yus MB. o. V. APLiN o>< THK [Mar. 20, 



present animal " Brazil." The specimen I brought home is now 

 in the British Museum, and has been identified by Mr. Oldfield 

 Thomas. 



Scapteromys {Mesperomys) tumidus, Waterh. 



I procured one specimen of this Eat in the monte of the Arroyo 

 Grande. Mr. Thomas tells me that the British Museum previously 

 only possessed the type of this species, an immature and much 

 faded skin, and that the one I brought home is a very old 

 example. 



Hahrothrix olivaceus (Waterh.). 



I procured one specimen of this dark grey short-tailed Mouse. 



HoTJSE-MoxJSE (Mus musmlus). 



There were plenty of Mice about the estancia house at Santa 

 Elena, and they were often trapped. They seemed to me of a 

 warmer colour than English examples, and I brought home a 

 skin and another example in caria, thinking they were distinct 

 from ours ; Mr. Thomas, however, tells me they are identical. 

 This is a good illustration of the travels of the House-Mouse. 

 These colonists would of course manage the sea-voyage easily ; 

 but having evaded the vigilance of the custom-house (for who 

 would pay a live-stock duty on them ?), they would have to make 

 their way to the railway-station and proceed by train to San Jose. 

 Thereafter a journey of about sevent}- miles would lay before them, 

 to be accomplished in the course of from three or four to ten days 

 by bullock, mule, or horse-cart. They might easily come from 

 San Jose among bales of alfalfa hay ; but doubtless most of the 

 journey was made in a cargo of " stores '' and inside some case 

 containing: food for man. 



-"b 



TxJCO-Ttrco {Ctenomys brasiliensis). 



Tuco-Tirco {Ctenomys magellanicus). 



It is probable that there are more than these two species of 

 Tuco-Tuco inhabiting the parts of Uruguay which I visited. 

 About Santa Elena they lived in little colonies wherever there 

 was a high-lying bit of ground of which the subsoil was light and 

 sandy instead of granite rock. North of the Eio Xegro, where 

 the soil was more suitable, this animal was abundant, still living 

 in colonies called " tuco-tuconales," over which it was necessary 

 to ride slowly, the ground often giving way under your horse's 

 feet. 1 have a vivid remembrance of laboriously walking over a 

 big and very soft sandy tuco-tuconale one very hot day, terribly 

 thirsty in consequence of being unable to obtain water at the place 

 where we had eaten our breakfast, to another streamlet, and finding 

 that dry ! 



I picked up a very few bones and remains about Santa Elena ; 

 but I never saw a live Tuco-Tuco, nor had a friend on the Eio 



