CLASS I. MAMMALIA: OEDER 1. RODENTIA. 425 
resorts, where it makes sad havoc, especially among the wall-fruits, peaches, pears, apricots, &c. 
Its winter store consists of nuts, peas, beans, and the like. These are collected in some hidden 
recess, where ten to twelve individuals assemble to pass their winter's sleep. The summer nest is 
made in cavities in walls or holes in trees. The young arc four or five in number. 
Other species of Dormouse are as follows : the Dryad Dormouse, M, rfryas^the M, nitedula 
of Pallas, found in the forests of the Caucasus, and in the valley of the Volga, held by some to be 
a variety of the Lerot ; the M. orohinus of Scnnaar ; the M. Ooiq^eii of Senegal ; the M. rnunnus 
of the Cape of Good Hope and Mozambique. These African species constitute the genus Eliomys 
of Wagner. The M. elegans or M. lineatus is found in Japan. 
Genus GRAPHIURE : Graphiurus.—Oi this two species are named: the Cape Graphiure, 
G. Capensis, resembles the dormouse in appearance ; it is of a grajj'ish-brown, and of the size of the 
Lerot; its habits are not known. It was discovered at the Cape of Good Hope by M. Catoire. 
Ogilby notices a second species under the name of G. elegans, also of Southern Africa. 
THE BLACK EAT. 
THE MURID^. 
The MURTD^E, deriving their name from Mtis, a rat or mouse, form the most extensive family 
of all the rodents, comprising, w^hen taken in its largest sense, a great number of genera and species, 
whicli, though none of them attain to any considerable size, become worthy of serious notice from 
their prodigious multiplication, and the destructive influence which they exert over vegetation 
and the fruits of the labor of the agriculturist. The type of this family is found in the genus 
Mus, to which our common rats and mice belong. Their general characteristics are that the 
tail is more or less elongated, and usually naked ; the eyes are of moderate size, and the external 
ears distinctly developed ; the hind-legs are the longest, and possess five complete toes, while the 
anterior feet have only four toes and a sort of wart, which represents the thumb ; the lower 
incisor teeth are narrow and pointed ; the angle of the lower jaw is rounded, and the clavicles are 
complete. These animals generally hold their food in their fore-paws while they eat, sitting 
upon their haunches during the operation. They are all burrowing animals, and most of them 
Vol. I.— 54 
