more approaching to an ash-coloured white- 
1 ness beneath : its usual length is about four 
I inches and a quarter, and the tail one inch ; 
I its limbs are strong ; its eyes small, its ears 
I naked, very short and round, and almost hid 
I beneath the fur of tlie head. 
This animal is also supposed to be an in- 
I habitant of Iceland ; at least a species which 
1 “ must be greatly allied to it is found in that 
'country, and is said to be particularly plenti- 
ful in the wood of Husafels. In that coun- 
try, where berries are but thinly dispersed, 
the little animals are obliged to cross rivers 
| to make their distant foraging excursions, 
] and in their return are obliged to repass the 
| stream; their manner of performing which is 
1 thus related by Mr. Olalfen, from the ac- 
counts of others, communicated to himself: 
“ The party, consisting of from six to ten, 
| select a llat piece of dried cow-dung, on 
j which they place the berries they have col- 
: lected in a heap, on the middle ; and then, 
j by their united force, drawing it to the vva- 
' ter’s edge, launch it, and embark, placing 
i themselves round the heap, with their heads 
joined over it, and their backs to the water; 
their tails pendant in the stream, and serving 
| the purpose of rudders.” 
1 1 . Mus socialis, social mouse. The so- 
i cial mouse is a native of the Caspian deserts 
| between the Volga and the Yaik, and the 
| country of Hircania. It lives in low sandy 
J situations, in large societies; the ground in 
many places being covered with the little 
hillocks formed by the earth cast out in form- 
ing the burrows, which are said to be about 
a span deep, with eight or more passages. 
The animals are always observed to live in 
pairs, or with a family; they are fond of tu- 
lip-roots, which form a principal article of 
their food. They appear chiefly in the 
spring, when they are very numerous, but 
■ are rarely seen in autumn, and are supposed 
either to migrate in autumn or to conceal 
themselves among the bushes, &c. and in the 
winter to shelter themselves in hay-ricks. 
The head in this species is thick, and the 
nose blunt ; the whiskers white ; the ears 
oval and naked ; the limbs short and strong, 
and the tail slender. The upper parts are of 
a light grey, and the under white. 
12. Mus cricetus, hamster rat. Of the 
pouched rats the hamster is the most re- 
markable, and indeed is the only European 
species provided with those peculiar recep- 
tacles, which are situated on each side the 
mouth, and when empty are so far contract- 
ed as not to appear externally, but when 
filled resemble a pair of tumid bladders, hav- 
ing a smooth veiny surface, concealed, how- 
ever, under the fur or skin of the cheeks, 
which bulge out extremely in this state. 
They are so large as, to hold the quantity of 
a quarter of a pint, English measure. 
The general size of the hamster is nearly 
that of a brown oft Norway rat, but it is of a 
much thicker form, and has a short tail. Its 
colour is a pale reddish brown above, and 
black beneath. The muzzle is whitish, the 
cheeks reddish, and on each side the body 
are three moderately large oval white spots, 
of which those on the shoulders are the 
largest ; the ears are moderately large and 
rounded, and the tail almost bare, and about 
three inches long ; on the fore-feet are four 
toes, with a claw in place of a fifth, and on 
M^rs. 
the hind-feet are five toes. Sometimes the 
hamster varies in colour, being found either 
black with a white muzzle, or of a pale yel- 
lowish white. The male is always much 
larger than the female. On each side the 
lower part of the back is an almost bare spot, 
covered only with very short down. 
The liamster inhabits Siberia and the south 
of Russia. It is also found in Poland, as well 
as in many parts of Germany. They are very 
destructive in some districts, devouring great 
quantities of grain, which they carry off in 
their cheek-pouches, and deposit in their 
holes, in order to devour during the autumn. 
Their habitations, which they dig to the, depth 
of three or four feet, consist of more or fewer 
apartments, according to the age of the ani- 
mal : a young hamster makes them hardly a 
foot deep ; an old one sinks them to the 
depth of four or five feet, and the whole dia- 
meter of the residence, taking in all its habi- 
tations, is sometimes eight or ten feet. The 
principal chamber is lined with dried grass, 
and serves for a lodging; the others are des- 
tined for the preservation of provisions, of 
which he amasses a great quantity during the, 
autumn. Each hole has two apertures ; the 
one descending obliquely, and the other in a 
perpendicular direction ; and it is through 
this latter that the animal goes in and out. 
The holes of the females, who never reside 
with the males, are somewhat different in 
their arrangement, and have more numerous 
passages. The female breeds two or three 
times a year, producing five or six, and some- 
times as many as sixteen or eighteen. The 
growth of the young is rapid, and they are 
soon able to provide for themselves. 
The hamster feeds on all kinds of herbs 
and roots, as well as on grain, and even occa- 
sionally on the smaller animals. “ In har- 
vest-time (says Mr. Allamand) he makes his 
excursions for provision, and carries every 
article he can And into his granary. To fa- 
cilitate the transportation of his food, nature 
has provided him with two pouches in the 
inside of each cheek. On the outside these 
pouches are membranous, smooth, and shin- 
ing ; and in the inside are a great many 
glands, which continually secrete a certain 
fluid, to preserve their flexibility, and to 
enable them to resist any accidents which 
may be occasioned by the roughness or 
sharpness of particular grains.” 
On the approach of winter the hamster re- 
tires into his subterraneous abode, the entry 
of which he shuts up with great care ; and 
thus remaining in a state of tranquillity, feeds 
on his collected provision till the frost be- 
comes severe ; at which period he falls into 
a profound slumber, which soon grows into 
a confirmed torpidity, so that the animal 
continues rolled up, with all its limbs inflexi- 
ble, its body perfectly cold, and without the 
least appearance of life. In this state it may 
even be opened ; when the heart is seen al- 
ternately contracting and dilating, but with a 
motion so slow as to be scarce perceptible, 
not exceeding 15 pulsations in a minute, 
though in the waking state of the animal it 
beats 150 pulsations in the same time. It is 
added that the fat of the creature has the ap- 
pearance of being coagulated, that its 'intes- 
tines do not exhibit the smallest symptoms 
of irritability on the application of the strong- 
est stimulants, and the electric shock may be 
239 
passed through it without effect. This le- 
thargy of the hamster has been generally 
ascribed to the effect of cold alone ; but late 
observations have proved, that unless at a 
certain depth beneath the surface, so as to 
be beyond the access of the external air, the 
animal does not fall into its state of torpidity, 
and that the severest cold oh the surface does 
not affect it. On the contrary, when dug up 
out of its burrow, and exposed to the air, it 
infallibly awakes in a few hours. The waking 
of the hamster is a gradual operation: he 
first loses the rigidity of his limbs ; then 
makes profound inspirations, at long inter- 
vals. ; after this he begins to move his limbs, 
opens his mouth, and utters a sort of unplea- 
sant rattling sound. After continuing these 
operations for some time, he at length opens 
his eyes, and endeavours to rise ; but reels 
about for some time, as if in a state of intoxi- 
cation, till at length, after resting a small 
space, he perfectly recovers his usual powers. 
This transition from torpidity to activity re- 
quires more or less time, according to the 
temperature of the air, and other circum- 
stances. When exposed to a cold air, he is 
sometimes two hours in waking; but in a 
warmer air the change is effected in half the 
time. 
The manners of the hamster are generally 
represented as far from pleasing.. No society 
appears to exist among these animals. They 
are naturally very fierce, and make a despe- 
rate defence when attacked: they also pursue 
and destroy every animal which they are 
capable of conquering, not excepting even 
the, weaker individuals of their own species. 
They are said to be particularly fond of the 
seeds of liquorice, and to abound in the dis- 
tricts where that plant is cultivated. Ac- 
cording to Mr. Sultzer, they abound to such 
a degree in Gotha, that in one year 11,564, 
in another 54,429, and in a third 80,139 of 
their skins were delivered in the Hotel de 
V ill e of that capital, where the hamster is 
proscribed on account of the devastations it 
commits among the corn. 
13. Mus bursarius, Canada rat. This, 
which is a species but lately discovered-, 
seems to be the most remarkable of all the 
pouched rats for the proportional size of the 
receptacles. It is a native of Canada, and 
is about the size of a brown or Norway 
rat, and is of a pale greyish-brown colour, 
rather lighter beneath ; the length to the 
tail is about nine inches, and that of the 
tail, which is but slightly covered with hair, 
about two inches; the legs are short; the 
fore-feet strong, and well adapted for burrow- 
ing in the ground, having five claws, of which 
the three middle ones are very large and 
long ;, the interior much smaller, and the 
exterior very small, with a large tubercle or 
elbow beneath it. The claws on the hind- 
feet are comparatively very small, but the 
two middle are larger than the rest, and the 
interior one is scarce visible; the teeth are 
extremely strong, particularly the lower pair, 
which are much longer than the upper; the 
ears are very small. This species is de- 
scribed in the 5th volume of the Transac- 
tions of the Linnsran Society ; but we must 
observe that by some oversight in the con- 
duct of the figure there given, the claws on 
the fore-feet are represented as only three in 
number, and are somewhat too long, weak, 
anti curved. A more faithful representation 
