162 THE EAKLESS MARMOT. 



destructive character, so conspicuous in the hamster 

 (Crivetus vulgaris), whose habits I described in a 

 recent number. My little marmot is on most 

 familiar terms with a large tom-cat, and the two 

 often play together, without any display of hostility 

 on the part of the cat. I always endeavour, by 

 means of kind treatment, to make my animals and 

 birds agree with one another, and have reconciled 

 many of the most opposite classes. As I now 

 write, a large wolf-dog is lying close to me, with the 

 aforesaid cat snugly pillowed among his thick fur, 

 while a magpie is hopping about close to them, and 

 one of the dormice described in a former number of 

 LAND AND WATER is nibbling a nut within two 

 inches of the cat's paws. I find plentiful feeding 

 and liberty by far the best means of making them 

 agree, and I very seldom have any casualty among 

 my pets. There are several species of Spermophilus 

 besides the subject of the present article, and the 

 well-known prairie dog ; most of these are natives 

 of America, the leopard marmot (Spermophilus 

 Hoodii) being perhaps the prettiest of the genus. 

 This little creature resembles the ground squirrels 

 (Tamias) in a greater degree than most of the true 

 Spermophili, the tail being much longer, and the 

 animal being generally slighter and more graceful 

 in the contour of the head and body. 



