24 The Field Naturalist' s Quarterly Feb. 



satisfied from the large number of empty nests encountered 

 that the same nest is not used twice. 



Furthermore, I have not found nests in this locahty con- 

 structed of any other material than honeysuckle bark, thus 

 showing their autumnal character. Another argument may 

 be adduced from consideration of the life -history of the 

 species. All dormice retire for their winter sleep about 

 Christmas, rarely much before. They are then very fat. 

 This winter sleep continues for almost three months, unless 

 broken artificially or on account of unusually mild weather. 



It is generally believed that the dormouse lays up a store 

 of food for winter. This is probably the case, though I 

 have failed to find any evidence of such stores. Certainly 

 no such provision is ever found inside the nests. Mr G. 

 Dumville Lees has, however, found nuts stored in holes 

 in trees — placed there, he thinks, by dormice, as the holes 

 were too small for squirrels to use. I have proved by 

 experiment that the favourite food of the dormouse con- 

 sists of acorns, and it appears to me that it would be diffi- 

 cult for dormice to obtain and store this food in the face 

 of the great demand made upon it by wood -pigeons and 

 pheasants. But this is by the way. During the long winter 

 sleep the creature is sustained by its own accumulated body 

 fat, and on emerging from this condition its first object pro- 

 bably is the search for food. Most likely the idea of 

 perpetuating its species does not present itself until the 

 animal has become " fully fed." Assuming, then, that dor- 

 mice pair at the end of June, and that the period of gestation 

 is about five weeks, the doe would litter in August. Of 

 course some would pair later than others, the younger 

 individuals later than the old ones. So it is not surprising 

 that newly-born young are found as late as October. 



I have never found two hibernating in one nest. At the 

 present time I have two under observation in captivity, one 

 an old buck, the other so young that it has not yet lost its 

 juvenile brown colour which precedes the adult chestnut 

 livery. Each was found in its own winter nest. This 

 proves that even quite young dormice construct each a 

 nest in which to hibernate. 



It would be of great interest if field naturalists would 



