THK COMMON MOU8M. 1-7 



u ith food, has Ut-n known t<> d.-i.-l.-p \i& carnivorous nature into canni I ml tarn, eating the body 



i.f in- <>f its companions that ha<l died while in the cage. 



"V little vulgar V as it is quaintly termed by old Topsel, la a truly pretty little 



creature, with it- t, r,,wn-gray back, gray throut and abdomen, aoft, \.-h.-i\ fur. it's litil,- l.ri-li 

 l.la.-k U-a.l -like eyes. and .s<iuirrel-like paws. A d.-tail.-d description of MI familiar an animal 

 would I*- quite unn.-cessary, un<l we will tli.-ii-f.u-,- proceed to its hal-iis aii.l manners. 



Like the rat, it frequents both town and country, doing an infinity of damage in lli- 

 former, but comiKir.itiv.-ly little harm in the latt.-r. In tli.- ...untry it attaches itself mostly to 

 farm-yanK \vhere it gains access to the ricks, ami uh.-u ..no- (irmly established, is not so easily 

 dislodged as its larger relative, the rat However, if tli.- rick U-'k.-pt under cov.-r. th.- M, 

 cannot make any lengthened stay, for the cover keeps off the rain, on which th.-y < hi. ll\ 

 depend for drink, and they are then obliged to leave th.- Muck in search of water. If the rick 

 be placed on staddles, it will be then safe from these littl.- jieate. 



In the town they are not so objectionable aa in the country, for they con only annoy the 

 human inhabitants, and cannot intlict real damage upon them. Th.-\ an- l>ld littl.- creatures 

 in their way, although ,-u>ily startled; and, if i>ermitted to carry on their noisy sport undis- 

 turlted, run alx>ut an iuhaliited room with perfect nonchalance. 



In old buildings in which the walls are papered over canvas, Mice run scuffling and 

 squeaking l>etween the canvas and the plaster, as if th.-y were th.- legitimate owners of the 

 place, and the tenants were only local. -d there in order to cater for their benefit. Many a wall 

 is riddled with hol.-s that have U-en made by irritated occupants making furiou.s lunges 

 always unsuccessfully, by the way with all sorts of instruments, at the wiry little creatures 

 as they scurry about behind the paper. 



They are odd little animals, and full of the quaintest gamesomeness, as may be seen by 

 any one who will only sit quit.- still and watch them as they run about a room which they 

 specially affect They are to the full as inquisitive as cats, and will examine any new piece 

 of furniture with great curiosity. 



Mice are very easily tamed, and, as far as my own experience goes, the common brown 

 Mouse is more readily brought under subjection, and more docile, than the white or albino 

 variety. I have kept many a set of Mice, brown, white, and mottled, and have always found 

 th.-m to l>e very susceptible of kindness. To tame a young brown Mouse is an easy task ; but 

 it must be remembered that as all Mice are very cleanly animals, the strictest can* is needful 

 to rid their cage of all impurity. Their bedding should be constantly changed, and the false 

 floor of their cage should be double, so that while one is in use, the other is getting dry after 

 being thoroughly washed. Any soft substance, such as hay, cotton wool, or rags, will suffice 

 for their bedding ; but I have found that black cotton wool, or black " wadding," as it is some- 

 times termed, is fatal to Mice in the course of a single night. Why it should be so, I cannot 

 venture to guess, but that such is the case I have had practical experience. 



Mice are cunning creatures, and when they once have taken alarm at a trap, cannot be 

 induced to put themselves within such peril, no matter how strong the inducement may be. 

 For a while it is possible to entrap them by changing the kind of bait as soon as they have 

 begun to learn the result of eating that particular substance ; but in a few weeks the trap 

 must be entirely removed until the animals have forgotten it 



It is a marvellously prolific animal, producing its young several times in the course of the 

 year, and at a very early age. The nests are made in any sheltered spot and formed from any 

 soft substance, such as rags, paper, or wool, that the mother can procure. On taking up 

 some boards in my own room, I once found a Mouse-nest nearly as large as a man's head, com- 

 posed wholly of scraps of jn^ier. and containing six or seven tiny red. semi-transparent mouse- 

 lets, through whose little bodies one could almost see the substance of tin- n<M <m which they 

 were lying. Another Mouse-nest which I discovered, was made in an old disused hnrmonieon, 

 which had been put away in a cupboard, and was filled by the Mice \\ith empty nut-.li.-lK th 

 refuse of a bag of hazel-nuts which had been placed in the same cupboard ; no very enviable 

 bed, as one would fancy, and the reason for its construction not at all obvious. 



