FIBER ZIP.KTinCUS. 2/7 



takes up its abode near dykes or dams, its perforations are \u\h\e to 

 do ercat mischief. 



In moving about on their feeding grounds Muskrats are in the 

 habit of travelHng along the same paths till they become deeply worn 

 channels. Steel traps properly concealed in these run\va\'s are 

 almost certain to capture the hrst animal that passes. 



In places where the water is from two to six feet deep the Musk- 

 rat, in the fall of the year, sometimes collects and heaps together a 

 large quantity of aquatic and m u'sh plants, the resulting mass taking 

 a shape not unlike that of a " haycock," though commonly far less 

 symnietrical. This accumulation of vegetation, with more or less 

 adhering mud,'-' is called a Muskrat "hut" or "house." It varies 

 greatl)' in size, those placed in water occasionally attaining extraordi- 

 nary dimensions. The summit of the structure is commonl\- hioh 

 enouofh out of water to admit ot an air-chamber within, which com- 

 municates with the outside world by means of a hole through the 

 centre of the mass, the entrance or entrances being under water. 

 Man\- of the houses contain no mud or sticks, but consist wholly of 

 balls and knots of roots and swamp grasses. It seems clear that the 

 animals make no attempt to construct a dwelling of any particular 

 shape, but merely hea}) the materials together without plan or order, 

 the resulting mound naturally assuming, in a general wa)-. the form 

 of a flattened cone. In some cases the suiUiiiit is (piite dome-shaped, 

 but I am convinced that this is purely the result of accident, for 

 their ui)i)er parts are usually very irregular. The materials of which 

 the hut is composed, it will be observed, are such as serve as food 

 for the animals durino^ the loni^ winters ; hence the Muskrat's house 

 is, in reality, a store-house, which he devours piecemeal as the winter 

 advances ! The one structure supplies both the food itself, and the 



* I liavc never seen a Muskrat house that was built of mud, or that even consisted largely of this 

 material ; but they must occur in certain localities, for no less trustworthy an authority than Sir 

 John Richardson wrote : "In the autumn, before the shallow lakes and swamps freeze over, the 

 Musquash builds its house of mud, giving it a conical form, and a sufficient base to raise the 

 chamber al)ove the level of the water." (Fauna I^orcali Americana, Vol. I, 1829, p. 117.) 



