Greg Heckenkamp, Age 14, Of St. Louis, Mo.., for his question:
Where did the house mouse originate?
Sometimes america deports a no good gangster to the country of his birth. It would be fine if we could deport the little house mouse, also. He did not originate in the new world, and he certainly has proved himself to be an undesirable citizen. But unfortunately we cannot deport him. His offspring have become too numerous.
The meadow mouse, the field mouse and the pretty white foot mouse are all native anericans. These and our other wild mice were enjoying life in the new world when columbus crossed the atlantic. But the house mouse was not here at that time. He did not arrive, we think, until much later. We have a good idea how he got here, but we are not sure of the date.
The mice and rats belong in the order rodentia, the chewing animals. There are almost 6500 rodent animals, and science subdivides their order into families, genera and species. The house mouse is in a different family from the native wild mice of the new world. He originated in central asia, and, he was most likely there when mankind made his first home in a cave and built his first shelter.
The furry little pest likes warmth and enjoys the kind of food that we eat. He stays around human beings where life is easy. He hides in granaries and sacks of meal, and when food stores are moved from place to place, he goes along. In this way, the house mouse has traveled with mankind around the world. Almost everywhere that man has settled, the house mouse has gone along. Only a few remote islands of the pacific have,not yet been invaded by the little pest.
The house mouse arriyed in the new world before the american revolution. He may haye come on the ships which brought the spanish explorers, or he may have arrived later with the early settlers. He may haye crossed the ocean with the pilgrims on the famous ship Mayflower. Most of the ships that reached the new world carried mice as stowaways, and it is more than likely that one or two house mice came ashore with each band of settlers. Even modern ships carry stowaway house mice, and a few manage to get ashore when the cargo is landed in faraway ports.
The scientific name for the house mouse is' mus musculus, which means the little mouse. His family name is muridae, and all his cousins are natives of the old world. The native wild mice of america belong in the rodent family cricetidae. The drab little house mouse has a long, scaly tail. The native wild mice of america have shorter tails, which are often furry. They are often marked with white, and all of them are more attractive than the destructive little house mouse.