74 Jackson Notes on the Mammals of Southwestern Missouri. 



correct, as the country east of White Oak Creek is very rough and partly 

 wooded. May 25, 1905, a large Lepus t. melanotis was seen from a train 

 in an old pasture about two miles north of Sheldon, Missouri. 



This rabbit is confined almost entirely to the prairies ; a favorite resort 

 for the species is a wheat stubble field where it will sit motionless for hours 

 unless disturbed. It is seldom found in tall grass, but selects a field with a 

 low growth and with an occasional bunch of taller grass, behind which it 

 rests, sheltered from the wind. 



The flesh of Lepus t. melanotis is relished by the negroes, but white 

 people of the locality seldom eat it ; they fear that jack rabbits are infested 

 with disease germs. This fear or superstition originated in the fact that 

 this species frequently has abscesses or boils just beneath the skin, par 

 ticularly in the vicinity of the sacrum. Possibly this is the source of the 

 epidemic which occasionally breaks out in the genus Lepus. 



The specimen above mentioned, a female, measured: Total length, 584 

 mm., tail vertebrae, 07mm., hind foot, 131 mm.; ear from crown, 134 

 mm. 



Vulpes fulvus (Desmarest). 



RED FOX. 



Red foxes are occasionally captured in the region and frequently seen. 

 The writer saw one on the morning of November 7, 1905, chased by dogs 

 through the business district of Carthage. 



Procyon lotor (Linnaeus). 



RACCOON. 



Raccoons are very common in the heavy timber along the creeks and 

 rivers. They are especially abundant in the bottom-lands along the White 

 River. 



Blarina brevicauda (Ray). 



SHORT-TAILED BLARINA. 



One specimen of Blarina brevicauda was taken at Carthage. This one, 

 a female, had eaten a large Reithrodontomys which had been caught in a 

 trap ; the trap was reset and the blarina captured while I was watching. 

 The specimen averages a trifle smaller than typical brevicauda. Meas 

 urements: Total length, 106mm.; tail vertebrae, 21.5 mm.; hind foot, 

 14.5 mm. 



Blarina parva (Say). 



SMALL BLARINA. 



A pair of Blarina parva was trapped in an old orchard near Carthage. 

 They are typical in every respect. Measurements: Male, total length, 76 

 mm. ; tail vertebrae, 16 mm. ; hind foot, 11.5 mm. ; Female, total length, 

 74 mm. ; tail vertebrae, 18.5 mm. ; hind foot, 11.3 mm. 



Scalopus aquaticus machrinus (Rafinesque). 



PRAIRIE MOLE. 



This species is comparatively common over the whole of Jasper County, 

 where its ridges may be seen in almost any field, garden or orchard. Two 

 males were taken which are nearly typical Scalopus a. machrinus; how 

 ever these have a coppery green shade over the back, a tendency towards 

 Scalopus aereus Bangs. The two specimens average: Total length, 168 

 mm. ; tail vertebrae, 30 mm. ; hind foot, 23 mm. 



