and falls an easy victim to the trapper. 

 It is a strict vegetarian in diet, and in its 

 forest home does no harm to man or other 

 animal. 



The muskrats, who owned the city, 

 however, were most in evidence. They 

 held the center of the forest stage, and 

 always secured the most attention. Per- 

 haps this was because there were more of 

 them in our valley than there were of any 

 other animal. Possibly because the musk- 

 rat is the most numerous of any fur-bear- 

 ing animal in North America. It is re- 

 ported that in 1914 ten million American 

 muskrat skins were sold in London. Of 

 course, during the same year other mil- 

 lions were sold in the fur markets in vari- 

 ous cities in the United States. 



The muskrat has a compact body about 

 twelve inches long from nose to root of 

 tail. The tail is long, naked and scaly, 

 slightly flattened vertically. It is used as 

 a rudder in the water. The hind feet 

 have short webs and are otherwise 

 adapted for swimming. Its fur is fine 



46 



