Meadow Mouse 



Range. Southern Canada to North Carolina westward to the 

 edge of the Plains. Replaced to the northward by four 

 closely related varieties, and one to the southward, while 

 there is also an island race. (See below.) 



With us the meadow mouse occupies much the same posi- 

 tion that the field mouse does in England; in fact it is oftener 

 called field mouse than meadow mouse by the farmers, who, it 

 seems to me, are not so very wide of the mark in so classifying it. 



It is perfectly true that it prefers meadows to dry fields, but 

 so too does the field mouse of the old country according to 



Tops of upper and lower molar teeth of Meadow Mouse, to show 

 " triangles," enlarged. (After Miller.) 



many writers, and the greater dryness of our summers might 

 well account for any difference that exists in that direction. 



Except in the severest drouths, in New England at least, 

 even the driest and most sandy fields are populated by meadow 

 mice at all times of the year, and in times of abundant rain- 

 fall they are, I am confident, as numerous in fields as in meadows. 



In summer they regularly resort to the grain lands like genuine 

 field mice, and beyond a doubt if grain were stacked in ricks here 

 as it is in England these would harbour as many mice and 

 suffer an equal amount of damage. 



In the fields of Indian corn they do harm enough, making 

 their round nests of stripped up husks in the heart of a shock 

 and fattening themselves at the expense of the farmer until they 

 are routed out at harvesting. 



Perhaps the most striking difference is that our species has 

 not yet contracted the habit of spending the winter in barns; 

 even this characteristic does not hold good farther North, as in 

 Canada it is said to be a regular custom with it to do so. 



Although many of them have their homes in dry upland 

 fields and pastures, as a rule meadow mice show a decided fond- 

 ness for water and wet places. Those living on the banks of 

 streams become almost aquatic, and when^ pursued are as likely 



