200 MICHIGAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCE. 



but when placed in the cage he became rather timid, remaining quietly 

 in one corner unless the hand were approached too near, when he 

 assumed an attitude of defense. The manner of defense will be de- 

 scribed later. Food was refused when anyone was about, but a cabbage 

 leaf left in the cage was devoured during the night, and within a few 

 days he would eat with people about if they remained quiet for a time. 

 Within a week or two he paid little attention to anything going on in 

 the room unless there was some sudden movement, and was by this time 

 nearly as tame as he became at any time during his captivity. Unless 

 specifically stated to be otherwise the notes which follow refer to the 

 period after he had become accustomed to his quarters. 



A preference for a certain corner of the cage in which much of the time 

 was quietly spent was early shown, and the muskrat was one day ob- 

 served with some fine wire netting which happened to be in the cage 

 pulled up around him as if to form some sort of protection; so paper, 

 cotton and similar substances were given him, which were soon incor- 

 porated into a nest. A large part of the material was used as bedding, 

 soon becoming well matted down, but the cotton especially was di'awn 

 up to form a screen on the sides towards the center of the cage. The 

 muskrat usually entered the nest at a certain place next to the side of 

 the cage, where an opening was left as a sort of doorway. The half-floor 

 of the compartment formed a roof for the nest, and a board was placed 

 over this by us to keep out the light from above to some extent. Most of 

 the time during the day was spent in this nest sleeping, the usual position 

 being with the fore paws and head against the wire screen of the sides. 



Food and Feeding Habits. 



The staple food of the muskrat all the time he was in the laboratory was carrots, 

 of which he seemed never to tire. His refusal to eat at first when people were 

 about has been mentioned; within two or three weeks, however, he not only came 

 by degrees to eat regardless of observers, but would come to the door of the cage 

 and take food from the hand, and later if hungry would come to the front of the 

 cage if any one even came into the room, evidently expecting to be fed. His manner 

 of taking food from the hand was very different from that of a squirrel, which can 

 usually be fed without its biting one's fingers, while with the muskrat one had to 

 be very careful, for he came quickly forward, snatched the food from the fingers 

 and retreated again as quickly as possible. There was nothing at all deliberate 

 in the movements, the whole manner seeming to express a degree of nervousness 

 or fear. If the food was held tightly he usually pulled at it vigorously for a snort 

 time, perhaps letting go now and then to get a new hold, but soon retreated, coming 

 forward again, however, in a moment to renew the attempt. 



Having secured the food he would retreat with it either to the nest or almost 

 Invariably to a certain corner of another compartment of the cage; but he seldom 

 began eating without first going through certain preliminaries which varied little 

 from time to time, though sometimes hurried over or omitted altogether if he was 

 especially hungry. These preliminaries consisted of washing his face and grating 

 his teeth, usually in the order named, though he sometimes alternated the two, 

 and would stop frequently to grate his teeth after he had begun eating. This 

 peculiar habit of grating the teeth will be described under a separate heading. 

 The manner of washing the face was as follows: He first laid down the food, then 

 sat upon his haunches much after the manner of a squirrel, — that is, with the back 

 well bent and the fore part of the body forward, — not straight up like a prairie 

 dog. There was considerable constancy In the way he performed the operation. 

 First both fore feet were brought to the mouth, and the fingers might even be put 

 so far into the mouth as to push the lips backward ; next they were rubbed over the 

 nose and eyes several times with a rapid movement, then brought up over the 

 head and forward from behind the ears; the final movement was to turn to one 

 side or the other bringing one of the paws far around on the back, when the nose 



