No. IV.
My next visit to my old hunting-ground, the lane and brook, happened on
a day in the first hay-harvest, when the verdant sward of the meadows
was rapidly sinking before the keen-edged scythes swung by vigorous
mowers. This unexpected circumstance afforded me considerable pleasure,
for it promised me a freer scope to my wanderings, and might also enable
me to ascertain various particulars concerning which my curiosity had
long been awakened. Nor was this promise unattended by fruition of my
wishes. The reader may recollect that, in my first walk, a neat burrow
in the grass, above ground, was observed, without my knowing its author.
The advance of the mowers explained this satisfactorily, for in cutting
the long grass, they exposed several nests of field-mice, which, by
means of these grass-covered alleys, passed to the stream in search of
food or drink, unseen by their enemies, the hawks and owls. The numbers
of these little creatures were truly surprising: their fecundity is so
great, and their food so abundant, that, were they not preyed upon by
many other animals, and destroyed in great numbers by man, they would
become exceedingly troublesome. There are various species of them, all
bearing a very considerable resemblance to each other, and having, to an
incidental observer, much of the appearance of the domestic mouse.
Slight attention, however, is requisite to perceive very striking
differences, and the discrimination of these will prove a source of
considerable gratification to the inquirer. The nests are very nicely
made, and look much like a bird's nest, being lined with soft materials,
and usually placed in some snug little hollow, or at the root of a
strong tuft of grass. Upon the grass roots and seeds these nibblers
principally feed; and, where very abundant, the effects of their hunger
may be seen in the brown and withered aspect of the grass they have
injured at the root. But, under ordinary circumstances, the hawks, owls,
domestic cat, weasels, crows, etc. keep them in such limits, as prevent
them from doing essential damage.
I had just observed another and a smaller grassy covered way, where the
mowers had passed along, when my attention was called towards a wagon at
a short distance, which was receiving its load. Shouts and laughter,
accompanied by a general running and scrambling of the people, indicated
that some rare sport was going forward. When I approached, I found that
the object of chase was a jumping mouse, whose actions it was truly
delightful to witness. When not closely pressed by its pursuers, it ran
with some rapidity, in the usual manner, as if seeking concealment. But
in a moment it would vault into the air, and skim along for ten or
twelve feet, looking more like a bird than a little quadruped. After
continuing this for some time, and nearly exhausting its pursuers with
running and falling over each other, the frightened creature was
accidentally struck down by one of the workmen, during one of its
beautiful leaps, and killed. As the hunters saw nothing worthy of
attention in the dead body of the animal, they very willingly resigned
it to me; and with great satisfaction I retreated to a willow shade, to
read what nature had written in its form for my instruction. The general
appearance was mouse-like; but the length and slenderness of the body,
the shortness of its fore-limbs, and the disproportionate length of its
hind-limbs, together with the peculiarity of its tail, all indicated its
adaptation to the peculiar kind of action I had just witnessed. A sight
of this little creature vaulting or bounding through the air, strongly
reminded me of what I had read of the great kangaroo of New Holland; and
I could not help regarding our little jumper as in some respects a sort
of miniature resemblance of that curious animal. It was not evident,
however, that the jumping mouse derived the aid from its tail, which so
powerfully assists the kangaroo. Though long, and sufficiently stout in
proportion, it had none of the robust muscularity which, in the New
Holland animal, impels the lower part of the body immediately upward. In
this mouse, the leap is principally, if not entirely, effected by a
sudden and violent extension of the long hind-limbs, the muscles of
which are strong, and admirably suited to their object. We have heard
that these little animals feed on the roots, etc. of the green herbage,
and that they are every season to be found in the meadows. It may
perhaps puzzle some to imagine how they subsist through the severities
of winter, when vegetation is at rest, and the earth generally frozen.
Here we find another occasion to admire the all-perfect designs of the
awful Author of nature, who has endowed a great number of animals with
the faculty of retiring into the earth, and passing whole months in a
state of repose so complete, as to allow all the functions of the body
to be suspended, until the returning warmth of the spring calls them
forth to renewed activity and enjoyment. The jumping mouse, when the
chill weather begins to draw nigh, digs down about six or eight inches
into the soil, and there forms a little globular cell, as much larger
than his own body as will allow a sufficient covering of fine grass to
be introduced. This being obtained, he contrives to coil up his body and
limbs in the centre of the soft dry grass, so as to form a complete
ball; and so compact is this, that, when taken out with the torpid
animal, it may be rolled across a floor without injury. In this snug
cell, which is soon filled up and closed externally, the jumping mouse
securely abides through all the frosts and storms of winter, needing
neither food nor fuel, being utterly quiescent, and apparently dead,
though susceptible at any time of reanimation, by being very gradually
stimulated by light and heat.
The little burrow under examination, when called to observe the jumping
mouse, proved to be made by the merry musicians of the meadows, the
field-crickets, _acheta campestris_. These lively black crickets are
very numerous, and contribute very largely to that general song which is
so delightful to the ear of the true lover of nature, as it rises on the
air from myriads of happy creatures rejoicing amid the bounties
conferred on them by Providence. It is not _a voice_ that the crickets
utter, but a regular vibration of musical chords, produced by nibbing
the nervures of the elytra against a sort of network intended to produce
the vibrations. The reader will find an excellent description of the
apparatus in Kirby and Spence's book, but he may enjoy a much more
satisfactory comprehension of the whole, by visiting the field-cricket
in his summer residence, see him tuning his viol, and awakening the
echoes with his music. By such an examination as may be there obtained,
he may derive more knowledge than by frequent perusal of the most
eloquent writings, and perhaps observe circumstances which the learned
authors are utterly ignorant of.
Among the great variety of burrows formed in the grass, or under the
surface of the soil, by various animals and insects, there is one that I
have often anxiously and, as yet, fruitlessly explored. This burrow is
formed by the smallest quadruped animal known to man, the minute
_shrew_, which, when full grown, rarely exceeds the weight of
_thirty-six grains_. I had seen specimens of this very interesting
creature in the museum, and had been taught, by a more experienced
friend, to distinguish its burrow, which I have often perseveringly
traced, with the hope of finding the living animal, but in vain. On one
occasion, I patiently pursued a burrow nearly round a large barn,
opening it all the way. I followed it under the barn floor, which was
sufficiently high to allow me to crawl beneath. There I traced it about
to a tiresome extent, and was at length rewarded by discovering where it
terminated, under a foundation-stone, perfectly safe from my attempts.
Most probably a whole family of them were then present, and I had my
labour for my pains. As these little creatures are nocturnal, and are
rarely seen, from the nature of the places they frequent, the most
probable mode of taking them alive would be, by placing a small
mouse-trap in their way, baited with a little tainted or slightly
spoiled meat. If a common mouse-trap be used, it is necessary to work it
over with additional wire, as this shrew could pass between the bars
even of a close mouse-trap. They are sometimes killed by cats, and thus
obtained, as the cat never eats them, perhaps on account of their rank
smell, owing to a peculiar glandular apparatus on each side, that pours
out a powerfully odorous greasy substance. The species of the shrew
genus are not all so exceedingly diminutive, as some of them are even
larger than a common mouse. They have their teeth coloured at the tips
in a remarkable manner; it is generally of a pitchy brown, or dark
chestnut hue, and, like the colouring of the teeth in the beaver and
other animals, is owing to the enamel being thus formed, and not to any
mere accident of diet. The shrews are most common about stables and
cow-houses; and there, should I ever take the field again, my traps
shall be set, as my desire to have one of these little quadrupeds is
still as great as ever.