WINTRY DAYS 257 



quadruped should be left undisturbed in every 

 hedge. And yet in view of the fate of most 

 " pets," no one familiar with the "jumping mouse" 

 will regret the neglect. 



Only the other day I carried out to the garden 

 the body of one of these mice which had been a 

 captive for some time. The burial was brief; one 

 thrust of the spade, and the grave was ready to 

 close upon one more sad history of a " pet." 



More than two years have flown since I received 

 an invitation to take some native animals to a 

 provincial flower-show, and with that end in view, 

 captured a fine long-tailed fieldmouse. Entrapped 

 on his familiar pathway under the grasses on a 

 wayside bank, he made a rapid transit from 

 populous hedgerow to solitary cage. Vain was 

 all the frenzied clutching and biting at the wires 

 of the trap and cage, even though the terrors of 

 artificial light gave force to his efforts. But the 

 first experience of captivity could hardly have 

 been so terrifying as the crowd around his cage at 

 the show, when he cowered in a corner, panting, 

 yet evidently fearful lest even this slight movement 

 might attract the attention of the enemies. That 

 18 



