MOCKING BIRD. Mimus polyglottus, (Linné) Boie.

CAT-BIRD. Galeoscoptes carolinensis, (Linné) Caban.

BROWN THRUSH OR THRASHER. Harporhynchus rufus, (Linné) Caban.

RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, OR WREN. Regulus calendula, (Linné)

Lichtenstein.

GOLDEN-CRESTED KINGLET. Regulus satrapa, Licht.

PARIDE.

TUFTED TITMOUSE. Lophophanes bicolor, (Linné) Bonaparte.

BLACK-CAPPED CHICKEDEE, OR TITMOUSE. Parus atricapillus, Linné. CAROLINA TITMOUSE, OR CHICKADEE. Parus carolinensis, Audubon.

• SITTIDE.

WHITE-BELLIED NUTHATCH. Sitta carolinensis, Gmelin. ? RED-BELLIED NUTHATCH. Sitta canadensis, Linné. BROWN-HEADED NUTHATCH. Sitta pusilla, Latham.

CERTHIIDE.

BROWN CREEPER. Certhia familiaris mexicana, (Gloger) Ridgway.

TROGLODYTIDE.

CAROLINA WREN. Thryothorus ludovicianus. (Gm.) Bonaparte.
BEWICK'S WREN. Thryomanes bewicki, (Aud.) Baird.

HOUSE WREN. Troglodytes aedon, Vieillot.