. Controlling field rodents in California. Mammals; Rodents. IV. Miscellaneous Rodents and Rabbits Meadow mice, kangaroo rats, muskrats, and rabbits damage farms and gardens in many places. Meadow mice Meadow mice or voles (genus Micro- tus; fig. 19), commonly called "field mice," are blunt-nosed, with small furry ears and a scantily haired tail, and are covered with soft dense fur that is black- ish brown or grayish brown. When grown they measure 4 to 6 inches in head-and-body length, with the tail 1% to 2% inches long. They live in fields or in ditchbanks covered with weeds or gras
. Controlling field rodents in California. Mammals; Rodents. IV. Miscellaneous Rodents and Rabbits Meadow mice, kangaroo rats, muskrats, and rabbits damage farms and gardens in many places. Meadow mice Meadow mice or voles (genus Micro- tus; fig. 19), commonly called "field mice," are blunt-nosed, with small furry ears and a scantily haired tail, and are covered with soft dense fur that is black- ish brown or grayish brown. When grown they measure 4 to 6 inches in head-and-body length, with the tail 1% to 2% inches long. They live in fields or in ditchbanks covered with weeds or grass, in meadows, in grain or alfalfa fields, sometimes around haystacks, and in orchards with covercrops or where the grassy ground cover is allowed to remain. Meadow mice live both on the surface of the ground and in burrows. Most species cut off the vegetation to form little path- ways about an inch in breadth that extend here and there through the grassland. These connect with the many small bur- rows which the mice make in the soil (fig. 20). Such workings are often hid- den when the grass cover is tall. If the presence of meadow mice is suspected, it may be necessary to part the grass tops and search beneath the cover. The num- ber of mice present may be inferred by the amounts of freshly cut grass or of droppings to be seen in the runways. Meadow mice may cut green vegetation (including alfalfa), injure standing grain, damage hay in loose cocks or stacks, gnaw the bark and roots of trees surrounded by grass and weeds, and eat root crops or bulbs. Alfalfa fields are occasionally damaged by meadow mice to the stage where no profit results to the farmer. The damage is irregular in amount, season, and place of occurrence. Periodic increases in meadow mice have been noted at certain places in California. They have increased in some recent years on farms near Tule Lake (Siskiyou. Fig 19 Meadow mouse. The fur is dense and soft, blackish to grayish brown, and the ears are furry and
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