THE DORMOUSE. 393 
admirably, we should rather suppose it an incon¬ 
venient weight to a being performing such aerial 
actions. 
Towards winter Squirrels turn to a sober grey 
colour. On August 10th, 1838,1 saw in a wood near 
my house, a Squirrel of a bright chesnut colour on its 
head, limbs, and body, and having its tail milk 
white. This is the only specimen I have ever seen 
having such colours, but in Hampshire and some 
northern counties they are said to have the ordinary 
colours on their bodies, and their tails white. 
The Dormouse which from small size and unob¬ 
trusive character so much escapes notice, is however 
found on due enquiry, to be tolerably common in our 
w oods, thickets, plantations, and copses. The time 
when they are usually found, is the rinding season, 
February, March, &c. when the workmen in moving 
the timber and examining the hedges and woods, 
detect the nests of this animal usually placed in 
small depressions or pits in the ground in sheltered 
positions, but frequently also in the decayed tops 
of pollards, in the hollow s of trees, in the w’arm 
parts of hedges, and also, though rarely, loosely 
fixed in thorns. These nests are generally much 
larger than cricket balls, of a close texture, and at 
one part have a strange, twisted appearance, the 
substances employed being turned or produced into 
a point or conical shape, and this proves on in¬ 
spection to be for the formation of a tube passing 
to the chamber where the dormouse lies ; the use 
of this passage I conceive to be the admission of 
air. The nest itself is usually constructed of in¬ 
geniously or rather laboriously woven dry blades 
of grass, to which in some instances is added a 
profusion of dry oak leaves and fern. I have often 
been surprised at the very considerable difference 
in size among these beautiful little creatures, some 
being nearly half as large again as the others I have 
