THE VOLES— LEMMING. 



349 



animals filling the whole wood with their stench. 

 The cause of this assemblage were four-footed little 

 creatures, called Lemars, which occasionally dropped 

 from heaven during a sudden thunderstorm and 

 rain; whether they had been wafted from distant 

 parts to the place of their discharge to the earth or 



FIELD MOUSE OR CAMPAGNOL. The little Rodents so amusingly depicted in this illustration are 



so numerous in many parts of Europe and Asia that they work sad havoc in the fields, and frequently destroy a 

 large part of the crops. {Arvicola arvalisS) 



produced in the clouds, was not known. Other 

 authors simply copy the account of the bishop, and 

 Linnaeus was the first who truly described the Lem- 

 ming (in his Swedish treatise of 1 740) according to 

 nature and with so many details that there is very 

 little to add to his description. I had the pleasure 

 myself of encountering a 

 great many Lemmings in 

 i860 especially on the 

 Dovenfjeld, and so have 

 been able to become fa- 

 miliar with them by my 

 own experience. 



The Lemming a the ani- 

 C harming mals are 



Animal. charming 



little creatures. They 

 look like small Marmots 

 or Hamsters, resembling 

 the latter particularly in 

 their habits. They take 

 up their abode in the less 

 moist portions of the 

 marshes which cover so 

 large a part of Norway. 

 There they domesticate 

 in small hollows under 

 stones or in the moss; 

 and they may often be 

 seen roaming between 

 the little hillocks which 

 rise out of the swamp. 

 One seldom sees beaten 

 paths extending from 

 one of their holes to an- 

 other; permanent passages are used by them only to 

 avoid wandering through unbroken snow during the 

 winter. They are lively and active during both day 

 and night. Their usual method of locomotion is a 

 rapid tripping walk, though Man can easily outrun 

 and capture them. Water they shun with a certain 



degree of fear, and if one throws them into a large 

 vessel of water or into a small stream they squeak 

 and growl very angrily and try to regain the dry 

 land as soon as possible. They often betray them- 

 selves, for frequently, as they sit in their holes 

 so well hidden that they certainly would not be 



noticed by a passer-by, the 

 appearance of a human 

 being excites them to such 

 a degree that they can not 

 remain silent. A loud 

 grunting and squeaking, 

 after the fashion of Guinea 

 Pigs, greets the intruder 

 into their domain, as if 

 they wished to forbid his 

 treading on their ground. 

 It is only when they are 

 abroad that they flee from 

 human approach, hurrying 

 to one of their innumer- 

 able holes, and secreting 

 themselves in it. Once in, 

 there they stay, not stir- 

 ring or trying to escape, 

 but leaving it to fate, as to 

 whether or not they will 

 be killed or taken away. 



The courageous little 

 fellows furnished me con- 

 siderable amusement. I never could help provok- 

 ing them. Once they are driven to bay, they never 

 think of surrender. If a boot be held out to one of 

 them, the animal will bite into it, as it would into a 

 stick or a gun, even though it sees that the latter pro- 

 ceeding avails it nothing. Some Lemmings on one 



THE LEMMINGS. Overrunning northern Europe, and sometimes undertaking great migrations in large 



companies, the Lemmings are among the most interesting of Rodents. They are shown in the picture engaged on 

 one of their journeys, although those in the foreground are picking up a meal on their way. (Myodes lemmus.) 



occasion fastened upon my trousers, so that I could 

 hardly shake them off. Fighting throws them into 

 a great fury, and then they resemble fierce Ham- 

 sters. Sometimes they spring up to their antagonist 

 with short leaps, and in general they seem to be 

 afraid of no animal whatever, but offer battle to any 



