life. This plan has been successfully adopted with the Wombats at the Amsterdam Zoological Gardens, and I have also seen it employed for Marmots. If, however, the owner is afraid that the material supplied may cave in and smother the workers, a more convenient plan is to place a large box well filled with hay in the centre of the enclosure. Holes are cut in the sides of the box for ingress and egress, and a few drain-pipes are substituted for the burrows, the whole being artistically concealed by rockwork. This method allows the owner to inspect the inside of the box at any time by removing a stone or two and raising the lid; it has, however, the disadvantage of hardly being a natural arrangement. Care must be taken that the central dwelling-place is kept dry and warm, and that the surroundings do not harbour damp in wet weather.
Muscardinus avellanarius (Dormouse).—The Common Dormouse is one of the few British mammals regularly kept in captivity, and with its large beady eyes, tawny fur, and almost Squirrel-like tail is deservedly a favourite. I have several times found mine dying without any obvious cause. These invalids for a day or two before death would lie semi-torpid on the floor of the cage, scarcely breathing at all, and hardly indeed to be induced by any means to quicken their respiration. One, in fact, was semi-paralysed, dragging itself across the floor with great difficulty, and only lived a few days after the disease became marked. Perhaps some epidemic affects these animals in the autumn, as is the case with the Common Shrew. Remarks on the treatment of these well-known pets will be scarcely necessary. I would point out that by introducing a small branch of a tree into their cage, the clasping action of the foot-pads may be studied. Mine were fed on apples and bread. They do not gnaw woodwork like most rodents, neither do they bite.
Dipus jaculus (Egyptian Jerboa).—A quaint little furry figure, running like a wee sprite in the moonlight and continually stopping to examine objects in its path with busy inquisitiveness—such is the Egyptian Jerboa. Rat-like in body, bird-like in movements, its tiny person is supported on an absurd pair of stilt legs and a Kangaroo tail. In the daytime the Jerboa is a soft ball of fur asleep in its box; at night its activity is a remarkable contrast to its diurnal lethargy, as it flits like a
