166 THE HAMSTER 



boots crept into one of them, and, I suppose, feeling 

 his teeth wanted a little exercise, he gnawed a large 

 hole in the toe, through which he made his exit. 

 He was generally fed on nuts, apples, and bread 

 and milk, with a mouse or small bird now and then 

 by way of a treat. He was very carnivorous in his 

 tastes, and I am sorry to say once throttled a poor 

 little kitten about a month old, that was lying 

 asleep unnoticed in the room when he was let out. 

 I may here remark, that the carnivorous element is 

 developed in the rodents to a much higher degree 

 than is commonly supposed, the squirrels, with all 

 the various species of rats and mice, feeding 

 willingly on animal food. I have even known the 

 dormouse, perhaps the most gentle and easily tamed 

 of all, attack and kill a harvest mouse that was put 

 into the same cage (a very large one). Eabbits and 

 hares are, I am led to believe, free from this propen- 

 sity, except in the case of females, which will occa- 

 sionally devour their litters ; but this unnatural 

 practice I consider arises from the effect of excessive 

 thirst, as I ventured to mention in a previous 

 article. 1 have known an instance, moreover, in 

 which guinea-pigs ate part of the body of one of 

 their number which had died suddenly from disease, 

 and this when they had abundance of food and 

 water ; and I have seen the agoutis in the Zoolo- 

 gical Gardens seize and devour a young guinea-pig 



