2042 The Zoologist— March, 1870. 



sacrificed before the furious animal could have been destroyed or 

 recaptured. 



Castoeid^. 



American Beaver, Castor canadensis, Kuhl. — Vide 'Zoologist' 

 S. S. p. 1953. 



MURID.E. 



Brown, or Norway Rat, Mus decumanus, Pallas. — As usual with 

 all countries conomercially or otherwise connected with Europe, this 

 scavenger has long found its way to Newfoundland, where neither the 

 severe cold of winter nor the insecure home in the little wooden 

 store-houses seems to check its increasing propensities. 



Black Bat, Mus rattiis, Linn. — Said by the settlers to be occasion- 

 ally taken on the southern parts of the island, but I heard of no 

 specimens captured as far north as Cow Head. 



N.B. Strange to say that during a residence of two years in 

 Newfoundland I never could obtain, nor even see, any species of 

 mouse ; although the settlers assured me that in some seasons they 

 literally swarmed, but whether of this genus or not I was unable to 

 learn. Probably M. musculus, Linn., occurs on the island, but from 

 the accounts of the settlers I should infer is not the species which is 

 periodically seen in such large quantities: these probably belong to 

 the genus Arvicola, or to some allied genera. If true, there is some- 

 thing peculiarly interesting in these periodical visitations — or, I 

 should, perhaps, rather say migrations — of mice, for I was informed 

 that these muscine armies come from the interior, or from that 

 direction, towards the sea, which they boldly enter, and are conse- 

 quently drowned and their bodies cast on the shore "by thousands." 

 This reads much like a romance, but I never found these good people 

 given much to romancing, and an explanation which never occurred 

 to them readily suggested itself to me, — whether correct or not I leave 

 others to judge, — viz., these mice, having increased disproportionately 

 to their means of sustenance, were compelled to make a partial 

 migration — whither.? Instinct(?) led them to the sea-shore, where, 

 following the receding tide, they would obtain an ample supply of 

 mollusks and small crustaceans. But the tide "waiteth not," even 

 for lordly man ; would it do so for these poor starving mice ? 1 trow 

 not. The depressions would first be filled by the returning tide; 

 effectually cutting off the retreat of hundreds — nay perhaps "thou- 

 sands" — which n)ay for a time save themselves on rocks, or hillocks of 

 sand and sea-weeds, but these shortly become submerged, and the 



