COLOURS AND VAKIETIES. 



5 



stock, for although in the different crosses the various shades are 

 useful, still it is far preferable to have the best colours to start 

 with. The fawn mice are very much lighter underneath than on the 

 back, are far larger than the white and black varieties, and have 

 longer tails. These are as easy to keep as the white, and as easy 

 to train, and, besides, they are very handsome in appearance — a 

 point not to be despised. There is one kind of fawn mouse we 

 have not mentioned, and that is bright fawn shading off to white, 

 and white or grey shading off to fawn — i.e., the ground colour of the 

 coat is white, and the hairs are tipped with fawn or the coat is mixed. 

 This variety looks very well, but is difficult to breed. It is produced 

 by crossing the two colours together, but not often. 



The long-tailed field mouse is a very pretty and elegant animal, 

 and is easily tamed if the proper method is adopted with it. The 

 colour is a sandy grey, shading off to nearly white under the body, 

 and sometimes a brighter coloured one can be caught, nearly fawn in 

 colour ; but these are not so common as the darker shades, and all 

 are comparatively large. 



The house mouse is greyish coloured, and is very active and 

 sharp, but not hard to tame ; and the colour comes in handy at 

 times to cross with others for novel results. The animal is not so 

 large as the field mouse, and perhaps not so good looking, but it 

 makes up in activity what it lacks in appearance. 



The plum or lavender coloured mouse is, in our opinion, a cross 

 between the black and white, with a little of the house mouse, and 

 when of a good bright colour is very pretty. It partakes more of 

 the character of the black, not being so easily tamed as the white, 

 but in combination with other colours affords a good subject for 

 crossing. 



The preceding are all the self colours, and others are obtained 

 by crossing these colours together. The various parti- coloured or 

 variegated mice are many, but we will only notice the chief, as other 

 combinations may be obtained by judicious crossing on the part of 

 the breeder, the same as with dogs or cats, as, to a great extent, like 

 begets like. Black and white ; fawn and white ; plum and white ; 

 brown and white ; tortoiseshell ; plum, white, and fawn ; black, white, 

 and fawn ; black and fawn ; grey and fawn ; silver grey ; brown and 

 white ; and grey and white — are some of the principal combinations 

 which result, though some of these are only obtained with much 

 trouble. Even then much depends on chance, many of the colours 

 coming through reversion to previous crosses. 



