A HISTORY OF HERTFORDSHIRE 



RODENTIA 



1 6. Squirrel. Sciurus leucourus, Linn. 

 Bell Sciurus vu/garis. 



This is a fairly plentiful resident in most 

 parts of the county. 



17. Dormouse. Muscardinus avellanarius, 



Linn. 



Bell Myoxus avellanariut. 



This small animal is certainly plentiful in 

 many parts of the county, being often caught 

 in the autumn and kept as a pet. In the 

 Zoologist for 1885, p. 204, it is stated, on the 

 authority of the Rev. H. A. Macpherson, 

 that it was found commonly in Hertfordshire. 



1 8. Brown Rat. Mus decumanus, Pallas. 



This is another very common resident, 

 which often does a vast amount of damage. 

 In January, 1892, a specimen of the dark 

 variety, which is sometimes known as Mus 

 hibernicus, was obtained at Wheathampstead 

 and was preserved by Cane of Luton. 



19. House Mouse. Mus musculus. Linn. 

 The common mouse is ubiquitous. 



20. Wood Mouse or Long-tailed Field Mouse. 



Mus sylvaticus, Linn. 



This animal is found commonly throughout 

 the county. 



21. Harvest Mouse. Mus minutus, Pallas. 



In a paper by Mr. Harting on the harvest 

 mouse, which appeared in the Zoologist for 

 1895, p. 421, Hertfordshire is mentioned on 

 the authority of the late Frederick Bond as 

 being a county in which this species has oc- 

 curred. It is recorded in the Fauna and 

 Flora of Haileybury (1888) as having been 

 found in that neighbourhood. I also have 

 found it in the county ; in 1900 I came 

 across the nest and young and saw the parent 

 in the neighbourhood of Berkhamsted. 



22. Water Vole. Microtus ampbibius, Linn. 

 Bell Arvicola amphibius. 



The water-rat, as it is usually called, is 

 generally distributed throughout Hertfordshire 

 wherever the conditions are suitable. 



23. Field Vole. Microtus agrestis, Linn. 

 Bell Arvicola agrestis. 



This is an extremely common species 

 throughout Hertfordshire. 



24. Bank Vole. Evotomys glareolus, Schreber. 



Bell Arvicola glareolus. 



In the Zoologist for 1887, p. 365, Mr. 

 Harting stated, on the authority of Yarrell, 

 that this species had occurred in the county, 

 while on p. 425 of the same journal the 

 late Frederick Bond included Hertfordshire in 

 the list of counties in which he had taken 

 the bank vole. In March, 1893, Mr. T. 

 Vaughan Roberts had some of these animals 

 sent to him from near Berkhamsted, where 

 they had been found in a nest in a heap of 

 mangolds. He had a cage made for them, 

 and some of them eventually bred in confine- 

 ment, but after there had been two broods he 

 thought it time to get rid of them. He was 

 accustomed to feed them on corn, bread, 

 apples, carrots, gooseberries, etc., and he gave 

 them plenty of water. In the Trans. Herts 

 Nat. Hist. Sac. for 1893, p. 173, and the 

 Zoologist for 1892, p. 329, may be found very 

 interesting accounts by Mr. Roberts of his 

 experience with these creatures. 



25. Common Hare. Lepus europteus, Pallas. 

 Bell Lepus timirlus. 



This animal is found in most parts of the 

 county, though its numbers vary considerably 

 in different districts and in different years. 

 In some places it is very common, while in 

 others only one or two can be found in a 

 day. It is most interesting to observe how 

 the colour of this species varies according to 

 the soil of the district in which it is found. 



26. Rabbit. Lepus cuniculus, Linn. 



This species is very abundant in nearly 

 every part of the county, though no doubt more 

 plentiful in some places than others. Dr. 

 Brett in the Trans. Watford Nat. Hist. Sac. 

 for 1878, p. 112, gave some interesting notes 

 on some coloured varieties of this species. He 

 mentioned that a Mr. King of Wiggenhall 

 had a wild grey rabbit which about twenty 

 years before had produced three black young 

 ones. These he had preserved, and, at the 

 time that Dr. Brett wrote, Mr. King had a 

 large colony of black rabbits, in fact in 1878 

 they outnumbered the grey animals. He also 

 stated that pied varieties never occurred, and 

 that, although the black and the grey inter- 

 bred, the offspring were always all black or 

 all grey. 



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