MUSK RAT, 
37 
Musk rat, ' 
This animal is about the size of a small rabbit. 
Its head is thick and short, and somewhat resem- 
bles that of a water-rat. The eyes are large ; 
the ears short, rounded, and covered both inside 
and outside with hair. Its fur is soft, glossy, and 
©f a reddish brown colour ; and beneath this is 
a much finer fur, or thick down, which is very 
useful in the manufacture of hats. The tail is 
flattened laterally, and covered with scales. 
Musk rats are found in America, from Hudson’s 
Bay as far south as Carolina. In the general form 
of their body, as well as in many of their habits, 
they bear a considerable resemblance to the beaver. 
They construct their habitation of dry plants, but 
particularly of reeds, cement it with clay, and 
cover it with a dome. At the bottom and sides of 
this there are several pipes, through which they 
pass in search of food ; for they lay up no pro- 
visions for winter. They have also subterraneous 
passages, into which they retreat whenever their 
houses are attacked. 
Their habitations, which are intended only for 
the winter, are rebuilt annually. At the approach 
of this season they begin to construct them, as 
places of retirement from the inclemencies of the 
weather. Several families occupy the same dwel- 
ling, which is frequently covered many feet deep 
with snow and ice ; the animals, no withstanding, 
contrive to creep out, and feed on the roots that 
are also buried beneath. They feed too on the 
fresh water muscles ; and when the season permits 
it, on fruit. Kalm, in his American Travels, says 
that apples are used as baits for them in traps. In 
winter the male and female are seldom seen far 
from each other. 
