100 Quadrupeds. 



and rapid motions of the dam did not oblige her litter to 

 quit their hold, especially when it appeared that they 

 were so young as to be both naked and blind. Mr. White 

 appears to be the first to describe and accurately examine 

 that diminutive creature the Harvest Mouse (Mm mes- 

 sorius], the least of all the British quadrupeds. He 

 measured some of them, and found that from the nose to 

 the tail they were two inches and a quarter long. Two 

 of them in a scale only weighed down one copper half- 

 penny, about the third of an ounce avoirdupoise ! Their 

 nest is a great curiosity, being made in the form of a 

 ball, and either suspended between the stems of rushes 

 and other tall slender plants, or placed amongst the 

 leaves of some large thistle. 



THE RAT. (Mus decumanus.) 



THE EAT is about four times as large as the mouse, but of 

 a dusky colour, with white under the body ; his head is 

 longer, his neck shorter, and his eyes comparatively 

 larger. These animals are so attached to our dwellings, 



