74 Jackson — Notes on the Mammals of Southwestern Missouri. 



correct, as tlie country cast of Wliite Oak Creek is very rough au<I partly 

 wooded. May 25, 1905, a lur ^e Lepris t. mf^anoi/s was seen from a train 

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



This ra1)l)it is conlincd almost entirely to the prairies; a favorite resort 

 for the specii'S is a wheat stuhhle ticld wlicre it will sit motionless for hours 

 unless disturbed. It is.«eldom found in tall irniss, but.selects a field with a 

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

 rests, sheltered from the wind. 



The tU'sh of TjijuiH t. Du'laiiofls is relished by the negroes, l)ut white 

 pcoj)lc of ilif locality scltlom cat it; they fear that jack rabbits are infested 

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

 this species frequently has absces.ses or l)oils just beneath the skin, par- 

 ticularly in the vicinity of the sacrum. l*ossiI)ly this is the source of the 

 epidemic whicli occasionallj' breaks out in tlie genus Lcjuis. 



Tlic siiecimen above mentioned, a female, measured: Total length, 584 



mm., tail vertebrae, ()7nnn., hind foot, I'M mm.; ear from crown, 134 



mm. 



Vulpes fulvus (Desmarest). 



Ki:i) FOX. 



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

 The writer saw one on the morning of November 7, 1905, cliased 1)y dogs 

 through till' Inisiness district of Carthage. 



Procyon lotor (Linnaeus). 



R,\(1'00X. 



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



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



River. 



Blarina brevicauda (Say). 



SIIOKT-TAILKl) liLARIN.\. 



One siH'cimcn of Blarina brevicauda was taken at Carthage. This one, 

 a female, had I'aten a large i?e/</(ro(7oHio??(//.s- whicli had been caught in a 

 traji; the trajj was reset and the blarina cai)tured while I was watching. 

 Tlie s]iecimen averages a trifle smaller than ty])ical hrericavda. Meas- 

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



14.5 mm. 



Blarina parva (Say). 



SMALL ]1LA1;IXA. 



A pair of Blarina parra was trajiped in an old orchard near Carthage. 

 They an- typical in every respect. 3Ieasurements: Male, total length, 7(3 

 mm. ; tail vertebrae, 1(5 nun. ; hind foot, 11.5 nmi. ; Female, total length, 

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



Scalopus aquaticus machrinus ( Uatinesque). 



I'UAIlilK MOLK. 

 This sj^ecies is comparatively common over the whole of Jasjier County, 

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

 males were taken which aw nearly typical Scahqjus a. machrinus; how- 

 evi'r these have a copi>ery green shade over the back, a tendency towards 

 Scalopus acreuts Bangs. Tiie two siiecimens average: Total length, 108 

 mm. ; tail vertebrae, 80 mm. ; hind foot, 2:] mm. 



