60 DORMICE-THE LEROT. [RODENTIA. retreat, being then fat, and in good condition. The flesh of the Lerot, M. nitela, is very disagreeable, both to the taste and smell; and though the it cannot be very delicate, notwithstanding the partiality of the Roman epicures for it, for the peasants of France, who occasionally eat it, consider it little better than a water-rat. In size the Loir, Myoxus glis, is nearly equal to a squirrel, the tail is long and bushy, the fur having a lateral arrangement; the ears are rounded; its colour is brownish grey above, becoming deeper round the eyes, and whitish on the under surface. The LEROT, Myoxus nitela, or Greater Dormouse of SHAW, is the next species. Though not a native of England, it is universally spread over the whole of temperate Europe on the continent, and even as far north as Prussia and Poland. In the southern countries it is extremely abundant, and is one of the greatest of pests to the garden and orchard. Unlike the previous species, which is shy and wild, and avoids the precincts of human habitations, the present little animal infests the shrubberies and gardens round the abodes of man. They may be seen running along the walls, or the branches of fruit trees, in the holes of which they make their nests; as soon as the fruits ripen, the evidences of their destructiveness begin to be visible; and it is very difficult to preserve the produce of the trees from their depredations. The ripe juicy peach is their favourite, but plums, pears, apricots, etc. are greedily devoured. Walnuts, filberts, and even peas and beans are also subject to their attacks, and it is of these especially that they form their magazines for occasional use in winter, and the early part of spring. The store they accumulate is very considerable, and surrounded by it, they make a bed of grass and moss, where, folded up in sleep, they pass the severities of the season. In this condition, amidst a store of nuts, they are often discovered in the holes of aged fruit trees, of walls, and even in burrows in banks, or at the root of a tree. propensity of the Dormouse was well known to the ancients; hence the expression of Martial, "somniculosi glires ;" and Cuvier observes, that "such is the nature of these animals, that a Dor-present species has nothing offensive in its flavour, mouse from Senegal, M. coupeii, which in its native country had never probably experienced lethargy, became torpid in Europe as soon as exposed to the cold." Though the Dormouse is so easily thrown into the sleep of hybernation by a low temperature, it does not appear that its lethargy, profound as it is, is so incessant as in many other animals; for a fine sunny day, during the winter, recovers it from its trance, and calls it forth from its retreat. Like the squirrel, it amasses a fund of provision, to which it has now recourse; and, strengthened by food, and warmed by the genial rays of the sun, it recovers something of its summer liveliness, a transient interval, which passes off with the increase of the cold, when, seeking its retreat, it sinks again into lethargy. Dormice in this condition have often come under our observation, rolled up in a balllike figure; they appear perfectly inanimate; breathing seems suspended, and their temperature is almost as low as that of the atmosphere; they may be handled, or even rolled about on a table, without evincing any perceptible motion. When roughly treated, however, we have observed a slight contraction, as if the animal was endeavouring to draw itself closer together. If held in a warm hand for a short time, or put into a warm room, or near the fire, they gradually awake; but when the cause is taken away, they return again to their sleep. As in the case of the bat, however, this sudden revival, if often repeated, injures the animal, and produces death. The Myoxus glis is very extensively spread throughout the southern and central portions of our continent, but does not appear to occur in the higher northern latitudes. It is abundant in Spain, the south of France, Italy, some parts of Germany, and Switzerland. In its habits it bears a close resemblance to the squirrel, dwelling among the branches of dense forests, and of such more especially as clothe a hilly district. It is, however, less alert and active than the squirrel, and leaps with less energy: a circumstance to be attributed to the greater stoutness of its body, and the less development of the limbs, than in that elegant tenant of the woods. Wild fruits, such as nuts, beech-masts, etc., constitute its food, to which, however, it is said to add the flesh of young birds, which it seizes on the nest. Holes in trees and the clefts of rocks, constitute its asylum in which to produce its young, for it does not build a platform between the forks of branches, as the squirrel; nor, unlike that animal, is it often seen on the ground. It has usually five young at a birth; their growth is said to be quick, but their age seldom extends beyond six years. This species of Dormouse is fierce and resolute, biting severely when attacked, and is, moreover, very untractable and wild. It was among the delicacies of the table in ancient Rome, when it was fattened in gliraria, or dormouse hutches; and Apicius gives the recipe for making them into ragouts. In Italy they are said to be still eaten, and they are accounted the best when they have retired to their hybernaculum, or winter It is in these retreats that the young are born and reared: they are five or six in number. The Lerot is a beautiful little creature, more elegantly formed than the preceding species. The upper surface generally is of a yellowish or cinnamon colour, with a black mark surrounding the eye, and extending back below and behind the ear. The under surface is clear white. The tail is long, but not bushy; the hairs, however, have a lateral arrangement, and are fullest towards the tip, which is white. Its size is that of a small rat. Of the three species, however, the most beautiful by far is the Common Dormouse, Myoxus avellanarius, the Muscardin of the French. Though common in the southern parts of England, and even in the midland counties, it is not so abundant in France as the Lerot; yet its distribution is very extensive, for it is a native of Sweden and the intervening countries, to the southern shores of Europe. Unlike the two preceding species, the Dormouse builds a nest of leaves and grass, generally in the thickest part of a low bush, in which to bring forth and rear its RODENTIA.] DORMICE-RAT-HARVEST MOUSE-JERBOA. young; but it retires in winter to a moss-lined hole, either in a tree, or among the roots, in which the cold months of the season are passed. It is seldom that the Dormouse is seen in gardens; it prefers old bushy intertangled hedge-rows, low woods, and coppices of hazel, where we have often seen it creeping about the branches with a quick, but gliding sort of motion, very different from that of the squirrel, which leaps and runs with astonishing rapidity. There is a kind of quietness in all the actions of this pretty little animal; it winds its way among the dense twigs and foliage without noise or apparent effort, and soon eludes pursuit. Berries, nuts, acorns, etc., constitute the food of the Dormouse; and of these it lays up a winter store, to which it occasionally has recourse when temporarily revived by the warmth of a sunny day. It is, however, most probable that this magazine is of greatest service in the spring, when the animal is permanently roused from its state of hybernation. The torpor of the Dormouse is very profound; if not subjected to warmth, the creature, coiled up into a ball-like figure, may be rolled about, handled, put into a box of moss, and carried to any distance, without its being awaked : in a warm room, however, it soon revives. During the summer the Dormouse is all liveliness; it may be then seen with its mate, playfully sporting among the branches, or engaged in carrying moss and grass to build its nest. To find the nest, however, is by no means easy, for it is concealed among the thickest part of the bushes, amidst tangled sprigs and foliage, and at no great distance from the ground. Sometimes, however, it is placed among the higher boughs of a thick tall hedge, and has been, we are told, occasionally seen in a high tree; but in this situation we ourselves have never observed it. The nest is about six inches in diameter, of a rounded figure, with the aperture at the top. The young are four or five in number. The Common Dormouse is somewhat larger than a full-sized mouse; the head is large, the muzzle elongated; the eyes full and black; the ears short. The tail, which, is shorter than in the Lerot, is fringed with short hair on each side, and tufted at the end. The colour of the upper surface of the body is cinnamon red, the under surface pale yellow, or yellowish white. Dormice seem to connect the squirrels on the one side to the murine groups, as on the other, the ground squirrels, Tamais, unite the tree squirrels to the genus Spermophilus, and the true marmots, Arctomys. Leaving the genus Myoxus, we come to that containing the Rat and the Mouse; animals too well known to require any particular account. Many of our readers may not, however, be aware that the COMMON BROWN RAT is of comparatively recent introduction into Europe, originally coming from the southern regions of Asia. In 1750 it was introduced into France; but in some departments of that country it is yet hardly known. The BLACK RAT, which is a totally different species, is also supposed to be, though more anciently, of foreign extraction; it abounds in the sugar plantations of the West Indies, where it does great damage. 61 We cannot part from this genus without briefly noticing one of its species, the smallest of British mammalia, and one of the most elegant; we mean the HARVEST MOUSE, (Mus messorius, WHITE.) This little Mouse, which is scarcely half the size of the common species, appears to be exclusively belonging to our island; but was totally unknown till discovered by Mr. White, and introduced to science in his "Natural History of Selborne." Its colour is that of a squirrel, but lighter; its eyes dark, its action lively. During the winter it lives underground in burrows of its own construction; but breeds in nests, like those of a bird, exquisitely constructed, and interwoven among the stalks of standing corn. Since its first discovery it has been noticed by various writers, but little has been added to the original account, from which we extract the following:These Mice "never enter into houses; are carried into ricks and barns with the sheaves; abound in harvest, and build their nest amidst the straws of corn above ground, and sometimes in thistles. They breed as many as eight at a litter in a little brown nest composed of blades of grass or wheat. One of their nests I procured this autumn, most artificially platted, 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 was no discovering to what part it belonged. It was so compact and well filled, that it would roll across a table without being discomposed, though it contained eight little mice which were naked and blind." We present a sketch of this interesting little creature, and of its nest, from nature. (See Engraving, No. 31.) Again passing over several genera, we stop at that of Dipus, containing many closely allied species, under the general title of JERBOA, and which are involved in some degree of confusion. They appear to inhabit somewhat different localities, one or two species abounding in Barbary, Egypt, Syria, and Arabia; the others being widely spread from Russia and Siberia, along the sandhills which border the Tanais and Volga, through the desert of Tartary, to Hindostan and the Chinese empire. The Jerboas, though on a very small scale, resemble the Kangaroos in their general contour and the relative proportion of their limbs, the anterior being even smaller in proportion than in that animal. When seen for the first time at full speed, they appear to be supported in their rapid bounds by only two long legs; hence the generic title Dipus, (dig πove,) two-footed. So great is the speed of these animals when alarmed or pursued, as to render it difficult to take them.* In making each successive leap they raise the body upon the hind toes, keeping their balance by the assistance of the tail, the arms being at the time pressed so close to the chest as to be scarcely visible: having taken the leap, they descend on their fore feet, and again elevate themselves for another, but with such celerity as to deceive the eye; for it appears as if they constantly maintained the erect position. The fur of these animals is soft and sleek; the ears large and open; the eye full and round; the muzzle short; and the head, though more obtuse, not unlike in form that of a small rabbit. The dentition closely agrees with that of the rat; the tail is long, and tufted at the end. The usual posture in feeding is that of sitting up on the haunches, the fore-paws being used in the same way as a squirrel's. The only species we have had an opportunity of examining alive is that which is met with so abundantly in Egypt, Syria, and the north of Africa, frequenting sand-hills and ruins half buried in the sand, among which it digs its burrows and retreats; it is the JERBOA, or Jerbo of Buffon, Dipus sagitta. (See Engraving, No. 32.) In size the Jerboa is equal to a large rat; its colour is a pale tawny yellow, lighter beneath, the tuft of the tail being black. It is supposed to be the animal mentioned in Isaiah lxvi. 17, under the name of "mouse," and also in Leviticus among the forbidden animals. At all events it must have been well known to the Israelites as one of the common animals of their country. The Jerboa lives in troops; their burrows, though not proceeding to any great depth, are several yards in length, containing a chamber well stored with grass, and in which they make their nest. They are very timid, and when observed playing about their dwellings may be driven in by the least noise. If their retreat be intercepted, they trust to their speed, which is so great as to often baffle a greyhound in the chase. The flesh of these animals, though unsavoury, is eaten by the Egyptians and Arabs, who contrive to take them by stopping all the openings of their burrows except one, which is netted, as in taking rabbits in England. The individual which has fallen under our notice is very shy and distrustful, and apparently not very intelligent. During the day it remains asleep, becoming lively and feeding at dusk, but retiring to rest with the dawn. Like the hare and rabbit, its favourite hours, when in a state of liberty, are, in all probability, from the twilight of evening till sunrise, when it steals abroad to feed on the dewy herbage and sport among ruins, whose walls at that hour once reflected the glare of torches, and echoed to the voice of an idolatrous multitude, but are now silvered by the moonbeams in silence and solitude. The next genus we shall select, as illustrating the Rodent order, is that of Castor, of which we are acquainted with but one species, the farfamed BEAVER, (Castor fiber.) (See Engraving, No. 33.) Whether we regard the structure or the habits of this interesting animal, we shall find much to excite our admiration; but when we consider both these points as they mutually influence each other, when we see how organization is adapted to an appointed mode of life, we shall be constrained to adore the great Creator, whose laws are those of order, wisdom, and goodness. The Beaver is, if we may so express ourselves, the beau ideal of rodent animals. The incisor or cutting teeth are remarkably large and strong; the molars, which are four on each side above and below, have a flat crown, composed of complicated and tortuous folds of hard enamel ; the toes are five on each foot, those behind being webbed, the nail of the second toe being double. [RODENTIA. The tail is large, oval, flattened above and below, and covered with a tough skin, having scale-like marks on its surface: it is solely an instrument of progression, fitted for acquatic habits, being in fact used as a sort of paddle, in order to enable the animal, encumbered with a heavy mass of timber, (which it has to manage in the water,) to stem a rapid current; it is indeed an additional power in the water under all circumstances, enabling the animal by its powerful strokes, which are not lateral, but up and down, to dive or rise with instantaneous celerity. But the assertion that it is used as a trowel to plaster the mud which lines the habitation of the animal, is altogether destitute of truth. In walking on the land the Beaver treads on the entire sole of the hind feet, but on the toes only of the fore; its tail is raised a little from the ground, and the gait is awkward and waddling; indeed its form is better adapted for progress in the water, its limbs being very short and thick, and of great muscular strength. The eye is small, and rather adapted for twilight than for the glare of day. The external openings of the ears and of the nostrils are capable of being closed, a provision adapted to the diving habits of the animal, and its continuance under the water. Independently of the fur, which is highly valued, and an article of extensive commerce, the Beaver is also noted for the production of the substance called castor, used in medicine,* and secreted or prepared by a peculiar glandular apparatus; but the chief celebrity which attaches to this animal arises from its habits, and the skill, perseverance, and labour it displays in the construction of its dwelling. The instinct of the Beaver, however far in this respect it may exceed that of other animals, begins and ends here. Setting aside the circumstance of its labours with its fellows, on the cooperative system, and the astonishing results, it is not remarkable for a high degree of general intelligence; indeed that kind of intelligence which distinguishes the dog, the elephant, and many other quadrupeds, is at a low ebb among the Rodentia, many of which might be chosen as emblems of stupidity. The Beaver abounds in the higher latitudes of North America; and (if it be indeed the same species) is found also in various parts of Europe and the north of Asia, as, for example, along the course of the Rhone, the Danube, and Weser; a settlement has existed for above a century on the river Nuthe, in the district of Magdeburg; and a similar colony on the river Goldbach, in the lordship of Weltingan, in Bohemia. It would appear also that at one period this animal existed in Great Britain: but when it became extinct cannot now be traced. Along the Severn several local spots bear titles implying them to have been frequented by the Beaver; one of these, a flat island called Bevereye, gives the name to an adjoining hamlet. Giraldus Cambrensis informs us, that the river Tievi, in Cardiganshire, was one of those frequented by this animal. The Welsh called the Beaver the "broadtailed animal," and their laws in the tenth century fixed the value of its skin at one hundred and Not the substance called castor oil, which is the production of a plant. |