VOL. XXVII.
INDIANAPOLIS, IND., JAN. 23,1892.
NO. 4
OUB 8MALLEB MAMMALS AND THEIR
BBLATION TO HOBTICULTUBE.
AMOS W. BUTLER.
I Paper ie»d before tbe Indiana Stata.Hortlcultnr-
al Society, Dec. ltsi-l
* Leaving these obscure little mammals
with the few words I have spoken, I now
call your attention to another group of
the same class—the rodents or gnawers.
I shall not, at this time, deal with the larger forms, bat will simply speak of the
- mice. These are small, though much larger than the shrews, but are nevertheless
but little studied.
The black rat, which formerly was found
throughout our country, was Introduced
Into America about 1554, and was tbe only rat untU the brown or Norway rat (our
present common form was introduced
about 1775). It immediately established a
foot-hold, and has crowded out the earlier emigrant until it has almost, lf not
entirely, disappeared. Br. Hammond records the black rat from Frankln county
in 1869. So far as we can learn, the brown
rat was flrst seen in Indiana, near Brook-
ville in 1827. The common house mouse
is also an importation, which is now common throughout out our land.
. The oommon white-footed mouse or
deer mouse (Camolys Americanwi) is the
most domestic and, perhaps, the least
known of our native mice. They frequent
our fence rows, clearings, woodland,
stump*, piles of refuse anoTbffen ourbams
and stables and occasionally our houses,
I have found them living in a stub of a
tree as much as six or eight feet from the
ground. One fall my house seemed overrun with mice, but they were quite hard
to catch at first. At lenth, however, one
was captured, and lt proved to be a white-
footed mouse. Some two dozen were afterwards taken, all of this species. I lived
in the midst ot a place of several acres
near the edge of town, and only on one
other occasion do I remember them in my
honse in the more thickly settled part of
town. Their habits are much similar to
those of the common mouse, henoe, if
they persist in frequenting our houses,
they are liable to become great pests. Sj
far as I know, they are common throughout the State. Another form, the rice
field mouse, has been taken ln Ohio, and
msy be found in our State.
The Jumping Mouse (zapus htidsonictut)
is a form which should be found in many
parts of the northern half of the State. It
is a yellowish brown mouse with long
tail and long hind legs and short fore legs
and moves by jumping. It has been
noted in Carroll, Wabash, Lagrange, Knox
and Stark Counties. If any one can give
any additional Information concerning its
range I shall be thankful for the Information.
The long-eared mouse (Erotomwi rulilus)
is another species that should be
found throughout the northern part of tbe
State; So far lt has been taken only .in
Tippecanoe County.
The meadow mice are a family each one
of whose members is of much interest.
Most numerous of them all la the common
meadow mouse {Arvicala HjKtriiu.) It lithe largest of these long haired hud short
tailed forms and is distributed over the
State being found generally in meadows,
field*, orchards,lawns and wherever In the
opening it can find cover. This ia the most
oommon mammal In southeastern Indiana.
It varies in numbers with the seasons.
Some years the fence rows of wheat and
barely fields are traversed by a network
ot its runways, ln autumn after the
frost has cut down the more tender of the
weeds and grass, numbers of these Uttle
rodents may bo seen darting here and
there through their half oovered passages.
In -winter they are warm friends of the
farmer who leaves his com       the shock
latest and nf him who ties about his
young fruit trees a bunch of straw that
will afford tbem comfortable winter
quarters. After tbe early snows have
fallen, tbe oorn shocks will be found thickly colonized by these little pests, who find
here not only a comfortable residence but
also a well filled granary from which to
draw their winter's food. In spring when
the last snow has disappeared, one will
observe tbeir passages .very near the publio thoroughfare while the neighboring
pastures aud commons show many traces
ot their highways.* Their food ln winter
is the corn found in the thriftless farmers-
shocks, together with the seeds of a number of plants and the young blades of the
blue grass. Their large round nests are
also constructed ot the blades of this and
kindred grasses. They are built much
after the manner ot the muskrat houses, a
miniature of which they closely resemble.
The single opening ls below where it connects with the runways of the animal.
These nests are found in most every
conceivable place; ln thickets, and briar
patches, among the rank grass that grows
there, in swampy places upon a tussock of
grass, in a log or fenoe corner, under
rubbish or often on the open ground, especially in meadows. Their habits and
food vary with the seasons. They play a
conspicuous part in the economy of nature
as furnishing a noticeable illustration of
the inter-dependence of animal and plant
life. -In another connection I Bhowed last
year how these little animals were one of
the links ln a chain consisting of clover,
bumble bees, mice, cats, and old maids
upon whioh depends much of the crop of
clover seed. These mice are very destructive to the nests of the bumble bee
without which our red clover would not
produoe seed. Protect your bumble bees
and kill your mice I These mice have
be9n noticed to exhibit much ingeniuty
in securing the head from a standing
stalk of wheat. Selecting a stalk which
gives promise of a large well filled head,
the mouse was seen to cut it off as
high as it can reach; owing to the proximity of the surrounding grain the stem
will not fall, the butt end falls to the
ground and another cut is made about
four inches up the stalk; the process of
cutting off sections of this length is con
tinned until the grain ls within reach.
Here, after a square meal, the mouse leaves
a collection of straws about four inches
long, together with a fhattered head to
puzzle the farmer.
In October 18861 found my sweet po-
tato(rldges seemed. to be honey combed
with the tunnels of these mice. Upon investigation I found that all the mice I
could capture were pregnant females.
They were most numerous and their ravages most severe near the blue grass of
the lawn. I found that they had eaten
many of the largest potatoes, of some of
them nothing being left except a shell
with an opening into the capacious cavity
the rodent had made. It seems probable
these tubers may have been Intended for
nests. Their numbers are observed to be
quite variable. A succession ot favorable
or unfavorable circumstances causes either an abundance or a scarcity of numbers,
It-aides this oommon mouse there are
three others of the same family found In
our State. The prairie meadow mouse is
the rarest of its family in our State. It
has only been noted in Franklin county
and some neighboring parts of Ohio. So
far as I can learn they frequent places
that are newly cleared or overgrown with
brush along a pasture. But a few specimens have been taken in this State. More
oommon than this is the pine mouse
(Articolapine torum). This species is said
in the books to be distributed over a wide
area of the northern United States, but lt
has only been taken ln Indiana in Franklin county.  Even then - it has been sup.
poted to be rather rare but ln 1884 they
were found to be very oommon frequenting the blue grass pastures and among the
more woodland towards the summits of
our highest hills. They are smaller than
tbe common form with soft fur of quite a
reddish cast,tu general appearance having
some resemblance to a small mole. They
are active little fellows generally making
their winter quarters ln the deserted nests
of tbe previous year. In winter I found
them feeding upon the tender roots t>f
young hickories, the young sprouts of the
white clover, the fruit of the red haw and
the tuberous roots of the wild violet. In
the store house I have been surprised at
tbe quantity ot food put away, often I
have seen as mnch as a gallon of violet
tubers ln one cache.
To me the most Interesting of these
mioe ls one which ls one of the rarest of
the mammals known in the world. It ls
called Cooper's field mouse or Cooper's
Lemming (Synaptomys cooperi). More
specimens of it have been taken from
Franklin county this State than from all
the rest of the world. From here have the
largest museums of the world received
their specimens, and they are always in
demand. This animal is closely related to
the Lemmings of the Siberian plains.
Those strange gregarious migratory mice
which travel long distances ln countless
numbers that lt seems impossible to
check. By Its short body and tall, stiff,
coarse looking hair, and rather savage appearance in its wild state, is Cooper's
mouse known. The upper front incisors
are deeply graved and form a certain
means of identification. They frequent
much the same localities that the last
mentioned species does but usually where
one is scarce the other is common. In
winter they subsist mostly upon the stems
of blue grass and the more tender parts of
the white clover stores of which may be
found near their winter quarters. They
also are very fond of the tubers of the
wlld'artichoke, stores of which are often
seen.
Meadow mioe have their enemies chief
among which are hawks and owls, and
ln the neighborhood of dwellings,cats and
dogs. The little shrews which I have noticed are very destructive to them,follow-
lng them into their burrows and attacking them.
I have only noticed a few of the smaller
insectlvora and rodents. Could we have
noticed the latter through their varied
forms we should have followed "the chain
of the rodent beings of the earth, ot the
water and almost of the air; a cycle of
mammalian life which circumscribes
extraordinary diversity of form and function, revolving about a central point of organization, namely: adze like testh to
gnaw wood with. The number of Individuals which make a living In this way
In a world of Malthslan strife is simply
incalculable, possibly there are more rodents than all other quadrupeds put together. They are necessarily small ani
mals; were they as large as hoofed herbivorous quadrupeds the earth would not
sustain such myriads. Yet they have one
obvlons part to play in common with the
great hoofed plant eating quadrupeds and
otber ungulates, that of turning grass into
flesh, in order that the carnivorous Goths
and Vandals may subsist "also, and ln
their tarn proclaim /all flesh is grass.'"
>    O   m
Written for tbe Indiana Farmer.
Meadow Maggots  or  Leather Jackets.
BT. F. M. WEBSTER.
These are the larva or young of Crane
files or "Gallinlppers," as they are often
called; these last being slender long
legged, two winged flies, resembling mon
ster mosquito*. These maggots ha\ e been
exceedingly troublesome during the last
year, in both Ohio and Indiana, especially
in clover fields, ot which they are coming
to be the worst of all of our Insect pests of
that plant. Late sown wheat following *
clover, ls known to be very seriously In-
j ured, and there is very good evidence
acropofcorn on spring plowing or late
fall plowed clover lands ls very likely to
sultar from the ravages of these maggots.
There are several species engaged ln this
work of destruction, some of which are
double brooded, the eggs being deposited
ln spring and fall, while others are single
brooded, laying eggs only late in the
fall.
Unfortunately these maggots are frequently compared witb the true cutworms.
While farmers, as a rule, do not concern
themselves as to the name ot an insect,
in this case the matter is ot considerable
Importance as, while the true cutworm ls
not easily evaded, these meadow maggots
can In all probability,be prevented from injuring grain crops following clover, by
breaking up the field prior to September
15th. The reason for this ls very simple.
The female fly deposits her eggs among
the clover, very largely after this date,
and finding no clover In the field, will
seek another and' more favorable locality
for deposit. If the ground is plowed after
the eggs have been deposited, the young
will probably find ample food in the roots
to enable them to live until they can subsist on the roots of grain. No methed as
to protecting the clover fields has as yet
been devised. In the spring plowed fields,
the tramping of sheep will, it is said, destroy many of the maggots.
■ •  •
Will Indiana Florists Qlve Information.
J-dltorb Indiana Farmer:
W. H. Ragan., secretary of our 8tate
Horticultural Society, ls in receipt of the
following letter, which we trust will be
responded to by those who are able to
give the desired information. Mr. Ragan
Informed us that Mrs. Brainard is the
wife of tbe wideawake and enterprising
editor of the Santa Clara Valley, a handsome magazine published at San Jose.Cali-
fornla, with whon4she ls also associated
as assistant editor. She will doubtless
make good use of any information given
her by our florists and gardeners.
San Jose, California,
Dec. 27th, 1891.
Dear Sir:—Can you furnish me with
the addresses of the ladles of your State
engaged in floriculture and the shipment
of green vegetables. I want to communicate with someof your prominent progressive women on the subject. Please answer and oblige.
Yours Truly,
Mrs. Maggie Downing Brainard.
Ass't Ed., S. C. V.
■ m   .	
The bl_r Suow ln Qreene County.
Kditors Indiana Farmer;
The deepest snow that has "fallen in the
state in the last fifty years was that of
the 12th, and 13 days of Jan. 1867. It
snowed continuously for thirty-six hours,
and was twenty-two inches deep on a
level. It laid on the ground one month.
Previous to this snow there were a great
many deer and turkeys yet in the country,
but the long continued cold weather starved them almost entirely out. H. B.
. » '	
Take lt for tbe Family.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
I have been reading the Indiana Farmer one year and.hardiy feel.like giving
It up, although I find my evening table
pretty well filled np with weekly
papers. If I did not care to read lt myself
I would take it for my family to read. 1
think it should be in every farmer's home.
Enclosed please find subscription price
for 1892. A. M. B.
Connersville.
.A man's reputation, is what his friends
say about him. His character is what
bis enemiss say about bim.
.