HISTORY OF DERRYFIELD. 6^ 



the brook was then into a pond on Hanover square, within a 

 few rods of the trout. And yet many people think that man 

 is the only animal that knows anything. The fish in the large 

 Derryfield trout-preserves, a few miles south of us, have been 

 also destroyed by minks. These depredations were committed 

 within the last ten years. 



Muskrat or Musquash, Fiber zibithiciis. Common to-day and 

 in all places where there is water and comparative seclusion. 

 It is probable they even now prowl through the covered culverts 

 of the city. The Indians made use of them for food, and Dr. 

 Saccalexis Glossian, an Oldtown Indian formerly residing here, 

 pronounced them delicious. This depraved taste is hard to be 

 understood by delicate white men accustomed to pig's liver and 

 stewed kidneys. 



Hedge Hog or American Porcupine, Hystrix dorsata. This 

 curious animal is seldom seen, as it is strictly nocturnal in its 

 habits and haunts the most secluded spots, usually among rock- 

 masses at the foot of high cliffs. Their food is said to consist 

 of insects, worms, snails and salamanders. The dog that tackles 

 a full-grown hedge-hog will be consumed with regret and his con- 

 fidence in himself will be impaired for about three weeks. 



Skunk or Pole Cat, Mephitis Americana. The less said about 

 this unsavory animal the better, but we regret being obliged to 

 record the fact that he is still with us, even at our cellar-doors. 

 Within three years, in the basement of a house on Union street, 

 between Concord and Lowell, and hard by the Bishop's palace, a 

 box-trap was baited with the neck of a chicken, and his crown- 

 lavender highness captured therein and afterwards successfully 

 chloroformed by a woman ; and yet some of us are deluded with 

 the idea that woman needs our protecting care. 



Woodchuck or Ground Hog, Arctomys monax. This trouble- 

 some farmer's pest has always been and is still common here, 

 and is destructive to bean-vines and other growing crops, espec- 

 ially to the red clover, trampling down much more than is eaten. 

 The tanned skins are extremely tough and durable, and were 



