NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND LTD. P.O. BOX 2346, CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. ClA 8C1

_MEETINGS are held of the first Tuesday of the month (except June, July, August, and September) at 7:30 p.m. at the Farm Centre, 420 University Avenue, Charlottetown. Members and non-members are welcome. Please bring your coffee cup so that we will contribute as little as possible to the waste stream.

Membership is open to anyone interested in the natural history of Prince Edward Island. Membership is available at any meeting or by mail to the Society c/o the Treasurer. Annual membership rates are : $12. Renewals are due in January. Membership expiry dates are in the top right hand corner of the mailing label.

The Society is directed by a volunteer executive elected from its members. 1992 Executive: President..............Barbara Currie, Charlottetown 894-9297 Vice-President...........Mary Beth Harris, Battery Point 569—2665 Past President....Patrick Wootton, Sharam~Point -569-1829 962—3641 Secretary.................Carolyn Meincke, Charlottetown 368-1704 Treasurer.....................Sue Stephenson, Springvale 368-1224 Directors.......................Roberta Palmer, Brackley 368-1862 .....................Donald Wilkinson, Sherwood 566-1279

NEWSLETTERS are published bi—monthly on recycled paper. Articles, notes, reports, drawings, etc. are welcomed from members and non-members. If you have seen anything unusual, please share it with us. It is important to have your observations recorded so that others may learn from them. All contributions should be send to:

Dan McAskill, Newsletter Editor

Natural History Society of Prince Edward Island Ltd.

Charlottetown RR # S, Donagh, P.E.I. clA 7J8 Thanks to Linda Thomas for folding, stuffing, and mailing newsletter # 124. The next newsletter deadline is January 21, 1993.

Illustrations: The Society extends a special thanks to Dover Publications, Inc. and Elizabeth A. McClelland who prepared the drawing on the cover and to Rudy Stocek for the Pete Stafford's sugar maple illustration on page 8.

The Natural History Society gratefully acknowledges support from the Department of Tourism and Parks and the Department of Education which enables distribution of newsletters to schools and libraries and to members. The Natural History Society is an affiliate of the Canadian Nature Federation and has representation on the board of the Island Nature Trust. The Society is a registered, non-profit organization (Part 2, Companies Act). Tax receipts are issued for donations to the Society and these funds are used to further the work of the Society.

Reprinting: Editors of other newsletters and teachers wishing to copy classroom materials are welcome to reprint articles from the Island Naturalist (except when copyrighted). Due acknowledgment must be provided to the Island Naturalist, the author and the illustrator.

THIS MONTHS COVER

The meadow vole Microtus pennsylvanicus starts breeding in the winter under the snow. Its high reproductive capability allows it to produce very high populations when food and snow conditions are right. Thus it contributes significantly to the girdling of trees and shrubs in heavy snow years.

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