298 CHAPTER XLL 



Martial mentions the fatness of the Myoxus, and 

 a German writer accuses them of gluttony : " er 

 friszt so lange er fressen kann." But I do not think 

 that they spend as much time eating as a rabbit or a 

 guinea-pig. 



One of our Loirs grew excessively corpulent as 

 Winter approached. Ignorant of his sex, and mis- 

 understanding his motives, we put him in a comfort- 

 able cage by himself, and furnished him with every 

 delicacy. He disappointed us, however, as Joanna 

 Southcote did her faithful followers. I believe that 

 this extraordinary obesity was simply the natural 

 preparation for the Winter's sleep which would have 

 overtaken him in the colder mountain air. 



Cuvier states that these animals become torpid 

 at a temperature of about 10 C. When the mercury 

 rises to 12 or 14 they revive. But the increase 

 in warmth must be gradual : sudden heat kills them. 

 It is remarkable that if the temperature falls much 

 below 5 C. the Loir awakes and becomes active, so 

 that intense cold has the same effect as heat. 



They make several distinct noises. First a 

 buzzing sneezing sound when they are angry. The 

 wild ones buzz whenever any one approaches them, 

 the tame ones only at each other when they fall out. 

 They also utter now and then a loud plaintive piping 

 noise, for no reason that we can discover ; and they 

 can also produce a sort of gentle twittering like a 

 bird. The males have sometimes an unpleasant 

 musky smell. The only other drawback of these 

 little animals is that they are so pugnacious. One 

 pair will live in peace, however. Though quarrel- 

 some, they are very timid, and I doubt if they could 



