86 



QUADRUPEDS. 



dark iron, or blackish grey ; the belly is of a dull ash colour ; 

 the legs are dusky, and very shghtly covered v^ith hair; 

 the fore feet have only four toes, v^^ith a small claw in place 

 of a fifth ; the tail is nearly naked, coated with a scaly skin, 

 and marked w^ith numerous divisions or rings. This animal 

 breeds frequently, and commonly brings about six or seven 

 young at a time. Sometimes they increase so very fast as 

 to overstock the place of their abode, w^hen they fight and 

 devour each other. The female carries the young only for one 

 month, and nurses one litter till she brings forth another. 



6. The Mouse is the " Mus musculus" of zoology, 

 and a species of the genus in the second family ; tail round, 

 naked. The colour is brown, ash-coloured beneath, with 

 tetradactylous fore feet, pentadactylous hind feet, and a long 

 nearly naked tail. It is a general inhabitant of almost every 

 part of the old continent; and is supposed to have been 

 imported into America, and it is now very numerous there, 

 and in the adjoining islands. The mouse inhabits houses 

 and granaries, follows mankind, eats all kinds of sweet and 

 good provisions, and drinks little ; is gentle and very prolific. 

 It is devoured by rats, cats, weasels, owls, and hedgehogs ; 

 is destroyed by elder and hellebore, and is said to possess 

 some small electrical properties when alive. 



Field Mouse. — The field mouse is the " Mus sylvaticus" 

 of zoology, of the class and family with rats and the common 

 mouse. The tail is long, scaly; body yellowish brown, 

 white beneath ; breast yellow. This animal chiefly frequents 

 dry and elevated grounds, and is found in woods and fields 

 in great plenty. It is very common in all the temperate 

 parts of Europe. They retire into holes among brushwood, 

 and under the trunks of trees, where they amass large 

 quantities of grain, acorns, and nuts. Swine often find their 

 nests, and devour both the animals, and the stores of food. 

 They collect the new-sown grain, and also feed on the young 

 plants. Their habitations are detected by small mounds of 

 earth thrown up near the aperture, when, by following the 

 passages, the whole burrow may be destroyed. 



