ZAPUS HUDSONIUS. 
193 
sloping hill-side meets the marsh, another miniature thicket bars 
the way. Like the first, it is largely made up of the tough Cas- 
sandra, which here intertwines with Labrador tea ( Ledum latifoli- 
um), sheep laurel ( Kalmia angusti folia), and winterberry ( Ilex 
IcEvigata). The beautiful Azalea and the woolly steeple bush 
( Spircea tomentosa ) are also usually present, while several species 
of Viburnum and Cornus contribute their share to the prominent 
features of the local flora. 
While silently seated in the midst of these surroundings, I have 
on more than one occasion observed the Jumping Mouse. Some- 
times he has crept quietly over the bog, winding his way amongst 
the pitcher plants and low clumps of matted bushes, presenting 
much the appearance of the white-footed mouse. At other times he 
has bounded lightly by, clearing the tops of the bushes with every 
leap, and disappearing so quickly that his identity was with diffi- 
culty determined. Indeed, when he hides after the first or second 
leap he is not rarely mistaken for the wood frog ( Rana temporaria 
sylvatica), which he resembles in color. 
The agility of these animals is almost incredible. I have re- 
peatedly known them to clear a distance of more than ten feet (a 
trifle over 3 metres) at a single bound, and their leaps are made 
in such rapid succession that their feet seem barely to touch the 
ground. To attempt to catch one when any covert is near is a 
hopeless task. 
The Jumping Mouse is said, by most writers, to be strictly noc- 
turnal, but this is not the case. It is crepuscular, like the ma- 
jority of our mammalia, and is also not infrequently seen abroad 
by day. 
It nests in a variety of situations : sometimes in hollow stumps 
and trees, which it is said to climb from the inside ; more often 
under logs and rails, and in piles of rubbish ; frequently in crevi- 
ces of rocky ledges ; and occasionally in open fields, a short dis- 
tance under the surface. 
