14 A MARCH RAMBLE. 



home stretch. When at full speed their tracks 

 are shown thus : - - : - - : - - : and measure five and 

 six feet at every bound. Here and there through 

 the woods they have dug holes in the snow for 

 beech-mast and acorns. Evidently the little ro- 

 dents knew just where to search for the hidden 

 treasures, for plenty of shells lie scattered around 

 at the top of the shaft. The females are busy in 

 renovating and repairing their old nests in the 

 thick cedars. The old bark that falls away from 

 the trunks of these trees offers them abundant 

 material. It is curious to see them scampering up 

 and down the trunks, with streamers in their 

 mouths, and their quick, smart motions, incorpo- 

 rating the cedar strips within the nest mass. This 

 abode must be made snug and comfortable for the 

 shivering litter that within a fortnight will be wrig- 

 gling in the softly-upholstered inner room. 



In the midst of the spray of a prostrate white 

 birch is quite a large piece of bagging that some 

 cunning mother rodent has appropriated and fash- 

 ioned into a comfortable home for the prospective 

 family. How nicely it is folded and conformed to 

 the angles of trunk and limbs ! The under parts 

 are whole, but the upper portion, where it has 

 been gathered in folds, is raveled out and chewed 



