7° 
The Ohio Naturalist. 
[Vol. X, No. 4, 
the most complete so far published on a genus of North American 
mammals, and as the author examined more than 27000 speci- 
mens in preparing the work we may at once conclude that all 
matters concerned received full consideration. 
The species has many attractive habits and is seldom injurious 
so has not received the ill will of man to the extent that many of 
the other mice have. A variety of food is acceptable and they 
are sometimes induced to enter buildings to feed but as a usual 
thing are woodland animals and are found around logs and 
stumps in such places. It is not uncommon however to come 
across specimens in fields or along fence rows wherever stumps, 
piles of rails and various kinds of rubbish are to be found. In 
the woods they feed on acorns and nuts and also eat many 
insects. In the fields they visit grain shocks but this habit seems 
not to be common like it is in the house mouse and the meadow 
mouse. 
Until in recent years this has been the only white-footed 
mouse known in Ohio so it has been easy to make determinations 
but quite recently it has been found that one of the varieties of 
P. maniculatus reaches our territory and matters have become 
somewhat more complicated. Adult specimens of the species 
are decidedly larger than those of the variety of maniculatus but 
when it comes to the young in gray pelage it is easy to be mis- 
taken. It is soon observed that when one begins collecting 
white-footed mice in any locality in the state he soon brings 
together a large variety of coloration; not many distinct colors 
but specimens with grays and browns variously distributed 
over the bodv. This condition is almost entirely due to the age 
of the specimens; the young are graj’’ and the fully adults are 
yellowish brown above with pure white under parts while 
specimens in the process of changing from the young to the 
adult pelage combine these colors with no apparent regard for 
system. 
This species appears to care for its young better than other 
mice and it is not uncommon to observe it undertaking to move 
these to places of safety when danger threatens. It is a popular 
species under domesticated conditions readily adapting itself 
to circumstances. 
Peromyscus maniculatus bairdi (Hoy and Kennicott) Prairie 
White-footed Mouse. The type locality for P. maniculatus is 
Labrador and the tvpical species is confined to that latitude as 
far west as the Mississippi River, but varieties to the number of 
thirty-five are recognized and one or more of these are to be 
found in many localities throughout North America. The 
variety bairdi was first taken at Bloomington, Illinois but is 
known at the present time to range from central Kansas 
