THE HERMIT WOOD RAT 49 



entire contents of a box of lump starch — some 

 thirty pounds — from the upstairs to the base- 

 ment; that others carried grain from the barn 

 over a hundred yards away and deposited it in 

 her writing-desk. 



II 



Springtime on the deserts comes with a rush. 

 Seeds sprout; plants grow, blossom, and fruit 

 in a surprisingly short time. The animals, 

 which have been more or less inactive because 

 of lack of food, cold nights and days during 

 winter, now wake to the new activities of 

 harvesting food and raising the young. Since 

 the season is a short one, they must work with 

 intensity and enterprise. 



This is the time when the mice, wood rats, 

 and antelope chipmunks are likely to plunder 

 your bed for wool and feathers to line their 

 nests. I have learned from experience that any 

 precautions you can now take to secure the bed- 

 clothes from their attacks are none too good; 

 for these small rodents now get into everything 

 left open to their ravages. Billy Bob-Tail 

 played "old gooseberry" with my mattress; 



