British Gnawing Mammals 



difference holds good as regards nose and ears. 

 Added to these distinctions, the Voles have smaller 

 eyes and more dumpy limbs compared with Mice, but 

 over and above all, the Voles' contour is more plump- 

 like than the true Mice. A Vole is a rounded animal, 

 while in comparison a Mouse is of an elongated shape. 

 The Common Field Vole is an animal that ranges 

 from the loftiest peaks of our insular mountains to the 

 lowest grass-lands. Quite an ordinary name for this 

 rodent is Short-tailed Field Mouse or Vole. It was 

 this little animal that created the so-called Vole plague 

 about the Borders in the year 1876, and again an 

 outcry against its depredations was raised in 1883, and 

 still later in 1891, when the Board of Agriculture 

 tackled the question. The distribution of this species 

 of Vole is wide, and practically unlimited. It devours 

 every blade of grass within its area, or, failing to eat it, 

 it so pollutes the ground that no other stock will crop 

 it. It certainly prefers grass-lands to cultivated fields, 

 as it seems to love vegetation in any form rather than 

 places where it has to hunt for its food. It is greyish- 

 brown above and paler below, but darker again about 

 the feet. Head and body measure about ^^ inches, 

 and the rather hairy tail is about a third of this 

 measurement, but these Voles vary very much in size. 

 They breed three or four times annually, and have 

 four to seven in each nest — the nest being formed of 

 moss, grass, and leaves, usually in some well-protected 

 hollow of the ground. 



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