58 



WOOD MOUSE. 



lated by hunger as to destroy each other: the 

 surviving animal being then liberated^ will, ac- 

 cording to this author, become the most destruc- 

 tive enemy of his own tribe, and will kill every 

 one he meets. Another singular and most cruel 

 experiment is quoted by Aldrovandus from Mi- 

 zaldus, who tells us, that if two or three mice are 

 shut up in an earthen pot, and placed over a fire, 

 the shrill cries which they utter will attract the 

 mice in the other parts of the house, and cause 

 them to precipitate themselves into the fire. 

 Whatever truth there may be in this experiment, 

 it is certain that, on the shrill cry of distress ut- 

 tered by one of these animals kept with several 

 others in a cage, the rest will frequently attack 

 and destroy it. 



WOOD MOUSE. 



Mus Sylvaticus. M. cauda longa squamosa, corpore griseo-lutes- 

 cente suhtus latenhusque abruptc albo. Lin. Syst. Nat, Gwd, 

 pi 129. 



Yellowish-brown Mouse, with long naked tail, and body white 



beneath, the colours being abruptly separated on the sides. 

 Field Rat. Pennant Quadr. 2. p. 184. 



Brit, Zool. I. p. 105. 

 Mulot. Buff. 'J. p. 325. pi. 41, 



This animal chiefly frequents dry and elevated 

 . grounds, and is found in woods and fields in great 

 plenty. It appears to be common in all the tem- 

 perate parts of Europe, and even in Russia. It 

 sometimes varies in size, individuals being occa- 



