. Cyclopedia of farm animals. Domestic animals; Animal products. 1G6 WILD MAMMALS IN THEIR RELATIONS WITH AGRICULTURE closely related in structure and habits to the brown rat. Various native rats are also of interest agricul- turally. The cotton rat (Sigmodon hispidus) of the southern states is one of the most destructive of these. It is only about half the size of the brown rat, from which it differs considerably in appear- ance. It attacks corn and other crops, especially when shocked in the field. Many species of wood- rats, of the genus Neotoma, have been described from North America. They
. Cyclopedia of farm animals. Domestic animals; Animal products. 1G6 WILD MAMMALS IN THEIR RELATIONS WITH AGRICULTURE closely related in structure and habits to the brown rat. Various native rats are also of interest agricul- turally. The cotton rat (Sigmodon hispidus) of the southern states is one of the most destructive of these. It is only about half the size of the brown rat, from which it differs considerably in appear- ance. It attacks corn and other crops, especially when shocked in the field. Many species of wood- rats, of the genus Neotoma, have been described from North America. They are found chiefly in the western regions, where their presence in the woods is made known by the curious piles of brush and rubbish which they gather together over the entrances to their burrows. These piles may reach , â S^lf/%. Fig. 144. Common vole or meadow mouse (Microtus Pennsylvanicus). (After Biological Survey.) a height of five feet in case of burrows which have been occupied for a long time. Fortunately, these rats live so generally in the woods away from cul- tivated fields that they are seldom injurious to crops. They feed on the green bark of trees and other vegetation, as well as the seeds of various plants, often collecting considerable stores of these for the winter supply of food. The injury most commonly complained of is that done to the bark of osage orange hedges. Mice.âA great number of species of native mice are found in the United States and Canada. The rice-field mice, of the genus Oryzomys, have a comparatively limited range in the South, where they live in swamps and rice-fields. Some fifty forms of the miniature harvest-mice, of the genus Reithrodontomys, have been recognized by zoolo- gists. These are field creatures living chiefly on seeds and grains, and are comparatively little known even to professional naturalists. A similar statement may be made of the interesting grass- hopper-mice, of the genus Onychomys, which are also called scorpion-mic
Size: 2065px × 1210px
Photo credit: © The Book Worm / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookauthorbaileylh, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, bookyear1922
