THE HOUSE MOUSE 



nearly so destructive as the Brown Rat, but never- 

 theless it does a considerable amount of mischief. 

 Wherever it establishes itself it at once proceeds to 

 make a cosy nest, by carefully shredding whatever 

 materials there happens to be at hand. In this 

 way the most expensive of clothing, books and 

 other goods are destroyed. At the Port Elizabeth 

 Museum we had occasion to clear out a large cup- 

 board full of journals and miscellaneous literature, 

 and in the midst of it we discovered several nests of 

 House Mice- which had been carefully made by nib- 

 bling the paper and book-bindings into minute 

 fragments. This Mouse brings forth four to five 

 litters of blind, helpless, hairless, pink babies 

 annually. From three to eight young ones are 

 born in a single litter. It can thus easily be seen 

 that the House Mouse would soon become a plague 

 if its numbers were not kept severely in check by 

 poisoning and trapping. 



When food is scarce the House Mice become canni- 

 bals, the stronger preying upon the weaker. The 

 white and pied mice which children keep as pets, 

 are albino or partial albino House Mice. The 

 House Mouse is attracted by musical sounds, 

 especially of a soft and subdued kind, and will often 

 venture from its retreat and listen attentively. 

 The mice known as Japanese Waltzing Mice are 

 domesticated House Mice. They originally came 

 from China. It was generally believed that the 

 waltzing or gyrating habit of these mice was due to 



VOL. iv 129 9 



