118 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



MUSQUASH. 



"be known with certainty. They pair in April and May, and the female produces from three to six 

 young at a birth ; but whether this takes place once or several times in the course of the summer is a 

 matter of doubt. They are captured in fall-traps baited with apples, or by traps set at the mouth of 

 their burrows. The Indians sometimes spear them in their houses. 



The LEMMING (Myodes lemmus) is one of the most remarkable of the MuricUe, on account 

 of the great migrations which it performs, apparently with no special object. In Norway, where 

 it is best known, they make their appearance in the cultivated districts in such enormous numbers, 

 and so suddenly, that the peasants have always believed them to fall from the cloiids. The Lemming 

 is a Vole-like animal, about six inches long, of which the tail makes up about half an inch. It varies 

 considerably in colour, but is usually brownish-yellow, with dark spots above, and with a yellow streak 

 enclosing the eye on each side of the face ; the under surface is yellowish. The ears are very short, 

 scarcely projecting beyond the fur ; the eyes are small, black, and bead-like ; the soles of the feet are 

 hairy, and the claws of the fore feet much stronger than those on the hinder extremities. The 

 Norwegian Lemmings live and breed among the peat mosses of the mountains. They are lively 

 and active little creatures both by day and night, and feed upon the scanty vegetation of their 

 Alpine home grasses, lichens, the catkins of the dwarf birch, and roots. They are active even 

 through the winter, when they make passages for themselves under the thick covering of snow 

 which then veils the whole country, and thus are enabled to go in search of their ordinary food. 

 They also make their way up to the surface, upon which they may occasionally be seen running, 

 even in the depth of winter. They breed in their burrows and under stones, and must be very 

 prolific, seeing that every predaceous animal in the country destroys and devours them. The Lem- 

 ming is, in one sense, an exceedingly timid little creature, the slightest disturbance of its quietude, or 

 even the passing over-head of a cloud, being sufficient to alarm it ; but when attacked it displays the 



