44 



HOMES WITHOUT HANDS. 



means a welcome guest, but an intruder on the premises, self-bil- 

 leted on the inmates, like soldiers on obnoxious householders, 

 procuring lodging without permission, and eating the inhabitants 

 by way of board. 



The reason for the presence of the owls is not so evident, 

 though it is not impossible that they may also snap up an occa- 

 sional Prairie Dog in its earliest infancy, while it is very young, 

 small, and tender. These winged and scaled intruders are not 

 found in all the burrows, though many of the habitations are in- 

 fested by them. 



The general aspect of the Prairie Dog is not unlike that of its 

 near relative, the Alpine Marmot, so familiar in this country 

 through the mediumship of Savoyard boys, who carry the animal 

 about in a box, and exhibit it for halfpence. 



The Rabbit Warren. 



One of the most familiar of the British burrowing rodents 

 is the common Eabbit {Lepus cuniculus), an animal notable for 

 "sporting," as gardeners would say, into a vast number of varie- 

 ties, some of which are so unlike the original stock that they 

 seem to be species and not varieties, and indeed might have taken 



