238 A SPRING AND SUMMER IN LAPLAND, 



rattus, Lin.) in Lapland, although the former is 

 found in all the coast towns, even up within the 

 polar circle, and from thence is gradually spread- 

 ing inland. The black rat appears now to be 

 nearly rooted out of Sweden by the brown rat. 

 In Stockholm, where thirty years since they were 

 said to be plentiful, they are now never met with ; 

 and in Carlstad, and other places along the banks 

 of the Wenern, where the black rat was formerly 

 the only species, the brown rat has now quite 

 usurped its place. 



I never saw the common house mouse (Mus 

 musculus, Lin.) in Lapland, and it seems to be a 

 stranger to the Lapland fauna. 



The shrew mouse (" alman nabbmus," Sw.) was 

 certainly rare, although both the common shrew 

 (Sorex vulgaris, Lin. ; " muluard," Sw.) and the 

 water shrew (Sorex fodiens, Pall.) go far up into 

 Lapland. I killed one specimen of the common 

 shrew. 



The mole (Talpa Europea, Lin.) does not come 

 so far north. Its northerly range in Sweden is 

 not, however, yet clearly defined ; but in Norway, 

 according to Mlsson, it is never seen north of 

 Dovre fell. 



One very fine fresh-killed specimen of the black 

 water vole (Arvicola amphibia, Dem. ; " storre 

 iord rahe," Sw.), the largest I ever saw, was 



