318 Department of Conservation of Louisiana 



When this very large yield is considered, it might be 

 possible for the layman to conclude that these lands were 

 "skinned" by the trappers, and that the number of musk- 

 rats taken was entirely too much to permit a sufficient 

 breeding stock to remain in the marshes for the next winter 

 season, but judging from the myriads of muskrats driven 

 from their habitats by the flood waters when the lands 

 were first inundated it is certain that, in spite of this high 

 take, that the trappers did allow sufficient breeding stock 

 to remain on the marshes to insure as good a take for the 

 coming winter as was taken off of these lands during the 

 season of 1926-27. 



Ditching With Dynamite 



The cost of digging canals through the Louisiana 

 marshes, as has already been pointed out, averages from 

 $1,000 to $1,500 a mile, depending on width, depth, and the 

 kind of marsh through which the dredge must work. Canals 

 18 feet wide and 6 feet deep, such as have been exacavated 

 by a local land company, and which have been designated 

 as standard by this department for 'rat ranching, are not 

 necessary in every part of a large acreage given over to 

 the production of muskrats. 



Pirogue trials, or narrow-width, shallow canals, will 

 prove a great aid to the 'rat rancher in effectively pro- 

 tecting, patrolling and transporting supplies and collec- 

 tions. They can be dug with effect and with comparative 

 cheapness, as can be proved by the experiments made on 

 the holdings of the land company's tract during the sum- 

 mer of 1927, when 2% miles of pirogue trail was blasted 

 by dynamite at a cost of $1,635, or $75 a mile, approxi- 

 mately. 



