THE WATER EAT, OR WATER VOLE. 155 



projections of the crayfish's head. By a quick move- 

 ment he catches the crayfish by the long antennae, 

 jerks it out of its hiding-place, and transfers it to his 

 basket, if he takes the trouble to carry one. At 

 Oxford, where the Isis and Cherwell swarm with cray- 

 fish, we never troubled ourselves about baskets, but 

 always put the crayfish in our caps. 



No one who has not had a similar experience can 

 form any idea of the manner in which the banks of 

 streams and ditcbes are perforated with the burrows of 

 the Water Vole. Many are disused, but are occupied 

 by squatters, such as the crayfish already mentioned, 

 the water shrew, and even the kingfisher, when an 

 entrance to the burrow can be found above the surface 

 of the water. 



Another point in which the Water Yole agrees with 

 the beaver is the vegetable nature of its food, which 

 consists almost entirely of the bark of reeds, mare's - 

 tail, and other aquatic plants, though the animal some- 

 times makes raids into cultivated grounds, and does 

 some amount of damage to the crops. Such an event 

 as this is, however, a rare one, and a single barn rat 

 will do more harm to the agriculturist than a hundred 

 Water Voles. 



Sometimes, however, the Water Vole does become a 

 mischievous animal, though in another manner. There 

 is no great harm in its burrows when they are made 

 in the banks of streams or ditches. But when they 

 perforate the banks of artificial pieces of water, they 

 have been known to weaken the restraining walls to 

 such a degree that they have given way. In some 

 places the Water Vole becomes a constant danger t o 



