69O RODENTIA. 



wasted all the elaborate labor of the poor little architect. The material 

 of which it was composed was thin dry grass of nearly uniform sub- 

 stance, and its texture was remarkably loose, so that any object con- 

 tained in it could be seen through the interstices as easily as if it had 

 been placed in a lady's open-worked knitting basket. There was no 

 vestige of aperture in any part of it, so that the method by which it was 

 constructed seems quite enigmatical." This tiny creature is insectivorous 

 to no small degree, and has a prehensile tail. 



The Barbary Mouse, Mus Barbarus (Plate LIII), has a fur deco- 

 rated with bold and elegant markings. It is larger than the common 

 mouse, and lives in North and Central Africa. It is frequent in the 

 Atlas range, and on the whole coast of Algeria. It burrows in the earth, 

 and stores up provisions for the cold or wet season. 



GENUS CRICETUS. 



The nine species of this genus are found in Northern Asia and 

 Europe, and in Egypt. They have thick bodies, short tails and legs. 

 They build subterranean dwellings, where they accumulate food, and live. 



The Hamster, Cricetus frumentarius (Plate LIV), is the best known 

 member of the genus. It is of a grayish-fawn color on the back, deep- 

 ening into black on the abdomen, and softening to yellow on the head. 

 It has two large cheek pouches in which it carries off its plunder. It 

 makes a very complicated burrow with two entrances, one perpen- 

 dicular, the other sloping. It is torpid during a portion of the winter. 

 It is an exceedingly destructive animal ; a single one has been found 

 with sixty pounds of corn in its burrow, and another with a hundred- 

 weight of beans. lit is also very prolific, the female having several 

 broods each year, with about ten in each brood. As soon as the young 

 Hamsters are able to shift for themselves, an event which occurs in a 

 vonderfully short time, they leave the maternal home, and dig separate 

 t urrows. 



GENUS NEOTOMA. 



The distinguishing marks by which this genus is separated from the 

 Ar^icola consist in the enamel of the teeth, which is so developed that a 

 worn-down tooth of an old specimen exhibits insulated circles of enamel 

 on the grinding surface. Of the six species, we describe two only. 



