1892.
July 4
Concord, Massachusetts.
Mass.
Concord.- Clear and cool with high N.W. wind; a firm, bracing
day such as we have oftenest in autumn.
  Started for Ball's Hill at 11 a.m. On opening my boat house
I found the Musk rat on the nest. She soon started off dragging,
as I could see distinctly, only two young attached to her teats
and leaving but one in the nest. Hence I fear that three of 
the young have been lost through the cracks in the floor.
This is not certain, however, for when I returned from Ball's
Hill at 6 P.M. to-day the three remaining young were gone
and the nest dismantled the entire lining and much
of the coarse outer material having been removed. At first
I supposed that the entire family had left the boat-house
but I soon discovered a new nest in the back part just
to one side of the bow of the same canoe. To this nest
the parent "Rat" had doubtless taken her young. In fact
I could just make out the curve of her furry back rising
above the nest. The missing three young may also be with her.
[margin]Family of
young Musk Rats[/margin]
  When I drew out my Rob-Roy canoe this morning I
was surprised to find huddled together on the floor beneath
its "waist" four more Muskrats about half grown and well
furred. They moved about uneasily as the canoe grated
and scaped over them but none of them attempted to
escape from the house and after the canoe was was out all
quickly quieted down and allowed me to look at them
as long as I chose. They were unmistakably young of
this season and doubtless offspring of the same parents
as the litter about which I have just been writing. The
latter have not changed in any way that I can detect
since I first saw them excepting that they now show
indications of a slight ridge on the dorsal hair of the
tail. I cannot think that I could have overlooked this at first.