212 The Naturalist in Siluria. 



the harvest mouse {M. minimus), is also a characteristic of 

 this species over the upper and back portions of its body, 

 as is the fine silvery white below, and the well-defined 

 horizontal line separating the shades. Indeed, White's 

 description of the harvest mouse will stand good for the 

 Wood in all save dimensions, both differing essentially 

 from the third British species — he of the house {M. 

 domesticus). From it they also differ much in habits, 

 while in these closely assimilated to one another. The 

 nests of both are of spherical shape — a hollow ball of 

 ■grass without visible entrance ; that of the lesser species 

 being of smaller size, but firmer. The leaves, not the 

 stalks, of grasses are employed in this curious construc- 

 tion, those on the outside being broader and coarser, the 

 lining composed of blades which have seemingly been 

 split to render them finer, as there is evidence of gnawing 

 and tearing at the ends. As is well known, the nest of 

 the harvest mouse is placed high up on the stalks of 

 thistles, wheat, or other corn, attached to and supported 

 by the culms ; that of M. sylvaticus resting by their bases, 

 though still above the surface of the ground. The two 

 species are not alike prolific, the smaller one producing 

 as many as eight to the litter, the larger never more than 

 six; at least, in several nests examined by me there were 

 but this number of young. 



The legs of the long-tailed mouse, as seen in the speci- 

 men before me, are almost snow-white, and the length of 

 the hind foot nearly an inch. This points out a pecu- 

 liarity, an affinity with the squirrels and jerboas — the 

 power to sit erect on its hind quarters — which it has. It 

 is altogether a handsome quadruped, larger than its 

 domestic congener; while its ruddy colour, and grand 

 black, glistening eyes, with ample high-peaked ears, give 



