THE DORMOUSE. 
321 
One of these nests forms a part of my collection. It was 
situated in a hedge about four feet from the ground, and was 
placed in the forking of a hazel branch, the smaller twigs of 
which form a kind of palisade round it. The substances of 
which it is composed are of two kinds, namely, grass-blades 
and leaves of trees, the former being the chief material. It is 
exactly six inches in length by three inches in width, and is 
constructed in a very ingenious manner, reminding the observer 
of the pensile nests made by the weaver birds. 
Two or three kinds of grass are used, the greater part being 
the well-known sword-grass, whose sharp edges cut the fingers 
of a careless handler. The blades are twisted round the twigs 
and through the interstices, until they form a hollow nest, rather 
oval in shape. Towards the bottom the finer sorts of grass are 
used, as well as some stems of delicate climbing weeds, which 
are no larger than ordinary thread, and which serve to bind 
the mass together. Interwoven with the grass are several 
leaves, none of which belong to the branch, and which are 
indeed of two kinds, namely, hazel and maple, and have evi- 
dently been picked up from the ditch which bounded the 
hedge. Their probable use is to shield the inmate from the 
wind, which would penetrate through the interstices of the 
loosely woven grass-blades. 
I The entrance to the nest is so ingeniously concealed, that 
to find it is not a very easy matter, even when its precise 
position is known, and in order to enter the nest, the Dor- 
mouse is obliged to draw aside certain broad grass-blades 
which are ingeniously disposed over the entrance so as to hide 
it. The pendent pieces of grass that are being held aside by 
the little paw are so fixed, that when released from pressure, 
they spring back over the aperture and conceal it in a very 
effectual manner. 
Although the Dormouse uses this aerial house as a residence, 
it does not make use of it as a treasury. Like many other 
hibernating animals, it collects a store of winter food, which 
generally consists of nuts, grain, and similar substances. These 
treasures are carefully hidden away in the vicinity of the nest. 
