Parasites, Diseases and Enemies. 285 



studying; he leaves his "sign" on a stone or log, in a 

 conspicuous place, and never buries it, as dogs and 

 cats do. I gave musky the benefit of the doubt, know- 

 ing that he is the nearest relative of the beaver, and 

 the name of "musk beaver" would fit him better than 

 the one he bears. Having dissected hundreds and 

 found no remains of fish, I was still skeptical, because 

 of the eating of Unios. 



With all this in mind, I decided to find out what 

 others might know on the subject, and to do this there 

 is no way in which one can reach such a body of ob- 

 servant field naturalists as in the columns of "Forest 

 and Stream." Therefore I wrote: 



"In 'Forest and Stream' of July 30, 1898, I said 

 that I had always suspected the muskrat of eating fish 

 in the winter, because it is well known that it eats ani- 

 mal food in the shape of Unios, or fresh-water mussels, 

 but most of these rodents that I had examined were 

 killed in summer, when they were mainly feeding on 

 vegetation. I asked: 'Can any one prove that the 

 muskrat eats fish in winter when vegetation is scant?' 

 To this question there came but one reply, but it was 

 so full and complete that I publish it as a contribution 

 to the life history of the muskrat. No doubt thousands 

 of men have known for years what Mr. Held writes, 

 but as I did not know it, and I have known the mus- 

 quash as boy and man for over half a century, and as a 

 summer burrower in my trout ponds for at least half 

 that time, it is fair to assume that others may not know 

 about the fish-eating habits of the muskrat. 



"Here is just the kind of letter that I love to receive. 

 It is from Mr. William C. Held, Saginaw, Mich., and 

 says : 



" 'You ask if any one can prove that the muskrat 



