18 THE HARVEST MOUSE 



The HARVEST MOUSE (Mus minutus), Fig. 16, is the smallest 

 British mammal, and constructs a beautiful and elegant nest about 

 the size of a cricket ball of the blades of grass or corn, en- 

 twined round and supported by the stalks of the corn or wheat. 



FIG. 1 6. THE HARVEST MOUSE AND NEST. 



The harvest mouse frequents grassy glades and fields, and its 

 food consists of grain, various seeds, and vegetables, sometimes 

 gnawing the young growths of trees in plantations. Like the long- 

 tailed field mouse it hibernates during the winter, and lays up a 

 store of provisions in its nest during the autumn. 



WATER VOLE (Arvicola amphibia), Fig. 17, commonly called 

 Water Rat, and often confounded with the brown rat, which fre- 

 quents the same localities, is a native of Britain, inhabiting the 

 banks of streams, ponds and lakes. It attains a length of 13 in. 

 including the tail of about one-third of the measurement, which 



