and dense, interspersed with long, coarse 

 hairs. Its color is dark umber brown, 

 except on the stomach, which is grey. It 

 has a musky odor due to secretions of a , 

 large gland. The muskrat is very pro- 

 lific, usually having several litters of 

 young in a season, totaling often as many 

 as eighteen during a summer. 



Muskrats feed on roots and stems of 

 succulent water plants and other vege- 

 tables, varied with an occasional frog, 

 fish, or fresh-water clam. A muskrat 

 who lives near our cottage has the habit 

 of opening clams and leaving the shells 

 on our dock every night. The shells we 

 are obliged to sweep off in the morning. 

 "Musky" builds on the marsh, in the 

 edge of a pond or near a stream, a curi- 

 ous cone-shaped house or lodge. He 

 stores up roots and grasses for winter 

 use, frequently building these in with 

 mud into the walls of his house. Then 

 in case of shortage of other food, he 

 eats his house. 



Bachelor or unmated muskrats some- 



48 



