66 WILD NEIGHBORS CHAP. 



during showers, a habit especially illustrated in 

 the Himalayan peacock-pheasants (Polyplectron), 

 whose young spend most of their time beneath 

 the shelter and concealment of their mother's fan- 

 like tail, coming out only when called to pick up 

 the food she scratches out of the leaves. Here 

 the tail is a nursery. 



As for the hermit-crabs, while one could not say 

 they make a shelter of their tails, it is certain that 

 they could not obtain and hold the shell-homes 

 with which they provide themselves, and that are 

 necessary to their existence, were it not for their 

 ability to hold on to them by means of their flexi- 

 ble tails, which grasp the inner whorls, and form 

 an effective lease of the premises. 



As for garments, who that ever has seen a 

 squirrel humped up on a cold day with its tail 

 pressed close along its back ; or a raccoon, a fox, 

 or a cat, sitting with its feet wrapped in the furry 

 "boa " of its tail, can doubt that this is the putting 

 on of an overcoat ? Only warmly furred animals, 

 by the way, have bushy tails ; and all these sleep 

 curled up, with the tail around the face as birds 

 place their heads beneath their wings. As such 

 animals usually sleep alone, they need more pro- 

 tection against an undue loss of heat while asleep 

 than do animals that take their repose huddled 

 together in groups that warm one another ; hence 

 their blanket-like tails. An attendant benefit of 

 sinking the nose into the brush, as Mr. Law- 



