WINTRY DAYS 259 



about, and would skip all around the cage with 

 a particularly nice morsel before taking it to the 

 corner in which, true to instinct, he stored his 

 provisions and covered them with sawdust. The 

 habit of accumulating food for future use is 

 prominent in some rodents, and though now in- 

 stinctive, it has probably owed its origin to the 

 unequal distribution of foods, both in point of time 

 and place. Also the storing is of use in that it 

 permits of the hard coverings of seeds and berries 

 being softened by moisture, the site of the store 

 being generally somewhat damp. 



Perhaps this softening of food, and the habit of 

 living in burrows in soft mould in the making of 

 which the teeth are not used may account for the 

 fact that the long-tailed fieldmouse is not a 

 gnawing animal as the term is generally con- 

 sidered, at least, it never gnaws its cage. In this, 

 as in some other desirable features, it contrasts 

 with the common pet fancy mice. 



The stores of the wild mouse are often at some 

 distance from the place where the food is found. 

 One such store (apparently that of a mouse) con- 

 taining a pint of acorns, was recently discovered 



