50 THE AMERICAN NATURALIST. (Vor. XXXVI. 
the appearance of having been acquired during combats with 
its fellows. During most of the day they pass the time in 
sleep, but they become very active towards dusk and probably 
are active all night. So it is that they rarely feed during the 
daytime, while after dark they are hearty consumers of any- 
thing that takes their fancy, especially of such grain and seeds 
as I have mentioned above. When sleeping they sometimes 
curl their long tails about them in a circle on the ground, while 
the nose and face is poked well down in between the fore legs, 
the body thus looking like a round puffball of hair surrounded 



Fic. 2. — P. vichardsont. Same specimen as shown in Fig. 1. Feeding. Less than % nat. size. 
Photographed from life by the author. 
by a single coil of the bicolored and longitudinally striped tail, 
the latter terminating in a brush at its end. Again they may 
sleep in the attitude shown in Fig. r, where the animal had 
mounted a little log for the purpose and had been in sound 
repose for fully ten minutes, without moving, before I exposed 
my plate upon him. At other times they sleep upon tbeir 
backs or sides, stretched out like little kittens or other small 
animals that assume such attitudes when enjoying a blissful 
doze in the warm sunshine. 
This kangaroo rat is a very neat and cleanly little creature, 
frequently dressing it$ soft fur much after the fashion of the 


