NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 347 



the tube with one of its rat-like forepaws and satisfy itself. It was 

 then barely the size of a rat, but grew rapidly during the 

 ensuing four or five months, — the time I retained it. Biscuit, 

 soaked in milk, was its next food, after which it shortly took to 

 lucerne, "malva" (mallow), cabbage leaves, etc., etc. While 

 feeding it sat upright, supported by the long heavy tail, and held 

 the food in its forepaws. A stalk of lucerne was stripped of its 

 leaflets in an incredibly short time, and thrown aside ; but with 

 any large leaf, or with a piece of biscuit or knot of sugar (a 

 favourite delicacy) it had to raise the object above its nose — pre- 

 paratory to each bite — in order to ascertain where was the next 

 convenient corner for that purpose ; each time the delicate little 

 forehands would twirl the morsel round and round, until a 

 satisfactory angle was found, when " Cobbie " (as I called him) 

 would give a contented grunt and guide it to his mouth. After 

 feeding, it had a most comical habit of complacently stroking its 

 stomach and combing out its whiskers. Thinking I would give it 

 a bath, I dropped it into a tub of water, to its intense horror 

 and dismay at first, but after a few days there was no keeping 

 it from the water. After washing itself, it combed out all its 

 fur, and wound up by seizing its long tail and smoothing that 

 down also, Xever at rest, its mishaps were without number ; it 

 was always falling off" some elevation. If seated in my easy chair, 

 it was not satisfied till it had scrambled on to my shoulder, and 

 only waived its right to sit on the top of my head after various 

 vain attempts to maintain its equilibrium there. When writing, 

 it would cry and whimper till it was placed on the table, putting 

 its nose into the ink-bottle, and tasting everything, coughing, and 

 rubbing mouth and nose energetically when it had picked up the 

 end of a cigarette or inspected a hot lamp glass too closely. If 

 alarmed by the approach of a stranger, it vanished into some 

 hiding-place, only to return when I called it. At the sight of a 

 dog there was no attempt at flight, but the back was drawn up 

 like that of a cat, the fur erected, and the tail stretched rigidly 

 out, with the tip almost touching the ground, while it gave 

 utterance to a low moan, peculiar to such occasions. If its 

 antagonist then showed any hostile demonstrations, it at once sat 

 up and faced it. There was nothing it disliked so much as to 

 have liberties taken with its caudal appendage, and a sudden nip 

 there would make it jump its own height and assume a warlike 



