441 
MAMMALIA. 
In this cradle the mother deposits seven or eight young ones ; ; 
but the question may be asked, how she manages to suckle || 
them, for the narrowness of the structure will not allow her to 
install herself in the midst of her brood. The opening of their i 
dwelling is so skilfully concealed, that extreme attention is some- 
times necessary to discover it. The female can climb up to her ; 
nest with the greatest ease, and descends with similar facility, j 
Fig. 181. — Harvest Mouse {Micromys minutus). 
winding her tail round a straw and sliding down rapidly. In 
winter-time, the Harvest Mouse takes refuge in corn or hay-ricks, 
or scratches out a burrow, which it lines with wool, hair, or other j 
soft substances. 
Those we have named above are the principal European species. 
The other parts of the world have also a few varieties which are 
peculiar to them. The most important are, in Africa, the Nile 
