RATS AND MICE FAMILY 



231 



The Rice Rats are quite closely related to the 

 Cotton Rats and to the White-Footed Mice; but 

 from the latter they are easily distinguished by 

 their more robust form and coarsely haired tail 

 as well as larger hind feet ; while the Cotton 

 Rats have coarser fur. At first glance one 

 might also have considerable difficulty in distin- 

 guishing them from the young Norway Rats ; 

 but a closer examination will show that the Rice 

 Rat has a longer tail, is browner in color, and 

 has glossy brown hairs inside its ears, as well as 

 a fringe of white hairs on the lower part of each 

 ear. 



The Rice Rats are far more numerous south of 

 the Rio Grande than above it. They have long 

 tails very scantily haired, and to a great extent 

 are inhabitants of the Tropics. In the United 

 States, they must be looked for on the eastern 



and southeastern coasts, but in Mexico they may 

 be found at altitudes of 10,000 feet or more 

 above sea level. 



The typical Rice Rat of North America is 

 found mainly in the coastal marshes of southern 

 New Jersey to the Gulf States, and is most 

 abundant in the banks of rice fields. Some vari- 

 eties, however, live on sandhills. On Mata- 

 gorda Island, Texas, Oberholser found them 

 " tolerably common in the tufts of coarse grass 

 bordering bayous, making conspicuous runways 

 where the grass is thickly matted ;" and on a 

 small reef off the north end of Padre Island 

 " they were found in patches of marsh ' cran- 

 berry.' Two of their round, cup-shaped nests, 

 composed of fine rootlets, were found under old 

 boards." These species are good swimmers and 

 take to water readily. 



HOUSE MOUSE 

 Mus musculus Linnaeus 



General Description. — The common Mouse found 

 about dwellings. Nose pointed; ears fairly large; body 

 neither thick-set nor slender ; tail quite long, longer 

 than head and body ; legs fairly long ; color above 

 yellowish-brown ; hair fairly soft. 



Dental Formula. — Incisors, ^^ ; Canines, 5^ • Pre- 



' I— I ' 0—0 ' 



molars, ^; Molars, §^-3=16. 



Pelage. — Adults: Sexes identical. Seasonal varia- 

 tion slight. Above yellowish or grayish-brown ; below, 

 paler, generally ashy-brown, sometimes black hairs 

 along back mixed with yellowish-brown ; feet brown ; 



tail dusky, somewhat lighter below ; hairs of tail short 

 and scanty. Young : Slaty-gray all over. 



Measurements. — Total length, 6.3 inches ; tail verte- 

 brae, 3.2 inches ; hind foot, .7 inch ; ear from notch, 

 .6 inch. 



Range. — Practically throughout all North America 

 in districts inhabited by man. and to a certain extent 

 to be found away from settled localities. 



Food. — Soinewhat omnivorous, but showing prefer- 

 ence for grain and vegetable food. 



Remarks. — An introduced species, coming from 

 Europe. Only one species has gained a footing in 

 North America. 



The House Mouse, like the poor, we have 

 always with us. It is the most democratic as 

 well as the most familiar of all our mammals, 

 making its home with equal readiness in the 

 lowly East Side tenement and the palatial Fifth 

 Avenue mansion. No part of a house is sacred 

 to it ; no article of furniture, however costly, if 

 suitable in shape and favorably placed, is too 

 good to serve as its nest ; fio dish of flesh, fish, 

 or fowl, if left within its reach, is either too 

 coarse or too delicate for its palate. 



Not every Mouse found in the house, however, 

 is the common House Mouse. Field Mice often 

 gain entry to houses and establish themselves in 

 a very short space of time. The writer once 

 occupied a cottage on Staten Island that was 



covered with creepers, and the vines overran the 

 wire screens, which in the hall and pantry win- 

 dows were allowed to remain in position the 

 year through. Often in the dusk, and sometimes 

 in the daytime, we could see the little Field 

 Mice running across the screens. One day some 

 boys, playing baseball in the back yard, sent a 

 hard-batted ball against the pantry screen and 

 broke a hole in it. Not long afterward we found 

 that the pantry was overrun with Mice. The 

 parrot's cage was placed at dark each day in a 

 recess in the pantry, and some Field Mice were 

 seen helping themselves to the birdseed in the 

 cage. They had evidently gained access through 

 the hole in the screen. A circular trap with four 

 springs was attractively baited for the intruders, 



