4 McAtee Mammals, Reptiles and Batrachians of Indiana. 

 7. Mus mustulus Linn. 



HOUSE MOUSE. 



Abundant near and in the dwellings of man, and also thoroughly estab 

 lished in many orchards and fields. From one nest in a field thirteen 

 house mice were taken in the month of October. They were practically 

 hairless when captured and their eyes were not yet open, but they were 

 raised by feeding them milk with a pipette. They became perfectly tame 

 and fearless and this hastened the end of all, as they persisted in leaving 

 the cage and getting under someone's feet or a door. One killed on Feb 

 ruary 18, following, was apparently sexually mature. 



An adult taken April 8, 1903, had a well marked gray spot on the fore 

 head. 



8. Mus norvegicus Erxleben.. 



HOUSE RAT. 



Abundant. 



9. Peromyscus leucopus (Rafinesque). 



DEER MOUSE. 



Abundant. Commonly their homes are in the rock slides or under logs 

 and isolated stones and every wooded ravine is alive with them. They 

 also live along fence rows and even in the open meadows and fields, but 

 are rarer here than in the woods. Many of them occur in the caves, even 

 at a considerable distance from the mouth. 



These cave dwellers usually have a somewhat different appearance from 

 their above-ground brethren, being more pop-eyed and having apparently 

 larger ears and longer whiskers. This may be due to all mice in caves 

 partaking of these particular variations, while in terrestrial specimens, 

 some show them and others do not, the effect thus being lost. Certainly 

 I have measured surface deer mice that had vibrissae and ears of equal or 

 even greater length than specimens from caves. 



As deer mice are often said to be strictly nocturnal, some observations 

 tending to show that this conclusion is not strictly true may be of interest. 

 They are at least occasionally seen abroad by day. One afternoon in 

 October, I surprised one near a spring at some distance from its burrow, 

 which it hurriedly sought. I have also seen them running about barn 

 yards near woods in the early morning, and once found one feeding on a 

 hillside at high noon. Near Washington, D. C., I have several times seen 

 them scamper from one burrow to another in the day time, and Dr. A. K. 

 Fisher as well as the writer, has surprised them rummaging about shelves 

 of a cabin by day. In captivity at all events, they do not cease activity 

 on account of daylight. 



It has been said that this species is not at all carnivorous, but there is 

 some evidence to the contrary. Many specimens are gnawed in the traps 

 and this is probably not all due to Blarina, and certainly is not in the 

 caves where the shrew has not been taken. Furthermore, suet makes an 

 excellent bait, and I have fed caged deer mice with raw meat. Two, con- 



