46 The Natural History of Selborne 



WaTerVoU 



all at once, into these parts, but are never seen in the winter. They 

 are delicate songsters. 



Numbers of snipes breed every summer in some moory [marshy] 

 ground on the verge of this parish. It is very amusing to see the 

 cock bird on wing at that time, and to hear his piping and humming 

 notes. 



I have had no opportunity yet of procuring any of those mice 1 

 which I mentioned to you in town. The person that brought me 

 the last says they are plenty in harvest, at which time I will take 

 care to get more ; and will endeavour to put the matter out of 

 doubt whether it be a nondescript species or not. 



I suspect much there may be two species of water-rats. Ray 

 says, and Linnaeus after him, that the water-rat is web-footed behind. 

 Now I have discovered a rat on the banks of our little stream that 

 is not web-footed, and yet is an excellent swimmer and diver : it 

 answers exactly to the mus amphibius of Linnaeus (see Syst. Nat.) 

 which he says " natat in fossis et urinatur" I should be glad to 

 procure one " plantis palmatis" Linnaeus seems to be in a puzzle 

 about his mus amphibius, and to doubt whether it differs from his 

 mus terrestris ; which if it be, as he allows, the " mus agrestis capite 

 grandi brachyuros" of Ray, is widely different from the water-rat, 

 both in size, make, and manner of life. 2 



1 Harvest-mice. ED. 2 We have only one so-called water-rat in Britain, 

 better described as the water-vole, /frvicola amphibius it is not v/eb-footed. ED. 



