THE BROWN TYPE OF LONG-TAILED FIELD-MOUSE. 



" There is not one student, no, not one man in a thousand, who can feel the beauty of a 

 system, or even take it clearly into his head ; but nearly all men can understand, and most 

 ■will be interested in, the facts which bear on dailv life." 



I PROPOSE, in writing these articles on 

 the smaller British animals, to employ 

 the names that are in general use, and 

 to conline myself to the life-history and 

 life-habits of my subjects, and only to 

 touch incidentally on their structure. To 

 the serious student a certain museum 

 knowledge is essential — the more, indeed, 

 the better ; but it cannot be too clearly 

 emphasised that in the case of the animals 

 inhabiting these islands, nearly all of 

 which may fairly be termed common in 

 one part or another, it is the life-histories 

 and life-habits that require working out. 

 Their structure and their relationships 

 have already been deeply investigated 

 either in this country or abroad, and those 

 who would become acquainted with the 

 results of these investigations should con- 

 sult the transactions of the learned societies. 

 If, however, we regard our animals as 

 hving, breathing, feeding, sentient beings, 



we find that singularly little is known 

 about them, and that, as a natural con- 

 sequence of this, singularly little is known 

 of the adaptation of their structure to 

 function and environment. In this direc- 

 tion the biologist is at a standstill for 

 want of facts. 



It must not be forgotten that the 

 observation of iinimals' habits is e.xtremely 

 difficult — more difficult, for e.xample, than 

 the observation of the habits of birds 

 and insects. 



The difficulty arises from several causes. 

 The majority of British animals are 

 nocturnal — or at least twilight — animals, 

 and pass the daytime sleojiing (?>) under 

 cover. Most are of small size ; inileed, 

 with the exception of the deer, all British 

 land animals fcro" natiirtc may be descril>ed 

 as small. I do not forget the otter, 

 badger, and fox ; but mv tiwn experience, 

 and, I believe, the experience of most 



