100 NATURE STUDY 



ered themselves with a thick coat and buried themselves 

 beneath the ground, or else have spun for themselves a 

 silken covering impervious either to moisture or to cold. 

 The locusts and most of the butterflies are dead. 

 The ^Milkweed Butterfly, however, has gone south with 

 many of the birds, and the ^Mourning Cloak, follow- 

 ing the example of the Queen Humble Bee, has found 

 some sheltered corner in which to spend the winter. 

 Beetles are pupating in the ground. The larger ani- 

 mals, such as squirrels, snakes, tortoises, turtles, and 

 the like, have found their winter quarters and have pre- 

 pared for their long sleep, either by collecting a store on 

 Avhich to feed in the warmer days, or by having eaten 

 a goodly supply when food was more abundant. Even 

 the aquarium animals are more torpid and less inclined 

 to eat. 



Method : 



Suggestions have already been given about the study 

 of the various insects and how they may be kept in a 

 schoolroom. It is equally easy to have squirrels, guinea 

 pigs, rabbits, mice, garter snakes, turtles, and an aquarium. 

 Cages with revolving wheels are manufactured specially 

 for squirrels, giving the animal opportunity for plenty 

 of exercise. Excellent cheap cages may be made with 

 coarse meshed wire nailed over and above four upright 

 supports. These need not be more than a foot and a 

 half high for rabbits and guinea pigs. Three feet is 

 a better height for squirrels. 



Of course in the warm schoolroom they do not hiber- 

 nate, but they do take much longer naps than in Sep- 

 tember. ]\rake the children realize this fact and its 

 reason. Observe, too, that the squirrel hides his nuts be- 



