THE GNAWERS 97 



and I have kept them as pets. They have enormous 

 cheek pouches, which they fill, and then they return to 

 their burrows and eat at their leisure. They are very gen- 

 tle little creatures and readily tamed. 



One of the cleverest of the ratlike animals is the Cali- 

 fornia wood rat, very common in the San Gabriel Valley, 

 where it builds enormous nests. Several within gunshot 

 of my home are marvels of constructive ability. The 

 animal resembles an ordinary rat, but has larger eyes and 

 ears, and is particularly agile, leaping long distances. It 

 would be an interesting pet were it not for a disagreeable 

 musky odor. 



The nest is either in a tree or on the ground, generally 

 at the base of an oak, where from one to twenty, or even 

 fifty, bushels of leaves and rubbish of all kinds is collected 

 and piled up to form a perfect protection from the rain. 

 Generally a place is selected where there is a branch 

 touching the ground, and this, covered with the leaves, 

 is utilized as a rafter. In the center of the nest is a room 

 for the young, and a day home formed of the softest 

 material procurable, and near by it is another apartment 

 filled with food of various kinds. From these rooms ex- 

 tend numerous paths in various directions and one or more 

 into the ground, so that it is almost impossible to capture 

 a wood rat without having a watcher at each entrance. 

 Once in the tree top, the wood rat leaps from limb to limb 

 with all the agility of a squirrel. 



A wood rat I kept as a pet permitted itself to be handled 

 with impunity. Like all these animals it had the singular 

 habit of stealing everything available. The first day of its 

 capture it cHmbed to a table, ascended a vase and cut off 



HOLDER, MAMMALS — 7 



