1936] MAMMALS OF OREGON 199 



seems more probable, low down in the cavity, and not, as in the case of the only 

 other nest of this species that has been discovered, on, or in, the broken-off 

 top of the snag. The snag stood on a hillside, and the surrounding country was 

 very rugged and clothed with first growth Douglas fir and hemlock of large* 

 size. In the immediate vicinity of the place where the mice were taken the tim- 

 ber, which was exclusively hemlock, had recently been cut and still lay upon the 

 ground. 



The first of the two specimens here recorded was a male, and the measure- 

 ments are : total length, 177 mm. ; tail vertebrae, 71 ; hind foot, 22.5. The other, 

 a female, measured: 174; 71; 22. This, I am informed by Mr. A. B. Howell, 

 is the first time that a fully adult pair of either species of tree mouse has 

 been found in one nest. (1928, p. 254.) 



At later dates, March 4 and June 1, 1929, live dusky tree mice 

 were captured not far from Tillamook and kept by Alex Walker 

 for some time in captivity and much information on their habits 

 obtained. He found them in nests usually 40 to 50 feet from the 

 ground in Sitka spruces, but one only 15 feet up in a hemlock tree. 

 None was over a foot in diameter, all were placed on the branches 

 close to the tree trunks and made of branch tips and food refuse. 



Walker says further: 



It is probable that the habits of this species do not differ greatly from those 

 of Phena corny r s lonffioau&a. My captive specimen proved very gentle and was 

 often given the liberty of a large hemlock bough where it seemed perfectly 

 happy and at home, running back and forth and out to the tips of the smallest 

 branches, occasionally stopping to cut off a twig and eat it on the spot. Though 

 sure-footed it was extremely cautious and never attempted to leap from one 

 branch to another in the manner of other mammalian dwellers of the tree tops. 

 Often it would dangle by one hind foot from a tiny twig at the end of the 

 branch, only to recover itself if another branch could not be reached with its 

 fore feet. 



Experiments in feeding convince me that it is utterly futile to attempt 

 the trapping of these mice by the use of bait. Rolled oats, meat and other 

 such materials used for bait were completely ignored by my specimen, as 

 were plants and parts of the foliage of deciduous shrubs and trees commonly 

 found in the woods. A few clover leaves were eaten on one occasion, but an 

 acquired fondness for apples constituted the only real departure from a straight 

 diet of conifer leaves. Hemlock was preferred at all times and neither spruce 

 nor fir would be touched when hemlock was available, though they were eaten 

 at other times. In season, the tender new growth at the ends of the branches 

 of the evergreens mentioned seemed to be particularly appreciated and was 

 taken in preference to the older leaves. As previously noted, hemlock twigs 

 were found on the nest examined in the hemlock tree and only spruce twigs on 

 the nests in spruce trees. It seems probable tliat the young are fed entirely 

 on the twigs of the tree in which they live and when fully grown still have a 

 decided preference for the same kind of food. My captive animal was provided 

 with a dish of water, which it rarely touched, and then only in an awkward 

 sort of way as though it had not yet learned to drink. A small wad of moss 

 saturated with water was readily accepted, however, and this led to the use of a 

 water soaked sponge in the cage until the animal learned to eat apples, which 

 seemed to supply all the water necessary. (1930, p. 233.) 



PHENACOMTS ALBIPES MEBEIAM 

 WHITE-FOOTED PHENAOOMYS 



Phenacomys alUpes Merriam, Biol. Soc. Wash. Proc. 14 : 125, 1901. 



Type. Collected in the redwoods near Arcata, Humboldt County, Calif., by 

 Walter K. Fisher, May 24, 1899. 



General characters. Slightly smaller than lonfficaudus; tail almost as long 

 relatively but sparsely haired and sharply bicolor; nails not much curved, of 

 the digging rather than climbing type ; fur rather short and smooth ; skull 

 long, narrow, and smooth; upper parts and top of tail snuff brown, darkened 



