592 THE DORMOUSE. 
THE common DorMOUSE is abundantly found in many districts of England, as well as 
on the Continent, and is in great favour as a domestic pet. 
The total length of this pretty little animal is rather more than five inches, the tail 
being two inches and a half long. The colour of its fur is a light reddish-brown upon the 
back, yellowish-white upon the abdomen, and white on the throat. These tints belong 
to the adult animal only, as in the juvenile Dormouse the fur is nearly of the same colour 
as that of the common mouse, the ruddy tinge only appearing on the head and sides. It 
is not until the little creatures have nearly completed a year of existence that they assume 
the beautiful hues of adult age. The tail is thickly covered with hair, which is arranged in 
a double row throughout its leneth, and forms a slight tuft at the extremity. The head is 
rather large in proportion to the body, the ears 
are large and broad, and the eye full, black, 
and slightly prominent. 
The Dormouse is a nocturnal animal, 
passing the whole of the day in its warm and 
neatly constructed nest, which is generally 
built in the most retired spot of some thick 
bush or small tree. It is a very active little 
creature, leaping from branch to branch, and 
traversing the intricate mazes of the brush- 
wood with such ready featness, that it can 
scarcely be taken by a human hand. Gene- 
rally, when a Dormouse is captured, it is 
secured while sleeping in its nest, for during 
its slumbers it is so deeply buried in repose 
that it can be handled without offering resist- 
ance or attempting escape. The food of the 
Dormouse consists of various fruits and seeds, 
such as acorns, nuts, haws, and corn. 
As the animal is one of the hibernaters, it 
is in the habit of gathering together a supply 
of dried food, to afford occasional nourishment 
during the long wintry months when it les in 
its bed, imprisoned in the bands of irresistible 
sleep. Like many other hibernating animals, 
the Dormouse becomes exceedingly fat towards 
the end of autumn, and is therefore enabled 
to withstand the severity of the winter sea- 
son better than if it retired into its home in 
only its ordinary condition, As soon as the 
weather becomes cold, the Dormouse retires 
into its nest, and there slumbers throughout 
the entire winter, waking up for a short period 
whenever a milder temperature breaks the 
severity of the frost, and after taking a little 
nourishment, sinking again into its former 
lethargy. Several interesting experiments 
have been made on this animal in connexion with the phenomenon which is termed 
hibernation, and with the same results as have already been mentioned when treating of 
the hedgehog and the bat. 
This hoard of provisions is not gathered into the nest, which is solely employed for 
the purpose of warmth and concealment, but is hidden away in sundry convenient nooks 
and crannies, close to the spot where the nest is placed. Comparatively little of the store 
is eaten during the winter, unless, indeed, the weather should happen to be peculiarly mild, 
but it is of very great service in the earlier part of the spring, when the Dormouse is 
awake and lively, and there are as yet no fresh fruits on which it could feed. 
DORMOUSE. —Muscardinus avellanarius. 
