72 FAUNA OF SHROPSHIRE. 



any rate never for any length of time, so that it is 

 preying on the farmer's pocket all the year. It generally 

 lives in a small burrow but sometimes builds a regular 

 nest in a hedge bank, or fills up the old nest of a bird 

 with warm materials. It is exceedingly prolific, pro- 

 ducing several litters in a year, each numbering from 

 three to five young ones, and these in their turn will breed 

 before they are six months old. The general colour is 

 light reddish-grey above and nearly white beneath. The 

 hind feet are very long and white. Total length about 

 8 inches of which the tail measures cne half. A large 

 variety with a yellow or orange-coloured patch on the 

 breast has been distinguished as a separate species 

 under the name of the YELLOW-NECKED MOUSE 

 (Mus flavicollis). It measures nearly 9 inches in length 

 and has been taken by Mr. Dumville Lees, near Oswestry. 

 Specimens of both are in the Shrewsbury Museum. 

 COMMON (House) MOUSE. The appearance and habits 

 M. musculus. of this animal are so familiar, and it 



is so plentiful everywhere that descrip- 

 tion is superfluous. The expression "mouse-colour" is 

 used to describe the general hue of the fur, but the 

 range of colour in different individuals is wide. Some 

 are so dark that they are nearly black, while others 

 are quite a light-brown, or have grey hairs intermingled 

 with the brown. Although it usually inhabits houses 

 it often visits gardens and fields adjoining them, and 

 hundreds are frequently found at the bottom of corn 

 stacks, which are riddled with their tortuous burrows. 

 BLACK RAT. There is little doubt that the true Black 

 M. vattus. Rat used to occur in the County, as 



it did in other neighbouring districts 



