DORMOUSE- HARVEST MOUSE 



under parts, but the ears, unlike those of the Squirrel, 

 are not tufted. Before retiring to sleep, so as to be 

 secure from frost and cold, the Dormouse, like the 

 Hedgehog, Frog and Toad, puts on a surplus supply of 

 fat, in order that its fasting may not interfere with its 

 chance of survival until it again commences to feed. 

 The three or four young are born in the Spring, and it 

 may be that a second litter is produced in Autumn. 

 It dearly delights to partake of hazel-nuts, and wherever 

 these occur, search may be made for it with almost sure 

 success, but in addition, and this is an important item to 

 note, it is said by competent authorities to feed also upon 

 insects. Statements that have been made by well- 

 known writers as to the nest of this species entirely dis- 

 agree with our own personal observations extending 

 over a lifetime. We have never yet found the Dormouse 

 nesting in the hole of a tree, or in the ground, a small 

 globular nest made of dead grasses being, as a rule, 

 suspended in a hedgerow or bush. Neither have we yet 

 discovered that tliis little rodent of the genus Muscardinus 

 ever appropriates the nest of a Jay, or other similar bird, 

 either for a Summer or Winter abode. 



Harvest Mouse. — Although the Harvest Mouse 

 (Coloured Frontispiece), so-called because it is frequently 

 discovered among corn in the harvest field, is generally 

 distributed in the southern counties of England, we 

 have often searched for it in vain, even in districts where 

 it was said to occur. Our experience goes to show that 



it is of local occurrence, but it is such a delightful little 



57 



