Popular IBtcttonarp of ^mmatetr $atttre. 441 



living in a social state in the winter, in cu- 

 riously constructed huts, built near the edge 

 of some lake or river. These huts are about 

 two feet and a half or three ftet in diameter 

 plastered with great neatness in the inside, 

 and covered externally with a kind of basket- 

 work, of rushes, &c., carefully interlaced to- 

 gether so as to form a compact and secure 

 guard, impermeable by water. The entrance 

 to them is under water, for the purpose of 

 procuring food, which consists entirely of 

 roots and vegetables. In summer these 

 creatures wander about in pairs, feeding vo- 

 raciously on herbs and roots : at this season 

 they become extremely fat, and are much 

 sought after, partly for their flesh, but chiefly 

 for their skins, which are valuable. Their 

 odour resembles that of musk ; and the skin, 

 when taken from the body, still retains the 

 scent. This musky odour is owing to a 

 whitish fluid deposited in certain glands 

 near the origin of the tail. The fur is used 

 in hat- making. 



Dr. Richardson states that the Musquashes 

 vary considerably in size, and that though 

 they have a strong musky smell, particularly 

 the males, in spring, their flesh is eaten by 

 the Indians, who prize it for a time when 

 it is fat, but soon tire of it. They generally 

 have three litters in a year, and from three 

 to seven in a litter. Great numbers are de- 

 stroyed by the inundations which cover the 

 low grounds where they haunt, and in severe 

 winters they are almost extirpated from 

 some localities by the freezing of the swamps 

 inhabited by them. Famine in such cases 

 prompts them to destroy each other ; and 

 they are subject to some disease which oc- 

 casionally proves fatal to vast numbers. 

 The principal seasons for taking the Mus- 

 quash are, the autumn, before th_- snow falls, 

 and the spring, after it has disappeared, but 

 while the ice is still entire. In the winter 

 time the depth of snow prevents the houses 

 and breathing-holes from being seen. One 

 of the first operations of the hunter is to 

 stop all the holes with the exception of one, 

 at which he stations himself to spear the 

 animals that have escaped being speared 

 through the walls of their houses, and come 

 hither to breathe. In the summer the Mus- 

 quash burrows in the banks of the lakes, 

 making branched canals many yards in 

 extent ; and forming its nest in a chamber 

 at the extremity, in which the young are 

 brought forth. When its house is attacked 

 in the autumn, it retreats to these passages, 

 but in the spring they are frozen up. It is, 

 a watchful but not a very shy animal. It 

 will approach very near a boat or canoe, but 

 dives instantly on perceiving the flash of a 

 gun. It may be frequently seen sitting on the 

 shore of small muddy islands in a rounded 

 form, and not easily to be distinguished from 

 a piece of earth, until, on the approach of 

 danger, it suddenly plunges into the water. 

 There are several varieties of this animal. 



MUSLIN [MOTHS]. A name applied by 

 collectors to Moths of the genera Psyche, 

 Penthophora, Nudaria, &c. 



MUSOPHAGA: MUSOPHAGID^ ; 

 or PLANTAIN-EATERS. A genus of 



Scansorial birds, evidently allied to the 

 Insessorial or Perchers. The base of the 

 bill is enormously dilated, so as to spread 

 like a casque or helmet over the fore part 

 of the head as far as the crown, where its 

 thickened sides form a semicircle. Nostrils 

 oval, open, placed nearer to the tip than to 

 the eyes, and pierced in the substance of the 

 bill. The species Miisophaga violacea here 

 figured is a very magnificent bird. Bill rich 

 yellow, passing into crimson ; orbits naked, 

 and, like the compact velvety feathers of 

 the crown, glossy crimson ; a white stripe 



beginning below the eye and extending above 

 the ear ; secondary and part of the primary 

 quills carmine, margined and tipped with 

 blackish violet, which is the general colour 

 of the plumage, changing into a very deep 

 green on the under parts, which is very rich 

 on the tail ; legs strong and black ; gape 

 wide. The Gold Coast and Senegal, in 

 Africa, are its localities. 



MUSSEL. (Mytilus.-) A genus of Mol- 

 uscous animals, the characters of which are, 

 that the shell is bivalve, of an oblong tri- 

 angular form, terminating in a point, and 

 having its two extremities equal. The head 

 of the animal is in the acute angle. The 

 COMMON SALT- WATER MUSSEL (Hytilusedu- 

 "is) is distinguished by a strong shell, slightly 

 ncurvated on one side, and angulated on the 

 other ; the end near the hinge being pointed, 

 and the other rounded. Mussels abound on 

 ;he rocks of our own coasts, to which they are 

 fixed by their byssus. From the circum- 

 stance of their being always found attached 

 ;o rocks, stones, or to the shells of each other, 

 ;hey have been supposed by many to be in- 

 capable of progressive motion ; but although 

 they have no tendency to change of place, 

 ;hey seem possessed of a certain degree of 

 locomotive power ; and their manner of 

 :xerting it has been examined and well ex- 

 >lained by Reaumur. He discovered that 

 heir mode of progression consisted in thrust- 

 ng their tongue-like foot out of the shell, 

 curving it, hooking it to some adjacent body, 

 and thus drawing themselves forward to the 

 point of attachment. 



Although Mussels commonly afford a sup- 

 ply of wholesome food, they sometimes (in 

 spring) acquire very poisonous properties ; 



