Mt'SE /i'.l /'. i '? 



them, they pick it up in their (<>! |tws, -liake it vinlentlv. in order to get rid of the earth 

 that i-liiii:- t<> the i<>ot-. ;ind then, carrv iinr it to the water-side. wa.sh it with a rapid d- -\t -i iiy 

 that niL'tit U- envied \<\ a pnife imial laundi'i- . 



\Vliile -vvimminu' it lHk- very like a mai:nitii-<l water vole, and i.s remarkulily quirk and 

 a_rile in it- mi.vi-meiit- ; but it- -:nt <>n land i- rliimsy and awkwanl. It seems to I* equally 

 at lioiiu- in salt or fre-h water, inhabiting the banks ( .f rivei- i the shon>s of t he sea creeks, 

 a.-.-ordin:: to the kx-ality in vvliich it is found, and living in burrow.s which it excavates along 

 the banks. 





OOYTO BAT, OK KAOOOWL-Jf| 



It is said to be a tolerably powerful animal, nnd to mnko no d.-sjucaM.- r.-M-tan..- t<. th.- 

 dogs which are employ.-. 1 in it- . lia- It K however, naturally of a gentle disposition, and 

 can be rendered very tame by those who bestow proper attention upon it. 



THE OXDATRA. Mr-.^-ASH, or MUSK RAT, is a native of Northern America, where it is 

 found in various places above the twentieth degree of north latitude. 



The color of thi- animal is a dark brown on the upper portions of its body, ting-d with a 

 reddish hue upon its n-<-k. ribs, and l-trs. the abdomen being ashy gray ; the tail is of th.- 

 ;,,.. ,lj,rk hu.- as the txxly. In total l.-ntrth it rather exceeds two feet, of which ineasim-m.-nl 

 the tail occupies about ten inches. The incisor t.t-th an- bright yellow, and th.- nails are 

 white. The whole coloring of the animal' is so wonderfully lik- th.- hue of the n.nddy banks 

 on which it n-i-1.-. that a practised naturalist has often mistak.-n th.- Ondatras for mere 

 liimp^.f mud until they began to move, and so dis,--lll the illu-i-.n. Th- hin.l-r feet of 

 the ( m.latra are well webbed, and their imprint on the soft mud is very like that of a common 



duck. 



The food of the Ondatra in a wild state appears to be almost wholly of a vegetabl 

 although, when .-..ntinwl in a cage, one of the- animal- has been seen to eat muscle* and 

 oysters, mttimr op-n the softest -1..-11-. an>l .-xtn.ctimr the inmat.-. and waiting for the han! 

 sheUed gpe.Minen- until they either opened of their own accord or died. Although the Ondatra 

 is a clum-y walker, it will sometimes travel to some distance from the m*V-*ide. ami 

 been noticed on a spot nearly three-quartern of a mil.- from any at.- r . 



have also ! n detected bi **<*&* (* " MBl *>U l:i '' 1 - 1 -" 1 ' "" ! "'' " i:-:;; ; J?5!J 



carrots, maize, and other vegetables. The mischievous creatures had burrowed beneath them, 



