en used in substitution for sticks as building material in the
house. Nevertheless, honey locust is used relatively little as compared
with osage orange. Other plants that figure most importantly in the diet
include bittersweet, fox grape, pokeberry and horse nettle (_Solanum
carolinense_).

Rainey (_op. cit._) mentioned that captive woodrats would eat meat, both
cooked and raw, and on one occasion he found remains of a cicada on a
house under circumstances suggesting that this insect had been eaten by
a rat. In the course of trapping for opossums and small carnivores,
woodrats were caught on many occasions by Fitch in traps baited with
animal material exclusively--miscellaneous meat scraps, canned dog-food,
bacon grease, or carcasses of small vertebrates. In fact, such baits
seemed to be even more attractive than the grain, seeds, peanut butter
and raisins that had been used customarily to bait the traps set for
woodrats. However, such meat baits could be used effectively only in
cold weather, because of rapid spoilage and interference by insects at
higher temperatures.

On one occasion an adult pilot black snake found dead on the road, a
recent traffic victim, was brought to the Reservation headquarters for
examination and was left overnight in the garage. On the following
morning the carcass of the snake was found to have been dragged a short
distance and gnawed; a quantity of flesh was eaten at an exposed wound
on the neck. Woodrat tracks were thickly imprinted on the dusty soil
around the snake. The adult male woodrat that lived in the garage had
evidently spent much time moving about the carcass and over it, and
feeding upon it. It seemed remarkable that this individual was not
deterred from feeding on the snake by an instinctive fear of one of its
chief natural enemies.

Although the eastern woodrat's food consists mostly of vegetation, the
strong tendency noted to feed upon flesh when it is available suggests
that these rodents may, occasionally at least, prey upon helpless young
of small vertebrates that are readily available to them. Nestling birds,
either on the ground or in low trees, and young mice in nests that are
accessible, might tempt the rat to indulge in predation.

_Breeding_

Reproductive activity continues to some extent throughout the year
except in late autumn and early winter. Presence of a vaginal orifice
was used as an indication of sexual activity. In most instances the
orifice was n