676 DOMESTIC ANIMALS, DAIRYING, ETC. 



or even a fifth litter may be produced ; three to six young are usually 

 brought forth at one time. The period of gestation is about twenty- 

 one days. The young are born blind and naked, but develop rapidly. 

 Muskrats frequently do considerable damage to crops on low 

 lands bordering streams. They also do considerable damage to dams, 

 embankments, etc. The breaking of mill-dams and canal banks are 

 often caused by the burrows of these animals. The chief value of the 

 muskrat is for its fur. It is also valued in some localities for food, but 

 this has not become at all general. Muskrat skins for market should 

 be "cased," that is, not opened along the belly. Trappers begin at the 

 heel and slit up the middle of the hind leg to the tail, around it, and 

 then down the other hind leg to the heel; no other cut of the skin 

 is needed ; the skin is then turned over the body, leaving the pelt with 

 the fur side inward. The skin inside out is then drawn over a thin 

 board or shingle of proper shape to stretch it as large as possible with- 

 out tearing. Prime skins bring in the market from 25 to 75 cents 

 apiece. Some examples of profitable muskrat farming may be cited. 

 (Agr. Dept. F. B. 396.) 



ANTS. 



The species of large red and black ants which burrow into the 

 ground and whose well known and characteristic mounds of loose 

 earth, surrounded by husks of dried grass seed may be seen dotting 

 the mesas of southern Arizona, may be killed comparatively easy by 

 the use of carbon bisulphide, a liquid chemical of a peculiar, disagree- 

 able odor. To be entirely successful, however, the habits of the ants 

 must be taken into consideration. Immediately after a rain is the 

 accepted time to attempt their destruction, for it is then that the ants 

 are very active, bringing out into the sun to be dried any of their 

 stored up food supply which may have become damp. A half tea- 

 cupful more if the nest is a very large one of the carbon bisul- 

 phide poured into the nest at this time will usually accomplish the 

 result. The ground being damp and cool is also another decided ad- 

 vantage in that it prevents the too rapid absorption or volatilization 

 of the carbon bisulphide ; consequently a less quantity of the chem- 

 ical is required. 



A word of caution in the use of the carbon bisulphide is deemed 

 necessary. It must at all times be borne in mind that the substance 

 is highly inflammable and under certain conditions explosive. 

 Matches, pipes, etc., are to be left at home when this chemical is to 

 be used. The carbon bisulphide can be procured from any druggist, 

 and costs here in Tucson 50 cents per pound, but can be bought for 

 much less, wholesale. It is probable that the remedy is not practi- 

 cable upon any very large scale, owing to the cost of material, but it 

 frequently happens that these ants select for their home, from our 

 point of view, most undesirable places, such as public walks, or near 

 one's door. In such cases a sure means of eradicating the pest is well 

 worth knowing, (Ariz, Timely Hints for Farmers 39.) 



