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species, all of which are uniformly coloured. They are comparatively small and stoutly built animals, with short, rounded ears and no tail. In habits they are partly diurnal; and live either in burrows among the crevices of rocks, beneath the leaves of aquatic See also:

PLANTS

plants in marshy districts, or underneath the floors of outbuildings. Their cries are faint squeaks and grunts. They feed upon nearly all See also:

VEGETABLE

vegetable substances, but drink little. Generally they See also:

ASSOCIATE (Lat. associates, from ad, to, and sociare to join)

associate in small See also:

SOCIETIES, LEARNED

societies, and seldom wander far from See also:

home. Although the guinea-pig is a fertile breeder, the wild species only produce one or two See also:

young at a See also:

BIRTH (a word common in various forms to Teutonic languages from the root of the verb " to bear ")

birth, and this but once in a See also:

YEAR

year. The young come into the See also:

WORLD

world in a highly See also:

DEVELOPED

developed See also:

CONDITION (Lat. condicio, from condicere, to agree upon, arrange; not connected with conditio, from condere, conditum, to put together)

condition, being able to feed them-selves the See also:

day following their birth. Cavies are widely distributed in South See also:

AMERICA

America, and are represented by several species.

Among them may be mentioned the aperea or restless cavy (C. porcellus or C. aperea) of See also:

Brazil; the Bolivian C. boliviensis, found at See also:

GREAT

great elevations in the See also:

ANDES

Andes; the Brazilian See also:

rock-cavy (C. rupestris), characterized by its short See also:

blunt claws; and the Peruvian C. cutleri. The latter was tamed by the Incas, and is the ancestor of the guinea-pig. As to the origin of that name, some writers consider it a corruption of See also:

GUIANA (Guyana, Guayana')

Guiana-pig, but it is more probable that the word " Guinea " merely signifies See also:

FOREIGN

foreign. The guinea-pig is a singularly inoffensive and defenceless creature, of a restless disposition, and wanting in that intelligence which usually characterizes domestic pets, although said to show some discrimination. It is of no particular service to See also:

man, neither its flesh nor its See also:

FUR (connected with O. Fr. forre, a sheath or case; so " an outer covering ")

fur being generally put to use, while the statement that its presence is sufficient to drive off rats and mice appears to be without See also:

FOUNDATION (Lat. fundatio, from fundare, to found)

foundation. It is exceedingly prolific, beginning to breed at the See also:

AGE (Fr. age, through late Lat. aetaticum, from aetas)

age of two months; the number of young varying, according to the age of the See also:

PARENT, SIMON NAPOLEON (1855– )

parent, from four to twelve. It has been calculated that a single pair of guinea-pigs may prove the parent stock of a thousand individuals in a single year. A very different See also:

animal is the Patagonian cavy, or See also:

MARA, GERTRUD ELISABETH (1749-1833)

mara (Dolichotis pataclsonica), the typical representative of a genus characterized by See also:

long limbs, comparatively large ears, and a short tail: The animal is about the See also:

SIZE

size of a See also:

hare, to which it approximates in See also:

FORM (Lat. forma)

form and habits. It is most abundant in the open districts of See also:

PATAGONIA

Patagonia, but also ranges on to the See also:

ARGENTINA

Argentina See also:

PAMPAS (Span. La Pampa, from a Quichua word signifying a level open space or terrace)

Pampas, where it is now scarce. Although occasionally seen in large flocks, the mara is more commonly found in small parties or in pairs, the parties commonly moving in single See also:

FILE

file. It has a See also:

PECULIAR

peculiar See also:

KIND (O. E. ge-cynde, from the same root as is seen in " kin," supra)

kind of hopping gait; and is mainly diurnal, in accordance with which See also:

HABIT (through the French from Lat. habitus, from habere, to have, hold, or, in a reflective sense, to be in a certain condition; in many of the English senses the French use habitude, not habit)

habit its eyes are protected by lashes. It lives in a burrow, generally excavated by itself; but when pursued, seeks safety in See also:

FLIGHT

flight, rather than by a See also:

RETREAT (O. Fr. retrete, mod. retraite, from Lat. retrahere, to draw back)

retreat to, its hole.

From two to five young are produced twice a year. A much smaller species, D. salinicola, without the characteristic See also:

black See also:

BAND

band above the tail, inhabits the See also:

salt-plains of Argentina. Maras have been introduced into several See also:

BRITISH

British parks. Fossil *pecies of Dolichotis occur in the caverns of Brazil, and also the superficial deposits of Argentina. (R.

End of Article: CAVY

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