Part 7

When Scotland suffered severely from a "plague" of Field Voles in 1892, the Board of Agriculture appointed a Committee of Enquiry, and the examination of witnesses--farmers, keepers, shepherds--clearly established the fact that the chief natural enemy of the Field Vole is the Weasel, and that the gravest mistake had been made in destroying and in exporting large numbers to our Dominions in order that they might there reduce the "plague" of Rabbits. It was even suggested that we should make good this error by importing Weasels from the Continent and turning them loose. Other evidence showed that the Weasel is frequently blamed by game-preservers for what is undoubtedly the work of the Stoat, the Weasel preferring the lower-lying farmsteads, where Mice and Voles are abundant, to the elevated ranges frequented by Grouse and Rabbits. Apart from its preference for the smaller Rodents, the Weasel appears to differ from the Stoat in being of a less hardy constitution, and in winter at least requires the shelter afforded by granaries and rickyards, where it co-operates with the Owls in an unceasing warfare on the Rats and Mice. Its extra-British distribution agrees with that of the Stoat.

Albino-Weasels, with pure white fur and pink eyes, have been recorded several times, but they appear to be very rare.

*Polecat* (_Mustela putorius_, Linn.).

In contradistinction to the Sweet-mart already described, our forefathers called the Polecat or Fitchew the Foumart or Foul Marten, because the secretion from the glands under the tail is intolerably acrid and mephitic; on this account the fur is considered useless, the odour attaching to it permanently. Like the Marten, the Polecat, thanks mainly to the unremitting vigilance of the gamekeeper, has become very rare in this country. In this case there can be no doubt that the keeper is fully justified, for there is no more destructive beast among our native carnivora. It is still common throughout Europe, as far north as central Scandinavia.

Though in general appearance similar to the Marten, the Polecat is smaller, has shorter legs and a shorter tail, and differs in colour. The entire length is about two feet, but of this the bushy tail accounts for about seven inches. Its long coarse fur is dark brown on the upper parts of the body, and black on the under surface. The head, also, is blackish, relieved with white marks about the muzzle and between the ears and eyes. The weight of a full-grown Polecat is about six pounds.

Its usual habitat is a wood or copse, not too far from a plunderable farm; but it has no fixed type of dwelling, taking advantage of any hole, be it a fox-earth, a rabbit-burrow, or a natural rock crevice; often indeed a woodstack in the farmyard may be utilised. On the approach of winter it looks out for some deserted building where it can find shelter. Unlike the Marten, it is not much of a climber, and does not exhibit the sprightly agility of that species. It is a nocturnal hunter, and is an adept at finding entrance to a hen-house, where it has been known to kill off every one of the inmates in a night, though it could only make off with a solitary hen. Although it may consume the brains of its victims on the spot, the bodies are always carried to its lair for more leisured consumption. Its food includes eggs of all kinds, rabbits, rats, mice, birds, fish, frogs, lizards, and snakes, including the viper, whose poison is considered to be innocuous in the blood of the Polecat. When it gets into the poultry yard, the superior size of some of its victims does not alarm it; a goose will serve its turn as well as a chicken. Bell tells of sixteen turkeys that were killed in one night by a single Foumart; though, of course, it could not drag away one of the carcasses. Its usual method of carrying smaller prey is to grip them by the middle of the back, much as a retriever carries game. In addition to the remains of hares, rabbits, numerous birds, and several eels, C. St. John found in the larder of a she-polecat the bodies of three kittens which he knew to have been drowned at least a quarter of a mile away.

The Polecat pairs about February, and from three to eight (mostly five or six) young to a litter are born in April or May. The nest is made of dry grass. There is probably a second litter a few months later.

The dentition of the Polecat, the Weasel, and the Stoat, is the same as that of the Marten, except that there are only three premolar teeth on each side of the jaws. In setting traps for Polecats the bait is found to be rendered far more seductive by scenting it with musk.

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The tame Ferret, so largely bred for use in catching Rabbits and destroying Rats, is an albino, probably of the Asiatic Polecat (_M. eversmanni_), with yellowish-white fur and red eyes. Its employment in hunting ground-game dates back certainly as far as to the Romans, as evidenced by references in Pliny's Natural History. When all the exits but one from a Rabbit "bury" have been netted, the Ferret, properly muzzled, is turned into the one left open, and quickly drives out all the occupants into the nets. In similar fashion Rats are driven out of their holes to have their backs promptly broken by terriers in waiting. Dark coloured Ferrets are known as Polecat Ferrets, and appear to be hybrids between the Ferret and the ordinary Polecat.

*Wild Cat* (_Felis silvestris_, Schreber).

When in England or Ireland we talk with keepers or other woodland folk, and they happen to mention Wild Cats, let it be understood always that _their_ wild cat is a domestic pussy that has tired of the soft indoor life and become feral. Such cats are a terror to the gamekeeper on account of their destruction of young pheasants, hares and rabbits, and the tails of many of them ornament his gibbets.

To have even a slight chance of seeing the real British Wild Cat to-day, we must seek it in North Wales, or preferably the north or north-west of Scotland, its present restricted area in that country having as its eastern boundary the Caledonian Canal. It inhabits the most lonely and inaccessible mountain sides, hiding during the day in some rocky fastness, prowling far and wide at night in search of prey. It is of a general yellowish-grey colour, but individuals differ in their dark brown markings, some having vertical stripes running down the sides from a black longitudinal line down the middle of the back; in others these are broken up to form spots. It has a squarish thick head and body, the latter longer than in the Domestic Cat; but the thick bushy tail is relatively shorter, ringed and ending in a long black brush. The limbs, too, are longer than those of the tame cat, so that it stands higher. A pair of dark stripes extend from the eyes and over the head to behind the ears. The fur is long, soft and thick. The pads of the toes are not quite black. The average length is about two feet nine inches, of which the tail accounts for eleven inches; but there is a record of a Scottish example measuring three feet nine inches in all.

Pennant (1776) says: "This animal may be called the British tiger; it is the fiercest, and most destructive beast we have; making dreadful havoke among our poultry, lambs and kids." C. St. John, nearer to our own time (1845), says its strength and ferocity when hard pressed are perfectly astonishing. Fully acquainted as he was with the wild life of the more remote parts of Scotland, he adds: "I have heard their wild and unearthly cry echo far in the quiet night as they answer and call to each other. I do not know a more harsh and unpleasant cry than that of the Wild Cat, or one more likely to be the origin of superstitious fears in the mind of an ignorant Highlander." He describes how one day whilst fishing in Sutherland, and having to climb over rocks to get from one pool to another, he had a close personal encounter with one.

"In doing so, I sank through some rotten heather and moss up to my knees, almost upon a Wild Cat, who was concealed under it. I was quite as much startled as the animal herself could be, when I saw the wild-looking beast so unexpectedly rush out from between my feet, with every hair of her body standing on end, making her look twice as large as she really was." Pursued by his three Skye terriers "she took refuge in a corner of the rocks, where, perched in a kind of recess out of reach of her enemies, she stood with her hair bristled out, and spitting and growling like a common cat. Having no weapon with me, I laid down my rod, cut a good-sized stick, and proceeded to dislodge her. As soon as I was within six or seven feet of the place, she sprang straight at my face over the dogs' heads. Had I not struck her in mid-air as she leaped at me, I should probably have got some severe wound. As it was she fell with her back half broken amongst the dogs, who, with my assistance, despatched her. I never saw an animal fight so desperately, or one which was so difficult to kill. If a tame cat has nine lives, a Wild Cat must have a dozen."

The female makes a nest in some remote rock-cleft or hollow tree, where in early summer she usually brings forth four or five kittens, which at an early age spit angrily at any intruder.

The distribution of the Wild Cat includes Europe and Northern Asia to the North Himalaya. Though formerly a beast of chase in England, it appears never to have been a native of Ireland. Old English names for it were Catamount and Cat-a-mountain.

Dental formula: _i 3/3, c 1/1, p 3/2, m 1/1 = 30_.

GNAWING ANIMALS: RABBIT, HARES, DORMOUSE, VOLES, MICE, RATS, AND SQUIRRELS

*Squirrel* (_Sciurus vulgaris_, Linn.).

With the beautiful Squirrel, the most popular of all our native fauna, we make the acquaintance of another order of animals, the Rodentia or gnawing mammals, which is the most numerously represented of the orders in our meagre list, Britain still possessing fifteen species of rodents. Besides the Squirrel, the order Rodentia includes the Dormouse, the Rats, Mice, and Voles, the Hares and Rabbit; and the characteristic feature that brings them together is the chisel-like pattern of their incisor teeth. (See Introduction.) They may be said to be the dominant race of mammals in the present day, for whilst over a thousand species are known to science, and these mostly of very wide geographical range, there are vast and increasing numbers of individuals representing many of the species. Whilst man is busy killing off the carnivora and the birds of prey, these natural checks to the multiplication of the Rodents are being missed seriously, and Rats, Hamsters, and Voles prove a serious menace to man's agricultural produce, and the Rat to his health owing to its instrumentality as a carrier of disease.

A distinctive character of the Rodents, additional to the chisel-teeth and the absence of canines, is the possession of hairy linings to the mouth, the external skin being continued into the sides of the mouth behind the upper front teeth. In the Hares and Rabbits the whole of the inside of the cheeks is covered with hair.

Very few of the Rodents are aquatic in their habits, and of these few the Water Vole is the only British representative. Most of them are burrowing animals, and excavate long runs and nesting places in the earth; a few, like the Squirrels and Dormice, are arboreal. As a whole the Rodents may be said to be vegetarians; but the Rats are omnivorous, and the Water Vole though mainly herbivorous takes a little animal food.

The Squirrel is one of the most picturesque of our small mammals, especially when seen sitting on his haunches on a tree branch, his plumy tail curled up his back, his tufted ears erect, and his forepaws holding a nut; or when making his prodigious leap from bough to bough. He is not nearly so big a creature as he looks under these conditions, for if we could pass the tape over him from the end of his snout to the tip of his tail proper (that is, not including the hairs that extend beyond the tip), we should find he only measures about fifteen and a half inches, and of this length seven inches, or nearly half, is provided by the tail. Examine his feet, and you will see that they are adapted eminently for climbing. The forefeet have four fingers and a rudimentary thumb, and the hind feet have five toes; the claws long, curved and sharp-pointed, and the soles hairy. The muzzle is well furnished with "whiskers," the prominent eyes are black and bright, and the large, pointed ears bear tufts of long hairs in winter. The hind limbs are much longer than the forelimbs, and the heel of the long foot touches the surface upon which it rests. The upper parts and tail are brownish red and the under parts white. Before winter, when the fur becomes softer and thicker, a grey tinge is developed on the sides, and the ear-tufts become longer and bushy; these are shed in the breeding season (early summer). At times it may be found with the tail of a creamy tint.

One of the Squirrel's strong claims to popular favour is his diurnal habits, which makes him better known by all who wander in the woods; in one sense it is a pity it is so, for in the neighbourhood of large towns the "sporting instinct" of 'Arry has led him to kill or mutilate the Squirrel with sticks and stones. Not many years ago the numerous Squirrels that added to the attractions of Richmond Park were shot by the keepers to prevent 'Arry killing them! Ordinary intelligences thought it would have been better to have disciplined 'Arry.

The Squirrel builds nests in the branches of the trees it affects, not merely as nurseries, but for resting places. There may be several of these in adjacent trees or in the one to which the builder is specially attached. Some of these may be crows' or magpies' nests adapted for the new tenants, or may be wholly the Squirrel's work. They are bulky structures composed of twigs, strips of thin bark, moss, and leaves; sometimes cup-shaped, others domed. These are usually known as "dreys"; but in parts of Surrey they are "jugs," squaggy-jugs to give them their full name. The breeding nest is a huge ball (unless there is a roomy hollow in the trunk that can be upholstered) with a side entrance. Here in summer the three or four blind and naked young are born, and they remain with their parents until themselves adult.

The food of the Squirrel is fairly varied. In pine woods the cones provide the staple dish, and the ground beneath a Squirrel's tree will be found littered with chips and cores of the cone from which the seeds have been extracted. This _débris_ should be looked for as an unfailing sign that there are Squirrels in the wood. In beech woods they rely largely on beech-mast, the sharp-edged triangular seeds contained in the prickly nuts. They usually have a hazel-copse not far distant whence they derive their favourite food in the autumn, storing up considerable quantities in holes for use during the winter. Several times when filling our own pockets with hazel-nuts we have met with angry protests from a Squirrel who considered the place his own preserve. Standing on a stout limb just overhead he would stamp his forefeet and utter a little bark. Similar objection has been made at times when we were filling our basket with the nutty Blusher Toadstool (_Amanita rubescens_), of which some of the caps in a clump showed the marks of the Squirrel's incisors. He is also fond of cherries, wild or cultivated, and the shoots of Pines which contain the burrowing larvæ of the Pine Tortrix moth. It is also accused of being so far carnivorous as to consume bird's eggs and nestlings.

The Squirrel does not hibernate, as it is said by the older writers to do. In the winter it certainly indulges in long naps; but on a fine day it wakes up and visits its stores of food. It rarely descends to the ground, except for the purpose of crossing a wide woodland road, or to seek water at a stream. In connection with water, it may be said that the Squirrel is an expert swimmer. Dental formula: _i 1/1, c 0/0, p 0/0, m 5/4 = 22_.

The Squirrel is generally distributed in Great Britain and Ireland, where there is sufficient woodland, and in similar situations in Europe and Asia.

*Grey Squirrel* (_Sciurus cinereus_, Linn.).

In some places in the London district a light grey Squirrel may be seen, and thought to be a colour variation of our native species. It is really an American visitor, distinct in colour and without tufts to the ears. Some years ago the caged specimens in the Zoological Gardens, Regent's Park, had become so numerous that some of them were given their liberty. Their numbers increased among the trees of the Gardens, and they overflowed into the Park, where they became so familiar as to accept food from the hands of the delighted children. Gradually, some of them developed exploring tendencies and made their way to the wooded grounds of suburban residences. British naturalists of a not-distant future will probably have to include two species of Squirrels in their lists.

* * * * *

The pretty Chipmunk (_Tamias striatus_, Linn.), or Chipping Squirrel, one of the Ground Squirrels, is another American species that has become acclimatised in the London area. It lacks the long tufted ears of our Squirrel, the tail is shorter, and there are pouches inside the cheeks. Its general appearance is strikingly different from the Squirrel, for though its ground colour is red-brown, the eye is set in a white band divided into two stripes by a black line. A black stripe runs down the middle of the back, and in addition there is a white stripe bordered by black above and below along each side.

It feeds on nuts, beech-mast, grain, roots, and insects; migrating from place to place as local food-supplies become scanty. It stores up food for the winter like the Squirrel, carrying it to its caches by means of the cheek-pouches. Though capable of climbing, and occasionally seen ascending lofty trees, it is much more at home on the ground. It burrows a retreat in the ground, if no suitable stump is available for excavation. When startled it utters a cry of "chip-per-r-r."

*Dormouse* (_Muscardinus avellanarius_, Linn.).

The non-scientific observer of our native mammals satisfied himself long ago that the pretty Dormouse was a miniature kind of Squirrel, and he was helped to this conclusion by the general resemblance in colouring, the form of the head, the prominent black eyes, large ears, and thickly furred long tail; as well as by its arboreal habitat and its habit of sitting up on its haunches and holding a nut or other food in its forepaws. But the classifying naturalist has to look below the surface to discover a sound basis for his work. Superficial resemblances are often due to similarity of habit and habitat; and in this case the internal structure of the Dormouse shows that it has closer affinity with the Mice than with the Squirrels, though really distinct from both.

The total length of the Dormouse is about five and a half inches, but nearly half of this is contributed by the tail. The forelimbs, which are much shorter than the hind limbs, are furnished with four separate fingers and a rudimentary thumb; whilst the hind feet have five toes, though the first of these is short and clawless. All the claws are short; and on each foot there are six large pads. The fur of the upper parts is light tawny coloured, and of the underside yellowish-white, but the throat and adjoining part of the chest is a purer white.

In the copse and thick hedgerow where the Dormouse is mostly to be found, he must be sought after the brightness of day has departed; for he is a nocturnal beast and spends the hours of sunshine in heavy slumber. So deep is his somnolence, and so low his temperature, that one not accustomed to his ways might easily imagine him to be actually dead. It is not a case of "sleeping with one eye open" with the Dormouse; he needs, as it were, to be shaken to arouse him. One autumn many years ago we frequently found the empty shells of cob-nuts in our greenhouse, and were somewhat puzzled to account for their presence. A thick row of cob-bushes in our neighbour's garden ran along the back of the greenhouse, but we never suspected that they were haunted by Dormice. One day in selecting a flower-pot from a number of empty ones that lay "nested" one within another a hoard of splendid nuts was found occupying the available space in several of them. Then a common box mouse-trap was set, and next morning it contained a plump Dormouse, curled up on its back with all the appearance of death, and it was lifted out by the tail without immediately awaking. Four or five were caught in this manner on successive nights.

For diurnal privacy and comfort the Dormouse constructs a globular nest of twigs, moss and grass, about three inches in diameter (sometimes with a circular opening), which may be among the stubs in the coppice, beneath a tussock of grass, or even suspended high up in the bushes. The nursery nest is twice this size. In some districts the nest will be constructed of the bark of old honeysuckle stems, which shreds off in ribbons. The inner lining is of the same material more finely divided, with a bed of leaves. Several litters of three or four, or even six or seven, blind and naked young are born in spring or summer; but there are also records of young being found in September or October. Having regard, however, to the hibernating habit of the species it is probable that these perish, for autumn-born young would scarcely be in fit condition to go without food for a long period. In their first coat the young are more grey than red, but gradually assume the adult tint. There are no scent glands.

The adults have usually retired by the middle of October, by which date they have prepared for a long sleep by accumulating much fat beneath their coats, and make further provision by laying up a store of nuts. The reason for the latter is that the Dormouse's sleep is not continuous. It wakes up at intervals, has a good meal, and resumes its sleep. Its activities are not resumed until the spring, so that its retirement lasts nearly for half the year. Its winter nest is usually under moss among roots, or far underground. Its sleep is profound, without breathing, and it becomes absolutely cold.

The food of the Dormouse is much the same as the Squirrel's, but it is particularly fond of the hazel-nut, a good fat producer, and the "haws" of the whitethorn. It does not crack the shell of the nut, but gnaws quite a small hole, extracting the kernel piecemeal. In addition it eats many insects, and sometimes indulges in birds' eggs or even the birds themselves, if they can be captured.