GNAWING ANIMALS RODENTS 143 



army of Sennacherib in consequence of the destruc- 

 tion by field mice, during the night, of their quivers, 

 arrows and bow-strings, which were rendered useless 

 by gnawing. 



^^ Apollo Smintheus, or Apollo the Mouse God,^^ 

 says Mr. Millais, '^ was regarded as the author and 

 averter of the various plagues of field mice from 

 which Greece suffered. ^^ He also quotes the ^ Stony- 



FiG. 39.— Field Vole or Short-tailed Field Mouse 

 {MicroUis agrestis). 



hurst Magazine,^ December, 1892 : " Finally, there 

 is another aspect in which we may regard the mouse, 

 and one in which it is even more closely connected 

 with the religious ideas of the ancients, namely, as a 

 harbinger of good and evil tidings from the gods, 

 that is to say, the announcer of their satisfaction or 

 displeasure.'^ With this belief about the mouse we 

 may compare the Scandinavian belief about the 

 squirrel. 



The origin of these vole plagues is not understood. 



