38 COMMON ]UUT1SH ANIMALS 



Voles or Red Mick. 



The voles differ from mice in possessing more 

 clumsily built bodies and in being less agile in their 

 movements. They have blunt, rounded heads and 

 muzzles, short ears buried in the dense fur, and a 

 short and hairy tail. They have shorter limbs and 

 smaller eyes than those of mice. There are a great 

 many species widely distributed in the Old and New 

 Worlds, five of which are found in the British Isles ; 

 three of them being very common. They are all 

 vegetable feeders and live in burrows in meadows 

 and fields, or the banks of ponds and streams. The 

 principal structural difference between the voles and 

 mice is in the teeth. The molar teeth of voles, of 

 which there are three pairs in each jaw, either grow 

 continuously, and are therefore devoid of roots, or 

 they are imperfectly rooted. The grinding surface 

 is divided into cement spaces bordered by enamel 

 ridges. 



An examination and report on the local shrews 

 and rodents would form an admirable subject of 

 research for scouts or any class of country boys 

 interested in natural history. The various traps and 

 baits required for each species would have to be dis- 

 covered and the methods of setting them. However 

 averse we may be to destroying life, there are certain 

 creatures which despoil our homes, our food, and our 

 crops, which must be got rid of. It is our great 

 aim to kill them in such a way as to give them the 

 least pain. To enable us to do this we must study 



