104 LECTURE III. 



gree, destroyed the black Rat, or original Englisli 

 species : it is a size larger than the black Rat, and, 

 as is well known, is of a brownish grey colour, 

 white beneath. It is a native of India. 



The Common Mouse needs no description, 

 and the same may be said of our common field- 

 mice, and the Water-Rat ; but the beautiful Har- 

 'vest-Mouse, first distinctly described as a British 

 species by the late Mr. White of Selburne, claims 

 our attention from its peculiar elegance. Its size 

 does not much exceed half that of the common 

 Mouse, and in its colour it bears a near resem- 

 blance to the Dormouse, being of a pale rufous 

 brown above, and white beneath. It is common 

 in some parts of Hampshire. 



The exotic species of this genus are excessively 

 numerous, and vary in size, from nearly that of 

 a Rabbet to a degree of minuteness beyond that 

 of the common small British species. Among the 

 large exotic Rats one of the most remarkable is 

 the Mus TypJilus or Blind Rat, a native of the 

 Southern parts of Russia, where it burrows under 

 ground, and feeds on the roots of various vegeta- 

 bles. It usually measures about eight inches in 

 length: is of a brown colour and destitute of a 



