402 Department of Conservation of Louisiana 



too close to a house or "hill," and the remedy is obvious. 

 He should change his trap line or he is violating the Louisi- 

 ana law by setting his traps closer than 10 feet of a house. 

 The muskrat, to bring the best price, should never be 

 trapped before December 15, nor later than February 15; 

 should be skinned carefully, washed, run through a ringer, 

 cased on a wire stretcher, and dried in the shade with the 

 ■pelt side out. Drying by artificial heat, such as near a 

 stove, or curing in the sun's rays does not produce the raw 

 pelt that comes from curing in the shade with a brisk 

 north wind blowing. 



Wild Cat 



The baby lynx, or "wild cat," to bring a top price when 

 offered for sale, must have a prime pelt and be well furred. 

 If it possesses these it can be graded a No. 1. As a rule, 

 the grader determines that a No. 2 is a skin that is well 

 furred, but whose pelt is unprime, or the article may be 

 prime of pelt but is slightly damaged as to pelage, or the 

 hairs may show a tendency to shed. The No. 3's and No. 

 4's are usually flat, thinly furred skins, graded as to size. 



The wild cat must be cased to cure it and never opened 

 for the drying operation. 



Beaver 



While it is strictly against the law to trap a Louisiana 

 beaver, or to buy or sell the skin of one, a few words as to 

 how a beaver is graded may not prove out of place here. 



The same general methods of grading beaver skins are 

 followed as in the grading of other fur animals. The 

 primeness and size of the pelt and the thickness, depth, 

 quality and color of the under fur determines the value 

 placed on it by the raw pelt dealer. 



Like the raccoon, the beaver should be stretched open 

 and not cased. But in stretching for curing, the beaver 

 skin should not be dried square, a round or oval shape 

 being demanded by the fur trade. 



Don't trap a Louisiana beaver, or a conservation agent 

 will get you! 





