ALONG FOUR-FOOTED TRAILS 



the hours in sleep during the greater part of the 

 day. It was an interesting sight to watch them 

 mine the tunnels in the dirt of the cage. They 

 threw the dirt rapidly behind them, for a sur- 

 prisingly long distance, using their fore feet for 

 digging and the hind feet for throwing the dirt 

 away. If in their operations they came across 

 any obstacle they would loosen the dirt with 

 their teeth and push it aside with their noses. 

 One day I observed Deacon lying on his back 

 and digging overhead with all his might. When 

 he had loosened a quantity of dirt he backed 

 out shoving the soil before him. No matter 

 whether these little pets of mine were groveling 

 in the dirt, weaving their nests, running about, 

 sitting up and daintily nibbling a kernel of wheat 

 or corn, or making their toilet, they always pre- 

 sented the same clean appearance. Each hair 

 seemed to lay exactly in the right place ; their 

 coats were always smooth and glossy. 



I firmly fastened a small tree-branch in the 

 center of the cage. This afforded the little 

 creatures very great pleasure and they would 

 crawl up its trunk and out on the slender 

 branches which would bend with their weight 



