yi4 KK1H)KT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



tlirouohout that rentury probably did not exceed lUi),OUi> skins 

 unniudly, :dthou<;;h oii three or four occasions the annual receipts at 

 London exceeded 200,000, but in other 3'ears they amounted to only 

 25,000 or 30,000. During the second and third decades of the nine- 

 teenth centur}^ the output increased considerabl}', principally on 

 account of the greatly increased market value and the opening up of 

 new trapping territory. In 1829, for the first time, the London 

 receipts exceeded 1,000,000 skins, the total being l,165,6t)3. The 

 annual receipts thereafter fluctuated greatly, but on the whole con- 

 tinued to increase, exceeding 2,000,000 in 18(52, 3,000,000 in 1867, and 

 1,000,000 in 1871. Since the 3^ear last named, the price of the skins 

 has greatly decreased, but the receipts at London have been fairly 

 constant, averaging about 3,500,000 annually. 



In addition to those handled at the London sales, about 2,000,000 

 muskrat skins are placed on the markets each year. Of these, 1,500,000 

 pass through Leipsic, and 500,000 are sold to the furriers of the United 

 States and Canada without passing through the two large market cen- 

 ters. This makes an aggregate of over 5,000,000 skins annually, of 

 which nearly one-fourth are obtained from the Dominion of Canada 

 and the remainder are caught in the United States. The total product 

 of muskrat skins in the United States and Canada during the nine- 

 teenth century reaches the enormous amount of 250,000,000 in number, 

 sufficient to make a blanket covering nearly 4,000 acres. 



Formerly the fur of the muskrat was used largely as a substitute 

 for that of beaver in hat-making, forming a cheap and fairly satisfac- 

 tory imitation. Owing to its scarcity it was then of nmch greater 

 value than at present, selling for 10 or 50 cents per skin, even equaling 

 the value of the mink at times. The general adoption of the silk hat 

 resulted in a great decrease in the demand, and the price fell as low as 

 6 or 7 cents per skin, and trapping then was of little profit. During 

 the last sixty years muskrat has been used principally as dressed fur, 

 pr(>pared in imitation of the more highly prized beaver, otter, and 

 fur-s(>ul. It is al)out the best of all the cheap furs. 



In the market nniskrat skins are classed as "firsts," "seconds," 

 "thirds," "fourths," and ''kittens." The firsts are those caught 

 during the spring or very late winter; seconds are caught in mid- 

 winter; thirds, those taken in very early winter or fall; fourths, in 

 early winter or fall, and are poor and small; and kittens are those less 

 than 3 or 1 months old. The value of the skins varies from 5 to 10 

 cents (>ach, according to color and condition. Those from the Chesa- 

 peake a\erage about 11 cents each for l)rown and 25 cents for black. 

 The black pelts are marketed principally in Russia, where they are used 

 for coat linings, but many are used in Kngland, France, and America 

 for cloaks, trinuniiigs, and gloves. The price of the No. 1 black skins 

 at the last London sales averaged l.«f. 3d.; in 1891 it was about l.s-. 7(1, 

 while in 1S75 it was over 3.s-. The lighter skins fetch about Id. each. 



