The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1901-03-01
THE COMMON MOUSE.
HE IS A DECIDEDLY INTERESTING
LITTLE ANIMAL.

III IG ANIMAL
Agile and Graceful In His Move
ments, Intelligent and Rather Dain-
ty, Too, and Not at All Vicious In
His Disposition.
The common little house mouse Is prob
ably the best known wild animal In
America. 1t Is almost impossible to
avoid learning something of the appear
ance and habits of this little fellow, for
he acts as a private tutor on the subject
in almost every household.
AS few Of us are fond enough of him,
however, to pay strict attention when he
presents himself as an object lesson, q
brief description Of his external appear
ance may not be out Of place. In a GER
tain quaint dictionary l once possessed
the definition of mouse" was given as
"a small rat" and 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 a rat than a
mouse. The total length Of the latter
animal is about 6ss inches, of which the
tail takes up nearly one-half. His head
Is longish and his 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 tapering, scaly and with
q slight covering Of short hair. In color
he is dusky gray above and ashy be-
meath. His eyes and most of his whisk-
ers are black, and his front teeth are
yellowish.
Altogether he is very dainty little fell
low, and If persons would only stop to
study him little instead of throwing
things at him or calling in the cat every
time he puts in an appearance. they would
soon find him a very intelligent and at
tractive companion. He is very agile
and graceful in his movements and not at
all vicious in disposition. For some time
past / have had a number Of mice in
captivity, and / find them very amusing
pets. They will eat anything and are so
tame that they will take food from my
hand or drink from little vessel held in
the fingers. They are most active at
night. but often play about in the day
time. They are very bright and imme-
diately give their attention to any un-
usual sight or sound. To do this they
usually pause. with their head slightly
on one side and with a most inQuiring
look in the eyes. After eating they wash
themselves very rapidly with their front
paws.
Where there is an abundance Of food
mice eat great deal, but they seem able
to live on very little, and when once well
established in a house they manage to
get along somehow, even if the provisions
are carefully locked up for months at
time. When hungry, however, they are
10 <hat,. eff QUITE 20 raf
food and will gnaw their way into boxes
and cupboards, scale walls and even
cross ceilings when the latter are rough
enough to afford hold for their sharp,
hooked claws. They have been known to
descend rope and eat up the contents Of
a basket hanging from the ceiling.
They make their nests Of scraps Of pa
per, wool, rags or any soft material,
which they usually chop up very small
with their teeth. These homes are usu-
ally made in hole in the wall or beneath
the floor or in an old box. drawer or other
convenient place. Often when clearing
out an old desk or trunk one comes upon
such a nest. made of fine particles Of old
letters, penwipers and such like things.
There are several litters of young every
year and generally from four to ten In a
litter. When the young ones are born,
they are very small, pink little creatures,
naked and blind. The mother is devoted
to them and tends them with great care
and evident affection. When they are a
few weeks old, they begin to come out Of
their hole to play about and see what the
world is made of. They may easily be
distinguished from the older ones by
their smaller size and younger looks.
While the normal color is gray, very
rarely black specimen Is seen, and the
white mice with red eyes which are often
kept as pets are albinos Of this species.
Others are spotted black and white and
at times have been sold at quite good
prices as fancy" mice.
OF the many enemies Of the little ro-
dents perhaps the house cat stands at the
head of the list. Many people judge a
cat chiefly by her qualities as a mouse
hunter, and. all things considered, it is
perhaps just as well that she does take q
hand in the game occasionally.
Next to the cat perhaps the owls and
hawks account for the greatest number,
and foxes, coons, weasels, skunks and
crows all look upon mice as a delicacy.
But the troubles of the rodents do not
end here. Scores of ingenious traps have
been invented for their destruction, and
they are also poisoned in great numbers
every year.
When it becomes necessary to destroy
mice, perhaps the most humane way to
do 1t Is with the spring trap, which kills
them instantly by blow. Poisoning Is
very cruel, and this method Is also a
menace to human life, not only because
1t is always dangerous to have poison
where there Is a possibility of children
getting hold of 1t, but because the mice
are apt to die in the walls. floors and 9th
er inaccessible places
Drowning is also cruel, though once
knew two dear elderly ladies who were
so kind hearted that they used to drown
their mice In warm water, because"
they said. cit Is so cruel to drown the
poor things in cold water, in the middle
Of winter too."-Hartford Times.