486 



THE AMERICAN NATURALIST [Vol. XLVTQ 



form which the animal had assumed. " It was taken from 

 a nest about two feet below the surface, made of bits of 

 grass. The mouse showed no signs of life at first, but on 

 being held in his hand, soon became feebly active, and on 

 being placed in a warm room, came out of its dormant con- 

 dition entirely. It again became dormant that night, but 

 was aroused twice again by the application of heat, within 

 the next few weeks, in spite of very cold weather. 



Merriam 7 tells of taking an active male at Easthamp- 

 ton, Mass., on February 11, 1872, and states that during 

 the mild winter of 1881 82, in Lewis County, Northern 

 New York, he saw jumping mice active several times. 



Seton 8 speaks of finding a Zapus Hudsonius on Sep- 

 tember 27, 1888, at Carberry, Manitoba, in a nest of leaves 

 under the roots of a stump, nearly torpid. He says: 



In the country near Carberry, I never saw it active after September 

 first. 



Stone and Cram 9 believe that this mouse passes six 

 months or more of every year hibernating underground. 

 They speak of seeing a family of them turned up by a 

 plough in May and exhibiting not the slightest symptom 

 of life, on being handled or breathed upon. 



Burroughs 10 tells of a female jumping mouse in cap- 

 tivity that began hibernating early in November and con- 

 tinued until May, with several intervals of activity, espe- 

 cially after warm weather came on. 



Preble 11 says: 



in nests at a depth varying from a few indies to two or three feet below 

 the surface. Hibernation sometimes takes place above -round. 



TC. H. Merrian, M.D., "Mammals of the Adirondack Region," 1884. 



»E. T. Seton, "Life histories of Northern Animals," Vol. I. 



10 John Burroughs, "Squirrels and Other Fur Hearers," pp. 121-124. 



11 E. A. Preble, "Revision of the Jumping Mice of the Genus Zapus," 

 U. S. Dept. Agr. N. A. Fauna Series, No. 15, 1899. 



