I II I IM \ I M< >l SI . 
19 
Robert Kenuicott's excellenl . i «•«•«»« 1 1 1 1 of thi thai in 
confinemenl tin- nni main were practically omnivorous, rejecting hul 
little vegetable food offered tbein Hie amount of food consumed vvh 
astonishingly great. Three ate in twent} four hours, beside* <>iIht 
food, i!i'' germs from .-ill the kernels of :> large ear of corn. Thei ate 
raw fresh meat and drank much water. 
\I\ own observations <>l the prairie mouse confirm published 
accounts. Near alfalfa fields in Kansas I found that the green leave* 
of tin- forage plant were the favorite food. This was made evidenf 
by the trails leading t" the fields and by careful stomach examina- 
tions of individuals captured. 
In winter the prairie vole sometimes doe- enormous damage to 
fruit trees. In thi- respect it i-. if possible, more destructive than 
the common meadow mouse; and a- the fruit industry in the West 
grows in magnitude thi- species is Likely to become -till more trouble- 
some. In Kansas and Missouri, during the winter of L903 I. many 
orchards and nurseries were severely injured l>\- the prairie mouse, 
and during the two following winter- the Losses were greater rather 
than Less. 
Thi- species comes into contact with agriculture in the major por- 
tion of eight >tate- Lying in the humid section of the central Missis- 
sippi Valley. These eight States produce annually more than half 
the corn. oat-, and winter wheat, and more than a third of the hay of 
the entire United States. Two closely related species •>!' prairie mice 
i.l/. haydeni and M. minor) extend the range of thi- group on the 
plains to the west and northwest. I [ere they are abundant in sections 
where barley and spring wheat are important crops. The possibility 
of serious crop damages from prairie voles is, therefore, especially 
beat. 
III. THE PINE Moi -i . 
Micro/ us pinetorum scalopsoides (Aud. & Bach.). (Plate I. fig. 2.) 
Thi- pine mouse, called also the mole-like vole, has a wider distri- 
bution than the typical southern pine mouse (.1/. pinetorum), and 
therefore is chosen as the representative of the group. The following 
account of it- habits applies equally well to all pine mice. 
This animal has the wide. Hat skull, the short tail, the small ears, 
and the short, dense, glossy brown fur characteristic of all the pine 
mice. The color-, however, are Less glossy and the size somewhat 
Larger than in typical M. pinetorum. The claw- are well developed; 
foot pad- .*> : mammae 4 (2 pair- id' inguinal). The average measure- 
ments of three New York specimens, a- given by Bailey, are ;i- fel- 
ine Quadrui>eds of Illinois [njurious and Beneficial t<» the Farmer. Patent 
Office Report: Agriculture. 1856, pp. 97-102, 1857. 
