PROVISIONS AND DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 85 



central room placed in communication with the out- 

 side by a maze of passages, which cross one another. 

 That is the sleeping-room, the walls of which are well 

 formed, and which is carpeted with hay. From this 

 various underground passages start which lead to the 

 storerooms, which are three or four in number. It is to 

 these that the Vole bears his harvest. Each compart- 

 ment is large enoughto contain fouror five kilogrammes 

 of roots, so that the little rodent finds himself at the 

 end of the season the proprietor of about fifteen kilo- 

 grammes of food in reserve. He would have enough 

 to enable him to revel in abundance if he were able 

 to reckon without his neighbours. This diligent 

 animal has in fact one terrible parasite. This is 

 Man, who will not allow him to enjoy in peace the 

 fruits of his long labour and economy. In Siberia, a 

 long and severe winter follows a very hot summer ; in 

 this season the inhabitants often lack provisions. A 

 moment comes when they are glad to make up for 

 want of bread by edible roots ; but the search for 

 these is long and troublesome, and should indeed 

 have been thought of during summer. Man, during 

 the fine weather less foreseeing than the rodent, 

 does not hesitate when famine has come to turn to 

 him for help. As he is the weaker, the Vole is 

 obliged to submit to this vexatious tax. According 

 to Pallas,^ the inhabitants seek these nests full 

 of provisions and dig them up. The conqueror 

 takes all he pleases, and abandons the rest to 

 the unfortunate little beast, who, whether he likes 

 it or not, has to be content. In this region the 



1 Pallas, Ueher d. am Volgastrome bemerkten Wanderungen der 

 grossen Wassermduse (Arvicola amphibius), Nord-Beitr., vol. i., 1781, 

 p. 335- 



