126 RODENTS. 



harm upon the harvest. Fortunately, however, they have a host of enemies, and 

 buzzards, owls, ravens, and other predacious birds thin their ranks by hundreds ; 

 while among four-legged foes, polecats and stoats follow the track of the advancing 

 legions, and kill them where and when they can. The polecat and stoat are, 

 moreover, able to follow the hamsters into the recesses of their burrows, where they 

 probably destroy them by hundreds. Man, too, joins the ranks of the destroyers 

 of these mischievous rodents ; and in some cases organises regular hunts for their 

 destruction. Government rewards are sometimes offered to aid in ridding the 

 country of these pests; and Brehm relates that in the year 1888 no less than 

 97,519 hamsters were destroyed in the single district of Aschersleben, for which 

 a reward of 1950 marks was paid. In digging out the hamsters, the stores of corn 

 which they laid up for winter use form not the least important part of the enter- 

 prise ; the grain being carefully dried and used for human consumption. In many 

 districts the flesh of the hamster is eaten, and is said to be not unlike that of the 

 squirrel. The fur too, although not of high value, is extensively used for linings, 

 some thousands of skins being annually imported into England. 



In Eastern Europe there are smaller species of hamster in which 

 Other Species. ,v ,,,.,, , n . ni 



the black of the under-parts only occupies a small area on the chest ; 



and from these a transition is easy to the small uniform grey hamsters of Central 

 Asia, one of which ranges as far south as Gilgit, while another occurs in Persia. 

 White-Footed The New World possesses not a single indigenous representative 



mce - of the true rats and mice of the Old World, all the American 

 members of the family belonging either to the Cricetine or to the closely allied 

 Microtine subfamily. The great majority of the species belong to a group which 

 may be conveniently designated white-footed mice, from the general prevalence of 

 white on their feet and under-parts. These American mice, which have representa- 

 tives from one end of the continent to the other, are frequently regarded as 

 constituting a number of distinct genera ; but as they all possess molar teeth of 

 essentially the same structure, it is simpler to include the whole of them in the 

 genus Cricetus. They exhibit, however, great variation in regard to bodily form 

 and the relative length of the tail. Thus there are some species with long tails 

 and a general dormouse-like appearance, other long-tailed forms are mouse-like, 

 others again have short hamster-like tails and vole-like bodies, while one species 

 has spines mingled with the fur. 



The best known representative of the group is the common white-footed 

 mouse (C. leucopus) of North America, which may be regarded as taking the place 

 filled in Europe by the house-mouse. It is, however, far more attractive in 

 appearance than the latter, although of approximately the same size and general 

 configuration. In addition to its long tail, large ears, and bead-like eyes, this mouse 

 is characterised by having the fur of the upper-parts of the body of a rich fawn 

 colour, which forms a striking contrast with the snowy- white of the under-parts 

 and feet. Indeed, when we add to this the natural grace and agility of its move- 

 ments, we have in this animal, as Dr. Hart Merriam observes, one of the most 

 beautiful and interesting inhabitants of the forests of North America. 



The white-footed mouse is an inhabitant either of forests or open fields ; and 

 in the wild state feeds chiefly upon beech-nuts, of which it accumulates large 



