Further Observations 



has hidden the home beneath a dome-shaped 

 heap of earthly plugs nine inches in width; 

 moreover, a dozen droppings have been sent 

 down into the cellar. 



This activity is maintained for three 

 months or longer, broken by intervals of 

 repose of varying duration, which are ap- 

 parently rendered necessary by the opera- 

 tions of the miller and baker. The female 

 never appears outside the burrow; it is al- 

 ways the male who emerges and sets out 

 upon his quest, sometimes when twilight 

 falls, more often at a later hour of the night. 



The crop varies greatly, though I take 

 care to keep the part around the burrow 

 properly supplied. At one time, two or 

 three pellets are enough; at another, as many 

 as twenty are collected in a single night. 

 The gleaner seems to be influenced by the 

 atmospheric conditions. The harvest is 

 usually most active when the sky looks 

 threatening, as though preparing for a storm 

 that fails to materialize, or when I myself 

 create rain by watering the tray of my appa- 

 ratus. In dry weather, on the contrary, 

 whole weeks pass without the slightest at- 

 tempts at storing. 



As June draws nigh, feeling his end at 

 137 



