Figure 39. — In the underhand method of 

 removing a muskrat pelt the tail is held 

 firmly under the boot heel. 



and remnants of fat and flesh care- 

 fully removed (fig. 41). Flesh al- 

 lowed to adhere to the skin invites 

 tainting and decay ; excess fat may 

 make the pelt brittle and subject to 

 grease burn. 



In northern areas, where the 

 muskrats usually are very fat, it is 

 often necessary to remove the heavy 

 layer of fat from the skin with a 

 dull drawing knife or a specially 

 devised, steel fleshing tool (fig. 42) . 

 The skin is placed on a form board 

 held securely in a bench vise, and 

 the fat removed with considerable 

 downward pressure. The extra- 

 thick, tough skins of these muskrats 

 permit the use of such a tool. In 

 Louisiana, the muskrats are smaller 

 and usually not very fat. The com- 

 mon practice there is to rinse out 

 the wet, muddy skins in a bucket 

 and run them through a clothes 

 wringer, fur side out (fig. 43). By 

 this simple process most of the fat 

 and flesh is squeezed out. The 



FiGUKE 40. — TrapiK'rs on the Eastern 

 Shore of Alaryland prefer the "push 

 through and pull" method of skinning 

 muskrats. 



Figure 41. — After the pelts have been 

 cleaned of excess fat and flesh, they 

 are placed on wire stretchers to dry. 



30 



