WILD LIFE OF ORCHARD AND FIELD 



curely mortised into the forking branches; and 

 whitefoot can sleep without a tremor through the 

 wildest winter gale/' 



Not long ago I received a pleasant letter from 

 Mr. John Burroughs, in which he said : " The other 

 day I found the nest of the white-footed mouse. 

 Going through the woods, I paused by a red cedar, 

 the top of which had been broken off and lopped 

 over till it touched the ground. It was dry, and 

 formed a very dense mass. I touched a match to 

 it to see it burn, when, just as the flames were creep- 

 ing up into it, out jumped or tumbled two white- 

 footed mice, and made off in opposite directions. 

 I was just in time to see the nest before the 

 flames caught it — a mass of fine, dry grass, 

 about five feet from the ground, in the thickest 

 part of the cedar top." This was in the Cats- 

 kills. 



In such nests litters of from two to four young 

 are born early in the spring, and perhaps two more 

 are produced before the coming of the next winter, 

 for, like all the rest, this species is exceedingly 

 prolific. The mothers are tenderly careful of their 

 little ones and courageous in their defence. Often 

 when a nest is disturbed you will see the mother 

 struggling to get away by dragging three or four 



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