WILD LIFE OF ORCHARD AND FIELD 



" Thou saw the fields laid bare an' waste, 

 An' weary winter comin' fast, 

 An', cosey here, beneath the blast 

 Thou thought to dwell" 



From their tunnels, nests, and granaries, in- 

 numerable runways traverse the neighborhood, 

 crossing those from other burrows, and forming 

 a complete net-work all over the region. The 

 mice do not flock together like the prairie-dogs, 

 yet, where food is plenty, many nests will often 

 be found closely adjacent. They are sociable little 

 folk, and no doubt enjoy visiting and gossiping 

 with one another. The little paths are their road- 

 ways from one burrow to another, and from the 

 place where the tenderest grasses grow to their 

 storehouses. These tiny roads are formed by 

 gnawing clean away the grass stubble, and tread- 

 ing the earth down smooth; while the heads of the 

 grasses arching over on each side conceal the scam- 

 pering travellers from the prying eyes of hawks, 

 owls, and butcher-birds, ever on the watch for them. 

 The mice seem fully to understand their danger, 

 cautiously going under a tuft of grass or large leaf 

 instead of over it, and avoiding bare places. More- 

 over, they choose the twilight hours for their ex- 

 cursions rather than the glare of broad daylight 



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