MAMMALS. 



57 



the cabin also were stuffed full of similar weed-liay for winter use. 

 In many places the accumulation of winter hay is almost as extensive 

 as that provided by conies, and in one place near Granite Park I 

 found where the woodrats and conies had evidently been using the 

 same stack of hay through the winter. At Lake McDonald, where 

 there are many summer cabins, the woodrats often take possession of 

 those unoccupied during the winter and hold high revelry until the 

 owners return. In one cabin on the edge of the lake were bushels 

 of leaves and branches brought 

 in for winter food and a pile of 

 chips and sticks in the open 

 doorwajr between the two rooms 

 suggested an attempt to barri- 

 cade the smaller room, of which 

 the)' had taken possession. On a 

 high shelf in the corner a large 

 bowl-like nest had been built of 

 the soft brown fibers of cedar 

 bark, moss, and lichens, and well 

 lined with bits of cotton from 

 the inside of an old cotton com- 

 forter which had been left in the 

 cabin. The nest was as well 

 built as those of many birds, and 

 somewhat in the form of the 

 robin's nest, only a little larger 

 and of much softer material. It 

 was just large enough for one 

 good-sized occupant to lie curled 

 up below its rim, and I know of 

 no prettier animal picture than 

 that presented by the big ears 

 and bright eyes of a woodrat 

 peering over the top of one of 

 these nests. 



In some cases poisoned grain or a few rat traps are left in a cabin 

 that is to be unoccupied duriug the winter to prevent any possible 

 mischief from the woodrats, but generally bedding, food, and such 

 things as they are likely to misappropriate are suspended froui the 

 ceiling by wires or kept in tin-lined cupboards or boxes. If a gunny 

 sack is left for them to build a nest of, and a box with a hole in it for 

 them to use as the foundation for their building operations, they 

 are not likely to do much damage. 



They have a slight musky odor which seems to come from a large 

 gland in the skin of the belly, but when properly dressed and cooked 



B I 8506 



Fig, 9. — Woodrat nest, lined "with cotton 

 out of old quilt, on shelf in corner of 

 cabin at Lake McDonald. April 21, 1918. 



