THE DORMOUSE. 321 



One of these nests forms a part of my collection. It was 

 situated in a hedge about four feet from the ground, and was 

 placed in the forking of a hazel branch, the smaller twigs of 

 which form a kind of palisade round it. The substances of 

 which it is composed are of two kinds, namely, grass-blades 

 and leaves of trees, the former being the chief material. It is 

 exactly six inches in length by three inches in width, and is 

 constructed in a very ingenious manner, reminding the observer 

 of the pensile nests made by the weaver birds. 



Two or three kinds of grass are used, the greater part being 

 the well-known sword-grass, whose sharp edges cut the finders 

 of a careless handler. The blades are twisted round the twigs 

 and through the interstices, until they form a hollow nest, rather 

 oval in shape. Towards the bottom the finer sorts of glass are 

 used, as well as some stems of delicate cHmbing weeds, which 

 are no larger than ordinary thread, and which serve to bind 

 the mass together. Interwoven with the grass are several 

 leaves, none of which belong to the branch, and which are 

 indeed of two kinds, namely, hazel and maple, and have evi- 

 dently been picked up from the ditch which bounded the 

 hedge. Their probable use is to shield the inmate from the 

 wind, which would penetrate through the interstices of the 

 loosely woven grass-blades. 



The entrance to the nest is so ingeniously concealed, that 

 to find it is not a very easy matter, even when its precise 

 position is known, and in order to enter the nest, the Dor- 

 mouse is obliged to draw aside certain broad grass-blades 

 which are ingeniously disposed over the entrance so as to hide 

 it. The pendent pieces of grass that are being held aside by 

 the little paw are so fixed, that when released from pressure, 

 they spring back over the aperture and conceal it in a very 

 effectual manner. 



Although the Dormouse uses this aerial house as a residence, 

 it does not make use of it as a treasury. Like many other 

 hibernating animals, it collects a store of winter food, which 

 generally consists of nuts, grain, and similar substances. These 

 treasures are carefully hidden away in the vicinity of the nest 



