FUR FACTS 25 



when they held a conference and compared notes they found that 

 they were getting three times as much fur outside of the park as 

 they were when they were admitted to it and that all of the fur 

 bearers were on the increase and increasing rapidly. If you are 

 located in a good fur section, take an interest in conserving the fur 

 bearers and interest your neighbor in agreeing to set aside a certain 

 district of swamp land or any other land suitable for the purpose, 

 and get your county authorities to co-operate with you in forming 

 a game preserve. If necessary have a local game warden to protect 

 it. If the people of the district will agree not to trap on this ground 

 thus set aside and only trap a certain distance from it, they will 

 be surprised at the wonderful results, and you will help insure a 

 constant supply of furs for yourself, your children and grand- 

 children. 



Your Children and Wild Animals 



Since the time of the earliest settlers, children in the open country 

 have been taught to look upon the wild animals as their natural 

 enemies. Did a gray squirrel appear in the barnyard, it was stoned 

 to death. Did a fox scamper through the wheatfield it was shot. 

 Did a muskrat appear near an icy pool, it was a signal for healthy 

 boys to stop skating and give their attention to its extinction. 



There were numerous reasons for this, parents handed down this 

 theory that all wild animals were enemies to their sparse crops. 

 They also encouraged killing them off because animals meant food 

 when food was scarce. 



But the boy of today must be taught to look on animals of the 

 open not only as friends, but friends who will make money for him. 

 He should be taught also to foster their growth in every way, to 

 hunt them only when the pelt is prime, to protect their young and 

 to take an active interest in all methods that multiply their numbers. 



The United States has taken first place as a fur producer and mar- 

 keter and the world looks to America for its supply of raw furs. 



The skunk, long held in ill repute for such deeds as wholesale 

 chicken snatching (which he was not guilty of) has within the last 

 few years proved a mighty aid to the farmer in destroying pests and 

 its beautiful pelt is one of the never-ending staples of the fur market. 



Skunk, while plentiful, is not inexhaustible and must be encour- 

 aged and protected by man if man is to realize the high profits that 

 accrue from trapping them. Boys should realize this. 



