296 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



lar THE DESTRrCTBOIV OF CAKP BY THE MUSK-IRAT (FIBEB 



ZaBETni€U8).-METHOI>S OF TRAPPIIVCJ THE KODENT. 



By HEWRY TV. EL,I.I©TT. 



[Abstract.] 



On June 10, 1883, I placed forty choice goldfisli in my pond. Later 

 in the season the water became low and so clear that the contour of the 

 bottom and the contents of the pond were exactly revealed. On August 

 25 only five goldfish remained, but these had grown remarkably. No fish 

 had been seen dead or iujured, though the pond was constantly under the 

 eyes of myself and family. No geese, ducks, turtles, water-snakes, bit- 

 terns, or kingfishers had been noticed about the pond ; and, concluding 

 that the fish had escaped at the outlet pipe, I placed a wire screen over 

 it and dismissed the subject. 



Towards the end of September I saw a large musk-rat in the pond, 

 but the animal saw me at the same time and instantly disappeared. As 

 I knew well that there were no musk-rat burrows in the banks of my 

 pond, I concluded thnt it must live in a 6-inch tile-drain that served 

 as an inlet pipe. Accordingly I immediately put a common steel-trap 

 into the tile, and had the satisfaction of catching the musk-rat a few 

 days afterwards. A neighbor told me that this was the destroyer of my 

 fish, but I answered that the authorities denied a fish diet to the musk- 

 rat, declaring it to live upon vegetables, grain, and mollusks. I began 

 to think anew upon the subject, however, and called upon another neigh- 

 bor, who has a large carp pond. Like myself, he was unable to account 

 for the loss of his fish, but on drawing off his pond and finding only one 

 large carp instead of the hundreds he should have had, and discovering 

 seven or eight musk-rat holes in the banks, he concluded that these 

 musk-rats were the cause of the destruction and disappearance of the 

 fish. I have since learned that carp ponds in Virginia, Pennsylvania, 

 and Illinois have been robbed and the fish destroyed by musk-rats. 



The attention of fish-culturists should be quickly drawn to this danger, 

 and the prompt destruction of the musk-rats may save much loss in the 

 propagation of carp and goldfish. The nocturnal habit of the musk-rat 

 in feeding renders trapping the only practicable method by which to 

 get rid of this pest. A common steel-trap should be set, placed under 

 the water at the entrance of the musk-rat's hole, a stout stake being 

 driven into the bank above and the chain securely attached to it. The 

 musk-rat when either coming out or going in is likely to step upon the 

 flat trigger and is caught, when it may easily be killed. * 



*The American Field, of October 20, 1883, gives the following instructions for catch- 

 ing mnsk-rats : 



"Get half a flozeu of Ncwhouse's steel- traps. Set them near the edge andnnder the 

 water in abont 1 inch of water. Put upon a stick slanting out over the water and in 

 front of the trap, a piece of parsnip. Set the trap lightly. This will catch every 

 musk-rat, they beiug vegetable eaters as well as fish eaters." — C. W. S. 



