Page:VCH Hertfordshire 1.djvu/260

 A HISTORY OF HERTFORDSHIRE RODENTIA 1 6. Squirrel. Sciurus leucourus, Linn. Bell Sciurus vu/garis. This is a fairly plentiful resident in most parts of the county. 17. Dormouse. Muscardinus avellanarius, Linn. Bell Myoxus avellanariut. This small animal is certainly plentiful in many parts of the county, being often caught in the autumn and kept as a pet. In the Zoologist for 1885, p. 204, it is stated, on the authority of the Rev. H. A. Macpherson, that it was found commonly in Hertfordshire. 1 8. Brown Rat. Mus decumanus, Pallas. This is another very common resident, which often does a vast amount of damage. In January, 1892, a specimen of the dark variety, which is sometimes known as Mus hibernicus, was obtained at Wheathampstead and was preserved by Cane of Luton. 19. House Mouse. Mus musculus. Linn. The common mouse is ubiquitous. 20. Wood Mouse or Long-tailed Field Mouse. Mus sylvaticus, Linn. This animal is found commonly throughout the county. 21. Harvest Mouse. Mus minutus, Pallas. In a paper by Mr. Harting on the harvest mouse, which appeared in the Zoologist for 1895, p. 421, Hertfordshire is mentioned on the authority of the late Frederick Bond as being a county in which this species has oc- curred. It is recorded in the Fauna and Flora of Haileybury (1888) as having been found in that neighbourhood. I also have found it in the county ; in 1900 I came across the nest and young and saw the parent in the neighbourhood of Berkhamsted. 22. Water Vole. Microtus ampbibius, Linn. Bell Arvicola amphibius. The water-rat, as it is usually called, is generally distributed throughout Hertfordshire wherever the conditions are suitable. 23. Field Vole. Microtus agrestis, Linn. Bell Arvicola agrestis. This is an extremely common species throughout Hertfordshire. 24. Bank Vole. Evotomys glareolus, Schreber. Bell Arvicola glareolus. In the Zoologist for 1887, p. 365, Mr. Harting stated, on the authority of Yarrell, that this species had occurred in the county, while on p. 425 of the same journal the late Frederick Bond included Hertfordshire in the list of counties in which he had taken the bank vole. In March, 1893, Mr. T. Vaughan Roberts had some of these animals sent to him from near Berkhamsted, where they had been found in a nest in a heap of mangolds. He had a cage made for them, and some of them eventually bred in confine- ment, but after there had been two broods he thought it time to get rid of them. He was accustomed to feed them on corn, bread, apples, carrots, gooseberries, etc., and he gave them plenty of water. In the Trans. Herts Nat. Hist. Sac. for 1893, p. 173, and the Zoologist for 1892, p. 329, may be found very interesting accounts by Mr. Roberts of his experience with these creatures. 25. Common Hare. Lepus europteus, Pallas. Bell Lepus timirlus. This animal is found in most parts of the county, though its numbers vary considerably in different districts and in different years. In some places it is very common, while in others only one or two can be found in a day. It is most interesting to observe how the colour of this species varies according to the soil of the district in which it is found. 26. Rabbit. Lepus cuniculus, Linn. This species is very abundant in nearly every part of the county, though no doubt more plentiful in some places than others. Dr. Brett in the Trans. Watford Nat. Hist. Sac. for 1878, p. 112, gave some interesting notes on some coloured varieties of this species. He mentioned that a Mr. King of Wiggenhall had a wild grey rabbit which about twenty years before had produced three black young ones. These he had preserved, and, at the time that Dr. Brett wrote, Mr. King had a large colony of black rabbits, in fact in 1878 they outnumbered the grey animals. He also stated that pied varieties never occurred, and that, although the black and the grey inter- bred, the offspring were always all black or all grey. 220