Feb., 1910.] Ohio Species of Mice. 67 



this true of the dorsal area. Miller says that "their food appears 

 to consist, like that of the other outdoor mice, largely of grass 

 seeds, undoubtedly varied at times by the addition of berries 

 and mushrooms and probably insects." When one comes upon 

 them in the field they attempt to get out of the way by leaping 

 although are not always able to direct their jumps in such a way 

 as to make them beneficial for after making a dozen leaps a 

 specimen may be very close to the starting point. At other 

 times they bound away in the opposite direction from danger 

 and are able to hide themselves very quickly and very securely. 

 The winter is spent in a dormant condition beneath the ground. 

 Although some observers have reported seeing specimens during 

 mild weather of winter, others claim that often six months or 

 more of the year is spent in the hibernating condition, making 

 the observation that specimens plowed out in May in one case 

 were still in a dormant state. 



I have not seen am' statement to the effect that these animals 

 are injurious in any way, neither have I observed that the}^ have 

 any habits which would lead one to think that they have eco- 

 nomic vakie. I consider them worthy of the sympathy of 

 mankind, however, because of their unusual habits which are 

 so different from other mammals in the region which they 

 inhabit. They have numerous enemies among birds of prey and 

 they do not appear to be very well prepared to evade cats and 

 some other mammals that feed on the same kind of food. 



Microtis pennsylvanicus (Ord) . Meadow mouse. In his paper 

 on An Economic Study of Field Mice, Lantz places this species 

 at the head of the list. I am not sure of his reason for this or 

 whether he intends by so doing to convey to his readers that it 

 is of more importance from an economic standpoint than its 

 relatives of the same genus, but as it is the most common short 

 tailed mouse in Ohio we do not hesitate to accuse it of doing 

 more damage along certain lines than any other rodent that 

 shares with it the name which only has to be mentioned in order 

 to designate its bearer as an enemy. The species may be 

 known from other short tailed mice of the state by several 

 characters. In the first place the tail is near two inches in 

 length while in other short tailed mice the tail is less than an 

 inch in length. Full grown specimens are larger and the color 

 differs from others. Different specimens of the species vary in 

 color more or less however, so this alone is not to be depended 

 upon as a conclusive guide. 



When a field grows up to June grass in the after part of the 

 season and when winter comes this grass falls over and forms a 

 carpet for the ground an ideal condition for meadow mice is 

 produced. Here the mice form runways among the grass above 

 the surface and in the ground beneath the surface so that they 



