170 



Order RODENTIA 



There may be litters at other times of the year, also. This rat 

 in Tennessee feeds on acorns, honey locust beans, beechnuts, 

 mint, and probably many other items. 



Signs. — Tracks of the wood rat are similar to those of the 

 Norway rat. They may be found in fine dust on sheltered ledges 

 of rocky bluffs. The tracks converge near the nest and form 

 well-beaten pathways several inches wide. The prints of the 

 front feet are more handlike than those of the Norway rat and 

 have longer marks of the little toe. 



An odd assortment of debris on a ledge or in a narrow 

 crevice of a limestone cliff may indicate a wood rat house. 



Fig. 94. — Eastern wood rat. 



