84 



NORTH AMERICA. 



feeds on roots and herb;, and is said to be about tlie size of a badger, and covered with 

 silver-gray hair. The Indians take them in traps, and consider their flesh dehcious food. 

 They use their skins sewed together as blankets. 



Tke Short-tailed Marmot is found on the banks of the Oregon, and forms burrows in im- 

 mense numbers, sometimes covering 200 acres of land. Each burrow contains ten or twelve 

 inhabitants. Say^s JSIarmot (Jlrctomys lateralis)^ is ranked among the squirrels by Godman, 

 under the name of the Rocky Mountain GJround Squirrel. Its back is striped with brown and 

 white lines. It burrows in the ground, and is very abundant in the Rocky Mountains. 



The Quebec JMarmot inhabits the wooded districts of Canada. It appears to be a solitary 



animal, and lives in burrows in the earth, but ascends 

 bushes in the trees, probably in search of birds and other 

 vegetable matters, on which it feeds. The Indians take it 

 by pouring water into its holes. 



J^Iarmot or Woodchuck. This animal, (c3. njon«a;), usually 

 called the IMaryland jMarmot, is common in the United 

 States. In some places it does great injury to the farmers, 

 as the quantity of herbage it consumes is really surprising. 

 It burrows in the sides of hills, and penetrates to great 

 distances under ground. At the commencement of cold 

 weather it goes into its burrow, blocks up the door within, 

 and remains torpid till the warm season. Parry's Marmot 

 is found in stony districts, where it burrows in the sand 

 between the rocks. Its cry when alarmed is like the sound 



Parry s Marmot. 



of a watchman's rattle. It feeds on vegetables. 



The Raccoon (Procyon lotor) has never been found in the Eastern Continent, but is widely 



distributed over this. While eating, the raccoon usually supports 

 himself on his hind legs, and uses his paws to hold his food ; he 

 can open an oyster with the utmost dexterity. If water be near, 

 he generally dips his food into it. By his pointed claws he is able 

 to climb trees whli great facility. He runs up the trunk with the 

 same swiftness that he moves over the plains, and frolics about the 

 extremity of the branches with great security and ease. On the 

 ground, indeed, he rather bounds than runs, and his motions, 

 though singularly oblique, are yet always quick and expeditious. 

 He may be tamed without difficulty, and is then very good-natured and sportive ; but he is as 

 mischievous as a monkey, and seldom remains at rest. 



The Beaver {Castor Fiber), formerly common over a great part of the continent, is now be- 

 come comparatively scarce. It is celebrated for the ingenuity which it displays in constructing 

 its dwelling, and many fables have been related concerning it. It is about two feet in length, 

 with a tail nearly a foot long, which is covered with scales. The body is covered with two 

 sorts of hair, of which one is long and stiff, and the other short, thick, and soft. The food of 

 the beavers is roots of aquatic plants, berries, and the bark of trees. Their houses, which are 

 only for winter residence, are built on the banks of a stream or pond, and they generally select 

 in preference running and rather deep waters, which are less apt to freeze. These habitations 

 are constructed of the trunks and branches of small trees, which they fell for the purpose so as 

 to cause them to fall into the water. These are mixed with mud and stones, which they carry 

 in their fore paws. When they build on running water, they often construct dams of consider 

 able size and much strength, and of the same materials as their houses. 



The Muskrat or Musquash (Fiber Zibethicus), an animal of the beaver kind, but much 



smaller than the common beaver, is found from 30° to 70° 

 north latitude. Its fur is much valued, and several hun- 

 dred thousand are annually obtained. The muskrat feeds 

 on the leaves and roots of aquatic plants and on shell-fish, 

 and burrows or builds houses like those of the beaver. 



The Jumping Mouse [Me.rioncs labradorius)h found from 

 Canada to Pennsylvania. Its size is nearly the same as that of 

 the common mouse. It is found in grass and grain fields. 

 In the winter it buries itself in the ground, and lies torpid 



Muskrat. 



