354 SOME OBSERVATIONS ON BRITISH MICE. 



In the spring, wlien the grass has grown a few inches, the 

 vole sets himself to the task of making a nest for the young, 

 which are usually born in May. This nest is built upon 

 the surface of the ground, and is usually placed in a slight 

 hollow, so that the nest is half above the ground and halt 

 below. It is cleverly constructed from grass blades, which 

 have been slit into their component fibres by the teeth of 

 the little architect, and they form a very soft, warm bed for 

 the naked pink mice which are born there. 



It is a curious fact that both rabbit and field-vole choose 

 a far more exposed situation for their nurseries than they 

 do for their ordinary dwellings. The rabbit seems so care- 

 less for the safety of her young, that any person gifted with 

 a long arm may easily reach the end of the burrow she ex- 

 cavates for them. The field-vole, as we have seen, places 

 her young in a still more accessible position. I suggest the 

 reason for this apparent carelessness to be that so many 

 young creatures together would poison themselves by their 

 own breath, unless the nest was built in an airy situation. 

 I for my part should strongly object to make one of a party 

 of warm, breathing mice, in a confined burrow a foot or more 

 below the surface of the ground; asphyxiation of the entire 

 family might, I think, be safely predicted. 



The mothers are very devoted, and will sit so closely on 

 their nest that they are often cut to pieces by the knives of 

 the mowing machine. The surest way of trapping these mice 

 is by finding a nest of young ones, which may easily be done 

 in the proper season, and putting them into a trap ; the 

 mother will soon find her way in to them, though they are 

 very diffident about entering a trap upon ordinary occasions. 



These voles have been observed in the act of carrying 

 their young from flooded meadows, in the same manner as a 

 cat carries her kittens, and in all probability the young are 



