R A T. 



them with fleshy roots, at)d thus find the water-vole 

 in plenty of food, both for summer consumption and 

 winter store. Even in these places, however, the 

 burrow is in the bank of the running stream, and not 

 in that of the stagnant water. 



These animals stand accused of having predatory 

 and even sanguinary habits, of eating worms, the fry 

 of fishes, and even the young of aquatic birds. This 

 is wholly unfounded ; and it is either a mere analo- 

 gical reference drawn from the fact of the animal 

 being called a rat, or it has been confounded with 

 the brown rat. The brown rat is, however, always 

 nearer habitations than the water-vole, as it is con- 

 stantly on the hunt for animal refuse, which the other 

 does not eat, but contents itself with its meal of roots 

 summer and winter. 



The water-vole is intermediate in size between the 

 brown rat and the black one ; but the tail and ears 

 are much shorter, the fur finer and closer, and the 

 whole expression of the animal more soft and inno- 

 cent. The shape of its head and muzzle, and the 

 total absence of every thing like a harsh line in the 

 whole of its contour, would induce one who knows 

 any thing about the agreement between the expression 

 and the disposition of animals, to set down the water- 

 vole as one of those gentle rodentia that would not, 

 under any circumstances, hurt a worm or any other 

 thing having, or ever having had, animal life ; and 

 it is one of the cases in which the expression and the 

 fact are remarkably true to each other. 



As usually found in the richer parts of England, 

 the water-vole is about eight inches and one-third in 

 length in the head and body, of which the head occu- 

 pies about one inch and five-sixths. The ears are 

 less than half an inch in length, and almost entirely 

 hidden in the fur. The tail is about four inches and 

 two-thirds, being thus a very little more than half the 

 length of the body. The head is short, rounded in 

 its outlines, and the muzzle is blunt, the nose not 

 indicating that keenness of scent which is possessed 

 by the rats. The incisive teeth are yellow in their 

 anterior surfaces, chisel-shaped, not unlike the fore 

 teeth of the beaver. The body is also thick, but part 

 of the thickness is made up of the very closely-set 

 fur. The tail is not naked like those of the rats, but 

 has fine short fur on the upper surface, and pretty 

 long hairs on the under. The fur on the flanks is 

 pretty long, and so it is on the upper parts of the 

 legs. The fore feet have five toes completely formed, 

 and a rudimental thumb consisting of a single phalanx. 

 The hind feet have five toes all fully developed, not 

 webbed or marginated, but connected by a small 

 membrane at their bases. The fur is of that shining 

 character which has, in the hairy animals, a strong 

 repulsion to water, so that it does not get matted or 

 even wet when the animal is under water. The 

 colour of the upper part is a mixed brown, having 

 both a reddish and greyish tinge ; and the under part 

 is grey, with a yellowish tinge in some individuals, 

 andagreyish in others. When the animal is alarmed, 

 by any one treading heavily over its burrow, or sur- 

 prised on the trimmed grass at the entrance, and makes, 

 as it does in all cases of alarm, its escape into the clear 

 water of a pool, it presents a very pretty appearance. 

 The rapidity with which it gets to the bottom of the 

 pool causes it to take down with it a considerable 

 portion of air in the fur. This collects into little 

 bubbles, without being detached, and the creature 

 appears as if, by going into the water, it had got its 



jacket spotted over with pearls. But, though it takes 

 to the water as a means of safety, and jjets down till 

 it is quite submerged, it has not the ame power of 

 continuing below, as the otters and other mammalia 

 which prey in the water. It must very soon come 

 up to breathe ; but if the cause of alarm continues, it 

 puts up only the point of the muzzle, and cannot very 

 readily be seen. 



It is found in all parts of Britain, and also of con- 

 tinental Europe, where the waters and their banks 

 are suited to its habits. It does not indeed occur on 

 the more elevated of the mountain rivulets, or where 

 the heath comes down to the edge of the water ; but 

 it occurs as high as there is a sufficient supply of 

 fleshy roots to be had. It is always most abundant 

 where the banks are of a rich and loamy character, 

 and on some of the irouting streams it is often a con- 

 siderable annoyance to the angler. Not that it does 

 any active harm either to man or fish, for it is at per- 

 fect peace with the whole animal kingdom ; but the 

 angler frightens it ; it enters the water with a plunge, 

 and thus frightens the trout, and, once alarmed, they 

 are angled for in vain. 



There appear to be some varieties, probably cli- 

 matal ones. That which we have described seems to 

 be the one of low-lying and rich places ; and when a 

 greater elevation is gained, and the climate colder, 

 the size is smaller and the colour different. In the 

 upper part of the valley of the Rhine, a variety is 

 known locally by the name of " Scherrnaus," and 

 called the Strasbourg mouse (A. terrestris, Linnaius). 

 This one is only six inches long, with the tail one- 

 third of the length of the body, and the ears almost 

 entirely concealed in the fur. The colour is dusky 

 grey, more or less black, and sometimes entirely 

 black on the upper part ; and there is a whitish trace 

 on the sides of the mouth. It is very probable that 

 this is the upland variety in many countries, and in 

 Britain among the rest, and some colour is given to 

 it by the fact that the Alsatian name of " Schermaus," 

 altered in the pronunciation of course, is in common 

 use in some of the midland parts of Scotland. They 

 pronounce it " Shear-mouse," and probably give it 

 that name on account of the neatness with which it 

 keeps the grass shorn at the entrance of its burrow. 

 Its colour is dusky grey, more or less blackish, and it 

 is smaller than the water-vole of the lower and richer 

 parts. This shear-mouse is chiefly found on the 

 smaller branches of the rivers, after they so far leave 

 the hills and moors as to have rich banks ; and we are 

 not aware that there is, in these situations, any water 

 rat of a reddish-brown colour, though the shear mouse 

 is very abundant, and a subject of alarm to the infant 

 poachers who grope for little trout under the banks. 

 We never heard of a bite being infl'mtcd by the ani- 

 mal, though rustics speak of it as being capable of 

 dinting a spade with its teeth ; but as they say the 

 same thing of the eel, if it happens to be of more 

 than ordinary size, it signifies not much what they 

 say. Lower down, in what may be called the final 

 valleys of the rivers, and in their effluents that come 

 through the rich fields there, the water-vole is larger 

 and brownish, and gets-the name of water-rat ; and 

 if we remember rightly, there are some places between 

 the localities where both animals may be met with. 

 Their habits are very much alike, only we are inclined 

 to think that the larger and brownish ones prefer 

 broader, stiller, and deeper water. W r e arc much in 

 want of a good natural history survey of the whole 



