BUREAU OF BIOLOGICAL SURVEY. 255 



have been made to acquaint people with the seriousness of the losses 

 and with simple and effective means of preventing them. 



MOLES. 



Through investigation of the Townsend mole, a serious farm pest 

 in Avestcrn Washington, Oregon, and northern California, effective 

 methods for trapj^ing it have been devised, and the fact that its fur 

 possesses a good market value has been demonstrated. Through the 

 efforts of this bureau a market has been found for the fur, and 

 demonstrations throughout the infested area have resulted in ex- 

 tended campaigns for the destruction of these animals and the utili- 

 zation of their skins. The value of the fur probably will pay for the 

 cost of eliminating the pest. 



MOUNTAIN-BEAVERS. 



The mountain-beaver, or sewellel, an animal hitherto confined to 

 the forests of Washington and Oregon, and of little economic im- 

 portance, has recently spread into cultivated fields and caused ex- 

 tensive damage to small fruits and market produce. In response to 

 requests for assistance investigations have been conducted and re- 

 sults obtained which indicate that this rodent may be successfully 

 controlled. 



FUR-BEARING ANIMALS. 



Studies of the adaptability of native fur bearers to domestication 

 have been continued at the Experimental Fur Farm, in Essex County, 

 New York. The animals now confined there comprise blue foxes, 

 minks, martens, fishers, and skunks. Experiments are being made 

 concerning the feeding, housing, and general management of these 

 animals. Inclosures for the blue foxes, martens, minks, and skunks 

 have been constructed and a fisher yard is now building. Other 

 equipment completed during the year includes an ice-pond, ice-house, 

 and refrigerator, a meat drier, and a workshop. 



In addition to the information gathered at the Experimental Fur 

 Farm, an effort has been made to keep in close touch with all phases 

 of the fur industry, from the care of animals to methods of dressing, 

 dyeing, cleaning, and storing furs, in order to make this information 

 available to many inquirers. 



The edition of the department bulletin on " Silver Fox Farming " 

 published last year was quickly exhausted and a new Farmers' Bul- 

 letin based upon it has been issued. Two other papers — a yearbook 

 article entitled " Fur Farming as a Side Line " and a Farmers' Bul- 

 letin containing a summarj'' of laws governing the capture, protection, 

 and propagation of fur animals in the United States and Canada — 

 were published during the year. 



FOOD FOR WILD DUCKS. 



The extended investigations by the bureau of the food habits of 

 wild ducks are beginning to bear fruit in the form of reports for 

 publication. During the fiscal year there were completed accounts 

 of the feeding habits of three groups — the mallard, the teal, and the 

 gadwall and baldpate. The studies necessary to the production of 



