GENERAL NOTES 
237 
As to the damage caused by the muskrat to fish and game the opinions vary 
greatly, some saying it is inappreciable, others that it is very great. As a matter 
of fact our animal feeds chiefly upon plants; he is even said to enter fields of 
grain and cut down the stalks. If plants are sufficiently plentiful he sticks to 
them, but if not he robs the nests of wild water-birds, even hen-yards and store 
houses. At any rate it is not surprising that when he has chosen a well stocked 
fish-pond for his headquarters he should take to catching and eating fish. In 
Bohemia, the centre of activity of the muskrat in Europe, there is a very extensive 
fisheries industry, based upon fish which are maintained in more or less artificial 
ponds. 
I shall refrain from discussing the natural history, the general appearance 
or other peculiarities of the introduced muskrat, as those of his American ancestor 
are well known. I only intended showing how some imported animals will thrive, 
if adapted to their new surroundings. — Theodor G. Ahrens, Berlin, Germany. 
MALFORMED HIND FOOT OF THE COMMON HOUSE MOUSE (mUS MUSCULUS) 
I recently captured a house mouse possessing a hind foot with six toes, instead 
of the usual five. The toe representing the thumb is a trifle undersize, while 
the superfluous member is overgrown, and protrudes awkwardly at a sharp 
angle from the foot. The foot itself and the remaining toes are in every way 
normal. I trapped this animal near Guelph on March 29, 1921, in the heart of 
a low, wet, and dense swamp of cedars, balsam, aspen, willow, etc. The ground 
in many places was carpeted with moss a half-inch or more in thickness — just 
such a place as one might be certain of taking the red-backed vole if it were 
farther north. I was somewhat surprised to find a house mouse here, having 
never before trapped this domestic pest under conditions of this kind, and so 
far removed from buildings. Doubtless it indulges occasionally in protracted 
wanderings, bringing up finally in some barn or house. — J. Dewey Soper, Guelph, 
Ontario. 
NOTES ON NAPiEOZAPUS 
This rare mouse has long been a subject of thought to me, and in early August 
of 1920 I made a trip of some hundreds of miles for the the express purpose of 
seeking it, but failed. What was my surprise, then, to find two in my traps on 
the morning of August 23, at Canoe Lake, Algonquin Park, Ontario. Subsequent 
nights yielded one, three and one, and then a blank, as though the supply were 
exhausted. Two of these fell to the traps of Stuart Thompson, of Toronto, but 
all the success was in a very limited area. I had been expecting to find them in 
deep, dark evergreens, near water, but these were captured in a small clump of 
alder and willow on the bank of a beaver stream. Careful examination had 
showed what seemed to be a runway on the dead leaves covering the ground, and 
the trap set on that runway yielded a mouse every night until the last, when 
trap and all vanished. A mink, perhaps. Further search revealed a little pile 
of the scales of alder fruit, and a trap set at that place by Mr. Thompson caught 
a mouse the next night, and near it was an alder cone partly eaten. Whether 
the animal is partially arboreal — totally unexpected, if true — could only be 
