242 M U 
body are of a moufe-grey ; the legs, which are fliort, are 
covered with dulky hair, as are alfo the feet, which are 
very 1'mall : the tail is hairy, but not fo well covered as 
that of the water-rat. This animal refides in watery 
places and about gardens; and is faid to be very deftruc- 
tive to the plants in cultivated grounds. It 1 ’wims and 
dives extremely well, and alfo burrows occafionally under 
ground. 
28. Mus alliarius, the garlic moufe : cinereous above, 
whitifh beneath, with rather large flightly-hairy ears, and 
tail about an inch in length. Firft described by Pallas, 
who informs us that it is a native of Siberia, where it is 
chiefly found about the jenefei and Lena, and is frequent 
in the fubterraneous magazines of bulbous roots, especi¬ 
ally the Allium angulatum, or angular garlic, formed by 
the Siberian peafants. It meafures fomewhat more than 
four inches from nofe to tail, and the tail about an inch 
and a half; the tail is alfo marked along the top with a 
dulky line, the remainder being white. 
29. Mus rutilus, the red moufe : fulvous above, afh- 
coloured beneath ; tail about an inch long, ears longer 
than the fur, and fubtetradaftyle fore-feet. The length 
of this l'peciesis not quite four inches, and the tail isl'ame- 
what more than one inch long, and very hairy: the nofe 
and face are briftly; the ears very final), but longer than 
the fur; bare, but edged at the tips with reddilli hairs. 
The colour of the animal on the upper parts is a pleafant 
tawny red ; the fides tinged with light yellowilh-grey, and 
the under parts are whitifh. It is a native of Siberia, and 
is found from the Oby eaftward to Kamtfchatka, in w'oods 
and mountains ; and alfo within the arftic circle. It 
fometimes frequents houfes and granaries ; and is often 
found under logs of wood, trunks of trees, &c. It is 
faid to wander about during the whole winter; feemingly 
unaffected by the Severity of the feafon ; being very lively 
even amidft the lnows. They eat any thing that comes 
in their way. 
( 3 . A variety is found about Cafan, a little lefs than 
the Siberian kind, having the tail longer and more flen- 
der; and the red on the back not fo much diftufed as in 
the other: the lame kind has alfo been difcovered in the 
botanical garden at Gottingen. 
30. Mus gregalis, the gregarious moufe: (Baikal rat, 
Penn.) body greyilh; tail fliort; ears longer than the fur, 
Gmel. (Shorter than the fur, Shaw ;) fore-feet three-toed, 
with the rudiments of a fourth. This fpecies has large thin 
ears appearing above the fur, according to molt authors; 
whifkers black, hair rough and hard; colour above a pale 
grey, the back darkened with dufky hairs, which gradu¬ 
ally decline into the lighter colour; the body below of a 
dirty white. It inhabits Siberia, but not in the country 
beyond the Oby; it is moll plentiful about the Baikal 
Lake and Trans-Baikal region, efpecially thofe places 
which abound moft with the Lilium pomponium and Al¬ 
lium tenuiffimum : they coiled the roots of thefe, and of 
the Trifolium lupinaftrum, for winter-food .- they form 
their lodge beneath the turf, and have many minute en¬ 
trances ; the earth that they fling out is carefully heaped 
above their hole, in form of a hillock, to divert the rain. 
In this retreat the male, female, and the progeny of one 
year, refide. This lpecies is never obferved to migrate. 
It varies in fize, and the males are in general much fmaller 
than the females. The ufual length feems to be about 
four inches, and the tail about an inch and a half; but 
Some of the males do not exceed three inches from nofe 
to tail. 
31. Mus ceconomicus, the ceconomic moufe, or rat: 
brown above, whitifh beneath ; tail fhort, ears naked, 
concealed by the fur, fore-feet fubtetradaftyle. This 
Species, named from its provident difpofition and the fkill 
with which it collefts its provifions, is a native of Siberia, 
inhabiting that country in vaft abundance, and even ex¬ 
tending as far as Kamtfchatka. Its curious hiftory has 
been given with great exadlnefs by Dr. Pallas, who in¬ 
forms us, that thefe little animals make their burrows 
with wonderful fkill immediately below the lurface in 
s. 
foft turfy foils, forming a chamber of a flattifh arched 
form, of a fmall height, and about a foot in diameter, to 
which they fometimes add as many as thirty fmall tubu¬ 
lar entrances; and near the chamber they frequently 
form other caverns, in which they depofit their winter- 
ftore.s ; thefe are faid to confift of various kinds of plants, 
even of fome fpecies which are poifonous to mankind. 
They gather them in fummer, harveft them with great 
care, and even fometimes bring them out of their cells in 
order to give'them a more thorough drying in the fun. 
The chief labour refts on the females ; the males during 
the fummer wandering about in a folitary ftate, inhabiting 
fome old nefts occafionally, and living during that period 
on berries, without touching the hoards, which are re- 
ferved for winter, when the male and female refide toge¬ 
ther in the fame neft. They are faid to breed leveral 
times in the year, the female producing two or three 
young at a time. 
The migrations of this little fpecies are very extraordi¬ 
nary, and take place at uncertain periods. Dr. Pallas 
imagines that the migrations of thofe inhabiting Kamtf¬ 
chatka may arife from fome fenfations of internal fire in 
that volcanic country, or from a prefcience of fome un- 
ufual and bad feafon. Whatever be the caufe, the faftis 
certain : at fuch periods they gather together, during the 
fpring-feafon, in furprifing numbers, except the few that 
refide about villages, where they can pick up fome fub- 
fiftence; and this mantes it probable that their migra¬ 
tions are owing to want of food. The mighty hoft pro¬ 
ceeds in a direft courfe weftward, occafionally fwimming 
with the utmoft intrepidity over rivers, lakes, and even 
arms of the fea. During thefe perilous adventures, fome 
are drowned, and others deftroyed by water-fowl, filh, &c. 
thole which efcape reft awhile to balk, dry their fur, and 
refrelh themfelves, and then again fet out on their migra¬ 
tion. It is faid that the inhabitants of Kamtfchatka, 
when they happen to find them in this fatigued fituation, 
treat them with the utmoft tendernefs, and endeavour by 
every poflible method to refrelh and reftore them to life 
and vigour. Indeed none of the fmaller animals are fo 
much efteemed by the Kamtfchadales as thefe ; fince to 
their labours they owe many a delicious repaft ; robbing 
their hoards in autumn, and leaving there fome kind of 
provifion in return, accompanied with certain ridiculous 
prefents by way of amends for the theft. As foon as the 
migrating hoft of thefe animals has crofted the river Penf- 
chim, at the head of the gulf of that name, it turns fouth- 
ward, and reaches the rivers Judoma and Ochot about 
the middle of July : the fpace thus traverled, appears 
allonilhing, on conlulting the map of the country. The 
flocks, during this time, are fo numerous, that an obferver 
has waited two hours to fee them all pafs. Their return 
into Kamtfchatka is in Oftober, and is attended with the 
utmoft feftivity and welcome on the part of the natives, 
who confider their arrival as a fure prognoftic of a fuccefs- 
ful chafe and filhery ; and they are faid equally to lament 
their migrations, which are ufually fucceeded by rainy 
and tempeftuous weather. 
This curious fpecies is generally of a tawny colour, 
darker on the back, and lighter or more approaching to 
an alh-coloured whitenefs beneath: its ufual length is 
about four inches and a quarter, and the tail one inch : 
its limbs are ftrong ; its eyes fmall ; its ears naked, very 
fliort and round, and alinoft hid beneath the fur of the 
head. 
This animal is alfo fuppofed to be an inhabitant of Ice¬ 
land ; at leaft a fpecies which mult be greatly allied to it 
is found in that country, and is faid to be particularly 
plentiful in the wood of Hufafels. In that country, 
where berries are but thinly difperfed, the little animals 
are obliged to crofs rivers to make their diftant foraging- 
excurfions ; and in their return are obliged to repal's the 
ftream ; their manner of performing which is thus related 
by Mr. Olaften, from the accounts of others, communi¬ 
cated to liimlelf: “ The party, conlifting of from fix to 
ten, feleft a flat piece of dried cow-dung, on which they 
place 
