108 



VERTEBRATES. 



great numbers. They conceal themselves in holes, which they 

 either find already made, or which they make for themselves, under 

 bushes, or the trunks of hollow trees. In these they amass so 

 prodigious a quantity of acorns, nuts, etc., that in one single hole 

 there has been found a bushel at a time; and this provision in- 

 stead of being proportioned to the wants of the animal, is mly so 

 to the capacity of the pl^ce allotted for its reception. These holes 

 are generally more than a foot under ground, and often divided 

 into two cells, of which the one serves, for a habitation for tself 

 and its young ones, and the other for a granary. 



The Short-tailed Field Mouse is still more common, 

 more generally diffused than the long-tailed kind, and is found 



Bhort-tKiled Field Mies. 



almost everywhere; in woods, ii meadows, and even in gardens. 

 It is remarkable for the thickness of its head, and the shortness 

 of its tail, which is not above an inch in length. It forms holes 

 in the earth, where it hoards up corn, nuts, and acorns; though 

 the former of these it seems to prefer to every other kind of ali- 

 ment. About the month of July, when the corn begins to ripen, 



