FIBER ZIBETHICUS. 
1 77 
prey upon Mice. Pre-eminent among these may be mentioned the 
marsh and rough-legged hawks, all the smaller hawks and owls, the 
shrike, the skunk, and the weasels. Thus the farmer in his short- 
sightedness omits no opportunity to deprive himself of nature’s means 
of holding in check the vermin that ruin his crops. 
When a field is overrun by Meadow Mice, immense numbers of 
them may be captured in narrow trenches, a spade’s breadth in width, 
and a foot and a half (457 mm.) in depth. The trenches should be 
a trifle wider at the bottom than at the top. Into these the Mice 
tumble, without being able to escape. 
The Meadow Mouse is exceedingly prolific, giving birth to from 
four to eight young at a time, and having several litters in a season. 
In early spring its nests are generally made just beneath the surface, 
but after the grass has attained a little height they are usually placed 
in slight depressions directly on the ground. 
FIBER ZIBETHICUS (Linn.) Cuvier. 
Muskrat ; Musquash. 
Colonies of Muskrats may be found at suitable ponds, swamps, 
and sluggish streams in all parts of the Adirondacks. 
These animals are in the main herbivorous, subsisting chiefly upon 
the roots of marsh grasses and aquatic plants. Still, they occasional- 
ly prey upon fish, and sometimes manifest evidences of cannibalism, 
devouring those of their own kind that are found dead or wounded 
and unable to escape. They are extremely fond of the fresh-water 
mussels ( Unio and Anodoti) and large quantities of empty shells may 
often be found near their homes. 
Although the Muskrat and the beaver are the most strictly aquatic 
of all our mammals, the former not infrequently, in autumn, visits 
orchards in the neighborhood of water-courses to feed upon the apples 
that have fallen to the ground ; and I have known it to follow up 
drains and enter the cellars of inhabited houses, and to attack the 
