The Fur Animals of Louisiana 



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To restock a piece of marsh area with "three-cornered grass," two methods are at 

 hand for the 'rat rancher. He can plant the seeds of this plant or transplant clumps of the 

 rush to his land. Note the long, white running root-stalks shown in the photograph. 

 These underground shoots send up new plants and are eagerly eaten by the muskrats. The 

 sedge pictured is Scirpus robustus, probably the best of all 'rat foods. 



The needle grass (Juncus roemerianus) is better known 

 as Paille chat tigre, or "wild cat grass," and sometimes 

 called "black grass." It is in some localities, especially in 

 the western sections of the coastal marshes, a very impor- 

 tant food and building grass of the muskrat. 



Saw grass (Cladium effusum) occurs on many of the 

 muskrat marshes in great solid stands. Few practical trap- 

 pers believe that this grass is of any value to the animals 

 they trap, and frequently burn it off. Researches, how- 

 ever, prove that the muskrats find refuge in these stands 

 and frequently build houses of it and do feed off of the 

 basal stalks. When this plant has its tops covered with 

 seeds in the fall inhabitants of the marshlands call it "Red 

 top." Another name is "ruffage." 



The common cut grass (Onyza sativa), the J one coupant 

 of the French-speaking trappers, finds some value in musk- 



