HAMSTER(Cricetus), a genus of rodent mammals belonging to the Huridoe or mice family, and characterized by the possession of large cheek pouches. The common hamster (Cricetus vulgaris) is somewhat larger and stouter than the Norway rat, but with a much shorter tail. Its fur, which varies somewhat in colour, is generally of a reddish-brown above and black beneath, with several white spots on the sides. It is found throughout the dry regions of central Europe and Asia, from the Rhine eastward to the river Obi and southward to Persia and the Caucasus. It is a burrowing animal, its subterranean dwelling consisting of several vaults, most of which are used as storehouses for the grain and seeds which the hamster lays up in autumn for consumption during, winter and spring. In collecting this store it makes use of its cheek pouches, which are said to be large enough to contain a quarter of an English pint, while the hoard of a single individual will sometimes contain about two bushels of grain. It is thus specially obnoxious to the farmer, who loses no opportunity of destroying the creature and of ransacking its stores. Like many other rodents, the hamster is exceedingly prolific, the female producing several broods in the year, each consisting of over a dozen young, and these when not more than three weeks old are turned out of the parental burrow to form underground homes for themselves. The burrow of the young hamster is only about a foot in depth, while that of the adult descends 4 or 5 feet beneath the surface. On the approach of winter the hamster retires to its subterranean abode, the various entrances to which it carefully closes, and there it remains until the advent of milder conditions, feeding for a while on its well-garnered store, but becoming torpid during the ...