which occurs in numerous places in the Old Testament, in connection with oroth "skins," as denoting the covering of the tabernacle, was incorrect. The badger is, however, by no means uncommon in Turkey. It is the "pursuk pursuk" of the Turks, "jasavatz" of the Slavonians, esura" of the Dacians, “asbus azos or "metis" of the Greeks. The writer had one in captivity at Mosul for some months. Mr. Tristram also saw one alive, and declares it to be identical with our European species.

The different species of viverrida and mustellidæ inhabiting western Asia, are supposed to be grouped under the Hebrew designation of "tzigim." Among them is the "thela aelan," supposed to be the same, or nearly allied to Genetta barbara, and described by Bochart as having various colours, and being spotted like a pard. In Syria it is called "sephka," in Arabia "zebzeb," and it lives by hunting shaphans (Hyrax Syriacus) and birds. There are, besides, in the same regions, the nimse or pole-cat. Russell notices this animal under the name of "eben," or "ibnaarse," as met with in the villages around Aleppo, and even sometimes in the town itself. The weasel is the "welinpjik" of the Turks, "lasitza" of the Slavonians, and "nyphitza" of the Greeks. The common martin is "zerdeva," T., "kuna," Al., "chin," Dac., and "kunabi" of the Greeks. The pole-cat is the "sansar," T., "tvor," Sl., and "iklis" or "mani-polski" of the Greeks. The weasel of Arabia (Fert-el-heile) differs from our species chiefly in its superior size and darker colour. The dateforests of the Euphrates are tenanted by a peculiar palm-martin, or paradoxurus, nearly allied to P. typus.

The ichneumon is the "nems" of the Arabians. Mr. Tristram obtained a specimen of the ichneumon of Syria, which he describes as almost as large as a badger, which it resembled in colour. There appear to be other animals belonging to the families here noticed in western Asia, and among these are the "sunjiab" and the "simur" or "al-fanex," of Ibn 'Omar Ab'dul Bahr; the same as the fennec of Bruce. The animal described to Mr. Layard by the Arabs under the name of nees ("Nin. and Babylon," p. 567), as watching its opportunity in a tree to spring even upon a lion's back, must have been a glutton or wolverene, an animal of wide distribution from the Arctic regions to Europe, Asia, and America. The common otter is met with in the fish-abounding rivers of Turkey. It is the "denghiz kunduzu" of the Turks, "vidra" of the Slavonians and Dacians, and the "maskula" or "skylopotamos ' (water-dog) of the Greeks.

The dog tribe ("keleb" of the Hebrews, "kelb" of the Arabs, "kiopek" of the Turks, "pseto" of the Slavonians, "kein" of the Albanians, "Cane" of the Dacians, "skylos or koon" of the

Greeks), presents this peculiarity in the east, that while there is one, and perhaps more than one species that never have been the companions of man, and there are races of uncertain origin that may have been formerly domesticated, but which are now wild and as fierce as wolves, there are others, arising from the particular ideas of oriental nations, which are neither wild nor domesticated, but which are met with in most towns and cities, excepting in Servia and Walla. chia (whence they have been wisely extirpated, their supposed value as scavengers having been superseded by more civilised processes) without owners, feeding on offal or carrion, yet still possessing the true instinct of protecting property, and guarding the inhabitants of the particular district or quarter where they are located. Some Christians supply them with straw, when they litter, or in cold weather; and even Mussulmans will at times place food or water within their reach, when they will attach themselves to a particular house; yet we have known the greater portion of the bazaar or pariah dogs, as they have been variously termed, destroyed by a severe frost at Angora.

The street dog is often more or less bare, with a mangy skin, and is sometimes offensive. Russell's account of the street dog is not indeed flattering: "What is called the bazaar dog," he says," is a very ugly animal; its skin being foul and sordid, from living constantly in the dusty streets and feeding on all kinds of offal." It is not surprising, then, that such an animal should at all times have been looked upon as defiling.

It is to animals of this class, which appear to have followed the camp of Israel and hung upon its skirts, that allusion is made in Exod. xxii. 31. Some of the dogs of Cairo and Damascus annually become hajjis, and go and return with the caravan to Mekka and Medina. Persian pilgrims and the convoys of the dead to Kerbellai are similarly attended, nor are they useless in the last-mentioned instance, as the coffin boards, often loosely put together, are sometimes shaken asunder during the passage of the Kurdish mountains, and the result can he better imagined than described. Such were the dogs, also, that devoured Jezebel, and licked up Ahab's blood (1 Kings xxi. 23).

Many towns are greatly disturbed by the howling at night of these street dogs. At Antioch the first evening yelling of the jackals is a signal for a concert of dogs. That they were similarly noxious in ancient times is evidenced from Psalm lix. 6, 14; but dumb or silent dogs, such as Isaiah alludes to (lvi. 10), are still met with.

In Egypt, domestic dogs were venerated, and they continued to be cherished till the Arabian conquest, when they, like the street dogs, fell under the imprecation of Muhammad, who with reluctance, though with good policy, modified the denunciations in

favour of hunting dogs, and even permitted game killed by them to be eaten under certain conditions.

The wild dog is generally a low, sharp-nosed, reddish cur, not unlike a fox, but with less tail. There is, however, a larger wild dog in Turkey in Asia and Persia which resembles a wolf, and, like it, hunts in packs. It is, in fact, difficult to distinguish between the two, but their tails are shorter and unfurnished.

In the time of the sojourning of Israel in Egypt, there were already in existence dogs of the principal races now extart, as shewn by Sir Gardner Wilkinson, Mr. Birch, and Mr. A. Leith Adams, and they were equally well known to the Hebrews, with whom, notwithstanding the presumed Mosaic prohibition, anterior habits and in some measure the necessity of their condition, must have caused shepherd's dogs to be retained as property (Deut. xxiii. 18); for we find one of their race, a house dog, attending on travellers (Tobit v. 16; xi. 4). It is probable that practically, the street dogs alone were considered as absolutely unclean, though all, as with the Muhammadans, were excluded from familiarity. Among the domestic dogs of Turkey, we have the shepherd's dog (Tschobani-Kiopek), the wolf-dog, the mastiff, the molosso or samsov- the butcher's dog, hounds (tase, T. Ker, Sl.) and greyhounds (Zaghar, T. Lagonicon, Gr.), a few spaniels and terriers (Barbeta. Kiopek) are also met with. The so-called Turkoman greyhound is a very pretty animal, being of a very slight, slender make, not so large as our greyhound, but with longer ears. They are also clad in soft, long hair, especially the ears and tails, which adds much to their beauty. These dogs will sometimes leave their encampment or village to follow au European, who has been kind to them. The shepherd's dog is also a stout, well-looking dog, very different from the bazaar dog, and competent to defend his flock from the attack of wolves, foxes, or jackals.

The jackal ("tochakal" of the Turks, "tzakali" of the Greeks, "tchikal" of the Arabs, and "shigral" of the Persians) is one of the best known and most common of wild animals in Syria. In a still summer's evening, the howling of the jackals is so audible from the terraces of houses in Aleppo and Antioch, that a stranger might be apt to think they were about to break into the houses, but they content themselves with committing depredations in the outskirts of the town. They have been known to destroy infants, and one case of this kind came under our own cognisance. They have carried away a sheep, made fast to the entrance of a tent. They are also peculiar in their habits. De. tained one evening upon a cliff, detaching fossils, a noise below called our attention to a crowd of jackals, playing like cats among the fallen rocks. They were easily driven away with a few stones,

with which they were favoured; but on an attempt being made to withdraw from the neighbourhood, they followed in full cry, like a pack of hounds. Being unarmed, the situation was, for a time, not an agreeable one. Another time, on a forced night.ride through a forest near Killis, the jackals kept pace with the horse's canter; yelling, howling, and rushing to and fro, like spirits of darkness. It is difficult for a traveller to lay in the open in many parts of Syria to obtain a night's rest without being disturbed by the howling or intrusiveness of these, at once playful, and yet fierce little animals. They are at the same time so agile in their move. ments, and, from their colour, so difficult to discern, that although close by, it is almost impossible to shoot them in the dark. They have yelled so close to our tents that a party unable to sleep have turned out to maim a few, but without the slightest success.

Wolves (zeeb" in Hebrew, "deeb" or "zeeb" of the Arabs, "kurd" of the Turks, "vouk " of the Slaves, "loupon of the Dacians, and "lykos" of the Greeks) have at all times. been more or less common in Turkey. The prophets allude to them in explicit language. There are also several kinds of wolf. Russell says that the natives of Aleppo talk of a kind of common wolf, yet distinct from it, whose bite is fatal. It may be a mad, wild dog. The Isatis or Tartarian wolf (Canis corsac), which hunts in troops, is met with in Mesopotamia. The wolf of Palestine is described by Hemprich and Ehrenberg, the most explicit of netralists who have visited that region, under the denomination of Canis lupaster, and also, it seems, of Lupus Syriacus. They describe it as resembling the common wolf, but smaller, with a white tip to the tail. They also give as its synonym, in other words, believe it to be identical with the wolf of Egypt, the Thoes anthus of some nomenclators. This latter species, found in the mummy state at Lycopolis, measures only eighteen inches at the shoulder, and in weight is scarcely more than one-third of that of a true wolf. The same naturalists describe another wolf as met with in Arabia, which corresponds to the Canis sacer, and is the piscouch of the Copts.

A species of black wolf is known as the "derbonn" in Arabia and Southern Syria. This animal was seen as far north as the river Sajur, or in the parallel of Aleppo, by the officers of the Euphrates Expedition.* It has been surmised that it may be the same as the black wolf of the Pyrennees, but considering the difference of climate, if so, it must be a variety. The common wolf is most commonly seen on the stony plains of North Mesopotamia, where they may be met with in pairs, groping among the

* Mr. Tristram also notices a wolf of a dark tawny colour as frequenting the Lower Jordan.

stones, when a party riding by at a distance of not more than a hundred paces will scarcely attract their attention. Hyænas take the place of wolves in the south, and they are still more indifferent to the vicinity of man. All the children of a village will, however, turn out to shout at and drive away a wolf when seen approaching at nightfall.

The fox ("tilki" of the Turks, "lisitza" of the Slavonians, "delpere" of the Albanians, "voulpe" of the Dacians, “alopou” of the Greeks, and "taaleb " of the Arabs), though not so common as the jackal, is, as its names attests, well known throughout the country. The so-called Turkish fox (Cynalopex Turcicus) is an animal of an osculant group, with the general character of vulpes, but having the pupils of the eyes less contractile. The common Syrian fox, "shual aye," or "ije" of the Hebrews, according to our version, but somewhat arbitarily interpreted, and the Vulpes Taaleb of naturalists, is of the size of an English fox and similarly formed, but the ears are wider and longer, the fur in general ochryrufous above and whitish beneath; there is a faint black ring towards the tip of the tail, and the back of the ears are sooty, with bright fulvous edges. There are few deserted ruins in Syria or Mesopotamia that are not tenanted by these foxes. Several pairs had burrowed their holes close by the main gateway of Rakka, and the little cubs were playing in the sunshine. Ehrenberg also describes two other species of fox, one of which he takes to be the same as St. Hilaire's Canis Niloticus, the abu Hussain of the Arabs, and the anubis of ancient Egypt. Mr. Tristram's researches, which establish so close an affinity between the natural history of Palestine and that of Africa, would tend to confirm this identification.

Few animals have given naturalists more trouble than the fennec of Bruce, to determine its real character. It is a small furred quadruped, which burrows in the palm forests, and lives chiefly on dates, but cannot climb after them like the palm martin. The majority of opinions are in favour of its doglike character, and Burckhardt preferred for it the names of Canis pygmæus, saharensis, or megalotis. Desmarest called it Canis zerdo, and Lesson, in his "Mam. de Mammalogie," Canis fennecus. Colonel Hamilton Smith, however, declared it to be a small fox, for which he proposes the name of Megalotus zerda, and, from its habits, he is most likely to be right. It is the "al-fanex" or "simur," of the Arabian writers.

The lion appears to have been much more common in Arabia and Syria in olden times than it is at present. It supplied many forcible images to the poetical language of Scripture, and not a few historical incidents in its narrative. This is further shewn by the great number of passages where this the most powerful, daring,