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than any other animal of its class except the common house moxise. 

 Found in all the cleared parts of the State ; less frequently in the 

 woods. Loves moist places and is usually most abundant in the 

 vicinity of water, though it ascends dry hillsides and inhabits up- 

 land meadows in great numbers. I once trapped a specimen with- 

 in a few yards of the summit of Spruce Knob, Pendleton county, 

 the highest point in the State. 



This mouse spends most of its life above ground in runways 

 which it extends on the surface through grassy and weedy places. 

 Its globular nests of fine grass are placed both above and under 

 ground. There are usually underground burrows about its haunts 

 which it is quick to enter when pursued by an enemy. 



The form of this mouse is thick and stout, with strong jaws. 

 The upper parts of the body are gray-brown and the imderparts 

 light gray washed with yellowish. A full-grown specimen is 5^^ 

 inches in length, the tail being li/^ inches in length. It feeds on 

 vegetable matter and occasionally on insects. Frequently found 

 in com shocks that have been left standing in the field, where it 

 feeds on the grain. Most of its food consists of grasses and is prob- 

 ably less injurious than is usually supposed. 



Rock Vole of Yellow-cheeked Meadow Mouse, Microtus chrotor- 

 rhinus JMiller. 



Until recently this mouse was not known from any locality south 

 of the Catskill mountains in New York. On August 8th, 1909, I 

 trapped a specimen of the species near Cranberry Glades. It was 

 caught under the side of a half-decayed log that lay on the bank 

 of a stream a few rods above where the stream entered the glade. 

 Afterward other collectors secured several specimens in the same 

 locality. This is a rare mammal and but little is known in regard 

 to its habits. 



Northern Pine Mouse, Microtus pinetorum scalopsoides A. & B. 



This very injurious mouse has been collected at "White Sulphur 

 Springs, Terra Alta, French Creek, ]\Iorganto-oTi, Buckhannon and 

 Peterstown and probably occurs in considerable abundance in all 

 sections below the spruce belt. As compared with the common 

 meadow mouse, this species is smaller, the tail shorter, the fur finer 



