SLINKING THROUGH LIFE 



I do not know how soon young Geomys becomes the 

 possessor of full-sized pockets, and whether he always knows 

 what he must and must not put into them, or has to be in- 

 structed by his mother as to their proper use. Argument 

 by analogy in natural history is apt to lead us astray, so we 

 must leave these interesting points an open question. 



Most mammals display not a little sagacity in choosing 

 for their dens the most favourable aspect in order to escape 

 rain, wind, or excessive heat, as the case may be. In this 

 respect the Pariah Dogs of Egypt are remarkable. They 

 live a perfectly independent life amongst the mounds of 

 rubbish in the neighbourhood of towns and villages, sleeping 

 most of the day and prowling about after nightfall. Each 

 dog makes his own particular lair, or rather lairs, for in most 

 cases there are two, one facing east and the other west. If 

 the mounds run north and south, so that both holes are 

 exposed to keen north winds, the dog will even dig himself a 

 third shelter with a southern aspect, but he never uses this 

 unless driven from the others by cold. 



Each morning until about ten o'clock the dogs may be 

 found in their easterly lairs enjoying the warmth of the 

 early sunshine ; but as soon as they find the day growing 

 uncomfortably hot they slink away to a shady spot, moving 

 round one after another to their dens on the western side, 

 there to continue their sleep. In the afternoon, when the 

 westering sun once more beats down upon them, they return 

 again to the first den, where they remain until dusk. 



Not a few of the burrowing mammals make their dwell- 

 ings more comfortable by the addition of a snug lining of 

 various soft materials. We have already met with instances 

 of this habit in the badger, the hamster, and the mole, and 

 we find yet another in the case of the common Fennec 

 (Canis zerda), the smallest of the dog tribe a strange- 



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