. The animals of the world. Brehm's life of animals;. Mammals. THE SQUIRRELSâMARMOT. 3ir account of its barking voice; but the most superficial comparison cowdd not find a point of resemblance between this animal and a Dog in external appear- ance. The Prairie Dog The Pjairie Dogs' extensive settle- Towns of the ments, which are called " Dog-towns" West. on account oi their great size, are, as a rule, found on some- what low lying prairies, â where the grass makes a beautiful natural lawn and at the same time affords the animals con- venient food. "The al- most incredible propor
. The animals of the world. Brehm's life of animals;. Mammals. THE SQUIRRELSâMARMOT. 3ir account of its barking voice; but the most superficial comparison cowdd not find a point of resemblance between this animal and a Dog in external appear- ance. The Prairie Dog The Pjairie Dogs' extensive settle- Towns of the ments, which are called " Dog-towns" West. on account oi their great size, are, as a rule, found on some- what low lying prairies, â where the grass makes a beautiful natural lawn and at the same time affords the animals con- venient food. "The al- most incredible propor- tions which the settle- ments of these peaceful inhabitants assume," says Baldwin Moellhau- sen, "can best be real- ized by a person who journeys continuously for days among little hillocks of which every one represents the res- idence of two or more of these animals. These dwellfngs are usually from five to six yards apart, and each little mound rising in front of their entrances may contain a good cart load of earth, which has been gradually conveyed from the subterranean passages to the surface by these inhabitants. Some have a single en- trance, some have two. A well trodden path leads from one dwelling to another, and fully justifies the inference that close friendship prevails among the live- ly, little animals. The selection of a site for their "towns" seems to be determined by prox- imity to short, crisp grass, which generally grows on high plains, and which, besides one species of root, forms the only food of the lit- tle animals. Even on the high plateaux of New Mexico, where not a drop of water is to be found for miles around, there are very densely populated communities of this sort, and as there is no rain for months, and it is necessary to dig to a depth of one hundred feet in order to reach a water vein, there is good reason to believe that Prairie Dogs need but very little water, and content them- selves with the moisture which a heavy de
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectmammals, bookyear1895
