56 WOODLAND CREATURES 



little animals. The best place to seek for it is 

 in a wood where there are plenty of nut bushes, 

 and the most likely time is early autumn, for 

 you may then find it curled up in its summer 

 nest. The " buck's dreys " (to borrow the term 

 often used for the sleeping-place of the male 

 squirrel) are about the size of a tennis ball, and 

 all those I have examined have been chiefly com- 

 posed of honeysuckle bark, that inside being 

 finely shredded up so as to make a beautifully soft 

 lining. Sometimes a leaf or two and a few pieces 

 of grass are added to the outside, but the bark 

 forms the greater part of the nest. Of course 

 when honeysuckle bark cannot be had, dormice 

 will use other materials. The living nests are 

 usually placed in a brier or nut bush, preferably 

 one that has honeysuckle twining about it, at 

 from four to six feet from the ground, and 

 occasionally higher, as I once found a nest quite 

 twelve feet above the ground. When a nest is 

 in use, and the owner at home, there is neither 

 entrance nor exit to be seen, for the mouse closes 

 its door behind it, drawing together the material 

 until one cannot see where it goes in and out. 

 If, when dormouse hunting, you find a nest with 

 a hole in its side you may be quite sure there is 

 no mouse at home, so it will be wise to refrain 

 from poking your finger in, as the dormouse has 

 a keen sense of smell and will be aware of the 

 interference, probably deserting that nest in 

 consequence. Dormice seem to abandon many 

 nests, for you find a, number of empty ones com- 



