MUSK-RAT. A name commonly applied to an animal also called MUSQUASH (Fiber zibethious), of the sub-family Arvicolinw family Muriche.1 It is related in structure and habits to the English water-vole, but is of larger size, the head and body being about 12 inches in length and the tail but little less. It is rather a heavily-built animal, with a broad head, no distinct neck, and short limbs ; the eyes are small, and the ears project very little beyond the fur. The fore-limbs have four toes and a rudimentary thumb, all with claws ; the hind limbs are larger, with five distinct toes, united by short webs at their bases. The tail is laterally compressed, nearly naked, and scaly. The hair much resembles that of a beaver, but is shorter ; it consists of a thick soft under-fur, interspersed with longer stiff, glistening hairs, which overlie and conceal the former, on the upper surface and sides of the body. The general colour is dark umber-brown, almost black on the back and grey below. The tail and naked parts of the feet are black. The musky odour from which it derives its name is due to the secretion of a large gland situated in the inguinal region, and present in both sexes.

The Musk-rat is the only species of its genus and is peculiar to America, being extensively distributed in suitable localities in the northern part of the continent, extend

The name Musk-rat is applied in India to a large species of Shrew (Some exruleseens or indices) which frequents houses at night, hunting round rooms for cockroaches and other insects, occasionally uttering a sharp shrill cry. The strong musky odour of the animal arises from large glands beneath the skin of the side of the body, a short distance behind the fore-limbs. This odour is so powerful and penetrating that it is popularly believed in India that if the animal runs over a corked bottle of wine or beer it will infect the fluid within. Jerdon says that certainly many bottles are met with quite undrinkable from the peculiar musky odour of their contents, but, rejecting the possibility of its passing through the glass, he attributes it to the corks having been infected previously to bottling, stating in corroboration of this view that he has never found the odou•in liquors bottled in England.