234 NATURAL HISTORY IN ANECDOTE.

little animal. They resemble the squirrel in appearance as
well as in some of their habits. They live in trees, where
they construct nests, on nuts, acorns, fruits, insects, birds and
eggs, and squirrel-like rest upon their hindquarters when
eating, holding their food between their forepaws. They
lay up store for the winter and become torpid in the cold
weather, rolling themselves into a ball, in which condition
they may be handled without disturbance or injury. The
common dormouse is found all over Europe, the greater
dormouse occupying a still more extended area.

The Jerboa. The Jerboa is a curious little animal with the
body of a mouse and hind legs which resemble those of the
kangaroo in appearance. There are several varieties, one
belonging to Southern Russia, one to the deserts of Egypt,
Nubia, Arabia, Barbary and Tartary, and one to North
America. They live in burrows which they construct with
great care and industry. They are naturally timid and make
for their holes on the slightest disturbance, leaping kangaroo
fashion sometimes as high as five feet, and so swiftly as to
be very difficult of capture. They have very long tails.

The Beaver. There are two species of the beaver, the
European beaver, and the American beaver. The former is
most numerous in Siberia, Tartary, and the Caucasus but is
also occasionally found in Central Europe. The American
beaver is found throughout North America where it is eagerly
hunted for the sake of its fur.

The European The following anonymous paragraph cut from

Beaver. a newspaper, but likely enough quoted from some
standard Natural History, perhaps that of Messrs. Cassell
and Co., throws some light upon the present condition of the
European beaver.

“There are still some naturalists who assert that the beaver
has ceased to exist in France. This, however, is a mistake ‘
an animal of that species was caught a short time ago in the
Hérault, and is now being exhibited at Montpelier. Beavers