228 
Vermin of the Farm. 
with all the grace and agility of an otter. It feeds also on the 
larvae of caddis flies (Zoologist, 1874, p. 3829). Like the last 
named species, it is perfectly harmless. 
Before taking leave altogether of the mice, we may notice a 
little animal which both in name and general appearance re- 
minds one of a mouse, namely the dormouse (Myoxus avellanarius) 
(Fig. 5). More robust in form than a common mouse, with 
denser fur of a reddish sandy hue, short rounded ears, bushy 
tail, and feet well formed for grasping, it spends its time chiefly 
in the woods and plantations, where it forms a nest amongst 
the underwood, or on the ground (Zoologist, 1872, p. 2908), or 
even takes possession of the deserted nest of a blackbird or 
thrush. 
Fig. 5. — The Dormouse Myoxus avellanarius. 
The specific name avellanarius originated from the idea that 
the dormouse feeds chiefly on hazel-nuts, and, indeed, it is most 
often to be met with in woods which consist of oak and hazel 
underwood growing from old stumps, in which these mice make 
their winter quarters. In October, 1887, a man at Aylesbury 
had no less than five dozen dormice which were caught in the 
nut-rows on Bucklaud Common, on the borders of Bucks and 
Herts. 
In addition to hazehnuts, its food consists of fallen acorns, 
