The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1901-02-01
THE COMMON MOUSE.
HE is A DECIDEDLY INTERESTING
LITTLE ANIMAL.

Agile md cr,co,,, H. M u
uan,s ,,.o,,,..
~" ~
""' "'" N"' AT All vicious In
MS disposition.
Tho commo, I;ttlo house, ,,,.,,,... -,
obr,. +,o haat ,',''9' - '''"'
-" '' Nio"h via animal IN
-Al''e A' 1t Is almost impossible to
I "Nolu lcarnlhE something of the appear
anee and habits of this little fellow, for
he acts as a private tutor on the subject
IL 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. n
/ brief description of his external appear.
ance may not he out of place. In cor
! tain quaint dictionary | once possessed
the definition of mouse" was given rs
"a small rat ana this is not such a very
4 bad one, after all. except for the fact
that the reader is apt to he less familiar
| with the appearance Of rat than a
mouse. The total length of the latter
animal is about 63S inches of which the
tail takes up nearly onc-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 tapcring. scaly and with
slight covering of short hair. In color
/ he is duSky gray above and ashy he
/ meath. His eyes and most of his whi~k-
ers are black, and his front teeth are
/ yellowlsh.
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 lind him very intelligent and at
/ tractive companion He is very agile
ana graceful IN ms movements and not at
/ all Vicious IN disposition For some time
/ past | nave had number Of mice IN
4 captivity, and | find them very amusing
/ pets. They will eat anything and are 50
tame that they will take food from my
hand or drink from little vessel held in
the fingers. They are most active Mt
night, but often play about in the day
time. they are very bright and lmme-
| dlately 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 most inquirinS
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 house they manage TO
get along somehow. even if the provisions
are carefully locked up for months at Il
time. W hen hungry, however, they are
very perSevernS IN their efforts to get
food and will gnaw their way into boxes
ana cupboards, scale walls ana 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.
Ihcy make their nests of scraps of pa
per wool, rags or any soft material.
winch they usually chop up very small
with their teeth. These homes are usu-
ally made In hole in the wall or beneath
the fioor 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 tine particles of OLD
letters penWiperS and such like things.
Ihere are several lltterS of young every
year and generally from four to ten in a
/ litter. When the young ones are born,
4 they are very small. pink little creatures,
naked and blind. The mother is devoted
to them and tends them with great care
ana evident affection. When they are Il
few weeks old, they begin to come out of
their hole 10 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.
nile 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 albnoS 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