OCT. FIELD-MICE. 9 



acorns they had swallowed. They collect them 

 from the single oak-trees standing in grass-fields. 



From the variety of food found in the crops of 

 wild-ducks it is evident that these birds must 

 wander far and near during the night, and often 

 into places where no one would expect to find them. 

 Though the peewits generally leave us early in 

 October, a flock is sometimes seen at the end of the 

 month. The golden plovers collect in great crowds 

 on the banks of the river to enjoy the morning sun. 

 They are now in excellent condition. 



The proceedings of the common long-tailed field- 

 mouse are amusing, and indicate the care with 

 which these little annuals provide against the cold 

 and scarcity of the winter. They dig deep holes in 

 the stubble-fields, in which they collect large stores 

 of food, such as grain, acorns, nuts, and even 

 cherry-stones. On the approach of cold winds or 

 rain they shut themselves up in their underground 

 habitations, closing the aperture completely. The 

 quantity of earth which they dig out and leave 

 at the mouth of their hole in a single night is quite 

 astonishing. At the instigation of the gardener my 

 boys wage war against these little animals. By 

 pouring water into the holes the poor mouse is 

 obliged, nolens volens, to bolt like a rabbit driven 

 out by a ferret. 



