CfNlT^^TATES 

 DEPARTMENT 

 OF AGRICULTURE 



• l.L . -T ■ " ■ . T I 1 i " ■■ ■ T -^T-^r*^— "11" I MJ I 'I I I' l l " ^ I Ljx.i.ji-»iiM^ I I ■ f i' 



I ISTF O^UP^\0^^ 



LM 



WITH UNCLE SAivI'S i'ATLTJlLISTS 

 Rea.ding Time: 10 I/Iinutes 



FOR BROADCAST USE ONLY 



U I B R A H i 



RELEASE Friday, Jaiuarj^^.^l^dsY ^ ° 



* JAN 2 8 1933 * 



TJ. S. DftwaiTr. ja;; of Agrioaltaie 



ANNOUNCSIIENT : 



And now for our visit with Uncle Sam's Naturalists. The Natur^ 



alists bring us a story to-day of fur coats, and fur gloves, and fur hats. Not 

 the coats, gloves, and hats yo\i find in the fur shop. These furs still wriggle 

 through the underbrush and paddle through ponds and streams. 



— ooOoo — 



Did you ever see a muskrat? — 



If you have, maybe you weren't too favorably impressed with its looks. 

 Perhaps it reminded you of the common brown rat you see a,round your garc-vje and 

 cellar. 



Well sir, the muskrat as a matter of fact doesn't look much like a common 

 brown rat. 



For one thing the muskrat is much bigger — I'd say, about three times as 

 big when full grovm. That's one difference. 



The muskr,at has several other distinguishing features, too. First place, 

 the rauskro.t has tartly webbed hind feet — and feet arranged that they fold flat 

 as it brings them forv/ard in swimming and to cut down the resistance of the 

 water . 



The muskrat ' s tail is shaped for life in the water, too. It's flat and 

 tapering, and moJces a fine rudder. 



Then there's that glossy coat of overhair with the dense underfui". 



That fine waterproof coat of fur is the muskrat 's title to fame, as the 

 most important of all our fur-bearing animals. 



I know you'll open your eyes when I say that. 



What about all the rest of our valuable fur bearers? you ask. What about 

 the silver fox, and the marten, ond the fur seal? 



Well, the muslcrat leads them all. We use laore fur of the muskrat than of 

 any other one animal, and the total value of the skins we get from muskrats is 

 greater than the value of those from any other fur animal. Frank G. Ashbrook, 

 of the United States Eiological St^rvey, tells ne, that in normal times, we use 

 somewhere around 13 to 14 million muskrat skins a yeax. 



W-Q make the greater part of those muskrat skins into coats. 



