. Brehm's Life of animals : a complete natural history for popular home instruction and for the use of schools. Mammals; Animal behavior. THE MICE. 331 extensive range, at least so far as concerns sonic of its species. The individuals of the family are commonly small, but what they lack in size they more than compensate in numbers. To outline a general description of the whole family it may be said that their distinguishing characteristics are: a pointed muzzle; large black eyes; wide, deeply con- cave ears with a scanty covering of hair; a long tail sometimes covered with hair or quite as oft
. Brehm's Life of animals : a complete natural history for popular home instruction and for the use of schools. Mammals; Animal behavior. THE MICE. 331 extensive range, at least so far as concerns sonic of its species. The individuals of the family are commonly small, but what they lack in size they more than compensate in numbers. To outline a general description of the whole family it may be said that their distinguishing characteristics are: a pointed muzzle; large black eyes; wide, deeply con- cave ears with a scanty covering of hair; a long tail sometimes covered with hair or quite as often bare and showing scales; slender legs, terminating in graceful, narrow, five-toed paws; and a short soft fur. Many Mice, however, in the exhibition of some characteristic, show an affinity to other families of the order: thus a bristly, outer fur may recall the Porcupine; genuine swimming feet, short ears and feet may remind us of the Beavers; a bushy tail of the Squirrels, etc. The structure of the teeth in these aberrant species corresponds more or less with the variations of the typical shape. with but scanty supply of grass and shrubs, furnish them subsistence. Some shun the proximity of human settlements, others intrude upon and follow Man wherever, he goes to make his home, even though it be across the ocean. They infest house and yard, barn and stable, garden and field, meadow and forest, carrying devastation everywhere with their destructive teeth. But a small portion of the family live singly or in couples, the majority being of gregarious habits, and some species occasionally increase to immense numbers. Nearly all are ex- ceedingly fecund, the number of young in a single litter ranging between six and twenty-one; the ma- jority have several litters a year, breeding even in winter. Principal Mice are an especial annoyance to Traits of the Man, their characteristics appearing Mice. t0 fit them in an unusual degree for the infliction of damage upon his possessions. Q
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectmammals, bookyear1895
