The Desman, or Russian Musk-Rat.
This creature resembles the common musk-rat, and is found both in Russia and Sweden. It is about the size of the common hedgehog, the body being eight or nine inches long. Its coat is like that of the beaver, and is composed of hair intermixed with soft, clear and delicate fur. The color is brown above, and silvery beneath. The tail, which is seven inches long, is one of the most extraordinary mechanical instruments in the whole animal kingdom. It is composed of three parts, each of which has a motion peculiar to itself.
The Desman chooses the margin of such places as are convenient for the burrows which it digs under water. These are sometimes seven yards in length, and are used as hiding-places. The water freezes over these entrances, and numbers of the animals are suffocated every winter. If there are any cracks or fissures in the ice, they crowd to them, eagerly thrusting their noses up to get the air.
The Desman preys at the bottom of the water, and dabbles with its nose in the mud, in search of the small insects which inhabit it. Its senses of touch and smell are very acute; this is rendered necessary from the fact that the animals upon which it preys are silent and invisible. Although nearly blind, it is not a nocturnal animal, but sleeps during the night, at which time it keeps its nose constantly moving, in order, it is supposed, to retain the organs in a proper state for work. Water is indispensable to its existence, and after having remained in a small quantity for any time, it is rendered very offensive from a strong musky odor, from which it derives its common name of musk-rat.
