56 
S CHER MAN RAT, &C. 
frequently rob the subterraneous retreats of this 
species, of the hoards which they contain. 
ScHERMAN RAT. 
This species is said to be common about the 
neighbourhood of Strasburg, and appears to have 
been first described by Mr. Hermann, who, in the 
year 1776,, communicated a specimen to Count de 
Buifon. The length of the animal from nose to 
tail, is six inches ; of the tail, about two inches 
and three quarters ; the head is rather short ; the 
snout thick • the eyes small, and the ears almost 
as short as those of a mole, and concealed beneath 
the fur. The general colour of the fur is a 
blackish brown, mixed with grey tawny towards 
the tip ; the edges of the mouth are bordered with 
short hairs, and the whiskers arc black ; the under 
parts of the body are of a mouse grey ; the legs, 
which are short, are covered with dusky hair, as 
are also the feet, which are very small ; the tail is 
hairy, but not so well covered as that of the water 
rat. This animal resides in watery places, and 
about the gardens at Strasburg, and is said to be 
very destructive to the plants in cultivated grounds. 
It swims and dives extremely well, and also burrows 
occasionally under-ground. 
Red mouse. 
The red mouse is not quite four inches long ; its 
tail above one, and full of hair ; its nose and face 
are very bristly ; its back is of an uniform, plea- 
sant, tawny red ; its sides are light grey and yel- 
low. The underside of the body is whitish ; its 
feet are also white. 
It inhabits Siberia, from the Oby eastward to 
