440 
M Y O X U S. 
that ftate, to be far leaner than before its commencement. 
It is probable, however, that this animal awakens at in¬ 
tervals, and indulges in the ufe of its collected llores of 
provilion ; and the epigram of Martial mud conlequently 
be received with a proper degree of allowance for the po¬ 
pular belief of the ancients on the fubjeft : 
Tot a tnihi dormitur /rictus; ct pinguior il/o 
Tempore fum quo me nil triji fumnns alit. Lib. xiii. Ep. 59. 
Nurs'd by a long hibernal deep, 
I fatten by repofe: 
Nor food the nourifhment can give 
Which abftinence bellows. 
It is but juft to obferve, that Buffon has very properly 
expofed the abfurdity of the ancient notion ; and has ob¬ 
served that the animal occafionally wakes, and makes ufe 
of its ftock of provilion. The truth is, that it is at all 
times fat, and appears as much fo in fpring as in autumn. 
By the ancient Romans it was numbered among the arti¬ 
cles of luxury, and was fattened in proper receptacles, 
called gliraria. 
The fize of this fpecies is not very far Ihort of that of a 
Squirrel, meafuring from nofeto tail near fix inches, and 
the tail four and a half. It is an animal of a much thicker 
form in proportion than a fquirrel; and is of an elegant 
alh-colour, white on the under parts and infides of the 
limbs : the tail is very furry, and of a flightly Spreading 
form, like that of a fquirrel: the eyes are large and black ; 
the ears thin, rounded, and very (lightly haired. Some¬ 
times the upper parts of the body have a ferruginous 
tinge. Its general manners referable thofe of a fquirrel ; 
but it is not eafily tamed. The young are produced 
about the middle of fummer, and are four or five in 
number. 
2. Myoxus nitela, the garden-dormoufe : body rufous 
above, greyilh-white beneath, with a black mark about 
the eyes and behind the ears. The garden-dormoufe is a 
native of the temperate and warmer regions of Europe 
and Afia, and is commonly found in gardens, feeding on 
various kinds of fruit, particularly peaches and apricots. 
It makes its neft, like the reft of this genus, in the hol¬ 
lows of trees, and fometimes in thofe of walls, or even in 
the ground about the roots of trees, &c. collecting, for 
this purpofe, dried leaves, grafs, modes, &c. In autumn it 
collefts a quantity of nuts, mail, &c. and depofits it in its 
hole ; and during the greateil part of the winter remains 
in a ftate of torpidity, awakening only at diftant intervals. 
Its general length is about four inches and a half, and 
the tail rather lefs. It is of an elegant rufous or ferru¬ 
ginous colour above, and yellowilh white beneath : the 
eyes are imbedded in a large black patch or fpot, which 
extends to fome diftance beyond each ear: the tail is 
fomewhat wider towards the end, and fliarpens at the ex¬ 
tremity, and is marked on that part by a longitudinal 
black ftripe, having the edges white. Thefe animals pro¬ 
duce their young about the middle of fummer, which are 
about five or fix in number, and are laid to be of very 
quick grow'th. 
3. Myoxus dryas, the wood-dormoufe : greyilh-rufous 
above, whitifh beneath, with a ftraight black ltripe acrofs 
the eyes to the ears. This fpecies is much allied to the 
preceding, but has a lefs lharpened vifage, and a much 
fhorter tail; and its general proportions bear a greater 
refemblance to thofe of the fat dormoufe. Its length to 
the tail is about four inches, and the tail, about three 
inches. Its colour on the upper parts and tail is greyifh 
ferruginous, and of the under parts yellowilh white: the 
patch or black mark on each fide the head is much nar¬ 
rower than in the preceding fpecies, and extends only to 
the ear: the tail is very furry, the hair fpreading as in 
that of a fquirrel. It is laid to be a native of Ruffia, 
Georgia, &c. inhabiting woods. 
4.. Myoxus mufcardinus, the common dormoufe: body 
rufous, throat whitilh ; the thumbs of the hind-feet with¬ 
out claws. The fize of this pretty animal is nearly equal 
to that of a moufe; but it is of a more plump or rounded 
form, and the nofe is more obtufe in proportion. The 
eyes are large, black, and prominent; the ears broad, thin, 
and femi-tranfparent. The fore-feet have four toes, and 
the hind-feet five, but the interior of thefe latter are del- 
titute of nails: the tail is about two inches and a half 
long, and clofely covered on all fides with hair, which is 
rather longer towards the tip than on the other parts: the 
head, back, fides, belly, and tail, are of a tawny-red co¬ 
lour; the throat white: the fur is remarkably foft, and 
the whole animal has a confiderable degree of elegance in 
its appearance. See the annexed Plate, fig. 1. It fiome- 
times happens that the colour is rather brown than red- 
difh. 
Dormice, fays Mr. Pennant, inhabit woods or very 
thick hedges; forming their nefts in the hollows of fome 
low tree, or near the bottom of a clofe fiirub. As they 
want much of the fprightlinefs of the fquirrel, they never 
afpire to the tops of trees, or attempt to bound from (pray 
to fpray. Like the fquirrel, they form little magazines of 
nuts, &c. for their winter-provifion, and take their food 
in the fame upright pofture. The confumption of their 
hoard during the rigour of winter is but final 1; for they 
deep raoft part of the time, retiring into their holes on 
the approach of winter, and, rolling themfelves up, lie 
torpid during the greateft part of the gloomy feafon. 
Sometimes they experience a ftiort revival in a warm 
funny day; w'hen they take a little food, and then relapfe 
into their former ftate. 
Thefe animals feldorn appear far from their retreats, or 
in any expofed (ituation ; for which reafon, they feem 
lefs common in this country than they ready are. They 
make their neft of grafs, mofs, and dead leaves. Accord¬ 
ing to Buffon, it confilts of interwoven herbs, and is fix 
inches in diameter, open only above, and is fituated be¬ 
tween the branches of hazel and brufhwood. The num¬ 
ber of young is generally three or four. 
5. Myoxus chryfurus, the gilt-tailed dormoufe : gene¬ 
ral colour purpli(h brown ; the hind part of the tail and a 
longitudinal ftripe on the head, gold yellow. This fingular 
fpecies, though confidered by its firft defcriber, Mr. Alla- 
mand, as well as by Mr. Pennant in his Hiftory of Qua¬ 
drupeds, as a fpecies of dormoufe, is allied in perhaps an 
equal degree to the porcupines, among which it is placed 
by Schreber. It is fuppofed to be a'native of Surinam, 
and is remarkable for the beauty of its colours ; being of 
a fine purplifh brown above, rather paler beneath ; the 
tail is brown at its bafe, black for half its length, and the 
remainder of a bright gold-yellow, and on the top of the 
head is a longitudinal ftripe of that colour. The head 
is large in proportion to the body ; the eyes fmall; the 
ears moderately large, (liort, and rounded; the upper lip 
divided; the front teeth white and Ihort; thofe of the 
low'er jaw being the largeft : on each fide the nofe are 
long whiikers. The legs are Ihort; the feet divided into 
four toes, with weak crooked claws ; and in place of the 
thumb a fmall tubercle. On the hind part of the head, 
and along the back, are fcattered feveral hairs much 
longer than the reft, and of a very different form and fub- 
ftance, being flat, ftiff, and rough to the touch : they 
feem to arife from fmall tranlparent (heaths, and their 
conformation is highly fingular, each hair, or rather quill, 
being cylindric and very fmall near the body, growing 
flat towards the middle part, where it is half a line broad ; 
and hence gradually diminifhing to a very fine point: 
along the middle runs a channel or gutter, which if ex¬ 
amined with a glafs, appears yellow', while the fides, 
which are elevated, are of a brown colour; and thus a 
fort of double reflexion of light takes place, caufing the 
purplifh tinge above mentioned : thefe fingular hairs, or 
quills, become gradually fmaller as they approach the 
fides of the body, and quite difappear towards the ab¬ 
domen. It feems to be an animal formed for climbing- 
trees ; and, from the delcription given above, it will ap¬ 
pear that Mr. Schreber’s opinion is juft, and that it fhould 
4- in 
