The Harvest Mouse. The harvest mouse is a most interesting little creature; whose habits are thus described by White of Selborne:—"They build their nest amidst the straws of the corn above the ground, and sometimes in thistles. They breed as many as eight at a litter, in a little round nest composed of the blades of grass or wheat. One of these I procured this autumn, most artificially plaited, and composed of the blades of wheat, perfectly round, and about the size of a cricket ball, with the aperture so ingeniously closed that there is no discovering to what part it belonged. It was so compact and well filled that it would roll across the table without being discomposed, though it contained eight little mice that were naked and blind. As this nest was perfectly full, how could the dam come at her litter respectively so as to administer a teat to each? Perhaps she opens different places for that purpose, adjusting them again when the business is over; but she could not possibly be contained, herself, in the ball with her young, which moreover would be daily increasing in bulk. This procreant cradle—an elegant instance of the efforts of instinct—was found in a wheat field, suspended in the head of a thistle."
The Field Mouse. There are two kinds of field mice, the long-tailed and the short-tailed varieties. The long-tailed field mouse is the mouse immortalised by Burns, and is found throughout Europe. The short-tailed variety occupies much the same geographical area, though it probably extends further. The latter are very destructive, and have sometimes increased to such an extent, that organised efforts have had to be made to exterminate it.
The Dormouse. The common dormouse, and the greater dormouse are the principal varieties of this interesting little animal. They resemble the squirrel in appearance as well as in some of their habits. They live in trees, where they construct nests, on nuts, acorns, fruits, insects, birds and eggs, and squirrel-like rest upon their hindquarters when eating, holding their food between their forepaws. They lay up store for the winter and become torpid in the cold weather, rolling themselves into a ball, in which condition they may be handled without disturbance or injury. The common dormouse is found all over Europe, the greater dormouse occupying a still more extended area.
The Jerboa. The Jerboa is a curious, little animal with the body of a mouse and hind legs which resemble those of the kangaroo in appearance. There are several varieties, one belonging to Southern Russia, one to the deserts of Egypt, Nubia, Arabia, Barbary and Tartary, and one to North America. They live in burrows which they construct with great care and industry. They are naturally timid and make for their holes on the slightest disturbance, leaping kangaroo fashion sometimes as high as five feet, and so swiftly as to be very difficult of capture. They have very long tails.
The Beaver. There are two species of the beaver, the European beaver, and the American beaver. The former is most numerous in Siberia, Tartary, and the Caucasus but is also occasionally found in Central Europe. The American beaver is found throughout North America where it is eagerly hunted for the sake of its fur.
The European Beaver. The following anonymous paragraph cut from a newspaper, but likely enough quoted from some standard Natural History, perhaps that of Messrs. Cassell and Co., throws some light upon the present condition of the European beaver.
"There are still some naturalists who assert that the beaver has ceased to exist in France. This, however, is a mistake; an animal of that species was caught a short time ago in the Hérault, and is now being exhibited at Montpelier. Beavers do not live in Europe in large companies or herds as they do in America, but only in solitude, and in this state they haunt secondary rivers, such as the Gard and the Gardon. There are a few on the banks and islands of the Rhone, but as these creatures are averse to noise, the splashing of the steamers plying to and fro has driven most of them away. They give a decided preference to such streams as are overshadowed by the willow, of the bark of which they are exceedingly fond. The beaver is also to be found as far north as the Saone, in those valleys where there is peat-ground. It lives in Spain, in Italy, and in Greece, but always solitary and fugitive. This curious animal is not only called Castor Americanus, but also Castor Gallicus, and not without reason, since the fossil remains of the genus are sufficient to attest their having been very numerous in France at some remote period. The little stream of the Bièvre derives its name from its having been the habitat of these creatures; its resemblance to the English name beaver need hardly be alluded to. In Europe this amphibious animal does not build those substantial and commodious dwellings which have rendered it so celebrated, because the rapacity and spirit of destruction so common in man have made it suspicious and cautious."
The American Beaver. Writing of the American Beaver Dr. Godman says:—"Beavers are not particular in the site they select for the establishment of their dwellings, but if in a lake or pond, where a dam is not required, they are careful to build where the water is sufficiently deep. In standing waters, however, they have not the advantage afforded by a current for the transportation of their supplies of wood, which, when they build on a running stream, is always cut higher up than the place of their residence, and floated down. The materials used for the construction of their dams are the trunks and branches of small birch, mulberry, willow, and poplar trees. They begin to cut down their timber for building early in the summer, but their edifices are not commenced until about the middle or latter part of August, and are not completed until the beginning of the cold season. The strength of their teeth, and their perseverance in this work, may be fairly estimated by the size of the trees they cut down. Dr. Best informs us, that he has seen a mulberry tree, eight inches in diameter, which had been gnawed down by the beaver. The figure of the dam varies according to circumstances. Should the current be very gentle, the dam is carried nearly straight across; but when the stream is swiftly flowing, it is uniformly made with a considerable curve, having the convex part opposed to the current. Along with the trunks and branches of trees they intermingle mud and stones, to give greater security; and when dams have been long undisturbed and frequently repaired, they acquire great solidity, and their power of resisting the pressure of water and ice is greatly increased by the trees occasionally taking root, and eventually growing up into something of a regular hedge.
"The dwellings of the beaver are formed of the same materials as their dams, and are very rude, though strong, and adapted in size to the number of their inhabitants. These are seldom more than four old and six or eight young ones. Double that number have been occasionally found in one of the lodges, though this is by no means a very common circumstance. When building their houses, they place most of the wood crosswise, and nearly horizontally, observing no other order than that of leaving a cavity in the middle. Branches which project inward are cut off with their teeth, and thrown among the rest. The houses are by no means built of sticks first and then plastered, but all the materials, sticks, mud, and stones, if the latter can be procured, are mixed up together, and this composition is employed from the foundation to the summit. The mud is obtained from the adjacent banks or bottom of the stream or pond near the door of the hut. Mud and stones the beaver always carries by holding them between his fore paws and throat.
"Their work is all performed at night, and with much expedition. As soon as any part of the material is placed where it is intended to remain, they turn round and give it a smart blow with the tail. The same sort of blow is struck by them upon the surface of the water when they are in the act of diving. The outside of the hut is covered or plastered with mud late in the autumn, and after frost has begun to appear. By freezing it soon becomes almost as hard as stone, and effectually excludes their great enemy, the wolverine, during the winter."