HARVEST UOVSE.—Micromys mimUu, 



Smallest, and perhaps tlic prettiest, of 

 the British mammalia, tlie elegant little 

 Harvest Mouse next claims our atten- 

 tion. The total lenj^th of this tiny creatm-e 

 is not quite five inches, its tail beinir 

 nearly two inches and a half in lengtlh 

 The colour of its fur is a delicate reddish- 

 brown, while the under parts of the 

 a])domen are white. 



The description that is given of the 

 Harvest Mouse and its wonderful nest, 

 l)y the Rev. Gilbert White, is so well 

 known that it need only be casually 

 mentioned. I have fortunately had op- 

 portunities of verifying his observations 

 by means of a nest which was found in 

 a field in Wiltshire by some mowers. 



It Avas built upon a scaffolding of 

 four of the rank grass-stems that are 

 generally fouiul on the sides of ditches, 

 and was situated at some ten or eleven' 

 inches from the ground. In form it was 

 globular, rather larger than a cricket- 

 ball, and was quite empty. The mate- 

 rial of Avhich it was composed was thin 

 dry grass of nearly uniform substance, 

 and its texture was remarkably loose, 

 so that any object contained in it could' 

 be seen through the interstices as easily 

 as if it had been placed in a lady's 

 open-worked knitting basket. 





