262 Department of Conservation of Louisiana 



A muskrat "feeding platform," in a marsh. The muskrats carry the root stalks they 

 cut off to such "platforms" by swimming, and devour the food out of the water, lhey 

 sometimes, when the water is very high, break down grasses to construct their feeding 

 platforms. 



When he visited the house the next morning "the trap 

 was sprung and the material surrounding the trap was 

 plugged in all around it, making it impossible for anything 

 to get in the trap. To one side of the old nest with the 

 trap, a new nest was found, in which the young were peace- 

 fully sleeping. The same trick was done again and the 

 same results were discovered the next morning." 



Marsh Fires 



One of the problems that the 'rat rancher, the trapper, 

 the land owner — in fact, anyone interested in the muskrat 

 industry — has to face is the question of fires on the marshes. 



If all of the fires were accidental, the problem would 

 not be of any great consideration, but, unfortunately, 90 

 per cent of the fires are set by trappers and alligator hunt- 

 ers. Firing of a marsh by a trapper is done under the 



