MUSK OX 



4036 



MUSKRAT 



Muskoka is not a resort for invalids; it is 

 rather a playground. The month of August is 

 the height of the social "season," but in June, 

 July and September Muskoka is equally, if not 

 more, attractive to the visitor who comes for 

 an outing. 



There are so many points of interest in Mus- 

 koka that it is possible to name only a few. 

 The largest of the lakes is Muskoka, which has 

 given its name to the section. It covers fifty- 

 four square miles, and is twenty miles long 

 and from two to eight miles broad. Rosseau 

 and Joseph are smaller lakes near by. There 

 are many fine waterfalls, notably the Bridal 

 Vt-il Falls on the Shadow River, the High Falls 

 and the South Falls (130 feet) on the Muskoka 

 River, and Skelton Falls on the river of the 

 same name. For the visitor who does not care 

 to spend all his time in viewing the wonders 

 of nature, there are golf, tennis, boating, bath- 

 ing, fishing and other diversions. The Grand 

 Trunk, the Canadian Pacific and the Canadian 

 Atlantic make access to the region easy. 



MUSK OX, a curious, long-haired, shaggy 

 beast, between an ox and a sheep in appear- 

 ance, with a musky odor which gives the spe- 

 cies its name. It is about six feet in length, 

 and the entire head and body are covered with 

 dark brown 

 hair, curly and 

 matted on the 

 shoulders, but 

 hanging straight 

 on the rest of 

 the body. There 

 is a patch of yel- 

 lowish-white on 

 the back, be- 

 tween the horns 

 and below the 

 knees, and the 

 horns of the male 

 are heavy, cover- 

 ing the forehead 

 and curving MUSK OX 



downward. The musk ox was formerly found 

 in the Arctic Sea regions in immense numbers, 

 but is now common only in Arctic America, 

 from Hudson Bay to the Mackenzie River and 

 in Northern Greenland. These animals asso- 

 ciate in herds, and their movements are de- 

 scribed as very sheeplike. Their food consists 

 of young willows, lichens and grass, and they 

 are reported to breed only once in two years. 

 Unlike the musk deer, the musk ox has no spe- 

 cial gland for the secretion of musk. Its wool 



is spun into coarse fabrics, and its flesh forms 

 an important item in the food supply of the 

 Eskimos. 



MUSK 'RAT, a large-sized member of the 

 mouse family, sometimes called a "cousin of 

 the beaver," because of its burrowing habits. 

 It received its name from the strong, musklike 

 odor of a fluid secreted in a large gland present 



THE MUSKRAT 



in both sexes. The animal is about a foot 

 long, and has a nearly hairless tail about eight 

 inches in length. Its plump, thickset body is 

 covered with an undercoat of thick, soft fur, 

 and with an outer coat of long, shining hairs, 

 dark brown above and gray below. The head 

 is broad and rounded, the ears small and 

 closely set, and there is no distinct neck. Like 

 other aquatic animals, the muskrat has its hind 

 toes webbed. It is distributed throughout 

 North America from the Rio Grande to the 

 Arctic seas, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific 

 coast. 



The muskrats dig their homes on the banks 

 of streams and lakes. Their burrows consist 

 of a central chamber with a number of pas- 

 sages, all opening beneath the surface of the 

 water. They are agile swimmers and divers, 

 and feed on the roots, stems and leaves of 

 water plants and on fruits and vegetables found 

 near their homes. They are hunted and 

 trapped in the spring. Some are shot while 

 swimming in the streams or resting on the 

 banks; others are caught in steel traps which 

 are placed beneath the water at their landing 

 places. Their fur, which is dyed to imitate 

 marten and mink, is used for making caps, 

 gloves and coat linings, trappers receiving vary- 

 ing prices for skins, according to size. Muffs 

 made of light-colored fur may be bought for 

 $15; the more expensive sets, made of dark 



