The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-12-21
YOUNG MEADOW MICE.

If we go out into the snow covered ! fields particularly the corn fields in
 which shocks are still ungarnered, we , shall see, where the snow is not too deep, little ridges rising above the sur i face and extending in every direction. They are of the same general charac- ter as those made by moles In the flow
 erbeds in summer. but very much smaller, being perhaps rather wider
 than a mans finger These are the
 roofs Of tunnels made by the meadow
 mice, and are used for purposes of trav-
 el chiefly at night, when the little TO-
 dents go forth to steal the corn or to
 ilibble the grass roots.
 These are the gentlest of all our mice
 and for that reason alone are the most
 pleasing to study in captivity. A short
 time ago, eight young meadow mice
 were born in one of my observation
 cages and I have had chance to
 watch their development from birth to
 maturity The day they were born they
 were funny-looking pink creatures, just
 two inches long, including their tails.
 The latter are always short. even in the
 full-grown animals, and had an absurd ly abbreviated appearance in these tiny,
 newly-born rodents. The skin of their
 bodies was quite hairless, with the ex-
 ception of the whiskers, and so trans
 parent that many of the organs were
 plainly visible beneath it. The exter- nal ears were folded over towards the nose, like the flaps on envelopes, and adhered to the head as though they had been fastened with glue. They were, of course, quite blind and toothless, and their toes on each foot were poined to- gether for their entire length. They could move little with the help of their forelegs, but their hind legs were prac- tically useless.
 Next day their movements were much stronger, and on the following day a fine, fuzzy hair began to appear on the back. When they were four days old their ears began to unfold, and the next morning their lower incisor teeth could be seen under the transparent gums. The little fellows slept a large part of the time, and while asleep were often affected with q nervous twitching of the limbs, such as we sometimes see in sleeping children. The eyes were still closed, but apparently they were al ready sensitive to strong light, for when placed in the sun the little mice immediately began to rub their lids with their paws, asthough trying to brush something away. They increased one-third of an inch in total length during the first five days. and at the end of week they were strong enough to run about little. By this time they were covered with beautiful short fur, as glossy as satin.
 When they were eight days old they cut their first teeth, and about the same time their toes began to separate. If I picked them up and laid them in the palm of my hand, they would all curl up together and go fast to sleep, | so fast asleep that Ii l picked one oI them up by the tail he would not awake | until he was swinging in the air. Their mother was very attentive to them, | but did not seem so anxious as other | mouse mothers I have seen. She did | not remain with them all the time, | either. Down under the earth with which the cage was partially filled, she had made burrow, and at the far end | of it she had little nest of her own | private apartment to which she often retired when she did not want to be bothered with the children. When the latter gained their sight, however, she ,ould not so easily slip away from them whenever they were hungry, hunt her