SWAMP WHITE-OAK BEND. 101 



ing the winter months, it speaks volumes for their cun- 

 ning that they have escaped extermination. But wheth- 

 er abundant or rare, one need not expect to see them 

 frequently during the day. They are essentially noc- 

 turnal, or rather crepuscular, and glory in still moon- 

 lit nights, when often a dozen can be seen at one time. 



At intervals this creature looms up in zoological liter- 

 ature in a curious way. That musk-rats are fond of 

 mussels, every boy upon a farm well knows ; but it is 

 the disposition of some, who profess to have dived a lit- 

 tle more deeply into this remarkable matter, to invest 

 this whim of the animal with a deal of mystery. The 

 latest screed upon this subject is the most utterly absurd 

 of all ; and alas ! is trumpeted forth by a school-master. 



It was bad enough to have impossible gymnastics as- 

 cribed to the musk-rat ; to assert that it deftly forced 

 its toe-nails between the slightly open valves, without 

 irritating the sensitive " foot " so that it would be with- 

 drawn, and that with its fore-legs thus encumbered the 

 musk-rat sought the shore vainly sought it I imagine. 

 All this vagary from a hopeful (?) pupil ; and now 

 comes the further elucidation of the problem from the 

 teacher. He has been wandering along the river shore, 

 ay, and picked up mussels. Better yet, he has sur- 

 prised them with their " feet " out and pinched them 

 until the whole body was paralyzed. Here is the real 

 secret of the musk-rat, then ; they have learned the ped- 

 agogic squeeze ! 



To go back a step. These lovers of mystery assume, 

 at the outset, that the shells of mussels are seldom or 

 never injured by the musk-rat. This, of itself, is not 



