24 BULLETIlSr 1078, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTURE. 



delays allowed. At their destination the beavers should be placed 

 at once in a pond or other swimming water and given a dark nest 

 place. With this treatment their fear and nervousness will soon be 

 removed and they will eat and function normally. 



SELECTING BREEDING STOCK. 



So far as is at present laiown, the darkest, richest-colored, and 

 handsomest beaver fur is found native along the south shore of Lake 

 Superior, in northern Michigan and Wisconsin.^ In tliis region of 

 heavy forest and deep snows the outer hairs of the animals are very 

 dark brown and the underfur is almost black. When tanned and 

 plucked the skins are very beautiful, and when made up into wearing 

 apparel they almost equal sea otter in depth of fur and richness of 

 color. They are decidedly superior to the Canadian and Alaskan 

 skins, which have generally been considered the best and highest 

 priced, but have only recently been quoted in the fur markets, as 

 for many years the beavers of the region south of Lake Superior 

 have been carefully protected and only taken illegally or for scien- 

 tific specimens. They are now fairly abundant in this region, but 

 an open season would greatly reduce their numbers. The disastrous 

 effect of even a short open season where beavers have become tame 

 has been demonstrated many times, and even the bungling method^ 

 of amateur trappers leave but a few crippled beavers to slowly re- 

 stock the waters. If the beavers of the region south of Lake Supe- 

 rior are to be trapped it should certainly be as live animals for breed- 

 ing stock. There are also occasional " black beavers " (melanistic 

 individuals) throughout the north country, which always command 

 high prices, and which may be" utilized as breeding stock. 



If a choice dark variety of beaver is bred successfully it would 

 probably not be necessary to sell the skins for many years, as the 

 demand for breeding stock should make the price for live animals 

 much greater than their fur value. If a reasonably satisfactory 

 maximum price could be established for live beavers the industry 

 would thrive, but wildly sj)eculative prices, such as black foxes have 

 at times attained, would seriously handicap the enterprise. This 

 danger is not imminent, however, as the source of supply is ample 

 and there is no possibility of a cornered market for breeding stock. 



There is always a distinct advantage in having fur raised under 

 control, for suj)erior prices can be obtained by marketing it when 

 at its very prime, by selecting the animals at the right age and sea- 

 son and in the best condition for quality of fur. Eelatively little 



'' The bearer inhabiting this area was described in 1913 as a new subspecies, the woods 

 beaver (Castor canadensis micliiganensis) from Tahquamenaw River, Mich. (Bailey, 

 Vernon, Troc. Biol. Soc. Washington, vol. 26, p. 192, 1913). 



