HIBERNATING ANIMALS 



109 



These snails are easily kept and fed.* Not the least interesting 

 feature of their hibernation is the method they adopt of burying 

 themselves with the mouth of 

 the shell uppermost. 



Mr H. E. Forrest tells us, in 

 a letter, of the way in which 

 the dormouse makes its spheri- 

 cal nest as ascertained by his 

 personal observation. The small 

 creature works from the centre, 

 and chiefly uses long strips of 

 honeysuckle bark as material. 

 Taking each piece by the middle 

 between its teeth, the mouse 

 retires to the inside of its nest 

 where it turns over and" over 

 until the strip is smoothly laid 

 around the central cavity. The 

 nest is therefore built from 

 within, and is not woven to- 

 gether as might be thought from a casual examination. 



Considering the great loss of bird life during a hard winter, it 

 seems surprising that nature, to speak figuratively, has not arranged 

 for at least a few birds to pass the winter in sleep. The bat and the 

 swallow may be seen any summer evening hawking together for 

 insects, yet how differently do they behave on the approach of 

 winter. 



From a photograph by R. B. Lodge. 



FIGURE 107. The Nest of a Dormouse. 



* Mr William Cole, F.L.S., has had a specimen alive for seven years. 



