CHAPTER II 

 THE PANTRY MOUSE 



THE house-mouse (Mus musculus) needs no 

 description. The only native species with 

 which it can be confused is the harvest-mouse, 

 from which it may be readily distinguished by 

 its larger size and by the plain or ungrooved 

 upper incisors. Like the rat it is a native of 

 the Old World, very fertile, adaptable and 

 hardy, and from time immemorial has followed 

 civilization so closely that it soon becomes es- 

 tablished in any settled region. It is therefore 

 a world-wide nuisance, but by no means so 

 great or difficult a one as is the rat. 



Characteristics. The little house-mouse can 

 hardly be confused with any other, for its ash- 

 gray coat, becoming gradually lighter and 

 often yellowish on the under parts, has fur- 

 nished the language with a distinctive term, 

 "mouse-color"; and its pointed nose, large 



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