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OF DORMICE IN GENERAL. 



IN their general appearance and manners, the 

 Dormice are allied both to the Murine Quadrupeds 

 and the Squirrels. Their tails,, however, though 

 covered thicky with hair, are by no means so bushy 

 as the tails of the latter animals; and in their bodies, 

 they are, on the whole, considerably more plump 

 and round than these. 



They feed on fruit, nuts, seeds, and corn ; and, 

 in eating, they sit upright and carry the food to 

 their mouth with their fore-feet. We are informed 

 by Linnaeus, that Dormice, when thirsty, do not lap 

 like other quadrupeds, but that they dip their fore- 

 feet, with the toes bent, into the water, and drink 

 from them*. The pace of these animals is a kind of 

 leap, performed chiefly with the hind-legs, assisted 

 by the tail. 



Some species of Dormice form their nests of dried 

 leaves, mosses, and grass, in the hollows of decayed 

 trees ; and others, among the branches of low and 

 thick shrubs. In these they sleep in the day time, 

 only venturing abroad, in search of food, in the 

 evening and night. During the winter months 



* Linn. Syst Nat. Gmel. i. p. 157. 



they 



