220 GNAWING ANIMALS 



orize the Latin names of the genera and species; but those 

 who become specially interested in natural history will very 

 soon desire to know them. 



The Muskrat,^ which received its name from its very 

 pronounced musky odor, is the largest native representative 

 of the Mouse-and-Rat Family. It is readily recognized by 

 its flat, hairless tail, carried on its edge. It is of large size, 

 measuring about 21 inches in length. It is of aggressive 

 habit, an admirable diver and swimmer, an industrious and 

 intelligent house builder, and the only native rat whose fur 

 is valuable. It is found from Labrador and Newfoundland 

 to Alaska, and southward to Arizona and Louisiana. 



It is very shrewd in preserving its own life, and even in 

 the large forest parks of New York City, it refuses to be 

 exterminated. When three bogs in the New York Zoological 

 Park were dug out and converted into ponds, the wild Musk- 

 rats in the Bronx River found them as soon as they were 

 completed, immediately took possession of them, and there 

 they remained until forcibly dislodged. Being very destruc- 

 tive to lily bulbs, and most other aquatic plants, their pres- 

 ence in ornamental ponds is very objectionable. 



Muskrats are rarely, if ever, found away from ponds or 

 good-sized streams. They are quite as much at home in the 

 water as beavers, and their habits are strictly aquatic. The 

 tail furnishes the motive power for swimming. The feet are 

 small and but very slightly webbed, and the body is com- 

 pletely covered with soft, brown fur an inch or more in length, 

 which is much sought by furriers. When taken at the best 



^ Fiber zibethicus. 



