242 Department of Conservation of Louisiana 



No experiments were made of the bayonet three-cor- 

 nered grass. While the seeds of this species are carried in 

 husks, the envelopes are much smaller and contain fewer 

 seeds than do the containers of the leafy three square. It 

 is believed that they will germinate as quickly, but it should 

 be borne in mind that the harvesting of such seeds will be 

 very much slower and far more costly. 



The leafy three-cornered grass is very prolific when it 

 comes to seeding. The seed envelopes range from seven 

 to fifteen on a stalk, and sometimes more, and an individual 

 pod contains from 40 to 60 seeds each. One count of seeds 

 on a single stalk of Scirpus robustus showed it to have 

 798 seeds. 



Foods, Soils and Muskrats 



The muskrat is a prolific breeder "when food and water 

 conditions are right," says Professor V. W. Jackson, of the 

 Manitoba Agricultural College, in his bulletin, "Rat Ranch- 

 ing in Manitoba," and this finding agrees in every partic- 

 ular with local field surveys. 



When food and water conditions are right, the muskrat 

 has shown startling increases in population. There has been 

 known place after place in Louisiana marshes that were 

 prolific beyond belief in the number of muskrats taken dur- 

 ing a certain winter season, yet the next year they were as 

 scarce as the proverbial hen's teeth. Investigations indi- 

 cated an absence of food plants, or not enough water, or 

 again too much water seemed to be the rule, although it is 

 still a debatable question with some if a muskrat can get 

 too much water. But, in almost every case where there was 

 a "mysterious" disappearance of 'rats, absence of water was 

 a contributing factor, and drought is, in the opinion of most 

 of the practical trappers, the greatest enemy the muskrat 

 has — alligators and minks to the contrary notwithstanding. 



In Manitoba, at one time a remarkable muskrat-produc- 

 ing area, but now facing a steady decline in the numbers 

 taken each trapping season, Professor Jackson, in the bul- 

 letin already quoted, claims that the muskrats of that north- 

 ern province have three litters annually, "plus the grand- 

 children from the spring brood, which are mature in Aug- 



