THE COMMON MOUSE. 619 



not completely empty the pot, as if knowing by instinct that 

 their habitation would be betrayed. Accordingly, they allowed 

 a slight covering of earth to remain upon their nest, and had la- 

 boriously carried out the whole of the mould through the little 

 aperture which has been mentioned. The flower-pot was placed 

 on a shelf in the shed, and the earth was quite hard, so that in the 

 process of excavation there was little danger that it would fall 

 upon the architects. 



Another nest was discovered in rather an ingenious position. 

 A bird had built a nest upon a shrub in a garden, and, as is usual 

 in such cases, had placed its home near the ground. A Mouse 

 of original genius saw the nest, and perceived its value. Accord- 

 ingly, she built her own nest immediately below that of the bird, 

 so that she and her young were sheltered as by a roof. So close- 

 ly had she fixed her habitation, that, as her young ran in and out 

 of their home, their bodies pressed against the floor of the bird's 

 nest above them. No less than six young were discovered in 

 this ingenious nest. 



Another very remarkable nest of the Common Mouse has been 

 chronicled in the same journal to which reference has repeatedly 

 been made. " Early in March we set a hen ; and, as her nest 

 was a basket, a sack was placed under and around it, so as to 

 keep in the heat. When the hen was set she was in good feath- 

 er, wearing an ample tail, according to her kind (the Brahma) ; 

 but as the three weeks went on, her tail seemed much broken, 

 assumed a dilapidated appearance, and finally became a mere 

 stump. This excited notice and surprise, as there was nothing 

 near her against which she was likely to spoil her tail. 



" When the chickens were hatched, and they and their mother 

 were taken to a fresh nest, and the old one removed, it was 

 found that a Mouse had constructed a beautiful nest under the 

 basket. The body of the nest was made of tow scraped from the 

 sack, and chopped or gnawed hay from the hen's nest ; while the 

 lining was made of the feathers of her tail, which had evidently 

 been removed, a small bit at a time, as wanted, until all the feath- 

 ers were reduced to stumps, showing marks of the Mouse's teeth. 

 We should have liked to have heard the hen's remarks on the 

 transaction when the Mouse was nibbling her tail." 



In this case the Mouse improved on the conduct of her rela- 

 tive that built in the garden ; for, by placing her nest in such a 

 position, she not only secured the very best materials for her 



