THE BEAVER. THE BEAVER. ways entered at their own doors, without Judge Parker, who has devoted considany further connection with their neigh-erable attention to the habits of our native bors than a friendly intercourse, and to join their united labors in erecting their separate habitations, and building their dams where required. Travellers, who assert that beavers have two doors to their houses, one on the landside, and the other next the water, seem to be less acquainted with these animals than others, who assign them an elegant suite of apartments. Such a construction would render their houses of no use, either to protect them from the attacks of their en emies, or guard them against extreme cold weather. does not prove deep enough for that purpose, they deepen it by digging a trench along the bottom, and cutting off the logs which lie in their way, with their teeth. I have seen logs 20 inches in diameter, which had been thus cut off and remov. ed." quadrupeds, after confirming the above statement of Hearne, in relation to the structure of the dams and houses of the beaver, observes: "I have thought the correct judgment exercised by the beaver in the selection of the place for his dam, to be the most remarkable part of his character. The choice seems to be made with reference to the plenty of timber suitable for his food, and the proportion, which the space to be overflowed bears to the length of the dam; and with regard to these, they seem to judge as correctly as man. So far as they have fallen under "So far are beavers from driving stakes my own observation, I have always found into the ground, when building their them at the very best places, which could houses, that they lay most of the wood be selected on the whole stream. One chief crosswise, and nearly horizontal, and object of their pond seems to be, to float without any other order than that of leav-timber, which is to serve them for food, ing a hollow, or cavity in the middle; to their dwellings; and where the water when any unnecessary branches project inward, they cut them off with their teeth, and throw them in among the rest, to prevent the mud from falling through the roof. It is a mistaken notion, that the wood work is first completed and then plastered; for the whole of their houses as well as their dams, are, from the foundation, one mass of mud and wood, mixed with stones, if they can be procured. The mud is always taken from the edge of the bank, or the bottom of the creek or pond, near the door of the house; and, though their fore paws are small, yet it is held so close up between them under their throat, that they carry both mud and stones, while they always drag the wood with their teeth. All their work is executed in the night; and they are so expeditious, that in the course of one night I have known them to have collected as much mud as amounted to some thousands of their little handfuls. It is the great policy in these animals to cover the outside of their houses every fall with fresh mud, and as late as possiThe beaver is a cleanly animal, never ble in the autumn, even when the frosts allowing any excrement or filth within become pretty severe, as by this means it its lodge. They are said to pair in Febsoon freezes as hard as a stone, and pre-ruary and bring forth their young in the vents their common enemy, the wolver- latter part of May, producing from four ene, from disturbing them during the to eight at a litter. Beavers seldom cut winter. And as they are frequently seen to walk over their work, and sometimes to give a flap with their tail, particularly when plunging into the water, this without doubt, has given rise to the vulgar opinion that they use their tails as a trowel, with which they plaster their houses; whereas that flapping of the tail is no more than a custom, which they always preserve, even when they become tame and domestic, and more particularly so when they are startled." Their food during the winter consists principally of the root of the pond lily, Nuphar luteum, which they find in the water beneath the ice. They also feed upon the bark of the poplar, birch and willow, which they cut down in the fall and drag into the water opposite the doors of their houses, as a part of their supply for the winter. In the summer they rove about, feeding upon different kinds of herbage and berries, and do not return to repair their houses and lay in their winter stock of wood till towards fall. When they are to erect a new habitation, they fell the timber for it in the spring, but do not begin to build till August, and never complete it till cold weather sets in. down trees which exceed 5 or 6 inches in diameter, and they always leave the top of the stump in the form of a cone. They gnaw all round the tree, but direct its fall by cutting one side higher than the other. The weight of a full grown beaver does not often exceed 30 pounds, though, according to Dr. Williams, they have taken in Vermont weighing from 40 to 60 pounds.t *Letter to the Author. † His. of Vermont, Vol. I. p. 121. THE MUSK-RAT. GENUS FIBER.-Cuvier. Generic Characters.—Teeth, 16--Incisors , no canines, grinders 3-3. Lower incisors sharp pointed and convex in front; grinders with flat crowns, furnished with scaly, transverse zigzag lamina; four toes, with the rudiments of a fifth, on the fore feet; five toes on the hind feet, having the edges furnished with stiff hairs, used in swimming, like the membrane of palmated feet; tail long, compressed laterally; both sexes secrete an odoriferous, musky unguent. THE MUSK RAT. Fiber zibethicus.-DESM. THE MEADOW MOUSE. These are made principally of mud mixed with grass,and in the form of a dome, with a warm bed of leaves and grass within. The only place of entrance is from beneath, and from this there are usually several subterranean passages leading in different directions. When ice forms over the surface of the swamp, they make breathing holes through it, which they sometimes protect from frost by a covering of mud. When disturbed in their dwellings, the Musk-rats retreat through their subterranean passages. They feed principally upon the roots and bark of aquatic plants, but do not, like the beaver, lay in a store of provisions for the winter. the tail, in the act of diving. They are usually taken in steel-traps. The skins are of little value, seldom bringing more than 17 cts. and often less than 10 cents. During the winter several families of Musk-rats usually reside together. But when warm weather approaches, they desert their house, and during the summer live in pairs and rear their young, of which DESCRIPTION.-General color, yellow- they have from three to six at a litter. They are very watchful and shy, seldom ish, or reddish brown, lighter beneath; body thick and flattish, with a short head venturing abroad during the day time, and and indistinct neck; incisory teeth very hence they are very seldom seen, even in large; lips covered with coarse hair; nose nighborhoods where they are known to short; eyes small and lateral, and partly abound. They run badly upon the land, concealed by the hair; ears low, oblong, but swim with facility and dive instantly covered with hair and inconspicuous; tail on perceiving the flash of a gun, usually nearly as long as the body, flattened later-giving a smart blow upon the water, with ally, and covered with small brown scales, interspersed with short black hairs; legs and feet covered with short, brown shining hair; toes 5 on each foot; thumbs very small; claws strong and sharp; a brown spot beneath the tip of the under jaw. Length of the specimen before me, from the nose to the origin of the tail 13 inches; tail 94 inches; weight 3 pounds. HISTORY.-Musk Rats, or Musquashes, as they are often called, have a strong smell of musk, particularly the males. Their fur is used in the manufacture of hats, and great numbers of their skins are shipped to Europe. Dr. Richardson imforms us that from four to five hundred thousand are annually imported from North America into Great Britain. Musk Rats were very numerous in Vermont when the country was new, and their skins afforded to the early settlers an important article of export. Although now much diminished, they are still found in considerable numbers, inhabiting the banks of our larger streams. In its aquatic and nocturnal habits, as well as in its appearance and the mode of constructing its dwelling, the Musk-rat is closely allied to the beaver. Like the beaver he is an excellent swimmer, dives well and remains for a considerable time under water. It is only in low swampy situations that the Musk-rat resorts to the construction of habitations above ground. 6 Pr. 1. GENUS ARVICOLA. Generic Characters.-Teeth 16-Incisors 2, no canines, grinders 3-3. The grinders are flat on the crowns, and marked with zigzag lines of enamel. Four toes and the rudiments of a fifth on the fore feet; on the hind feet five toes; toes furnished with weak nails, but neither palmated nor furnished with hairs on their borders; ears large; tail round, hairy, and nearly as long as the body. THE MEADOW MOUSE. Arvicola riparius.--ORD. DESCRIPTION.-General color above grayish brown, resulting from the fur, being plumbeous at the base, and tipped with gray and reddish brown; beneath light yellowish lead color; head rather large; ears broad, short, and slightly covered with hair on both sides towards the margin, opening large and apparent; eyes moderately large, black and unconcealed; whiskers few and blackish; tail short and sparsely covered with short stiff hairs; legs and feet slender; foes, four, with a rudiment of a fifth on the fore feet, the second toe longest and the outer shortest; five toes behind, the THE MEADOW MOUSE. three middle ones nearly equal. Length of the specimen from which the above de. scription was made, 5 inches; tail 2 in ches. HISTORY.-We have doubtless as many as two or three species belonging to this genus, but they have not been sufficiently examined to enable me to speak with confidence respecting them. Meadow mice are quite common in most parts of the state, and at times they become so greatly multiplied as to do much injury to the meadows and to the stacks of hay and grain. They have their burrows in the banks of streams, and under old stumps, logs and fences; and in neighborhoods where they are plenty, numerous furrows may be seen along the roots of the grass, forming lanes in which they may travel in various directions from their burrows. Their nests are sometimes constructed in their burrows, and are also found at the season of hay harvest, in great numbers, among the vegetation upon the surface of the ground. They are built of coarse straw, lined with fine soft leaves, somewhat in the manner of a bird's nest, with this difference, that they are covered at the top, and the passage into them is from beneath. These nests frequently contain 6 or 8 young ones. The meadow mice, though very prolific, have many enemies which serve in a measure to check their undue multiplication. Large numbers of them are destroyed by owls, hawks, foxes, cats, &c., and the country people, when at labor in the field, are vigilant in putting them to death. GENUS MUS.-Linnæus. Generic Characters.-Teeth 16-Incisors, no canines, grinders 3-3. The grinders are furnished with blunt tubercles. Destitute of cheek pouches; fore feet with four toes, and a wart in the place of a thumb, covered with an obtuse nail; hind feet with five toes; nails long, sharp, and incurved; tail long, tapering, naked, and scaly; some part of the hair of the body longer and stiffer than the rest; ears oblong, or round. THE NORWAY RAT. Mus decumanus.-PALL. DESCRIPTION.-General color, light reddish brown intermingled with ash, lighter and grayish beneath; feet pale flesh colored, and nearly naked; tail nearly as long as the body, covered with small dusky scales, with short stiff hairs thinly scattered among them; four toes and a small tubercle in place of a thumb before, five behind; nails small, light horn color, THE NORWAY OR BROWN RAT. and slightly curved; whiskers of unequal length, partly black and partly white. Total length of the specimen before me, which is a female, from the snout to the tip of the tail, 16 inches; head 1.8; body 7.5; tail 6.7. Six pectoral and six ventral mammæ. HISTORY.-This rat, which is at present the common rat of the United States, is supposed to have been originally a native of Persia, or India, and was first known in Europe in the early part of the 18th century. It was carried to England, about the year 1750, in the timber ships from Norway, and from this circumstance it received the name of Norway Rat. From Europe it was brought over to America, about the commencement of the American Revolution, and is now diffused over the greater part of the continent. The Norway, or, as often called, the Brown rat is very prolific, bringing forth from 10 to 16 at a litter, and but for its numerous enemies, and its own rapacious disposition, it would soon become an intolerable pest. Happily, however, for man, they are not only destroyed by weasels, cats, and dogs, but they are very destructive enemies to one another, both in the young and adult state. They are sometimes caught in traps, but on account of their caution and cunning it requires much art. The surest way of destroying them is by poison, and arsenic is commonly used for that purpose, but so many fatal accidents occur from having this poison about our buildings, that its use is not to be recommended. If poison is to be used for the destruction of rats, the powder of nur vomica, mixed with meal and scented with oil of rhodium, should be employed, and it is found very effectual for that purpose. The brown rat is a deadly enemy to the black rat, and destroys it, or drives it from the neighborhood. It also destroys mice. But it does not confine itself to the destruction of noxious animals. It often devours eggs, chickens, and the young of other domestic fowls. It however becomes the greatest nuisance and does most mischief by the destruction of grain, fruit, roots &c. in our granaries and cellars. The graphic character given it by Dr. Godman will not be disputed by any who are acquainted with its habits. "It must be confessed," says the Doctor, "that this rat is one of the veriest scoundrels in the brute creation, though it is a misfortune in him rather than a fault, since he acts solely in obedience to the impulses of nature, is guided by no other law than his own will, and submits to no restraints, but such as are imposed by force. He is, therefore, by THE BLACK RAT. To THE COMMON MOUSE. mont till some time after the settlement of the state was commenced, but that, when he wrote, they had become quite common. The Norway or Brown rat is of the state; and yet it is but a few years since it was said that none of these rats had ever been seen in the county of Orleans. THE COMMON MOUSE. no means as bad as the scoundrels of a higher order of beings, who, endowed with superior powers of intelligence, and enjoying the advantages of education, do still act as if they possessed all the vil-now the common rat in all the older parts lainous qualities of the rat, without being able to offer a similar apology for their conduct. Among quadrupeds this rat may be considered as occupying the same rank as the crow does among birds. He is one of the most impudent, troublesome, mischievous, wicked wretches that ever infested the habitations of man. Mus musculus.-LINN. the most wily cunning he adds a fierceness DESCRIPTION.-Color, dusky gray above and malignity of disposition that frequent- and ash gray beneath; forehead, reddish; ly renders him a dangerous enemy, and a whiskers, slender, numerous and black; destroyer of every living creature he can feet, white; nails, reddish with white master. He is a pure thief, stealing not points; tail, round, sparsely covered with only articles of food, for which his hun- very short hairs, and tapering from the ger would be a sufficient justification, but insertion to the extremity; ears large. substances which can be of no possible Total length about seven inches, of which utility to him. When he gains access to the tail constitutes one half. A variety a library he does not hesitate to translate of this mouse which is wholly white is and appropriate to his own use the works frequently met with in the neighborhood of the most learned authors, and is not so of lake Champlain, on both sides of the readily detected as some of his brother pi-lake, and another variety, less common, rates of the human kind, since he does is white spotted with black. not carry off his prize entire, but cuts it HISTORY.-This mischievous little creainto pieces before he conveys it to his ture, like the preceding, did not exist in den. He is, in short, possessed of no one North America at the time of the discovquality to save him from being universal-ery of this continent by the Europeans, ly despised, and his character inspires no but finding its way over in ships, in bales stronger feeling than contempt, even in of merchandize, &c., by its great fecunthose who are under the necessity of put-dity it filled the country with a rapidity ting him to death. THE BLACK RAT. Mus rattus.-LINN. DESCRIPTION.-Head elongated; snout pointed; lower jaw very short; eyes large and projecting; ears naked, large, broad and nearly ovate; whiskers long; five flat toes on the hind feet, and on the fore feet four, with a nail representing a thumb; lateral nails, both behind and before, very short; tail nearly naked, and furnished with scales disposed in rings, amounting in some cases to 250; color cinerous black, lighter beneath; whiskers black; top of the feet covered with small white hairs; mamma 12. Length of the head and body 7 inches, tail 7.5 inches. HISTORY.-It seems to be a matter of some doubt whether this Rat is indige: nous in this country or was introduced from Europe. But whethe introduced, * Natural History Vol. 2.-page 78. equal to the advancement of the new settlement,and is now very common throughout all the settled parts of the continent. This mouse takes up his residence chiefly in houses, barns and granaries, where he is often exceedingly troublesome, and does much mischief. He is very apt to find his way into cellars and pantries, of ten by gnawing holes through boards, and he is sure to nibble every kind of eatable that falls in his way. On this account, and on account of the peculiar odor which he communicates to the places which he frequents, the mouse, though a beautiful and sprightly creature, is every where regarded with disgust. The mouse builds its nest very much like that of a bird, lining the inside with wool, cotton or other soft materials. It brings forth young several times during the year, and has from 6 to 10 at a litter, so that its multiplication, when unchecked, is exceeding ly rapid. Aristotle, in his history of animals, mentions that a pregnant female of this species was shut up in a chest of grain, and in a short time 120 individuals were counted, from which it would appear that the mouse was as much distinguished on account of its fecundity 2000 years ago as it is at present. THE JUMPING MOUSE. GENUS GEREILLUS.-Desmarest. THE WOODCHUCK GENUS ARCTOMYS.-Geoffroy. Generic Characters.-Teeth, 16-Incis- Generic Characters.-Teeth 22-Incisors, no canines, grinders 3-3. The grinders ors, no canines, grinders -. The incisors are tuberculous; the first with three, the second are very strong with the anterior surface rounded; with two and the third with one tubercle. Head grinders furnished with ridges and tubercles. Body elongated; ears moderately long, rounded at the thick and heavy; head and eyes large; ears short; extremity; fore feet short with four toes and a paws strong; fore feet with four toes and a rudirudimentary thumb; hind feet long, having fivementary thumb; hind feet with five toes; nails toes with nails; each foot with a proper metatar-strong and compressed; tail generally short, hairy. sal bone; tail long, and more or less hairy. THE WOODCHUCK. Arctomys monax.-GMELIN. DESCRIPTION.-General color, grayish ferruginous brown, paler beneath and approaching to red between the legs; top of the head and nose brown; feet and THE JUMPING MOUSE. nails black; whiskers black and stiff, Gerbillus canadensis.-DESM. standing in three clusters on each side; DESCRIPTION.-General color, yellow- tail covered with long reddish brown hair. ish brown above, grayish yellow on the Length of the specimen before me from sides, and yellowish white on the belly; the nose to the insertion of the tail 16 tail tapering, longer than the body, sparse-inches; head 34 inches, body 13 inches, ly covered with very short hair, and the trunk of the tail 5 inches, with the hair tuft at the end very small; head small, nar- extending 14 inch beyond, fore legs 4 inchrow and pointed; fore legs very short; hindes, feet 24 inches; longest nail 6 inch; legs very long; nails slender and sharp; hind legs 44 inches; feet 3 inches; larears moderate and covered on both sides gest nail 4 inch. Weight 5 lbs. This with short hair; upper incisors grooved though an adult is not one of the largest on the outside. Length of the specimen size. before me, from the nose to the insertion of the tail 4 inches, head 1 inch, body 3 inches,tail 5 inches, hind leg 2 inches,fore leg of an inch. HISTORY.-The Woodchuck is a common and well known animal in all parts of the state. They are found both in the woods and open fields, where they reside HISTORY.-This timid and active lit-in pairs or families, in holes which they tle animal is frequently met with in the grain fields and meadows in all parts of the state. When not in motion it might be mistaken for a common field mouse; but its usual method of progression is very different. It sometimes runs on all its feet, but it more commonly moves by leaps on its hind legs, particularly when pursued. It will often clear five or six feet at a leap, and its leaps are made in such quick succession that it is not easily caught. On examination, it is found to differ considerably in form from the mouse, particularly in the great disproportion between the fore and hind legs, the latter being more than twice the length of the former. In this respect it resembles the kangaroo of Australasia, and the jerboa of the eastern continent. They pass the winter in a torpid state and are not usually out in the spring before June. dig in the ground. These holes are usually made beneath a large rock, or stump, or in the side of some dry bank, and are sometimes very extensive, consisting of several apartments with several openings. In these recesses they form their nests of dry leaves and grass in which they spend much of their time in sleep. Their food is entirely vegetable, of which they eat various kinds. They are particularly fond of clover and beans, and are occasionally injurious to the farmers by the extent of their depredations. When feeding they frequently rise upon their haunches to reconoitre, raising their fore feet like hands. In this position, when the weather is fine, they will sometimes sit for hours at the entrance of the holes, but they seldom venture far abroad in the day time. On the approach of cold weather they confine themselves to |