THE POUCHED MICE. 



125 



the continent of North America from sea to sea, and from Labrador, Hudson's Bay, and the GIT ,t 

 Slave Lake in the north, to Virginia and the elevated portions of Arizona and New Mexico in the 

 south. It is an elegant little mouse-like ci-eature, rather more than three inches long, and furnished 

 with a cylindrical tail, which exceeds the head and body in length by about two inches. Its hind 

 limbs are not quite so disproportionately developed as in the other members of the family. Its fur in 

 summer is of a brown colour above, becoming yellowish on the sides and white below ; in the winter 

 the brown tint covers the whole surface. The ears, which are not very large, are black, with a light- 

 coloured rim ; the hind feet are greyish, and the fore feet whitish on the upper surface ; and the tail, 

 which tapers to an exceedingly fine point, where there is a fine pencil of hairs, is ringed and nearly 

 naked. 



The characters in which this animal differs from its nearest relatives are as follows : In the upper 

 jaw there are four rooted molars on each side, the first being very small, the second the largest, and 

 the rest gradually diminishing in size ; the fore feet have the thumbs rudimentary, and the hind feet 



AMEKICAN JUMPING MOUSE. 



have five toes, all of which touch the ground ; the metatarsal bones are separate ; and the soles of the 

 feet naked, with granules and small horny shields. 



The American Jumping Mouse is found in meadows in the neighbourhood of woods and copses. 

 It is nocturnal in its activity, sleeping during the day in its burrow, which is usually about two feet 

 deep, and coming forth at night. It is sociable in its habits, and excessively active, covering from 

 three to five feet of ground at each leap, so that it 

 is a matter of no little difficulty to capture a speci- 

 men in the open. In the woods it is worse, as the 

 little creature will bound over bushes, and get out of 

 sight in a moment. Its food consists of seeds of various 

 kinds, and it is exceedingly fond of beech-mast. For 

 protection from the cold of winter the Jumping Mouse 

 makes a little hollow clay ball, within which it coils 

 itself up, and goes comfortably to sleep. The nest is 

 made about six inches under the surface of the ground, 

 and is composed of fine grass, sometimes mixed with 

 feathers, wool, and hair ; and in this the female produces 



trom two to four young, probably several times in the course of the summer, as the nests and 

 young are to be found from May to August. 



If we regard the American Jumping Mouse as constituting a peculiar section of the family, 

 ZAPODIN.E, a second group, DIPODIN^;, is formed by the TRUE JERBOAS, which make up the greater 



MOLAll TliETII 01' THE JKKI.UA. 



