Harvest Mouse standing on thistles picking through blossoms.Pl. 54A.][G 82.Seeking for thistle-seeds.Harvest Mice.View Larger Image Here.
Pl. 54A.][G 82.Seeking for thistle-seeds.Harvest Mice.
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Two mice dueling on wheat stems.Pl. 54B.][G 82.Fighting for a wheat-ear.Harvest Mice.View Larger Image Here.
Pl. 54B.][G 82.Fighting for a wheat-ear.Harvest Mice.
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Light brown dormouse, long white whiskers, white underbelly; brown and yellow rocks, blue sky.Pl. 55.][G 83.Dormouse.Muscardinus avellanarius.View Larger Image Here.
Pl. 55.][G 83.Dormouse.Muscardinus avellanarius.
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The total length of the Dormouse is about five and a half inches, but nearly half of this is contributed by the tail. The forelimbs, which are much shorter than the hind limbs, are furnished with four separate fingers and a rudimentary thumb; whilst the hind feet have five toes, though the first of these is short and clawless. All the claws are short; and on each foot there are six large pads. The fur of the upper parts is light tawny coloured, and of the underside yellowish-white, but the throat and adjoining part of the chest is a purer white.
Signature four molars; elongated head and tail; rear limbs longer than front limbs.Skeleton and Molars of Dormouse.View Larger Image Here.
Skeleton and Molars of Dormouse.
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In the copse and thick hedgerow where the Dormouse is mostly to be found, he must be sought after the brightness ofday has departed; for he is a nocturnal beast and spends the hours of sunshine in heavy slumber. So deep is his somnolence, and so low his temperature, that one not accustomed to his ways might easily imagine him to be actually dead. It is not a case of "sleeping with one eye open" with the Dormouse; he needs, as it were, to be shaken to arouse him. One autumn many years ago we frequently found the empty shells of cob-nuts in our greenhouse, and were somewhat puzzled to account for their presence. A thick row of cob-bushes in our neighbour's garden ran along the back of the greenhouse, but we never suspected that they were haunted by Dormice. One day in selecting a flower-pot from a number of empty ones that lay "nested" one within another a hoard of splendid nuts was found occupying the available space in several of them. Then a common box mouse-trap was set, and next morning it contained a plump Dormouse, curled up on its back with all the appearance of death, and it was lifted out by the tail without immediately awaking. Four or five were caught in this manner on successive nights.
For diurnal privacy and comfort the Dormouse constructs a globular nest of twigs, moss and grass, about three inches in diameter (sometimes with a circular opening), which may be among the stubs in the coppice, beneath a tussock of grass, or even suspended high up in the bushes. The nursery nest is twice this size. In some districts the nest will be constructed of the bark of old honeysuckle stems, which shreds off in ribbons. The inner lining is of the same material more finely divided, with a bed of leaves. Several litters of three or four, or even six or seven, blind and naked young are born in spring or summer; but there are also records of young being found in September or October. Having regard, however, to the hibernating habit of the species it is probable that these perish, for autumn-born young would scarcely be in fit condition to go without food for a long period. In their first coat the youngare more grey than red, but gradually assume the adult tint. There are no scent glands.
The adults have usually retired by the middle of October, by which date they have prepared for a long sleep by accumulating much fat beneath their coats, and make further provision by laying up a store of nuts. The reason for the latter is that the Dormouse's sleep is not continuous. It wakes up at intervals, has a good meal, and resumes its sleep. Its activities are not resumed until the spring, so that its retirement lasts nearly for half the year. Its winter nest is usually under moss among roots, or far underground. Its sleep is profound, without breathing, and it becomes absolutely cold.
The food of the Dormouse is much the same as the Squirrel's, but it is particularly fond of the hazel-nut, a good fat producer, and the "haws" of the whitethorn. It does not crack the shell of the nut, but gnaws quite a small hole, extracting the kernel piecemeal. In addition it eats many insects, and sometimes indulges in birds' eggs or even the birds themselves, if they can be captured.
The Dormouse is frequently kept as a pet for children, for which its gentle, fearless manner and non-disposition to bite seem to make it specially suitable; but we have found it regarded by youngsters as "a bit of a fraud" in this character, for as they have said, "It doesn't wake up until we are asleep." We have found that in semi-captivity it woke on most evenings throughout the winter to enjoy a supper of apples and nuts. Freshly captured specimens become tame at once. Ours were fond of climbing the long window curtains and hunting for flies—for the Dormouse is insectivorous as well as frugivorous. It is not given to the gnawing of wood, like the true Mice; and it is said to be one of the creatures that are immune to Viper poison.
The Dormouse is a European animal, but it does not extend northwards of Sweden. In agreement with this distribution,it does not occur in Scotland. From Ireland it is entirely absent. Eastward it extends only to Asia Minor.
The head is comparatively large, with blunt muzzle, prominent eyes, broadly rounded short ears, and long whiskers. The dentition is much the same as that of the Squirrel: there is a single large incisor on each side of the upper and lower jaws, and one premolar and three molars after a considerable blank:i 1/1, c 0/0, pm 1/1, m 3/3 = 20. The enamel ridges of these cheek-teeth constitute a rasping surface such as no other mammal possesses.
The soft, dense fur of the Dormouse was of repute anciently as a remedy for ear diseases and paralysis. The English name can be traced back certainly to the fifteenth century, and is considered to embody the verbdorm= to doze, still used in the North of England, which brings it very close to the Sleepmouse of Southern England and Sleeper of other parts. Derrymouse, Dorymouse, and Dozing-mouse are other local variants.
Albino varieties are very rare; but individuals with white-tipped tails are reported not infrequently.
Harvest Mouse(Micromys minutus, Pallas).
With the exception of the Lesser Shrew the pretty little Harvest Mouse is the smallest of British mammals. It long held that distinction, until the Lesser Shrew was shown to be a distinct species and not the young of the Common Shrew. The Harvest Mouse will always be associated with the name of Gilbert White, for it was in his letters to Pennant that it was first made known as a British mouse, and its appearance and habits were published by Pennant in his "British Zoology."
The head and body combined measure less than two and a half inches, and the nearly naked, scaly tail is almost as long. The thick, soft fur of the upper side is yellowish-red in colour,and of the under parts white; the two colours being rather sharply separated. The tail is exceedingly pliant and prehensile, and serves as an additional foot, being at once coiled around any suitable object within reach. It has bright black eyes, short blunt nose, and short rounded ears, the latter about one-third the length of the head.
Plump red-brown mouse with white underbelly on wheat ears.Pl. 56.][G 86.Harvest Mouse (enlarged).Micromys minutus.View Larger Image Here.
Pl. 56.][G 86.Harvest Mouse (enlarged).Micromys minutus.
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Rounded tangle of small weeds among stalks of larger grasses.Pl. 57.][G 87.Nest of Harvest Mouse.The wonderfully woven ball which serves as nursery.View Larger Image Here.
Pl. 57.][G 87.Nest of Harvest Mouse.The wonderfully woven ball which serves as nursery.
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It is found chiefly in the South of England, becoming less abundant as we go north. In Scotland it is very scarce, and it does not occur in Ireland. It is more generally distributed on the Continent, where it ranges from Northern Italy to Russia and Siberia. The usual habitats of the Harvest Mouse are pastures and cornfields, where it climbs the stems of the tall grasses and corn plants, cutting off the ripe ears and carrying them to the ground where it picks out the grain. During the summer it feeds largely upon insects, caught in the same situations. At the same season it stores up much grain in burrows for use in the winter between its periods of sleep. Sometimes, however, instead of wintering in burrows in the earth, it tunnels into hayricks, and if undisturbed may even bring up a litter or two in the rick; as a rule it constructs the wonderful nursery which has won human admiration ever since White made the species known.
This is a ball-shaped nest about three inches in diameter formed of neatly plaited and woven blades of wheat or grass, with no definite opening, the grass blades being merely pushed aside to make entrance or exits where required, and closing again by their own elasticity. There is just sufficient room inside for the mother-mouse and her blind and naked offspring, whether they number four, eight, or even nine. This nest is suspended at some little distance—about half a foot—above the ground, several stems being incorporated in its walls to give it stability, or it may be lodged between the stem and leaf of a thistle, or a knapweed, in blackthorn bushes or broom. The bed is made of split leaves of corn or grass. The nestsare not always so tough as that described by White, which "was so compact and well-filled that it would roll across the table without being discomposed, though it contained eight young." Several litters are produced throughout the year, varying in the number of young from five to nine; and one might expect that the species would be represented by individuals as numerous as those of the House Mouse. It must be remembered, however, that the diurnal habits of the Harvest Mouse and its methods of feeding expose it to the attacks of the larger birds; whilst the smaller carnivorous beasts do not neglect it. When the corn is cut the Harvest Mouse is often carried in the sheaves to the barn; in that case it spends the winter there, and does not go to sleep. It is considered that the modern reaping machine has caused a great reduction in its numbers.
Until about December the young of the year resemble the House Mouse in colour, and may easily be mistaken for it; then from the hind quarters forwards they begin to assume the redder tint. As the adult Harvest Mouse weighs only about a sixth of an ounce, it is not surprising that it should be able to sit on an ear of corn to which its capable little hands and prehensile tail have enabled it to climb with ease. But the familiar name must not delude us into supposing that it is only found in or about cornfields. It is also a denizen of the tall, rank herbage along ditches and untrimmed hedgerows. In winter it is frequently found about the lower parts of wheat and oat stacks.
Where the Harvest Mouse occurs it may be watched at close range by the quiet observer. Though as a rule timid and gentle in demeanour, it becomes at times savage and cannibalistic. It lacks the offensive odour of the House Mouse. Its voice is of a low chirping character, and has been likened to that of the wren.
With a more intimate knowledge of the structure of thevarious species of Mice, it has been found necessary to break up the old Linnean genusMusinto several smaller genera. In this process our little Harvest Mouse becomes the sole British representative of the genusMicromys.
Wood Mouse(Apodemus sylvaticus, Linn.).
An alternative name for the Wood Mouse is Long-tailed Field Mouse, and but for the fact that Linnæus dubbed itMus sylvaticus, it would be better to adopt Pennant's designation, for it is much more an inhabitant of the field, the hedgerow, and the garden than of the wood. It is, indeed, the cause of something approaching despair to the keeper of the kitchen garden; for this is the miscreant that ploughs up and eats the newly sown peas that have not been rolled in red lead or soaked in paraffin. He has also a great fondness for strawberries at the moment they have become ripe.
The Wood Mouse is about three and a half inches long from the long snout to the base of the tail; and the tail by itself falls only a very little short of that length. The fur on the upper parts is a dark yellow-brown; the under parts white. In adults the line of demarcation is always distinct. There is a spot of buff or orange on the chest whose development in certain local races has enabled recent systematists to make five species out of this one. It has large and prominent dark eyes—for it is chiefly of nocturnal habits—and its long oval ears have the inner margin turned inwards at the base. The tail is dark brown above, and whitish below. It is the commonest of the British mammals in country places, but less frequent in Ireland. It is common in Europe as far north as Sweden and Norway.
As a rule it constructs its burrows underground or under the roots of trees, and here it stores up great quantities of nuts, haws, grain, and smaller seeds for use in winter, when it becomes inactive, though it does not really hibernate. But ifthere is a house handy to which it can gain entrance in late autumn, it prefers to become the guest of those whose garden has been a boon to it through the spring and summer. We have had them spend the winter cosily in our rolled-up tennis nets, stowed away in a shed to keep them dry in the off-season; and as potatoes were stored in the same place they consumed a number of these. On several other occasions Wood Mice were detected attempting impudently to enter the dwelling house by the back door. Once an entire family—mater, pater, and five active youngsters—succeeded in this enterprise; but they left incriminating evidence of their presence, though they were suspected of being ordinary House Mice. Accordingly a break-back trap, baited with cheese, was set one evening, and within half an hour its loud clap proclaimed its effectiveness. This trap appeared to show that the Wood Mouse is a simple-minded, unsuspecting creature, for it was reset with the same uneaten bit of cheese-rind for bait again and again, and no sooner was the trapper's back turned than another member of the family was secured. Seven times it sprang, and then its inaction appeared to be due to the fact that there were no more possible victims, for we saw no further traces of the mice. Its general resemblance to the House Mouse frequently leads to its being mistaken for that species.
There are several litters of young during the year, and these vary in number from five to nine—an alarming rate of increase; but, fortunately, the Barn Owl that hunts the hedgerow inch by inch, every evening, takes a heavy toll that keeps the numbers down. The Fox, the Weasel, the Hedgehog, and the Viper also do their part.
The Wood Mouse is a very active creature, running and jumping in zigzag fashion, climbing high in the bushes in order to obtain berries, leaping from considerable heights, and swimming well when occasion requires. Although an accomplished excavator, it often makes use of unmortared stone wallsfor its runs and stores. It wanders widely in its search for berries, bulbs, and grain. In the matter of berries, it is not the juicy pulp that it desires but the seeds, which it will carefully pick out. It prefers the larger grains from the cornfield to those of a grass-meadow. It is both timid and gentle in disposition, and on account of its short sight, it may be approached closely and caught with the hand.
Two mice standing on hind legs, grappling with each other.Pl. 58.][G 90.House Mice.A fierce battle between rival males.View Larger Image Here.
Pl. 58.][G 90.House Mice.A fierce battle between rival males.
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Dark golden-brown mouse, white underbelly, big black eyes, long naked tail; among pebbles and grasses.Pl. 59.][G 91.Wood Mouse.Apodemus sylvaticus.View Larger Image Here.
Pl. 59.][G 91.Wood Mouse.Apodemus sylvaticus.
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Its stores of food are often communal, a colony of mice contributing, for it is not always of solitary habit. These stores are of the most varied character. Of the very miscellaneous items on its menu a few may be mentioned: leaves of clover and dandelion, with flower-buds of the latter, nuts of all kinds, apples, grapes, gooseberries, crocus and hyacinth bulbs (Millais says the Dutch were taught to multiply hyacinths by division of the bulbs through observing the effects of this mouse's attacks), acorns, rose and bramble seeds, slow-worms, eggs and—putty! It has been known to enter beehives, and not only to eat the honeycomb, but impudently to construct its nest there. Deserted birds' nests are often adapted to its use, either as a dining-room when seeking haws in the hedges, or as a permanent habitation, in this case roofed with moss.
The breeding nest is a globular structure of dry grass, and is usually built in a separate chamber of the underground run, but occasionally is on the surface or under a heap of hedgedébris. Some of the burrows may extend as much as three feet underground.
Towards the end of last century, Mr. de Winton called attention to what was considered to be a new British mouse—the Yellow-necked Mouse (Apodemus flavicollis), distinguished from the Wood Mouse by its larger size, the head and body measuring four and a quarter inches, and the brown spot on the chest commonly found in the Wood Mouse developed into an orange cross whose arms are connected with the upper sidecoloration—described as golden brown. This is a feature that at once attracts attention where this form occurs; but there is another distinction out of sight—there being three additional bony joints in the tail, that is thirty instead of the twenty-seven in the tail of an ordinary Wood Mouse. Whether it is a really distinct species or the typical form of the Wood Mouse is at present open to question. It is found chiefly in the southern and eastern portions of England, but its distribution also includes Northamptonshire, Herefordshire, and Northumberland.
Other local races have been distinguished also as distinct species or sub-species under the name of Hebridean Field Mouse (A. hebridensis) with the white of the under parts tinted with buff; Fair Isle Field Mouse (A. fridariensis), like the Yellow-necked but without the collar; St. Kilda Field Mouse (A. hirtensis) with brown under parts; and Bute Field Mouse (A. butei), darker, with shorter tail and ears.
House Mouse(Mus musculus, Linn.).
The most familiar, the most widely distributed and most numerous of the mammals of our country, the Common or House Mouse, stands in little need of nice description. Although of a timid and retiring nature, it can on occasion exhibit not only bold familiarity, but actual friendliness to mankind to which it has been attached for ages, preferring to live in palace or hovel with human beings to the open-air life of woods and fields. Not that he is not to be found in the open air; but then it is mostly in the immediate neighbourhood of a house, where he can make his runs in ricks of corn—mountains of food. It is this easy method of despoiling man of his goods that caused the Mouse in ancient days to attach himself to the huge creature that is so impotent in ridding himself of small adversaries. The domestic Mouse is considered to have had its home, itsplace of origin, in Asia, whence it has spread to every part of the world where man has gone. In most cases, it may be presumed with safety, it has travelled cosily stowed away in his stores and merchandise, so that as soon as the human migrant has built himself a home he finds that the Mouse is in occupation, and demanding a share of his food. In spite of all his serious depredations, our literature teems with evidence that the victim has always retained some kindly feeling for his pretty four-footed oppressor.
For the sake of uniformity, let us say that the head and body of the House Mouse measure a little more than three and up to four inches, and the tapering, flexible, and sparsely haired, scale-ringed tail may slightly exceed that measurement. It has a pointed snout, the bright, bead-like eyes are black, the large, sensitive brownish ears are nearly half the length of the head, and the soft, brownish-grey fur is only a little paler on the under parts. Outdoor specimens are often more yellow-brown in coloration. As compared with the Wood Mouse we have this more dusky and uniform coloration, shorter whiskers, smaller eyes, stouter and less flexible tail, and shorter legs. The thumb of the hand is reduced to a mere tubercle.
It is very active and silent in its movements, emerging from a tiny hole in floor-board or skirting and gliding without sound over the floor, ascending with ease table-legs or walls, and then, if alarmed, springing with a prodigious leap back to its hole. Concrete floors will not suffice to keep it out of a house, for it will climb the outer walls and enter the upper windows, thence making itself secret ways to the lower floors behind woodwork or plastered walls, till it reaches the kitchen, the larder or the storeroom. Though it shows by its preferences that its natural rôle is that of grain thief, it will eat any kind of human food and much besides: in a word, it is omnivorous.
Its great success as a species is due to this adaptability and to its astonishing fecundity. It produces four or five littersduring the year, each consisting of five or six, or even up to twelve, blind and naked young which develop so rapidly that in a fortnight they are capable of independence. At the age of six weeks they may begin to breed.
The House Mouse exhibits a considerable range of variation in colour, both darker and lighter than the type, and many of these variations have been bred from and their peculiarities perpetuated and accentuated in confinement as "fancy" mice. Of these the most familiar are the White Mice, really albinos with pure white fur, pink eyes, feet, and tail. There are also dark, nearly black variations, and spotted examples. Sometimes one is surprised at night to find that the house is tenanted by a musical mouse that runs up the scale in what appears to be an attempt at a little song. It has been ascertained, however, that these so-called singing mice are afflicted with a form of asthma, and the supposed vocal efforts are merely the manifestation of their physical trouble. We have had experience of musical mice in another way. For several nights in succession weird sounds came from the pianoforte which suggested that fairies were using it as a harp, twanging the wires instead of striking them with the hammers. An examination of the interior seemed to indicate the actual performer, for a little pile of Spanish nuts, stolen from the table, was discovered inside; and the twanging of the notes was caused probably by the mouse climbing them. A trap baited with a shelled nut put a stop to these performances. Bateson mentions several cases of hairless Mice, except for a few whiskers.
A local race of the House Mouse found in St. Kilda is sometimes dignified with species rank under the name ofMus muralis. Its distinguishing features include less slender feet and tail, and slight peculiarities of the palate.
Scruffy brown mouse, long naked tail, on wooden floor near mouse hole in plaster wall.Pl. 60.][G 94.House Mouse.Mus musculus.View Larger Image Here.
Pl. 60.][G 94.House Mouse.Mus musculus.
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Glossy black rat sitting on haunches; bright dark eyes; long hairless tail.Pl. 61.][G 95.Alexandrine Rat.An alien stowaway from North Africa.View Larger Image Here.
Pl. 61.][G 95.Alexandrine Rat.An alien stowaway from North Africa.
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Black Rat(Epimys rattus, Linn.).
Not many years ago a good deal of modified regret was expressed because it was thought that the Black Rat—the real old British Rat as it was called—was being exterminated by that vulgar upstart the Brown Rat—the Hanoverian or Norway Rat. These laments were mainly called forth by its comparative scarcity in old London warehouses where it had formerly been very numerous. One would have thought it a matter for rejoicing that there was a possibility of our having only one species of the rat pest to contend with instead of two. The disappearance of the Black Rat was remarked by Pennant as far back as 1778. However, later observations tend to show that the Black Rat is far from being extinguished even in the City of London, where the old type of warehouse is being rapidly replaced by ferro-concrete erections with carefully trapped drains. The intelligence of the Rat is equal to little impediments of that sort, and if it cannot get in by way of the basement it can climb walls and enter by the attic windows.
On the score of sentiment we need not distinguish between the Black Rat and the Brown. They are both Asiatic aliens, though the Black Rat had been settled here for several centuries before the Brown Rat followed in his tracks. Nothing definite is known as to the date of his arrival. Geologists assure us that he was not among the indigenes, for even the most recent strata yield no remains of his bones or teeth. He is known to have been on the other side of the dividing Channel in the thirteenth century, and to have reached England soon after, and quickly to have become a nuisance. He had a clear run of over four hundred years in which to occupy the most remote portions of the island, before he had to meet with keen competition in the form of the Brown Rat. He reached Ireland in the twelfth century, if not earlier.
The Black Rat is of more slender proportions than the betterknown Brown Rat, and much smaller, the dimensions of the head and body being about seven inches, whilst the scaly-ringed and almost hairless tail is more than eight inches. The long, pointed snout projects far beyond the short lower jaw; the whiskers are long and black. Though presenting the appearance denoted by its popular name, the glossy blue-black fur has a good sprinkling of grey on the upper surface, whilst below it is dark grey. The large, thin ears are naked, and about half the length of the head. The feet are pink, with scale-like rings on the underside of the digits and five pads on the sole. The thumb of the forefeet is reduced to a mere tubercle.
Although the Rats have much to do with garbage and offensive matters, they take the greatest of care to maintain their own cleanliness and a spruce appearance, spending much of their time in cleaning their fur and paws. One of the reasons for regretting the possible extirpation of the Black Rat by his more pushful relative, was, no doubt, his less ferocious ways and well-known milder disposition—a trait which is obvious to any one who has handled the domesticated albino, or White Rat, which is generally considered to be of this species.
Where—as in India—the Black Rat lives a more out-of-door life, it climbs trees and mostly makes its nest in them. With us the doe collects a good quantity of suitable materials—rags, paper, straw, etc.—and constructs a roomy nest which she uses for successive broods, which come at short intervals. Seven or eight is the usual number for a litter, and there are five or six broods in a year.
In the matter of food, both the Rats are omnivorous, and it is, therefore, useless to attempt to give a list of substances acceptable to them. Fish, flesh, fowl, or vegetable, crustacean or mollusc—anything that can be digested—is eaten by them; and if all else fails they will eat their own kin. In this matterthe Brown Rat, from his superior size and ferocity, has the advantage, as is emphasised by an incident told by a professional rat-catcher to Frank Buckland. He said that having had a successful haul in infested premises he had turned all his captures both Black and Brown into a large wire cage, intending to have a little sport next day with a few cronies and a terrier or two. To his astonishment next morning all the Black Rats had disappeared and only the Brown—or some of them—remained.
Facing forward, sitting on haunches in yellow straw, next to board wall.Pl. 62.][G 96.Black Rat.Epimys rattus.View Larger Image Here.
Pl. 62.][G 96.Black Rat.Epimys rattus.
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Lopsided circle of grasses on dirt and small pebbles containing furred young.Pl. 63.][H 97.Brown Rat's Nest.This litter of eight is a medium number.View Larger Image Here.
Pl. 63.][H 97.Brown Rat's Nest.This litter of eight is a medium number.
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A sub-species, the Alexandrine Rat (Epimys rattus alexandrinus), with brown back and dusky underside, is frequently introduced with shipping from North Africa, and has been recorded from Lundy Island and Shetland. Another sub-species, the Tree or Roof Rat (E. rattus frugivorus), common in the Mediterranean region, often appears in our ports. It has long, soft and dense fur, of light grey or brown on the upper parts and whitish below (pure white to pale yellow), and the feet usually white above.
The Black Rat is more of a climber than a burrower; more cleanly in its feeding than its brown rival. The pink-skinned young are born without fur, sight, or hearing.
Brown Rat(Epimys norvegicus, Erxleben).
The Brown Rat still has two alternative names applied to it, though the inappropriateness of one was shown by Pennant more than 150 years ago. These names are Norway Rat and Hanoverian Rat. Pennant does not mention the second, but of the first he says that the Brown Rat is quite unknown in Scandinavia and is not mentioned by Linnæus. The name Hanoverian appears to have been given to it because it was believed to have made its entry into England with George I. Writing in 1776, Pennant says: "This animal never made its appearance in England till about forty years ago." Recent researches into its distribution make it appear that the speciesoriginated in Trans-Baikal, whence it has spread westwards, even to America by way of the British Isles. Both species hit upon an improved method of extending their range over the earth. The old-fashioned natural way for mammals to spread was for a few adventurous individuals to make food-finding excursions beyond the district in which they were born; but climate, mountain ranges, broad rivers or seas often checked further progress. The Rats discovered that by keeping close to man they were always in the neighbourhood of food, whether intended for himself or his domestic animals; and even these tame creatures would at times serve for the Rats' meals. So when they found man loading ships with grain and other desirable food they decided to go with him. Often they contrived to get into his bales of merchandise and so conveyed to the hold. If not, there were always mooring ropes which served as bridges from the quay to the vessel. And so they got themselves conveyed in comfort, sure that wherever the goods went there would be settlements of their biped friends to house them and serve their ends generally. Now, wherever man has established himself, you are almost certain that the Rat is close at hand.
Mr. A. W. Rees, in his interesting "Creatures of the Night," has summarised the chief characteristics of this species in a paragraph. He says: "Brown Rats are an insufferable nuisance. There is no courtesy or kindness in the nature of the Rat; no nesting bird is safe from his attacks, unless her home is beyond his reach in some cleft of a rock that he cannot scale or in some fork of a tree that he cannot climb. He is a cannibal—even the young and the sick of his own kind become the victims of his rapacious hunger—and he will eat almost anything, living or dead, from the refuse in a garbage heap to the dainty egg of a willow-wren in the tiny, domed nest amid the briars at the margin of the river."
As compared with the Black Rat he is more heavily built,and the combined length of head and body is eight or nine inches, whilst the thicker, scaly-ringed tail is only equal to, or less than, the length of the body alone. His head is proportionately shorter, with blunter muzzle, much smaller ears and more prominent though smaller eyes. The fur on the upper parts is grey-brown with a tawny tinge, and dirty white on the under parts. The ears, feet, and tail are flesh-coloured. It sometimes occurs with black or blackish fur, and is then frequently mistaken for the Black Rat; but the relative length of tail to body is a superficial character by which they can be separated at once. There is a black race of this species on the east coast of Ireland to which some authors have given the distinctive name ofEpimys hibernicus. It appears to have extended its range from Ireland to the Hebrides. In one form or other the Brown Rat has extended to nearly every part of the British Islands and their islets.
Elongated head, narrow ribcage, short legs, long tail; three molars.Skeleton and Molars of Brown Rat.View Larger Image Here.
Skeleton and Molars of Brown Rat.
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The Brown Rat becomes a parent at the age of six months, and produces four or five litters in a year. Ordinarily these consist of from four to ten blind, deaf, and naked young; but much larger litters are on record, the highest of which we haveseen a note being twenty! Sometimes the young grow up hairless or blind. Some years ago we disturbed a nest in the garden from which issued half a dozen young Rats about four inches long (head and body), all blind. They moved about in a very uncertain manner, and were easily despatched. Similar cases have been recorded. At the meeting of the Zoological Society in December, 1902, a hairless Rat was exhibited on behalf of Mr. G. A. Doubleday, one of three captured at Leyton, Essex, in the same condition. The skin, which was slate-coloured, was wrinkled into folds all over the body. Millais mentions a hairless Rat with yellow skin.
In the country—where it is known as the Barn Rat—the Tawny Owl and the Weasel are the farmer's best friends as Rat-catchers, though they do not always get the consideration that their services merit. The Weasel tribe are admittedly also destroyers of poultry; but the depredations of the Rat in this connection are much more serious. They do much mischief in chicken-runs, and being good swimmers and divers, even ducklings afloat are not safe from them. If a pair of ducks have made their nest on an island for safety, rats will swim to it and feast on the eggs, or, should these be hatched, kill the ducklings and eat them. It is more than probable that much of the destruction of pheasant and partridge eggs debited to the account of the Hedgehog, has really been carried out by the Rat. Jordan ("Forest Tithes") says he has known a Rat or Rats take a dozen eggs from a wild duck's nest and bury them in the soft peaty bottom of a moorland runnel, close to the nest. "I traced the whole proceeding and dug the eggs out with my fingers."
It does not matter where it is living, in town or country, the Rat is equally destructive to property and live stock. We have known them to destroy a crop of garden peas by ascending the pea-sticks, night after night, lacerating all the pods that had fair-sized peas within, and eating out every one. They skulkalong the hedgerows until they reach the "cave" where the farmer has stored his mangolds to secure them from frost. Scores of them will burrow through the cover of earth and eat their fill of the succulent roots. Well is it for the farmer if the Weasels have not been exterminated on his land, for they are the most efficient guardians of his hoard. Hawks and Foxes render similar service if the Rat wanders out into the open moorland; but the Rat rarely ventures far from cover of some sort.
Brown rat, white underbelly, naked tail, among low grasses and scattered dirt.Pl. 64.][H 100.Brown Rat.Epimys norvegicus.View Larger Image Here.
Pl. 64.][H 100.Brown Rat.Epimys norvegicus.
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Small vole in rippling water, tall grasses in background.Pl. 65.][H 101.Water Vole Swimming.This fine swimmer is making for his burrow in the bank.View Larger Image Here.
Pl. 65.][H 101.Water Vole Swimming.This fine swimmer is making for his burrow in the bank.
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There is a melanic or black form of the Brown Rat which is frequently mistaken for the true Black Rat, though the more bulky build and blunter muzzle should show the difference at sight. First recorded from Ireland in 1837, it was considered a distinct species under the name of the Irish Rat. Its fur is uniformly dusky above and below, and the skin is of similar hue. The variation is now known not to be confined to Ireland, but to occur in many parts of England and in the Outer Hebrides. White, fawn-coloured, and pied variations also occur.
The versatility of the Brown Rat is such that it would be idle to attempt any description of its habits. Every one knows at least some part of the story, and the whole of it would require a book. It is the most powerful natural enemy that civilised man has had to contend with, for it attacks him in his own strongholds, spoiling and wasting his food stores and destroying his property in general. There was a time when it could be looked upon more as a commensal because of the valuable scavenging work it performed; but since man has learned that it is safer to attend to this work himself the Rat has become a mere parasitical nuisance. Sir J. Crichton-Browne has estimated the annual loss to this country through the depredations of Rats at £15,000,000 (pre-war figures, 1908).
The Rat is so thoroughly omnivorous that it would be equally absurd to attempt a list of its food: there is nothingthat can be eaten that the Rat will not eat. Therefore, there is no possibility of starving him out. Rat-killing campaigns that do not cover every square yard of the country can only have the effect of temporarily mitigating the nuisance; for the Rats' fertility is so great and so rapid that the loss of nine-tenths of a generation is quickly made good. A continental statistician has worked out the theoretical progeny of a single pair of Rats after ten years as reaching the appalling figure of 48,319,698,843,030,344,720! Of course, there is no great value in such a calculation, for it proceeds upon the assumption that every individual lives to become a parent, whereas in fact the mortality in all creatures of such fecundity is enormous, and there are few if any more survivors this year than there were last year. In other words, the great fertility of a race only suffices to make up the wastage from enemy attacks. But the figures serve to show what might happen if the natural control by Weasels, Stoats, Hawks, and Owls were suspended for a short time. But Rats are disseminators of bubonic plague with the aid of their special species of flea.
Water Vole(Arvicola amphibius, Linn.).
In certain directions it appears that failure is the lot of those who have spent the greater part of their lives in trying to spread enlightened views as to the true nature of our native animals and plants. Among a number of such failures two or three may be briefly cited here: you cannot persuade a countryman that a slow-worm is not a snake, that all snakes are not poisonous and to be killed at sight, and that the comparatively inoffensive rodent now to be described is not a rat and of rat-like nature. The name of Water Rat is general as a true folk-name.
The Voles are of heavier build than the Rats, the head is shorter, thicker, and the muzzle rounded instead of beingpointed; the limbs are shorter and the hairy tail is not much more than half the length of the head and body. The eyes are small and short-sighted, and the small round ears scarcely project from the surrounding fur, though when listening intently the Vole erects them and makes them more conspicuous. Linnæus, following Ray, described the Water Vole as having webbed feet, but this is incorrect, though the toes of the hinder foot are connected at their base. They are naked and pale pink beneath, with five rounded pads, but above are clothed in stiff hairs. The thick, long, glossy fur is of a warm reddish-brown above, sprinkled with grey, and on the under parts yellowish-grey. This applies chiefly to the male; the female is slightly smaller than her mate, is less bright and more greyish-brown in her coloration. The average length of head and body is seven and a half inches, and of the tapering, ringed tail about four and a half inches. It sometimes occurs with black fur, especially in East Anglia and Scotland; and these examples are usually reported as the Black Rat. Some modern authorities recognise it as a sub-species (reta).