206 NATURAL HISTORY ESSAYS 



able in a northern climate. Sleeping accommo- 

 dation may be conveniently provided by means of 

 a tin box, lined with dry grass, and having a hole 

 cut in one side to allow the ingress and egress of 

 the jerboas : a wooden box will be speedily 

 gnawed into fragments. By way of affording 

 amusement and occupation to the animals, a little 

 dry hay or old sacking may be placed on the floor 

 of the cage : the jerboas will, after speedily gnaw- 

 ing the former into fragments, and teasing out 

 the latter into shreds, carry both impartially into 

 their bedroom, to serve as a couch. In con- 

 sideration of their active habits, these animals 

 should be allowed plenty of room and a run nine 

 feet long by three feet broad will not be found at 

 all too large for a pair ; the cage should not be 

 lofty, lest the jerboas injure themselves by jumping 

 off the wire front after ascending to a considerable 

 height. 



If well fed and warmly bedded jerboas can be 

 wintered indoors without artificial heat : damp 

 alone appears injurious to them and makes them 

 lethargic and even semi-torpid. It would probably 

 be easy to acclimatise the Egyptian jerboa in 

 England, since a specimen which escaped on 

 February 4th, 1903, and was found killed by 

 a dog two days later, had its stomach full of 

 vegetable fibre, showing that it was well able to 

 look after itself Such an experiment would, how- 



