382 NATURE-STUDY REVIEW [15:9— Dec, 1919 



the box, then silence. One one particular occasion Uncas came 

 out of his bed at 10:15, played about briskly for 15 minutes, and 

 then as briskly went to bed again. He had not come out at 10 155, 

 nor would he respond to continued tapping on the mailing tube, 

 other than by discontented scratching. 



When first awakened, he was especially active and cunning. 

 After eating he would always go to the water dish for a drink, and 

 would then climb back upon one of his various perches to make his 

 toilet. He washed his face first, much as a cat does, through licking 

 his fore paws, then rubbing them on his face. First he rubbed his 

 mouth, then his nose, gradually working up over and above his 

 nose, licking his paws anew between each rub. He had a habit of 

 scratching his head above the eye with his hind claws, then putting 

 the paw in his mouth and scratching again, repeating the per- 

 formance several times; the rest of the body was scratched and 

 washed in the same fashion. His tail he combed with teeth and 

 claws. 



Uncas had, like all chipmunks, five toes on the hind feet and 

 four toes and a stub on the fore feet ; when holding food up to eat, 

 this stub was nearest his sharp teeth. Might it not well be, that 

 the shortness of this toe was a prevention from biting it when thus 

 eating? The food was held between the fore feet when eating, 

 Uncas meantime sitting up on his haunches. He was very neat in 

 his personal habits, using one comer of his cage exclusively for 

 excrement, and frequently washing and combing his whole body. 

 Fresh water is a requisite which must not be overlooked in the care 

 of a caged chipmunk; — ^he must have it to live. 



The wheel in the cage afforded him much amusement. He 

 delighted to leap into it, whirl it rapidly for a few seconds, and just 

 as quickly stop it, apparently using some effort, other than merely 

 to stop propelling it. He was an accomplished acrobat, climbing 

 about on the supports and the bars of his cage with great dexterity, 

 often hanging head downward or performing a circle about one of 

 the bars. When drowsy he would sit on one of the supports with 

 nose close to the board with a dreamy, far away expression in his 

 eyes; then quick as thought, plunge into the mailing tube for a 

 mouthful of cotton, out at once and in again for a nap. 



The chipmunk is fitted for life on the ground, and never feels 

 perfectly at home in trees, although to be sure he frequently ven- 

 tures up them. His fur is soft and not very long. The striking 



