March, 1919] 



The Ottawa Naturalist 



169 



Feb. 22, 1918 Prehistoric Reptiles, Mr. Wilton. 



March 2 Wild Fruits of Alberta, Mrs. George. 



May 31 Geological History, Mr. L. J. Williams. 



The Society's report is publishecl annually in the 

 Report of the Provincial Department of Agri- 

 culture. 



A NOVEL MODE OF MOVING A FAMILY. A unique 

 plan for carrying their families from one place to 

 another is adopted by certain mammals. The 

 method, which is simple but effective, consists in 

 each young one taking such a firm hold of a teat 

 that it is not loosened even after the mother has 

 moved a considerable distance. 



The female White-footed Mouse, Perom])seus 

 leucopus Raf. is known to carry her family quite 

 frequently in this manner. The following quota- 

 tion from A Hermit's Wild Friends by Mason A. 

 Walton, refers to this mouse: "If the young mice 

 are small in some mysterious way the mother mouse 

 induces each youngster to cling to a teat, when the 

 whole family is removed in this novel manner to a 

 safe retreat beneath the cabin. It is a comical 

 sight to see the old mouse crawling along a log with 

 eight or ten raw, shapeless things clinging to her 

 like grim death." 



Several years ago I saw a meadow-mouse, 

 Microius pennsylvanicus, succeed in saving her 

 young by this method. She had been driven from 

 her burrow under a stump by a dog, but managed 

 to escape, trailing her whole litter into another 

 burrow. The young mice in this instance were 

 much more mature than those referred to by the 

 "Her.nit". 



The muskrat. Fiber zibeihicus Linn, has also de- 

 veloped this plan of making a quick withdrawal 

 with her family. I have noted this only on one 

 occasion, but at that time the mother swam several 

 yards under water from one burrow entrance to 

 another and towed her youngsters, which could 

 plainly be seen chnging to her. She must also have 

 brought them in the same manner along the burrow 

 from the nest above high-water mark. 



A. CosENs, Toronto. 



Habitat of carex franklinii, Boott. Carex 

 Franf(linii was collected by the writer at four sta- 

 tions along the Athabaska river in 1917 and 1918 

 at extreme distances of 20 miles apart and in each 

 case the habitat was the same. Here and there 

 along the Athabaska river there are low boggy areas 

 bordering the river itself. These bogs are caused 

 by seepage from the true bank of the river or by 

 springs and are characteristic of all mountain 

 streams. There is generally a considerable trace of 

 'alkali" in the soil as is indicated by the occurrence 



of Ranunculus, Cyrnbalaria, Triglochin, Puccinellia, 

 Dodecatheon, etc. Between these bogs, which are 

 often only a few yards in width, and the river there 

 is always a narrow strip of higher ground formed 

 of alluvium which although submerged at high 

 water is generally a few feet above the river bed. 

 It was always on this narrow strip that Carex 

 Franfflinii was found and of the hundred or more 

 specimens collected all but two or three were on the 

 river edge of this bank associated with the usual 

 plants of such localities. 



During parts of two seasons spent at Jasper Park 

 a constant lookout was kept for this species which 

 had not been collected since Drummond's time, but 

 it was seen nowhere else but in the localities in- 

 dicated. As the old "Athabaska Trail" in many 

 places follows the narrow strip referred to above 

 and this was the trail followed by Drummond, it is 

 reasonable to suppose that his specimens were col- 

 lected not far from the localities at which Carex 

 Franl(linii was found in 1917 and 1918. This 

 species is represented in the herbarium of the Geo- 

 logical Survey of Canada by the following speci- 

 mens from Jasper Park, No. 97,622, along Atha- 

 baska river at discharge of Beauvert lake, Alta., 

 3,300 ft., July 24th, 1917; No. 94,208, same local- 

 ity, collected by Dr. M. O. Malte, July 31st, 1917; 

 No. 97,621, same locality, July 23rd, 1918; No. 

 97,623, about three-fourths of a mile above the 

 bridge across Athabaska river, 2 specimens only; 

 No. 97,624, along Athabaska river near Buffalo 

 Prairie, Aug. 3rd, 1918; No. 97,625, north side 

 of Athabaska river across from discharge of Beau- 

 vert lake, July 1st, 1918. 



J. M. Macoun. 



A FISH shower. Although there are many re- 

 cords of showers of fishes, frogs and toads, such 

 accounts are commonly regarded as apocryphal, 

 based on mistaken observation or faulty reasoning. 



An account of a fish shower in a Toronto paper 

 of February, 1917, seemed to afford an opportunity 

 for investigating one of these surprising phenomena. 

 The fish fell in Durham county, Hope township, 

 concession 9, lot 16. On writing to the owner of 

 the farm I was furnished with the following details: 

 On the last Friday of February, 1917, the fish 

 came down in a shower of rain, that was followed 

 by a soft snow. A mild south wind was blowing 

 at the time. The fish were found, a few yards 

 apart, scattered over a distance of twenty rods. 

 Twenty-five of them were picked up from the sur- 

 face of the snow, which was soft and deep in that 

 locality. 



A specimen of the fish sent to me is two and 

 three-quarter inches in length. After comparing it 



