106 
definitely referable to chapmani by colour and measurements. S. b. 
wra?igeli from the west side of the Cascade mountains is considerably 
larger and colour is much darker. S. b. wrangeli is considered to inter- 
grade with S. b. dalli in northwestern British Columbia, and dalli is assumed 
by A. B. Howell 1 to intergrade with chapmani in the mountains of northern 
British Columbia, but he states that there are too few specimens from the 
region to allow this statement to be made without qualification. In the 
present state of our knowledge, S. b. artemisiae may be taken to occupy 
a small area in the interior dry belt of southern British Columbia between 
the ranges of chapmani and wrangeli , not heretofore known to be inhabited 
by Synaptomys, which in general is an inhabitant of moist or boggy ground. 
Remarks. The subspecific name is given from the sagebrush 
(Artemisia) habitat of the type locality, which Mr. Laing states is one 
of the dryest places in the dry belt country of southern British Columbia, 
a habitat of typical Transition zone bad lands, sagebrush, and pine grass, 
with only an occasional yellow pine (Pinus ponderosa ). During the last 
days of September, 1927, vole runways and fresh middens were found in 
the grassy cover at the foot of heavy sagebrush on southeast slope above 
camp at about 2,400 feet elevation. There was absolutely no water near the 
place where the specimens were taken. The locality where the other 
specimens were taken was not more than 12 to 15 miles to the southwest- 
ward, near the head of Whipsaw creek, another tributary of the Simil- 
kameen, on the east side of Hope-Princeton Summit pass over the Cascade 
mountains, at about 5,600 feet elevation. This is in Canadian or Hudsonian 
zone territory, open country typical of that range, with Engelmann spruce 
(Picea Engelmanni), subalpine fir (Abies a?nabilis), etc., with abundant 
ground vegetation — valerian (Valeriana sitchensis ), false hellebore (Vera- 
trum viride ), western anemone (Anemone occidentals ), dwarf huckleberry 
(Vaccinium sp.), lupin ( Lupinus ), etc., and the low (waist-high) willow 
thickets harboured nearly all of the mice. Timber here grew to higher 
elevation than on the western summits, due to the greater dryness, this 
ridge being the dividing line between the humid west coastal slope and 
the dry belt country of the interior valleys. Mr. Laing states that there 
was no sagebrush at that elevation, but that it may have occurred not 
far below, as the dryness of that slope in normal seasons is attested by 
the altitude to which the yellow pine attains. Later in the season, Mr. 
Laing hunted deer on Twelvemile mountain, where yellow pine reached 
4,000 feet, and sagebrush was noted on the southerly slope of a mountain 
500 feet higher west of that point. He also noted sagebrush at 5,000 feet 
above the south fork of Ashnola river, from 35 to 40 miles southeast of 
the above points in 1928, with vole work in open vegetation, but no trap- 
ping was done on that trip. This subspecies probably ranges south into 
the northern part of Okanogan county, Washington, along the heads of 
Similkameen and Ashnola rivers. 
Specimens Examined. Nine from the following localities: 
British Columbia: Stevenson creek, 2,400 feet, near Princeton 
(4 males, 1 female); near head of Whipsaw’ creek, 5,600 feet, 
east side of Hope-Princeton Summit pass (2 males, 2 females). 
•Howell, A. Brazier: "Revision of the American Lemming Mice (Genus Synaptomys)”; North American 
Fauna, No. SO, p. 25 <1927). 
