452 . MAIIMALIA. 



have been stored up in reserTe, and becomes very fat. If the 

 temperature becomes very low it falls into a lethargic sleep. 



The Dormouse Genus. — Dormice are pretty little animals, which 

 remind one of Squirrels in their habits and external characteristics 

 They are sharp-looking, have a soft and thick coat, a long and 

 bushy tail, and are rapid in movement. Their muzzle is adorned 

 with a beautiful pair of moustachios, or feelers. They climb with 

 great ease, for they are possessed of curved and sharp claws, which 

 enable them to cling to any object. They pass aU their lives 

 on trees, and feed chiefly on fruit and wild berries ; nevertheless, 

 they will also eat the eggs of small birds, and perhaps even 



Pig. 186. — Lerot, or Garden Dormouse {Myoxus quercinus). 



the birds themselves. The evening and night are the times 

 when they go in quest of food ; during day they sleep, curled 

 up in beds of moss, placed in the hollow of a tree, or in the crevice 

 of some wall or rock. Hence comes the proverb, " As idle as a 

 Dormouse." It is also worthy of remark, that their places of 

 shelter are almost always turned towards the south. 



In these retreats they rear their families, and pass the winter 

 in a state of torpor, hibernation being a decided condition of their 

 nature. If the temperature should chance to rise during their 

 winter sleep, they wake up and feed upon the fruit which they 

 have stored during the summer. A small species, the Muscardine, 

 takes the most ingenious precautions to guard itself from cold, or 



