288 HANDBOOK OF NATURE STUDY 



Now you may try to find for yourself the distinguishing 

 marks of the order of Rodents, or Gnawers. Of this im- 

 portant order, Coues writes as follows : " Though a feeble 

 folk, comparatively insignificant in size and strength, they 

 hold their own in legions against a host of natural enemies, 

 rapacious beasts and birds, by their fecundity, their wari- 

 ness and cunning, their timidity and agility, their secre- 

 tiveness, each after the means by which it is provided for 

 exercising its instinct of self-preservation, among which 

 insignificance itself is no small factor." 



