The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-06-20

as winter homes. In summer the
mice use surface nests OF dead grass
The young may be brought forth In
either.
Meadow mice destroy grass. Gu,
down grain. clover and alfalfa. ca,
grain left standing In shocks. injure
flowers and vegetables-in short. dc
harm in a hundred ways. In the
lower Humboldt Valley in Nevada In
l907-19Os. they totally ruined $4,000
acres Of alfalfa. Trees and %shrubbery
are also attacked and large nurseries
Of young apple trees have been known
to nave been almost wholly destroyed
by the mice cutting through the bark
at the surface OF the ground.
Pine mice ordinarily live in the
woods and are not. therefore. found
on the open plains. though they like
land that Is not frequently cultivated,
They tunnel their way from fencs
rows. hedges and woods into gardens
and cultivated fields, where they live
on seeds. roots and leaves. Like
meadow mice. they also destroy fruit
trees. particularly in upland orchards.
They attack the trees below the sur
face. so that their work 10 frequently
not revealed until the tree is dead.
Field mice are the prey OF many
species Of mammals, birds and rep
tiles. Unfortunately the relation that
exists between the numbers OF ro-
dents and the numbers OF their enc
mics II not generally appreciated:
otherwise the public would exercise
more discrimination In Its warfare
against carnivorous animals. II Is the
persistent destruction of these. the
beneficial and harmful alike. that has
brought about the present condition
Of growing scarcity Of p~redacious
mammals and birds and corresponding
increase OF rodent pests Of the farm,
especially rats and mice. The ELLA
ton between effect and cause Is
obvious.
Among the mammalian enemies Of
meadow and pine mice are coyotes,
Wildcats. foxes. badgers, %raccoons,
opossums. skunks. weasels, shrews
and the domestic cat and dog. Among
birds. their enemies include nearly all
the hawks and owls. storks. ibises.
herons. cranes. gulls. shrikes, cuck-
COS anu 'lpNs. NAipiAH ~ Af''
foes are black snakes and bull snakes.
Not all these destroyers OF mice are
more beneficial than harmful, but the
majority are. and warfare against
them should be limited to the minor
!ty that are more noxious than useful.
Owls ana Field Mice.
Owls as %destroyers OF mice are de-
serving OF special mention. Not one
OF our American owls. unless IL be
the great horned owl. Is to be classed
n. noxious. Especially beneficial are
The short cared. long cared. screech
and barn owls. All these prey largely
upon field mice. and seldom harm
birds. Unfortunately. the short cared
snd barn owls. which are the mos,
useful species. are not plentiful IN the
sections most seriously infested BY
feld mice.
The shert cared owl. while widely
distributed. 10 not abundant. except
locally, within the United States. but
wherever field mice become exces-
s,veiy numerous these owls usually
assemble IN considerable numbers to
prey upon them. Examinations o.
.tomachs OF these owls show tina,
fully three-fourths OF their food con
s!.t. OF short tailed field mice,
Tho barn owl |. rather common IN
the southern half OF the United States
and breeds as far north as the forty
rrst parallel o. latitude. That mice
form the chief diet Of this bird has
been demonstrated BY DR.. A. K. Fisher
Of the Biological Survey. through ex-
amination OF stomachs OF many barn
owls and also of large numbers OF
pellets castings from their atom
ach.) found under their roosts. In
l247 barn owl pellets collected in the
tower. OF the Smithsonian Building
IN Washington, D. c., he found 1891
skulls OF short tailed feld mice. CSC
OF the house mouse. ?lo of the COM
non rat and 147 OF other small TO-
dents and shrews. Very few remains
of birds were found.
In $50 pellets OF the long cared owl
Or Fisher found skulls OF 374 small
mammals. OF which $40 were meadow
mice. Stomach examinations give
similar testimony to the usefulness
OF this bird.
The m screech owl feeds
mainly upon mice and It's habit OF
staying In orchards and close TO farm
buildings makes It especially useful
in keeping premises free from house
and field mice.
When mice. both meadow and pine.
are in small numbers trapping II prob
ably the easiest method OF getting rid
Of them. From twelve "a twenty traps
10 an acre may often be set with ad-
vantage In the Gus runs. Where
the mice are abundant or the areas
large, poisoning Ia a quicker les OF
determination. Several formulas for
poisoning are given in Farmers Bull
letin No. 60 OF the United States De-
partment OF Agriculture. Field mice
may also be driven away by thorough
cultivation OF fields and the el!mina-
ton OF fence rows. In the case OF
trees. clean t'llage and the removal
from the neighborhood OF weeds and
grass will prove an effective precau-
tlOn