'iMiK \viij'i'i:-F()()'i'Ki) OK moi'se. 



499 



Sometimes they enter caves. A colony of these mice has ex- 

 isted in IMarengo Cave since its discovery in 1883, but they remain 

 near the entrance, and there is no evidence to show that they have 

 ever become isolated in the cave. Their nocturnal ha])its would 

 fit them well for taking up a subterranean life, but it is doubtful 

 whether there is ever a food supply in any cave sufficiently con- 

 stant for the animals to become permanently established. 



The adaptability of the white-footed mice is of great advantage 

 to them, and their ability to live in all sorts of places accounts for 

 the fact that they ai'e everywhei'c one of thc^ most a])undant of 

 oui* small mammals. Under natural contlitions their food consists 

 princii)ally of the seeds of various trees, shrubs and other plants. 

 The seeds of the wild plum are almost invariably garnered by them 

 in old pasture fields, and the giant ragweed seeds are also an im- 

 portant item in their diet in such places. In the woods, nuts, 

 acorns and the seeds of the tulip poplar are among the most im- 

 portant articles of food. 



Where they come in touch with cultivated crops they are not 

 slow in learning to take a share for themselves. Corn shocks left 

 long in the field, at least if it is near woods or brushy pasture, are 

 sure to be inhabited by some of the mice, and they have a grotesque 

 appearance as they bound away from the uplifted shock with their 

 great eyes protruding, their large ears standing straight, and the 

 tail sticking out stiffly behind. 



The white-footed mice make pretty and interesting pets if cap- 

 tured while young. The following observations on the habits of 

 this species, made at Mitchell, are quoted from the author's paper 

 on the vertebrates of the Indiana University Farm. (Proc. U. S. 

 National Museum. Vol. 35. p. 573.) 



''A number of w^hite-footed mice were kept in captivity at dif- 

 ferent times, but they could not be kept together. On one occasion 

 six were caught under corn shocks and were divided equally be- 

 tween two cages. Next morning each cage contained two partially 

 eaten carcasses, while of the survivors in each cage, one died within 

 a few hours and the other a day later. 



"A male taken when half grown became so tame that it would 

 eat from my hand. It remained under cover of its box during the 

 day, but toward sunset would leave its retreat and begin to run 

 about the cage looking for food and clambering about, often hang- 

 ing downward from the roof of the cage. It would not allow me to 

 pick it up, but Avould voluntarily come to my hand and nibble it 

 or take food from it. Various kinds of food were given it; cheese 



