240 BRITISH QUADRUPEDS. 



devoured it. From this time, I fed her with insects 

 whenever I could get them ; and she always preferred 

 them to any other kind of food I could offer her. 



" When this mouse was first put into the cage, a 

 piece of fine flannel was folded up in the dark part of 

 it as a bed, and I put some grass and bran into the 

 large open part. In the course of a few days, all the 

 grass was removed ; and, on examining the cage, I found 

 it very neatly arranged between the folds of the flannel, 

 and rendered more soft by being mixed with the nap 

 of the flannel, which the animal had torn off in con- 

 siderable quantity for that purpose. The chief part of 

 this operation must have taken place in the night ; for 

 although the mouse was generally awake and active 

 during the day-time, yet I never once observed it em- 

 ployed in removing the grass. 



" On opening its nest, about the latter end of Octo- 

 ber, 1804, I remarked that there were, among the 

 grass and wool at the bottom, about forty grains of 

 maize. These appeared to have been arranged with 

 some care and regularity, and every grain had the cir- 

 cular or growing part eaten out, the lobes only being 

 left. This seemed so much like an operation induced 

 by the instinctive propensity that some quadrupeds are 

 endowed with, for storing up food for support during the 



