Boy Scouts Handbook / The First Edition, 1911

by Boy Scouts of America

Beaver

Beaver
(Castor canadensis)

The beaver is known by its great size--weighing from twenty-five to fifty pounds--its chestnut color, darker on the crown, its webbed feet, and its broad, flat, naked, scaly tail. The pelt of this animal is a valuable fur. The creature is famous for building dams and digging canals. It was found wherever there was water and timber in North America north of Mexico, but is now exterminated in most highly settled regions.

Muskrat

Muskrat
(Fiber zibethicus)

The muskrat is about the size of a cat; that is, it is twenty-one inches long, of which the tail is ten inches. In color it somewhat resembles the beaver, but its feet are not conspicuously webbed, its tail is long and flattened vertically, not {137} horizontally. This abundant animal is found throughout North America within the limit of trees wherever there is fresh water. It is the most abundant fur on the market.

Black-tailed jack rabbit