346 



THE RODENTS OR GNAWING ANIMALS. 



that the soil seems to be raised in the digging proc- 

 ■ess, and the upper covering of the tunnel consists 

 •of a layer of earth only about an inch thick. Such 

 tunnels are very often destroyed by accident and 

 made impassable; but the Vole is tireless in its work 

 of repairing, even if it has to do the same work over 

 several times a day. The tunnels may easily be 

 distinguished from those of the Mole, as, the hills 

 are more irregular, are composed of larger lumps of 

 •earth, do not lie in straight lines relatively to one 

 another and are never open at the apex. In these 

 burrows the Schermice live in couples, but these 

 couples exhibit a tendency to seek locations in the 

 vicinity of others thus mated. The Schermouse is 

 not possessed of great running powers, but it is an 

 •excellent digger and swims remarkably well, though 

 not so well as the Water Shrew. In secluded local- 

 ities one sees it active by 

 day and night; it is a wary 

 creature, however, and re- 

 tires into its hole when it 

 notices the presence of an 

 observer. It can be easily 

 "watched only when it roams 

 among the reeds. In the 

 park in Leipzig, the Water 

 Voles have become so ac- 

 customed to human pres- 

 •ence, however, that one can 

 observe them with the 

 greatest ease at any hour of 

 the day, if he brings food 

 for them. A bridge has 

 been built over the narrow- 

 est part of the park pond 

 and under this bridge they 

 have taken up their abode; 

 they swim back and forth 

 quite fearlessly, approach- 

 ing when the children pass- 

 ing or standing on the 

 bridge, throw pieces of 

 bread to them. Probably 

 these morsels were origi- 

 nally intended for fish and 

 Swans, but they attracted 

 the Water Voles; the nim- 

 ble swimmers, however, us- 

 ually succeeded in catching 

 them, and now they receive 

 them on their own account. 



Among the perceptive 

 faculties of the Water Vole 

 sight and hearing seem to be the senses most ex- 

 cellently developed. Its intellectual attributes are 

 superior to those of the Rats. It is inquisitive but 

 rather impassive and fairly good-natured. 



Its food is largely of a vegetable nature, and from 

 this fact its presence sometimes becomes extremely 

 harmfuUto Man especially if it takes up its abode in 

 gardens. In ponds the Water Voles are much less 

 destructive, except for the fact that they dig through 

 dams and in this way inadvertently give the water 

 an outlet. In the water they feed mainly on* reed 

 stems. But while preferring a vegetable diet they 

 do not refuse animal food. In the water, insects and 

 their larvae, small Frogs, fish and Shrimps forrti the 

 principal portions of their meals; on the ground 

 they prey upon the various species of smaller Mice, 

 steal the eggs of birds hatching in the grass, and 

 sometimes eat large pieces off animal skins, put out 



WATER VOLE. This animal, which is usually known in Eng- 

 land as the Water Rat, is found over a very large part of Europe and 

 Asia, and is very mischievous both in the ■water, where it destroys 

 dams, and in gardens. (.Arvicola amphibia.) 



to soak by tanners, etc. In autumn they enlarge 

 their habitations by building a store-room which is 

 connected with the old nest by tunnels. The store- 

 room is filled with peas, beans, onions and potatoes 

 from the neighboring fields and gardens and on this 

 they subsist during late autumn and spring or as 

 long as the weather is mild. It is only when the 

 cold is intense that they fall asleep without becom- 

 ing algid, however. 



The fecundity of the Water Voles and Schermice 

 is considerable. Three or four times a year from 

 two to seven young are to be found in the under- 

 ground warm and soft nest, individuals of various 

 colors sometimes forming one litter. Sometimes 

 their nests are built in a thick shrub, immediately 

 above the surface of the earth and sometimes they 

 are placed on the ground between reeds. 



Water Voles The W a t e r 

 Incapable of Do- Vole is not 

 mestication. suited for 

 confinement. It is rather 

 delicate in its constitution 

 and therefore requires care- 

 ful attention and its dispo- 

 sition is such that it never 

 becomes really tame. 

 The Snow Mouse High up in 

 an Inhabitant the Alps, far 

 of the Alps. beyond the 

 limits of other animal life, 

 there exists a second vari- 

 ety of this species, defying ' 

 the severity of all seasons , 

 and never even temporarily 

 seeking shelter in openings 

 in the earth after the fash- 

 ion of other Rodents in win- 

 ter. We know as yet noth- 

 ing of a reliable nature 

 about it, and notwithstand- 

 ing the fact that the ablest 

 naturalists have tried to ob- 

 tain an insight into its life, 

 the inhospitable climate of 

 its native country puts too 

 many obstacles in the way 

 of observation. 

 Physical Charac- The Snow 

 teHstids of the Mouse {Ar- 

 Snow Mouse, -vicola niva- 

 lis) is a rather small crea- 

 ture, the total length being 

 seven inches, of which the 

 body occupies nearly five inches, the tail not quite 

 two and one-half. Its fur is parti-colored; the upper 

 surface is light brownish gray, the middle of the 

 back being darker than the flanks. The under parts 

 are grayish white and the line of demarcation is 

 fairly sharp. Well-defined variations also occur. 

 The Bank Vole— The Bank Vole {Arvicola glareolus) 

 Its Home and is a small animal, the body of which 

 Habits. js two inches in length, while its tail 



is nearly two inches long. It is parti-colored, the 

 upper surface being brownish red, dashed with gray 

 at the hips and tire under parts and feet are white, 

 the colors being separated by a sharp line of de- 

 marcation. 



It is generally found in forests or on their out- 

 skirts, among shrubbery or in groves or park-like 

 gardens. It is known in Hungary, Croatia, Molda- 

 via and Russia. ' Its diet is more of an animal than 



