" SINGING " MOUSE. 



one is in use, the other is getting dry after being thoroughly washed. Any soft sub- 

 stance, such as hay, cotton wool, or rags, will suffice for their bedding ; but I have 

 found that black cotton wool, or black " wadding," as it is sometimes termed, is fatal 

 to Mice in the course of a single night. Why it should be so I cannot venture to guess, 

 but that such is the case I have had practical experience. 



Mice are cunning creatures, and when they once have taken alarm at a trap, cannot 

 be induced to put themselves within such peril, no matter how strong the inducement 

 may be. For a while it is possible to entrap them by changing the kind of bait as soon 

 as they have begun to learn the result of eating that particular substance ; but in a few 

 weeks the trap must be entirely removed until the animals have forgotten it. 



It is a marvellously prolific animal, producing its young several times in the course of 

 the year, and at a very early age. The nests are made in any sheltered spot, and formed 

 from any soft substance, such as rags, paper, or wool, that the mother can procure. 

 On taking up some boards in my own room, I once found a Mouse-nest nearly as large 

 as a man's head, composed wholly of scraps of paper, and containing six or seven tiny 

 red, semi-transparent mouselets, through whose little bodies one could almost see the 

 substance of the nest on which they were lying. Another Mouse-nest which I dis- 

 covered was made in an old disused harmonicon, which had been put away in a cup- 

 board, and was filled by the Mice with empty nutshells, the refuse of a bag of hazel- 

 nuts which had been placed in the same cupboard ; no very enviable bed, as one would 

 fancy, and the reason for its construction not at all obvious. 



Before closing this account of the common Mouse, a few words are due to the " Singing 

 Mice," concerning whose musical accomplishments the scientific world is rather at issue, 

 some persons thinking the song to be nothing more than a symptom of bronchitis, 

 and others believing it to be voluntarily produced by the imitative powers of the 

 performers. 



In a letter to the Field newspaper, one of the correspondents gives a curious instance 

 of " singing " which favors the former of these suppositions. A Mouse had been caught 

 in a trap with weak springs, and being half choked by the wire pressing on its neck, 

 gave vent to a twittering or chirruping not unlike that of a small bird. Other corre- 

 spondents, however, who have met with examples of Singing Mice, seem rather to incline 

 to the opinion that the musical sound is produced by healthy animals, and is not owing 

 to disease. A very interesting letter on this subject has been sent to me by the Rev. 

 R. L. Bampfield, of Little Barfield, in Essex, and seems also to favor the latter supposi- 

 tion. By the kind permission of the writer, I am enabled to present the account to 

 the reader, and will leave him to come to his own conclusions on the subject. 



" In a former residence of mine, some Mice took up their abode behind the wainscot 

 in the kitchen. From motives which few housekeepers would appreciate, we allowed 

 them to remain undisturbed ; and most merry, cheerful little creatures they were. 



It seemed to us that a young brood was being carefully educated ; but they did not 

 learn all their accomplishments from their parents. In the kitchen hung a good singing 

 canary, and we observed that by degrees the chirp of the Mice changed into an exact 

 imitation of the canary's song ; at least it was so with one, for though several attempted 

 it, one considerably excelled the rest. I am not sure that admiration of the music 

 influenced them, for from the funny facetious way in which it was done,. I should rather 

 say it was out of mockery, or at least from a love of imitation. Yet the result was very 

 pleasing ; far inferior to the canary's note in volume, strength, and sweetness, it was, 

 perhaps, superior to it in softness and delicacy. 



Often have I listened to it with pleasure in the evening, when the canary was asleep 

 with its head beneath its wing ; and more than once have I observed a kitchen-guest 

 glance at the canary, then look round in some astonishment and say, * Is that a bird, 

 sir, singing ? ' One trustworthy person assured me that he too had had in his house 

 a similar * Singing Mouse.' I have, therefore, little doubt that if a young family of 

 Mice were brought up from the first close to a canary or some other songster, some of 

 them would learn to sing." 



I have also been favored with an account of a young singing rat, which 

 endeavored to imitate the sounds produced by a piping-bullfinch and an ordinary 



