I04 MAMMALS OF PENNSYLVANIA AND NEW JERSEY. 



mole undoubtedly being lord of misrule,, the bloodthirsty shrew his licensed 

 retainer, while the mice quarrel over the crumbs. They in turn fall a prey to 

 the arch spoiler Blarhia, and are by nature's processes reconverted into 

 grass or worms or shrews and the endless cycle is again complete. Well may 

 we exclaim, 'AH flesh is grass !' and wonder, while man goes on interfering 

 with the nicely adjusted economies of nature, what difference it makes 

 whether shrews eat vegetables or devour the vegetarian. In either event the 

 grass must suffer !" 



On April 19th, 1901, my man plowed over the nest of this species set at a 

 depth of eight inches under the soil in an open field, and captured the par- 

 ents with 5 young all In the same burrow. Three of the young were twice as 

 large as the other two, the smaller being about an inch long. The nest was 

 globular, of dried grass and weeds. I have taken nursing and gravid females 

 of this species, as with other of the native mice irrespective of season. They 

 probably have 4 to 6 broods yearly, averaging 20 to 30 young per annum. 



Mr. Miller (Key to Land Mam. E. N. Amer., 1900, p. 104) says this species 

 "generally occurs in colonies." This remark does not apply to any I have 

 seen. It is more applicable to the meadow mice. He also restricts its 

 northern range to the lower part of the transition zone, but it will be seen in 

 my list that it goes farther, venturing into a mountainous, rocky country quite 

 the anthithesis of that in which it mostly abounds. 



Description of species. — To the characters already given for this animal, it 

 should be added that the fur is dense, soft and more mole-like than in the 

 meadow vole. The ears are small and concealed from view. The tail is very 

 short, less than \ the length of head and body. The northern subspecies, 

 scalopsoides, is less rusty than typical pinetormn of Georgia, having a grayer 

 or more plumbeous cast. 



Specimens examined. — Pa. : Chester Co., Thorndale, i ; Westtown, i. 

 Clinton Co., above R. Island (1800 ft.?), 4. Delaware Co., Marple, i ; Tin- 

 icum, 2. Greene Co., Waynesboro, 2. Monroe Co., Pocono, i,near Cresco, 

 I. Pike Co., Porter's Lake, i. Philadelphia Co., Germantown, 3. Baird 

 records specimens from Carlisle, Cumberland Co. N. J. : Camden Co., Had- 

 donfield, 8; Audubon, 7; Collingswood, i. Cape May Co., Tuckahoe, 17. 

 Cumberland Co., Bridgeton, 15; Port Norris, 2. Gloucester Co., Bridge- 

 port, I. Ocean Co., Tuckerton, 2. Warren Co., Delaware Gap, 2. 



Genus Fiber Cuvier, Lecons d' Anatomic Comparee, 1800, vol. i, tabl. i. 

 Southeastern Muskrat. Fiber zibethicus (Linnaeus). 



1766. \^Castor'\ zibethicus Linnaeus, Systema Naturae, vol. i, p. 79. 

 181 7. \Fiber'\ zibeticus Cuvier, Regne animal, vol. i, p. 192. 



