Spot! 
PENNSYLVANIA MEADOW-MOUSE. 
Microtus pennsylvantcus (Ord). 
Mus pennsylvanica Ord, Guthrie’s Geogr., 2d Am. ed., II., 1815, p. 292. 
Arvicola riparius Kennicott, Trans. Ill. State Agr. Soc., II., (1856-57), p. 677. 
This species was called the long-haired meadow-mouse by Kenni- 
cott. It has not yet been found in Champaign county. There are 
several specimens in the collections of this Laboratory that were 
taken near Normal, in McLean county, and I took two specimens 
in a tamarack swamp in McHenry county. 
Like the prairie meadow-mouse, this species rarely leaves the 
shelter of dense low-growing vegetation. It is found in wet mead- 
Ows, in waste corners of cultivated fields, 
‘and in woodlands and wooded swamps. Its 
nests are said not to be in burrows but under 
stumps, logs, etc. In winter it is sometimes 
found on the surface of the ground, with no 
cover but the deep snow. In such situations Rieti Mole ce eleae. 
imemicar ol the animal forms a large dome iol es vemamesdom 
beneath the snow, and from this many run- 
ways extend in all directions. When the snow thaws, these nests 
are deserted. The underground burrows of this mouse are shallow 
and simple, often not extending beyond the log or other cover 
under which they are dug. 
The species is said to breed from March to November inclusive. 
There are probably three litters of five to eight in a year. 
The economic relations of this species are similar to those of the 
prairie meadow-mouse, but the species is so rare, in this part of 
the state at least, that it has practically no economic importance. 
PRAIRIE MEADOW-MOUSE; PRAIRIE-VOLE. 
Microtus austerus (Le Conte). 
Arvicola austerus Le Conte, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil., VI., 1853, pp. 405-406. 
The range of this species, according to Bailey*, is the central 
part of the Mississippi Valley, from southern Wisconsin to southern 
Missouri and Fort Reno, Oklahoma, and west into eastern Nebraska 
and Kansas. 
* “Revision of American Voles of the Genus Microtus,’’ N. Am. Fauna, No. 17, 
fob dele 
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