176 THE ONDATRA. 



to the store-heap, drags out a suitable log, carries it to a sheltered and 

 dry spot, nibbles the bark away, and then either permits the stripped 

 log to float down the stream or applies it to the dam. 



We must now bestow a little time on the curious odoriferous sub- 

 stance which is called " castoreum " by the learned, and " bark-stone " 

 by the trappers. This substance is secreted in two glandular sacs which 

 are placed near the root of the tail, and gives out an extremely pow- 

 erful odor. 



To the castoreum the trapper is mostly indebted for his success, for 

 the Beavers are strangely attracted by this substance, and if their nos- 

 trils perceive its distant scent, the animals will sit upright, sniff about 

 in every direction, and absolutely squeal with excitement. Taking 

 advantage of this curious propensity, the hunter always carries a sup- 

 ply of castoreum in a closed vessel, and when he comes to a convenient 

 spot for placing his trap, he sets the trap and then proceeds to man- 

 ufacture his bait. This process is simple enough, consisting merely of 

 taking a little twig of wood about nine inches long, chewing one end 

 of it, and dipping it in the castoreum. The trap is now laid so as to 

 be covered by about six inches of water, and the stick arranged so that 

 its perfumed tip projects from the water. Any Beaver which scents 

 this bait will most certainly come to it, and will probably be captured 

 in the trap. 



The Ondatra, Musquash, or Musk Eat, is a native of Northern 

 America, where it is found in various places above the twentieth de- 

 gree of north latitude. 



The color of this animal is a dark brown on the upper portions of 

 its body, tinged with a reddish hue upon its neck, ribs, and legs, the 

 abdomen being ashy gray ; the tail is of the same dark hue as the 

 body.^ In total length it rather exceeds two feet, of which measure- 

 ment the tail occupies about ten inches. The incisor teeth are bright 

 yellow, and the nails are white. The whole coloring of the animal is 

 so wonderfully like the hue of the muddy banks on which it resides 

 that a practised naturalist has often mistaken the Ondatras for mere 

 lumps of mud until they began to move, and so dispelled the illusion. 

 The hinder feet of the Ondatra 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 vegetable nature, although, when confined in a cage, one of these 

 animals has been seen to eat mussels and oysters, cutting open the soft- 

 est shells and extracting the inmates, and waiting for the hard-shelled 

 specimens until they either opened of their own accord or died. Al- 

 though the Ondatra is a clumsy walker, it will sometimes travel to 

 some distance from the water-side, and has been noticed on a spot 

 nearly three-quarters of a mile from any water. These animals have 



