160 COMMISSION OF CONSER VATION 



In winter the chief food of muskrats consists of the roots of aquatic 

 plants — ^pond lilies, arums, sedges, and the like — ^but in some localities 

 the animals feed on mussels and also on carp and other sluggish fish 

 that bury themselves in mud. When ponds are frozen over, muskrats 

 are almost wholly restricted to food accessible under the ice, but in rare 

 cases they have been known to leave the water and burrow under the 

 snow in search of the crowns of grasses and sedges 



In summer the muskrat's menu is far more extensive. It can then 

 choose from many aquatic plants — roots, stems, leaves, and fruit — 

 and in addition can obtain supplies from near-by fields or woods 



Muskrat Furs. — In the raw state the fur of the muskrat is dense 

 and soft and in general appearance much like that of the beaver. How- 

 ever, the pelage is shorter and less close and the pelt somewhat inferior 

 in durability. The colour varies with season and locality. Northern 

 skins are said to average lightest in colour, being often a light silver gray, 

 sometimes nearly white on the underparts. This is probably because 

 many are taken in summer pelage. Very dark skins, classed as black, 

 come mainly from New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland, but are found 

 in limited numbers in other parts of the United States and in Canada. 



Compared with most other furs of such small size, muskrat furs 

 are of excellent quality and durability; their cheapness is chiefly the 

 result of their abundance. The earliest demand for the fur was for the 

 manufacture of so-called beaver hats, it making an excellent imitation. 

 When silk replaced fur in hat manufacture, the demand for muskrat 

 skins fell off greatly. They next became popular as imitations of seal- 

 skin. Properly dyed and made up, they are difficult to distinguish 

 from the genuine, but their wearing qualities are greatly inferior. The 

 modern fur dresser and dyer have found means of imitating nearly all 

 the more costly furs with that of this animal, and have thus created a 

 continuous demand for the pelts. 



Trade in Muskrat Furs. — The growth of the demand for muskrat 

 furs is shown by the records of London importations and sales. From 

 1763 to 1800 (thirty-eight years) the total number of skins imported 

 and sold in that market was 2,831,453, an average of less than 75,000 

 yearly. During the fiftyyears from 1801 to 1850 the total was 20,571,428, 

 or an average of 411,000 yearly. From 1851 to 1890, inclusive, 

 the importations were 99,893,591, a yearly average of 2,500,000. The 

 average London sales in recent years have been over 4,000,000 per 

 annum, and the entire output of skins for 1900 was 5,285,000. A large 

 part of the total collection is sold through London, but in the last few 

 years an increasing number are dressed and manufactured in America. 



Notwithstanding that during the past century and a half, nearly a 

 quaiter billion of muskrats have been trapped, the supply has not greatly 



