234 NATURAL HISTORY IN ANECDOTE. 



little animal. They resemble the squirrel in appearance as 

 well as in some of their habits. They live in trees, where 

 they construct nests, on nuts, acorns, fruits, insects, birds and 

 eggs, and squirrel-like rest upon their hindquarters when 

 eating, holding their food between their forepaws. They 

 lay up store for the winter and become torpid in the cold 

 weather, rolling themselves into a ball, in which condition 

 they may be handled without disturbance or injury. The 

 common dormouse is found all over Europe, the greater 

 dormouse occupying a still more extended area. 



The Jerboa. The Jerboa is a curious little animal with the 

 body of a mouse and hind legs which resemble those of the 

 kangaroo in appearance. There are several varieties, one 

 belonging to Southern Russia, one to the deserts of Egypt, 

 Nubia, Arabia, Barbary and Tartary, and one to North 

 America. They live in burrows which they construct with 

 great care and industry. They are naturally timid and make 

 for their holes on the slightest disturbance, leaping kangaroo 

 fashion sometimes as high as five feet, and so swiftly as to 

 be very difficult of capture. They have very long tails. 



The Beaver. There are two species of the beaver, the 

 European beaver, and the American beaver. The former is 

 most numerous in Siberia, Tartaiy, and the Caucasus but is 

 also occasionally found in Central Europe. The American 

 beaver is found throughout North America where it is eagerly 

 hunted for the sake of its fur. 



The European The following anonymous paragraph cut from 

 Beaver. a newspaper, but likely enough quoted from some 

 standard Natural History, perhaps that of Messrs. Cassell 

 and Co., throws some light upon the present condition of the 

 European beaver. 



" There are still some naturalists who assert that the beaver 

 has ceased to exist in France. This, however, is a mistake; 

 an animal of that species was caught a short time ago in the 

 Herault, and is now being exhibited at Montpelier. Beavers 



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