The Fur Animals of Louisiana 379 



Muskrat pelts from widely scattered localities all seem 

 to have one common color for the base of the underfur 

 and that color is slate blue, according to Mr. LaDue, who 

 says he has noted this in skins he has handled from Nevada, 

 Wisconsin and Maryland. In examining a skin from Vir- 

 ginia he found it offered an interesting contrast, in that the 

 underfur was tipped with light blue which ran into a wide 

 band of creamy white at the base. 



"The tips of the guard hairs, especially the tips of the 

 underfur, showed a wide difference. The Nevada pelts 

 had almost red guardhairs, the darkest hairs being found 

 in a narrow band down the back bone. The underfur tips 

 on these pelts were almost a lilac shade and showed a 

 decided lilac after the guard hairs were plucked. Pelts 

 from Wisconsin had red guard hairs along the sides and 

 a broad band of rich, dark brown guard hairs down tho 

 back. The tips of the guard hairs were quite dark and 

 when laid flat gave an appearance of being black. The 

 tips of the under fur of Wisconsin pelts were uniformly a 

 rich reddish-brown." 



The Maryland and Virginia pelts Mr. LaDue examined 

 were from the so-called "black muskrat". It is interesting 

 to note that this gentleman calls attention to the same fact 

 I have always pointed out to those in the South who have 

 wanted to experiment with the "black" muskrat — that it 

 is not black. 



"Many persons not familiar with the true color of the 

 black muskrat have been disappointed after receiving their 

 breeding stock," says Mr. LaDue, "because they expected 

 a jet black 'rat and instead got a 'rat with a brownish-black 

 back and sides and a creamy white belly. 



"On cross examination the tips of the guard hairs of 

 the Maryland and Virginia black 'rat pelts do not appear 

 to be much darker than the tips of guard hairs of the pelts 

 from Wisconsin. However, th t e band of dark guard hair 

 is much broader on the Atlantic Coast muskrat and the 

 red-tipped guard hairs, which seem to be present in all 

 three widely scattered specimens, did not extend very far 

 up from the belly. 



