132 



THE NATURE BOOK 



they are such ravenous feeders that they 

 will occasionally enter houses while hunt- 

 ing flies. When this event does happen, 

 and often when it does not, the Dragon- 

 fly may come to grief, for these insects 

 have by some means acquired an evil 

 reputation. In Scotland they are " fly- 

 ing adders " ; in some parts of England 

 " horse-stingers " ; and in other parts 

 " devil's darning needles " ; while in the 

 Midlands they are generally C9.11ed " hor- 

 nets " (which are, of course, entirely 



different insects). Even the name 

 " Dragon-fly " is not an inviting one, and 

 savours of superstition. These insects, 

 however, do not possess a sting, although 

 when captured they brandish the tail- 

 end of their abdomen in a manner that 

 seems to imply mischief. Nevertheless, 

 they are quite harmless ; and I need 

 scarcely add that, although they may bite 

 through a butterfly's wings, yet their 

 mouth parts are not sufficiently strong 

 to injure the human skin. 



John J. Ward. 



I FEEL that I need make no apology 

 for reviving a term so direct, elegant, 

 and descriptive as Meadow Mouse, 

 and employing it in preference to a term 

 so uncertain, ugly, and meaningless as 

 Vole. 



The objections to the latter have been 

 ably summarised by Mr. Lydekker, who 

 has laid especial emphasis on its arbitrary 

 museum origin, and on its complete absence 

 from the vernacular. To these objec- 

 tions I would add the additional one 

 (founded on long experience) that, in the 

 rustic mind, it is invariably and not un- 

 naturally confused with Mole. 



It has been suggested tome that " Water 

 Vole " in place of " Water Rat " may serve 

 a useful purpose in emphasising the dis- 

 tinction between a harmless, attractive 

 animal, and another animal (the common 

 Rat) whos3 characteristics are the reverse 

 of harmless and attractive. I must con- 

 fess, however, that I have never yet heard 

 the term naturally employed in speech, 

 though it may occasionally intrude itself 

 as a learned correction ; and I fear that 

 the slayer of rats (an imjx-tuous, choleric 

 man) strikes first and identifies at leisure : 



" How now ! A rat ? Dead for a ducat ! 

 Dead ! " 



The addition of the Red-backed Meadow 

 Mouse to the list of British fauna is com- 

 paratively recent, and the credit is due 

 to Yarrell, who wrote of it in 1832. That 

 it should not have been recognised pre- 

 viously may be attributed to the scant 

 attention which animals, as opposed to 

 birds, fishes, and insects, have received 

 from British naturalists. This want of 

 interest appears to have been persistent, 

 for it is only within quite recent years 

 that the occurrence of this species in a 

 fresh locality ceased to be ceremoniously 

 recorded in the Natural History papers. 

 There is little doubt that the Red-backed 

 Meadow Mouse is universally distributed 

 throughout Great Britain ; and in some 

 parts of the country — I may instance the 

 particular district of West Kent in which 

 I live — it is extremely common. From 

 the fact that its remains have been dis- 

 covered both in the Caves and in the' 

 Norfolk Forest Bed — its teeth can be 

 certainly identified — we may assume that 

 it has been indigenous for an indefinite 

 period. 



