210 /# SUMMER. 



how readily we overlook so much that is well 

 worth seeing. These few square rods of shal- 

 low water go not so much to make a lily- 

 pond, although this was my sole intention, as 

 to form a zoological garden on a quite extensive 

 scale. 



. Let us consider now some of these unbidden 

 and unwelcome occupants of the pond. Of the 

 mammalian life, first in bulk as well as destruc- 

 tiveness is the musk-rat. It is not so much of a 

 wonder that these animals so soon appeared. 

 They are given to nocturnal wanderings. This 

 is the night-side of their nature that we must 

 keep in mind. In this case they had but to fol- 

 low the windings of the brook for a thousand 

 yards from a creek, where they have always 

 been, to reach the pond. The curious feature 

 of their coming was, that in so short a time they 

 had securely established themselves. They seem 

 to have said to themselves, " This is to our lik- 

 ing," and without delay dug their underground 

 retreats. They considered the pond their own, 

 and in one night the smooth and sodded bank 

 was marred by a line of treacherous hills and 

 hollows. Then broad leaves and thick stems of 

 lilies began to float about, cleanly cut from the 

 parent plant. The culprits were well known, 

 yet days and weeks passed without one being 

 seen. But a single moonlit night sufficed to tell 



