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sewing thread. One of these mice would frequently climb up this 
perpendicular wire with great rapidity, often taking both hands off 
at once and clinging with hind toes and tail, while it swung its 
head and body out at right angles to the wire in order to try and 
reach some other object. These mice could readily turn round and 
descend the wire head first. The hallux and pollex seem to be 
opposable to the other toes, as I noticed that the wire was generally 
(if not always) seized between the hallux and the second digit of 
the hind foot, and, I believe, between the pollex and second digit 
of the fore foot ; but I could not see this quite so distinctly, as the 
fore feet were either hidden by the head of the mouse, or at other 
times they never rested a second on the wire. These mice seemed 
to thrive on the food which I gave them — barley meal, corn, apple, 
lentils, and flies. They ate frequently, often retiring to their 
hiding-places for about fifteen minutes at a time, but they did not 
seem to care for water. 
Mouse (Mrs musculus). March 25th, 1876. Sparliam. At 
the threshing of a wheat stack, I helped to kill about thirty rats 
and about two hundred mice, among which were several nests of 
from five to nine young of both rats and mice. Eobert Hall, who 
was present, told me he had seen thirty-five or thirty-six young 
mice (all alike in size and appearance) in one nest, bub he supposed 
they were more than one litter. It was the general opinion of the 
men who were at this threshing, that rats and mice bring forth 
fourteen young (at the most) for one litter. 
May 3rd, 1876. Weston Longville. At the threshing of a 
stack I helped Mr. Fountain to kill nearly a bushel of rats and 
mice. There was one nest containing thirty -eight young mice, of 
three different sizes. I saw it and counted the mice as we took 
them out of the nest. Fifteen wild white mice were (I am told) 
caught all together near Mr. Parkerson’s stable at East Dereham. 
Eat ( Mus clecumanus). May 4th, 1876. The Hockering game- 
keeper told me he once found a rat’s nest (in a swath of fresh cut 
barley) with seventeen young rats, “just cast,” all alike in size and 
age ; and another man told me he onco found, in a stack, a nest of 
seventeen young rats, all of the same size, naked, and about three 
days old. January 24th, 1877. Mr. Imago told me (to-day or 
yesterday) that lie had just opened a rat which contained thirteen 
