The sun., 1900-12-30
COMMONEST OF Wild ANIMALS.
II L. the Ordinary House Mouse. and There
Are Interesting Points About II.
From me Hartford Tim

from he HGr'OTd JfnC3.
The common little house mouse Is probably
the best known wild animal in America
II IL almost impossible to avoid learning
something OF the appearance and habits
OF this little fellow for he acts as a private
tutor on the subject in almost every house
hold
As few Of us are fond enough Of him. how
ever. to pay suict attention when he pre-
sents himself h an object lesson, a brief
description Of his external appearance may
not be out Of place. In IA certain quaint
dictionary ] once possessed the definition
of mouse was given as "a small raj, ANA
this is not such very bad one. after all.
except for the fact that the reader is apt to
be less familiar with the appearance Of Il
rat than of a mouse. The total length Of
the latter animal i, about six and thre -
eighths inches, of which the tail takes up
nearly one-hGlf His head i longish and hi,
nose sharp His ears are large and erect
with very little hair on either surface His
legs are slender, and his delicate little toes
are provided with sharp slightly hooked
nails. His tail Is round and tdpcrlug. scaly
and with slight covering of short hair.
In color. he is dusky gray above and a,hy
beneath, His ewes and most of his Whi>kcrS
are black, and his front teeth are ycllowlsh.
Altogether. he Is q very dainty littl" fellow
Il little, instead of throwing things at him,
or calling in the cat, every tim" he puts IN an
appearance, tney would soon llllt MN
very intelhgent and attractive companion.
He L. very agile and graceful in has moNc-
ments, and not at al vicious IN disposition;
For some time past ! hgv" had a number e
mice In captivity. and tnd them very anus
ing pets They viii eat anything, and are
SO tame that they will take food from my
hand or drink from n little vessel held in tne
iingers They are most active AZ night,
but often play about N the daytime. lhry
are very bright. and immediately give their
attention 20 any unusual sight or sound
To do this, they usually pause, with their
head slsh,y on one side. and WIN most
they wash themselves very rapidly with their
font paws
eat a great deal. but they seem abb" t. 1.-Two
on very little, and when once well established
In hou g they manage To- get along somehow,
for months at a time When hursry, how
ever, they are very rerS"vCriuE in their Efforts
I" gSt food: ana WI sm3w , tarr NAY n11
cross ceilings when the latter are r"uru
enough e. afford hold for their sharp. h"ok"d
claws. They have been known to descend
a rope and eat up the contents vi a basket
hanging from the ceiling.
They max" their nests of scraps Of paper,
wool, rags, or any soft material. which
they usually chop up very small with their
teeth. lhcs' homes nrr usually made In
hole in the wall. or beneath the floor. or IN an
often when clearing out an old desk or trunk
one comes np2n such nest made 81 I'm"
particles of ola letters, rcnwlpr- ana sN'h
like things
There are several lttcrs Of vouug every
year. and generally from four To zen in Il litter
When the young ones ar" born they are ",ry
small. pink little creatures naked and blind
The mother l. devoted 10 them, and tends
them with great care aud evident Affection
when they are a few weeks old th"v begin
"a come ont of their hole to play about aud 80"
what the world II made of. They may easily
be- distinguished from the oder ONES bv
their smaller size and younger looks.
While the normal "otur T. gray. Vo'v r7ro'v
n black specimen L. seen. ana the whi'r uIor
with red eyes. which are often kept ~ p.t-
black and white, and al times hny" been
sold M quite good prices ~ fancy MICE
Of the many enemies of the little rodents
perhaps the hou-" cat Stdnd~ az tn" head OF
the list Many pc"rl" ludg" a cat chiefly
by her qualities ~ mouse hunter, and, al
things considered, II j. perhaps just H. well
that she does take hand ia ia" gam" oC-
casionaly
Next to the cat. perhaps the owls and hawks
account for the greatest number. and foxes.
upon mice ~ deLcaCN But th" troubles
of the rodents do mot end her, Scores of
ingenious traI,~ have been invented TOR their
deStruCt on. aud they ar" also poisoned IA
great numbers every wear
When IL becomes necessary - destroy
mice. parhay- the most humane way To do
IL il with the sprinR trap. which hills them
instantly by blow Poisoning l. very cruel
and this method II also mcnHC" lo human
life not only hrC0uS, IL l. always dangcru4-
To- have poison where there l. possibility
OF children getting hold Of II. hut hscau~e
the mice are ART to die IN IN" wiiS, floors
and other inaccessible places
browning - also cruel, though 7 one"
kind d-hcarted that they used TO drown their
mice In warn water. "heCHuSe. tncv said.
1T il SO crurl TO drown the poor things in
cold water. In the middle ol winter, too"