DOMESTIC RATS AND MICE 45 



dark color has been secured, it can be retained by close 

 breeding from mice of the desired shade. 



Silvers are of a soft and pleasing shade, which at first 

 glance might almost pass for white. There are both pink- 

 eyed and black-eyed varieties. The latter seems to have 

 been the first to appear, and it was not until after the pink- 

 eyed form was produced that the color was obtained as 

 wanted. 



Silver-gray, silver-brown and silver-fawn mice have been 

 produced, but do not appear to have been introduced into 

 America. The silver-gray is really a blue-black mouse, 

 heavily ticked with white hairs. Similarly, the two other 

 varieties are brown and fawn, respectively, ticked as in 

 rabbits of the same colors. If these mice could be pro- 

 duced with any degree of certainty, they would be most 

 attractive. 



Agoutis are bred in both golden and silver, or gray. The 

 former is a reddish-brown color, ticked with black, while 

 the gray should have a silvery ground. Agoutis have not 

 yet reached a state of perfection which would commend 

 them to the amateur. 



Sables vary from light to dark brown or nearly black 

 above, shading ofif into light brown or tan on the sides and 

 belly. The darker ones resemble black-and-tans, but do 

 not have the same density of color. Although an old 

 variety, they are not extensively bred and are not well 

 known here. 



Black-and-tan, blue-and-tan and chocolate-and-tan all are 

 prettily colored mice. The first is the most generally bred, 

 but all of the varieties are uncommon. These mice are 

 either black, blue or chocolate, with rich tan markings, as 

 seen in the Black-and-tan Rabbit. Sables are useful in 

 producing and strengthening the tan varieties. 



Of colored-and-white mice there are several breeds. The 



