198 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD 



The first burrows of the young pioneer Hamsters are not so deep 

 and extensive as those of the older ones, the abode of the old male 

 being the best of all. In this one finds a long vertical entrance 

 shaft, sometimes more than two yards deep, from which a passage 

 leads to a living-room, well lined with fine straw and other soft 

 materials. Two run-ways lead out of this, a winding exit to the open 

 air above, and a short passage to the store-room or rooms, for a 

 wealthy old curmudgeon of a Hamster will have several, all, in the 

 autumn, well stuffed with grain. The female's nesting-burrow has 

 several entrances to the nest-chamber, and seldom has any store- 

 rooms, for she does not hoard up any food while nursing ; when she 

 is relieved of the care of her last litter, too, she has not as much 

 time for her winter arrangements as the male has had, and hence 

 they are not quite so perfect. In spite of the care it takes to avoid 

 hunger in the winter, the Hamster has little need of food at that 

 season, for it is a typical hibernating animal, and, blocking up the 

 entrance of its burrow, sleeps as soundly as a Dormouse. 



In its ordinary diet the Hamster is as omnivorous as the Common 

 Rat ; herbs, roots, and fruit, all contribute to its menu as well as 

 the grain and seed it so carefully stores up, while it never spares 

 birds, Mice, insects, or any small creatures that come into its power. 

 And, as in spite of its heavy form, it springs nimbly enough, and 

 climbs well, it is a formidable adversary. With such habits as it 

 possesses, it is easy to see that the Hamster is a most noxious and 

 destructive animal, and in some parts of Germany a reward is paid 

 for its destruction, and there is, or was, a regular class of Hamster- 

 catchers. Besides the reward, these find some profit in the little 

 miser's hoards of grain, while the fur and even the flesh are utilised. 

 From the account given, the Hamster does not seem an inviting 

 animal as a pet, but hand-reared specimens are amiable enough, and 

 some are occasionally imported here. The Hamster group of the 

 Mouse family contains several more species in the Old World, of the 

 same sturdy build as the common Hamster, but smaller, and a great 

 many in America, including the ordinary wild or country Mice of that 

 country, but many of these are shaped like ordinary Rats and Mice, 

 not like typical Hamsters. 



