152 MEADOW MOUSE. Class I. 



of an inch long. The legs, particularly the fore 

 legs, very short. 

 Manners. This animal makes its nest in moist meadows, 

 and brings eight young at a time : it has a 

 strong affection for them ; one that was seduced 

 into a wire trap, by placing its brood in it, was 

 so intent on fostering them, that it appeared 

 quite regardless of its captivity. The manners 

 of this creature much resemble the 28th species : 

 like it, this resides under ground, and lives on 

 nuts, acorns, but particularly on corn ; it differs 

 from the former in the place of its abode, seldom 

 infesting gardens. It has been observed that 

 in housing a rick of corn, the dogs have devoured 

 all the mice of this species that they could catch, 

 and rejected the common kind, and that the 

 cats on the contrary would touch none but the 

 last. 



