60 OUTDOOR LIFE IN ENGLAND 



It is a relief to turn from the contemplation of 

 rats proper, to the interesting and harmless water- 

 vole, more commonly, but erroneously, termed the 

 water-rat. The word ' vole ' is supposed to have 

 been derived from ' wold ' a field or plain. The 

 appellation ' water - vole ' is therefore inapt. 

 ' Vole ' has, however, come to be regarded as 

 having reference to the genus Arvicola, of 

 which Arvicolcz amphibia is represented by the 

 water-vole. It is a harmless little animal, and 

 free from any of the qualities which render the 

 ordinary rat so detestable. It is not carnivorous, 

 but lives entirely on vegetable food. Nothing can 

 be prettier than to watch them feeding by the river- 

 side, or, it may be, seated on the broad, flat leaf 

 of a lily or some other water-plant in the summer 

 evenings. The only crime which can be laid to 

 their charge is that of undermining the banks of 

 rivers, and in this respect they are capable of doing 

 considerable damage ; but they are less disposed 

 to increase the number of their runs than other 

 rats, and so, where their numbers are not exces- 

 sive, they are, comparatively speaking, harmless. 

 Their appearance is dissimilar to the ordinary rat 

 in many ways. The head is rounder and blunter, 

 the feet longer and softer, and the tail only 

 some three or four inches in length ; the feet are 

 less naked and not flesh-coloured ; their ears are 

 also much smaller and shorter. They are plucky 

 little creatures, and able to hold their own against 

 the ordinary rat. During the last summer I 



