LONG-TAILED FIELD MOUSE. 293 



R ODENTJA . 



LONG-TAILED FIELD MOUSE. 



WOOD MOUSE. 



Mus sylvaticus. (Linn.) 



Specific Character. Reddish -brown above, whitish beneath, with a light 

 brownish spot on the breast; ears more than half the length of the head ; tail 

 nearly as long as the head and body. 



Mus sylvaticus, LINN. Syst. Nat. I. p. 84, 17. ERXLEB. Syst. p. 388, 



4. DESMAR. Mammal, p. 301, sp. 477. FLEM. 

 Brit. An. p. 19. JENYNS, Brit. Vert. p. 30. 

 ,, domesticus medius, RAY, Syn. p. 218. 



Le Mulot, BUFFON, Hist. Nat. VII. p. 325, t. xli. 



Long-tailed Field Mouse, PENN. Brit. Zool. p. 120, No. 28. 



Wood Mouse, SHAW, Gen. Zool. II. p. 58, t. cxxxii. 



THIS common species, which is scattered over almost 

 the whole of the temperate regions of Europe, is in every 

 part considered as one of the most destructive of all the 

 minor pests of the corn-field, the nursery-ground, and 

 the kitchen-garden. Multiplying in hosts, and each one 

 laying up a winter store in its subterranean retreat, the 

 devastations committed by it are almost incalculable. It 

 is, however, a gentle and timid little creature ; easily 



