V THE BADGER AND HIS KIN 121 



from the more completely civilized regions, for 

 one reason or another ; while others, as the hares 

 and squirrels, because of their prolificacy and com- 

 parative worthlessness, can maintain themselves 

 everywhere, despite their conspicuous manner 

 of life. The muskrat is a singular example of 

 this faculty, and it has probably augmented rather 

 than diminished in numbers in the United States 

 since the civilization of the land, in the face of 

 steady persecution on account of its value on the 

 one hand, and, on the other, because it is harmful 

 to certain human enterprises. 



But besides these classes there is a group of 

 mammals, fellow-denizens with us of the cultivated 

 parts of the country, that persist, and in some 

 cases increase, yet escape the notice of all but a 

 few persons, and continue to live their own lives 

 regardless of us and our operations. 



What do the most of us see or know, for ex- 

 ample, of the wild mice, half a dozen species of 

 which are numerous everywhere in our woods and 

 fields.? Yet thousands of these small and active 

 creatures, — the lovely red and white deer or 

 vesper mouse (Hesperomys), the various short- 

 tailed brown meadow-mice (Arvicolae), the far- 

 leaping, kangaroo-like jumping-mouse (Zapus), 

 and several others allied to them, — inhabit all 

 our forests, prairies, fields, and gardens. They 

 are beyond counting, and form the principal game 

 of a large number of wild animals, — mammals. 



