SfAMSIALS 6f P&IH^'t^AtHA AWJ NEW JER8fiY. ^$ 



eoflflrie their fyfaigiag to iiegl^GtSd feflce toW§, AhAttdotied fldds, VS-eed 

 pAtdheg, bwsfi piles, futjbish, and iittef, caused by that dog iO Arti^tidiU 

 dVilizittoil, the shiftless fattrtiei'. In these §ituatiofis the meadow ffidflSe 

 destroys flothiilg, bdt iltili^es a great deal which otherwise Wduld cutMbet the 

 groilHd. 



" 7. The arable lattd of ei'ei'y well-kept aad ctfltivated fam 6t mmify, 

 whether ill pasttife, grass, gtaiii, orchard, truck, or young trees, is ptacticaBy 

 deserted by this mouse. In short, it can oiily exist where a food supply is 

 fbUttd ifl c<Wi|ttttcticrti with proper shelter, a Sheltet ill alfilOst every ihstdbce 

 synonyttiotis With neglect and waste on the part of the fartiier and of Utility 

 on the pAtt of the mouSe. 



" 8. The Meadow mouse rarely eats grain except when the rigofs of e^teep- 

 tiolial Winters depfive it of green food. It then ciofiflttes its appetite to what 

 is found on or in the ground, and which has been exposed by the farmet's 

 improvidence. It very rarely disturbs seeds, fruits, tubers, roots, or vegetables 

 during the growing season, and does little damage in winter to those buried 

 in the ground, most of the ravages in these cases being the work of the short* 

 tailed meadow mouse {^Mtcroius flmidtitm) and the white-footed mouse 

 {Pef'dm.yscus leUcopUs). 



" 9. On Upland soils the meadow mouse is a surface feeder, forming its run-" 

 ways almost entirely above ground in the sheltef of surrounding vegetation 

 and d^btis. The butrowing dt this spedes is confined ehiefly to easily 

 Worked, ttioist lowlands, where it condaces largely to better drainage and an 

 increase of Vegetable growth. 



" To summarize the case briefly, it may be truly said that as a converter of 

 waste vegetable matter into flesh^food for bird and beast the common meadow 

 mouse has no rival in the regions it inhabits. Besides the numerous Species 

 of hawks and owls depending almost entirely On this mouse, other carnivorous 

 birds, as the crow, jay, shrike and heron, devour a great many. It fbrms a 

 large part of the menu of several of our mammals, as the wild cat, house cat* 

 fox, marten, weasel, mink, racCoOn, Sktittk, and opossum. The larger species 

 of snakes, the bullftog, and some of the turtles, also devour them* Strike the 

 meadow m^ouse from the food list of the tens of thousands of anitnais which 

 devour him in the eastern United States, and the problems of the economic 

 Zoologist would multiply an hundred fold. 



" The Worst chargfes proved against him are : (a) the undermining and 

 tunneling of artificial water barriers; (^) the destruction of a small amount 

 of grain and vegetables not seasonably harvested or housed; (e) the con- 

 aMnption of a very small percentage of grasses which would have been util- 

 ised by the farmer; (d) the gnawing of the bark of fruit trees in severe 

 winter Weather** The insignificance of these items compared with the value 



* Dr. A. K. Fishei*, iil a recent answer fd my iflcJuWes rtgardtog the poSsiblfi 6conottid 



