346 SOME OBSERVATIONS ON BRITISH MICE. 



use daring the winter months. In chambers undergroimd 

 and in hollow trees he will conceal considerable quantities 

 of acorns, nuts, corn seeds, and certain kinds of roots. One 

 of these underground store-rooms, when opened, was found 

 to contain a gallon of nuts, which represents a great deal 

 of hard labour, considering the size of the gatherer. It is 

 these subterranean hoards which form one of the main in- 

 ducements to hogs to grub up the ground ; and if every now 

 and again they light upon a gallon or two of acorns, we can 

 well imagine that it is a profitable occupation. 



I once found an old felt hat in a clump of bushes, the 

 folds of which were tightly packed with hips, gathered from 

 a dog-rose close at hand ; it was evidently the work of a 

 mouse, because the marks of his teeth were visible upon the 

 rind of each berry. 



Walking in the woods near Clovelly one rainy day with 

 two companions, one of these mice was pointed out to me, 

 running in the roadway in front of us. Hearing our approach, 

 he at once turned and took shelter in the ferns by the road- 

 side. We stopped perfectly still, and in a moment or two 

 he reappeared. He seemed to have no fear, but walked up 

 to us, and presently climbed upon my foot and saucily 

 nibbled the boot-lace. We offered him chocolate, which he 

 refused, and soon after made a leisurely retreat into the 

 woods, and was lost to view. I have heard of a similar 

 instance of tameness occurring on our Downs. 



The harvest -mouse {inus minutus). This pretty little 

 creature is, in my opinion, the most elegant and interesting 

 of our mice, and but for the pigmy shrew he might claim 

 the distinction of being the smallest of British quadrupeds. 

 Its length, including the tail, is only four inches eleven lines ; 

 its weight about the sixth part of an ounce. The surpris- 

 ing assertion is sometimes met with that it takes two 



