334 



CANADA POUCHED RAT. 



shorter, and the first very short : there is a large callous protuberance 

 on the hinder-part of the palms. On the hind-feet the toes are short, 

 and the nails are very short, concave beneath, and rounded at tip ; the 

 middle nail is longest, the second almost as long, the fourth a little 

 shorter, the first still shorter, the fifth very short. This Rat is planti- 

 grade, and presses on the earth from the heel to the toes. 



The tail is for one third of its length from the root clothed with hair, 

 but toward the extremity is naked. 



COLOUR. 



Incisors, yellow ; nostrils, light pink ; eyes, black. The fur is plum- 

 beous from the roots to near the extremity, where it is broadly tipped 

 with reddish-brown ; on the under surface it is a little paler, owing to 

 the ends of the hairs being but slightly tipped with brown. 



The head and the dorsal line are a shade darker than the surrounding 

 parts. 



Moustaches, white and black ; nails, and all the feet, white. 



The colours here described are those w^hich this species exhibits during 

 winter and the early part of summer. Immediately after shedding its 

 hair it takes the colour of the young, light-plumbeous, which gradually 

 deepens at the approach of winter. 



DIMENSIONS. 



From nose to root of tail . 



" " to ear 



" •' to end of pouch 



Tail 



Depth of pouch . 

 Fore-foot with longest claw 

 Distance between the eyes 



Weight of largest specimen, 14 oz. 



9| 



inches. 



2 



do. 



4i 



do. 



2i 



do. 



3 



do. 



If 



do. 



J 



do. 



During a visit which we made to the Upper Missouri in the spring and 

 summer of 1843, we had many opportunities of studying the habits of this 

 species. In the neighbourhood of St. Louis, at the hospitable residence 

 of Pierre Chouteau, Esq., we procured several of them alive. In that 

 section of country they are called " Muloes." 



They are considered by the gardeners in that vicinity as great plagues, 

 devouring every tap-root vegetable, or grass, within their reach, and 



