BEAVER HABITS, BEAVER CONTROL, AND BEAVER FARMING. 27 

 HARVESTING THE CROP. 



TAKING AND PREPARING SKINS. 



Beaver skins should be taken only in midwinter, when the fur is 

 prime, unless there should be a special demand for unplucked beaver 

 fur, which is at its best before the outer guard hairs are full grown, 

 while short and very glossy in September. It is then much like un- 

 plucked otter fur, and especially suitable for men's coats or collars. 



The skins are usually taken off by a cut along the median line 

 of the belly and stretched in circular form on a board or hoop. They 

 must be carefully removed with a very sharp knife, as they do not 

 peel off, but have to be cut close to the skin all the way. The skins 

 should be stretched and dried in a cool dry place and kept cool until 

 marketed, so that the oil will not soften and injure the leather. 



UTILIZING THE MEAT. 



After being skinned and dressed a beaver will weigh about half 

 as much as before, that is, a fair-sized animal will dress about 25 

 pounds. This should include the tail and liver, which are especial 

 delicacies. The tail is fatty tissue, very rich and palatable when 

 cooked, and greatly relished by early trappers and explorers. The 

 liver is large and almost as tender and sweet as that of a chicken 

 or goose. The body meat has rather a gamy flavor, but if properly 

 cared for and cooked is excellent and was generally preferred by 

 trappers to any other game, even in the early days when buffalo, elk, 

 and deer were abundant. 



Great care must be taken in skinning a beaver not to get a trace 

 of the musk on the meat, or it will be ruined. The musk and oil 

 glands should be left on the skin until after it is removed, and 

 especial care must be taken not to get any musk on the knife or 

 hands. The musk glands have a commercial value. The carcass 

 should be hung up by the head and kept clean. It might be pos- 

 sible to develop a good market for beaver meat if properly handled. 



CONCLUSIONS. 



Importance of heavers. — Beavers are of primary importance as 

 fur bearers and conservators of water and soil; because of their 

 unique habits they are also animals of general interest. In certain 

 types of forest country, on farms, in irrigation ditches, and along 

 trails, roads, and railroads, they are capable of doing serious dam- 

 age; in such situations it becomes necessary either to remove them 

 or to control them intelligently. Their control, however, is hot 

 difficult, and where they are doing damage on private lands they can 



