MUS CANADENSIS. 117 



which he was designed. He was the Gerhil of 

 Canada, the Mus Canadensis, or Canadian mouse, 

 a curious little creature which feeds on earth-worms, 

 and whose eyes seem of little use in the broad day- 

 light/' 



The next visit of the naturalist to his old hunting- 

 ground, the lane and brook, was during hay-harvest, 

 when the green grass in the meadow was rapidly 

 sinking before the keen-edged scythes of the 

 mowers. This circumstance afforded him much 

 pleasure, for it promised a freer scope for his ram- 

 bles, and might also enable him to ascertain various 

 particulars concerning which his curiosity had been 

 raised. This \vas especially the case w r ith regard to 

 the neat furrow in the turf that first excited his 

 attention ; for as the scythes swept nimbly through 

 the long grass, they exposed several nests of the 

 field-mice, the occupants of which, by means of 

 these grass-covered alleys, passed unobserved by 

 their enemies, the hawks and owls, when in quest 

 of either food or water. These nests were very 

 numerous; they were beautifully lined with soft 

 materials, and usually placed in some hollow, or at 

 the root of a strong tuft of grass ; which tuft, either 

 by its roots or grain, furnished the family with nu- 

 tritious food, and if they were numerous, their de- 

 predations were made known by the brown and 

 withered appearance of the grass. But, in general, 

 hawks and owls, domestic cats, crows, and weasels, 

 prevent their increasing in such numbers as to be 

 injurious. 



Various species were observed in the same green 

 meadow, and the naturalist had just remarked 



