THE LIFE OF MAMMALS 
settled prairie region; the salamander (Geomys tuza) in the 
southern states; the smaller gray gopher (Thomomys talpoides) 
throughout the Northwest; and a large number of other species 
southwest of these districts, 
in spite of great efforts 
made for their extermina- 
tion. 
Africa has some _ related 
forms, such as the big mole 
rats of the Cape of Good 
Hope. One of the most re- 
markable is the Egyptian 
spalax, which stores in closets 
along its complicated runways 
Brownell, Phot. 
A House MOUSE. beneath the desert sand quan- 
tities of bulbs of a grape hya- 
cinth, and that only; so far as we can see the distribution, if not the 
existence, of the animal is dependent on this plant. Here, too, come the 
large edible bamboo rats of many kinds, familiar in India and eastward. 
The last, and several others, are good eating. 
This brings us to the populous family Muridz, or typical 
rats and mice, whose distinguishing marks are a long, nearly 
House hairless or scaly tail, and naked soles. The genus 
Mouse: Mus, which contains about one hundred and thirty 
species of ‘true’”’ rats and mice, is confined exclusively to the 
Old World, and is absent there only from Madagascar. The 
type of the group is the house mouse, which probably originated 
in Asia. Its special characteristics are its relatively large ears, 
long tail, and the nearly uniform brownish coloration; but 
this last varies greatly in different countries and climates. 
Town mice, for instance, are always darker, especially on the 
under side, but fanciers have bred many pied and even pure 
white varieties. It has also been tamed and taught tricks. 
Quite as distinctive as its form and color are the partiality of 
this mouse for human habitations, and its omnivorous appetite; 
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