CATALOGUE OF VERTEBRATES. 505 



NBOTOMA, Say. 

 N. floridana, S. Wood Rat. 



Tail scantily hairy ; feet white, soles hairy. Leugth, 14 inches ; 

 tail, 6 inches. Should not be confounded with the brown rat, 

 which has naked soles. This species ranges from the Gulf States 

 to Massachusetts, and probably occurs in New Jersey. 



HESPBROMYS, Wat. 



H. leucopus, Raf. White-footed Mouse. Deer Mouse. 



Yellowish brown ; tail bicolor, closely hairy, about as long as 

 head and body ; ears large. 



" Quite abundant, and a most interesting little animal. Fre- 

 quently confounded with the 'jumping mouse,' but is easily 

 distinguished by its lighter color and shorter tail. Found wholly 

 in woods, living, nesting and gathering its winter store from the 

 trees of the forest almost entirely. When grain-fields are 

 skirted by timber land, they make incursions and gather corn 

 and buckwheat, but do not travel any distance to secure grain if 

 chestnuts and acorns are attainable in the woods. Do not 

 hibernate. They build a nest not unlike a bird's nest, or use a 

 deserted bird's nest. Three litters annually." 



H. palustris, Har. Rice-field Mouse. 



Blackish and ashy above, paler below ; fur harsh and com- 

 pact. A large, rat-like species of the Southern States, possibly 

 likely to occur in Southern New Jersey. 



ARVICOLA, Lac. 



A. pennsylvanicus, Ord. [riparia.) Meadow Mouse. 



Fore claws not longer than hind claws. Tail ^ length of 

 head and body, or more. 



" The ' meadow mouse ' of New Jersey. This species is quite 

 abundant, and as its common name would suggest, lives almost 

 wholly in marshy, meadow lands. They burrow generally 

 beneath the roots of a small bush or tree, and occasionally in the 

 decayed stump of a tree. They are also found in hollow, 



