436 



of 



snakes, hawks, owls, weasels, and rats are 

 their incessant destroyers ; and but for their 

 amazing fecundity, the extirpation of the 

 whole race would seem to be a natural con- 

 sequence. The Mouse is capable of being 

 tamed, and will sometimes show considerable 

 attachment to its keeper: the albino, or white 

 variety, which may be perpetuated by breed- 

 ing, and is frequently kept as a pet, is par- 

 ticularly so. 



The HARVEST MOUSE. (Mm messorius.~) 

 This is the smallest, and one of the prettiest, 

 of all quadrupeds that exist in Britain. 

 The upper part of the body is of an iron 

 colour, the lower being white ; a straight 

 line runs along the sides, dividing the co- 

 lours ; and the tail is somewhat hairy : the 

 length of the body, from the nose to the tail, 

 is two inches and a half; and that of the 

 tail is about two inches. These little ani- 

 mals never enter houses, but during the har- 

 vest are carried into ricks and barns with 

 the sheaves ; and there theV live and mul- 

 tiply. They build a curious nest amidst 

 the straws of standing corn, and sometimes 

 in thistles. In the winter months they ap- 

 pear to retire to burrows, where they hyber- 

 nate ; but their grand rendezvous seems to 

 be in corn-ricks. They are very common in 

 Hampshire, Wiltshire, and some of the 

 neighbouring counties ; yet they almost es- 

 caped the notice of naturalists till the ap- 

 pearance of White's History of Selborne, 

 where its ingenious author thus describes 

 the nest, &c. " They breed as many as eight 

 at a litter, in a little round nest composed 

 of the blades of grass or wheat. One of these 

 nests I procured this autumn (17C7), most 

 artificially platted, and composed of the 

 blades of wheat ; perfectly round, and about 

 the size of a cricket ball ; with the aperture 

 so ingeniously closed, that there was no dis- 

 covering to what part it belonged. It was 

 so compact and well filled, that it would 

 roll across the table without being discom- 

 posed, though it contained eight little mice 

 that were naked and blind. As this nest 

 was perfectly full, how could the dam come 

 at her litter respectively, so as to administer 

 a teat to each ? Perhaps she opens different 

 places for that purpose, adjusting them again 

 when the business is over ; but she could not 

 possibly be contained herself in the ball 

 with her young, which moreover would be 

 daily increasing in bulk. This wonderful 

 procreant cradle, an elegant instance of the 

 effects of instinct, was found in a wheat field, 

 suspended in the head of a thistle." 



The LONG-TAILED FIELD-MOUSE, or 

 WOOD-MOUSE. ( Mus sylvaticus. ) This spe- 

 cies is found in fields and gardens, widely 

 diffused throughout Europe, and is every- 

 where considered among the minor pests of 

 the farmer and gardener. The head is long, 

 the muzzle tapering ; the eyes are black, 

 large, and prominent ; the ears large, and 

 of an oblong oval shape ; and the legs long. 

 From the tip of the nose to the end of the 

 body is about four inches and a half; and 

 the length of the tail four inches : the head, 

 back, and sides are of a yellowish brown 

 hue, mixed with some dusky hairs ; a yel- 



lowish gray patch on the breast ; belly 

 whi^e ; and the tail slightly covered with 

 short hair. These animals retire to holes 

 among brushwood, and under the trunks of 

 trees, where they form large magazines of 

 grain, acorns, nuts, &c., for their winter 

 provision ; but the injury done to the farmer 

 consists less in the quantity the Field Mice 

 collect, than by the hogs rooting up the 

 ground in their search after their hoards. 

 The nests which they provide for their young 

 are generally very near the surface of the 

 heart, and frequently in thick tufts of grass. 



The BARBAUY MOUSE. (Mm barbarus.) 

 This African species is intermediate in size 

 between the common Rat and common i 

 Mouse. It is of a darkish brown colour, j 

 with five or six longitudinal stripes on each 

 side, about half as wide as the intervening 

 spaces, and becoming more indistinct to- 



BARBAHY MOU8B. (Mas 



wards the under parts, which are nearly 

 white. Mr. Bennett observes, that on the 

 fore feet only three of the toes are at first j 

 visible ; and that this circumstance, men- i 

 tioned in the specific character given by i 

 Linnaeus, has led many subsequent natural- 

 ists to doubt whether the Barbary Mouse i 

 really belonged to the genus Mtts. Linnrcus ! 

 himself, however, states, that rudiments of a I 

 thumb, and also of a fifth toe, were observ- | 

 able on a closer inspection ; which fact sub- 

 sequent examination of living specimens j 

 has fully confirmed. 



Amongst the Mice, though it belongs to 



a distinct genus, is generally placed the 



RUSTIC MOUSE, or FIELD VOLE. (Arvicola 



<tirri.--t<*.) This species, like the common 



Field Mouse, inhabits corn-fields and fre- 



quents granaries, but is chiefly confined to 



the northern parts of Europe, as the tempe- 



rate tracts of Russia, Siberia, &c., where in 



particular seasons it appears in great multi- 



tudes, and devours great quantities of grain, i 



It has a sharp nose, an oblong head, and small | 



ears lined with fur ; the colour of the body j 



and head are ferruginous, with a dusky line j 



along the back ; the belly and limbs are ! 



whitish; above each hind foot there is a dusky i 



1 circle ; the body is somewhat less than that of i 



| theField Mouse ; and the tail is only half the ! 



j length of the body. It burrows at a small ! 



I distance from the surface, each retreat having 



1 a long gallery, with a chamber at the end, j 



I in which the winter food is deposited. 



! MUGIL : MUGILID^E. A genus and 

 family of Acanthopterygious fishes, distin- I 

 guished by a nearly cylindrical form, large i 

 scales, and two distinct dorsals ; the head is ; 



: protected by large scales or polygonal plates ; ! 

 the snout is very short, and the orifice of the | 



i mouth is transverse. The species are found j 



i not only in the European seas, the North 



