THE MOST BEAUTIFUL OF THE SMALL MICE 235 



ists now recognize in the United States and Canada about 

 seventy species and subspecies! But the student need not be 

 discouraged by this fact. Every White-rooted Mouse can 



COTTON RAT. 



be recognized by the clean white or light-gray color on the 

 under half of its body, head, tail, and inner surfaces of the 

 legs, its white feet, and its long tail. The color of the back 

 is usually gray, or brown, or a mixture of the two. 



Of all the small mice of North America, I consider this 

 the most beautiful, and one of the most interesting. In the 

 eastern slates, where small quadrupeds and birds are nu- 

 merous, it attracts little attention, but on the western plains, 



