First lesson in zoology : adapted for use in schools . is creature, like the bearand bats, hibernates in the winter months; it enters theground before the frosts set in, and makes a burrow fromfive to seven feet in depth, usually in sandy soU. At theend of this burrow it constructs a nest of dried grass, inwhich it lies curled up in an unconscious state. Peculiarto the Western plains is the prairie-dog {Cynomys ludovi- THE DOCILE MAMMALS. 245 ciawMs; see,Frontispiece, on the right side); it is semi-social, and takes in perforce as boarders the owl and rattle-snake, which devour its young. The
First lesson in zoology : adapted for use in schools . is creature, like the bearand bats, hibernates in the winter months; it enters theground before the frosts set in, and makes a burrow fromfive to seven feet in depth, usually in sandy soU. At theend of this burrow it constructs a nest of dried grass, inwhich it lies curled up in an unconscious state. Peculiarto the Western plains is the prairie-dog {Cynomys ludovi- THE DOCILE MAMMALS. 245 ciawMs; see,Frontispiece, on the right side); it is semi-social, and takes in perforce as boarders the owl and rattle-snake, which devour its young. The Moles and other Insect-eaters.—The miners amongmammals are the moles (), They are rarely seen,not leaving their tunnels ex-cept at night. How admirablytheir bodies are adapted to asubterranean life, and for rapidprogress under the surface ofthe soil, is seen in their sharpnose and their strong, spade-like fore feet. The fore legsare short, thick, and muscular,the bones (Fig. 343) verystout and solid. Moreover,they shun the light, for if they. Fig. 343.—Bones of fore leg of aMole. 53, the cubital scapula; 53,humerus; 54, ulna; 55, ramus.
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectzoology, bookyear1894
