CARDING BEE. 399 



what advanced j and the males are most common in 

 autumn, when the thistles are in blossom, upon the 

 flowers of which they are abundant, sometimes 

 seemingly asleep, or torpid, and, at other times, 

 acting as if intoxicated with the sweets they have 

 been imbibing. 



When these animals, of any sex, are walking on 

 the ground, if a finger be moved to them, they lift 

 up three legs on one side, by way of defence ; 

 which gives them a very grotesque appearance. 



Their nests are usually formed in meadows and 

 pastures, sometimes in groves and hedge-rows, 

 where the soil is entangled with roots; but now and 

 then these are found in heaps of stones. When they 

 do not meet with an accidental cavity ready made, 

 they excavate one themselves with great labour. 

 This they cover with a thick convex vault of moss, 

 sometimes casing the interior surface with a kind of 

 coarse wax to keep out the wet. At the lower part 

 of the nest there is an opening for the inhabitants 

 to go in and out at. This entrance is often through 

 a long gallery, or covered way, a foot or upwards 

 in length, by which the nest is more effectually 

 concealed from observation. 



The mode in which they transport the moss they 

 use to their nest is singular. When they have dis- 

 covered a parcel fitted to their purpose, and conve- 

 niently situated, they place themselves in a line, 

 with their back turned towards the nest. The fore- 

 most lays hold of some with her jaws, and clears it 

 bit by bit with her fore feet : when this is sufficient- 

 ly disentangled, she drives with her feet under 



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