
THE COMMON GRASS MOUSE 447 
the succulent bases of grass-stalks.1 They are, however, 
capable, when cpportunity or necessity arises, of adopting at 
least partially the omnivorous propensities of the Bank Mouse, 
and are frequently unable to resist the temptation offered by 
a dead body, even of one of their own kind. For the 
satisfaction of their wants, therefore, many different kinds of 
country are suitable, the main requirement being plenty of 
grass, which may be of any coarse kind, for their teeth are 
excellent slicing organs. They may be found in pastures, 
especially in those damp or wet places where growth is most 

Fic. 69.—PLAN OF RUNS OF GRASS MICE UNDER A FALLEN NOTICE-BOARD, 23rd January 
1910. Diagrammatic, from sketches by L. E. Adams. Ny, and Ny, nursery, with young and 
nest in each; scale 8 feet. 
luxuriant ; on salt marshes; amongst the marram-grass of sea- 
beaches ;* on moors and mountains and, especially in winter, in 
open patches in woods, or on grassy hedgerows in almost every 
conceivable situation. 
Where vegetation is thick they construct a labyrinthine 
network of runs, apparently the common property of the 
1 Hence they can rarely be induced to enter a trap containing the usual baits, but 
are attracted by carrots (L. E. Adams) or bulbs of yellow crocus (W. R. Ogilvie- 
Grant), neglecting those of any other colour. They are easily caught in unbaited 
traps so placed in their runs that the animals attempt to pass through them. 
2 G. T. Rope (Zoologist, 1873, 3610) found them very numerous on small grassy 
islands ; and abundant and attaining “a very large size” on a long water-bound strip 
of beach at Aldeburgh, Suffolk. 
