- 3 - 



During the early days when the country was young and heavily wooded, over- 

 trapning hadn't become imich of a problera. The imskrat and other fur-bearers in- 

 creased fast enough to meet the growing deraand. But, to-day, the situation is 

 different. We've been crowding and crowding the nraskrat just as our pioneer 

 ancestors did the Indian. Equally important, our Twentieth Century trappers like 

 everybody else, have adopted the wholesale idea. In the old days a trapuer set 

 maybe a half dozen or dozen traps in a day. But the modern trapper hops in his 

 car and gets around to perhaps a hundred or a hundred and fifty traps. Such ef- 

 ficiency enriches the trap-oer for a time. But eventually he kills the goose 

 that lays the golden egg. 



Of course, a great many States are protecting the muskrat along with other 

 wild life. Porty-cne of the 47 muskrat States now protect the musrkat by regu- 

 lating the trapping season. Some States limit the season to three months — others 

 to longer or shorter periods. 



But, even after a State starts in seriously to protect its rauskrats, it 

 often must work more or less in the dark. The State naturally wants to protect 

 the muskrat during the breeding season. But just wha,t are the breeding habits 

 of the muslarat? Some naturalists and trappers have their ideas. And perhaps 

 they are right. But mistakes are sometimes made in such ma-tters. 



Tor instance, Ashbrook mentioned one mistalce made with regard to the 

 breeding habits of that valuable little fur bearer-- the marten. 



Most folks — ojid among them some wild-life protectors — used to think ma-rtens 

 bred during Janup.ry, February, and the early -oart of March. TTnen they kept the 

 martens in captivity and managed them on that theory, the martens never had any 

 young. But many of the wild-life protectors and fur farmers clung to this notion 

 just the same. 



But, when Ashbrook and his men made a careful study of the breeding habits 

 of martens, they found the old notions all xvrong. Martens mate, not during 

 January, February, and March, but during the summer nonths — from the middle of 

 July on up through the first part of August. lYhat's more, the time between 

 mating and time of birth is not 60 to 102 days but 259 to 275 days. Fancy trj'"- 

 ing to protect a wild animaJ when you loiow little more about it than folks used 

 to know about the Liar ten. 



Ashbrook and his men hope to get the same kind of accurate, scientific 

 facts about the habits of the muskrat and other fur-bearing aniraiils as they did 

 about the marten. They are now studying the breeding habits, and other habits, 

 of the muskrat in coopera^tion with the University of Maryland and the Maryland 

 Conservation Cor.imission. There is much yet to be learned about when muskrats 

 mate, and how long the females carry their young, and how many litters they pro- 

 duce a year. Until wg loiow more of those fa.cts, we shall not know how best to 

 protect the muskrats. So Ashbrook and his men are after the facts. 



Ashbrook says, "We are trying to get the facts about the muskrat industry 

 just as our farm specialists ha,ve gathered their facts about other important 

 livestock industrics-f a,cts about cattle, and sheep, and hogs, and poultry." 



AJOrOUIJCEMENT ; And that concludes to-da,y' s visit with Uncle Sar.i' s Naturalists. 

 The United States Biological Survey will bring us another stars'- about our wild 

 life at this same ti::ie two weeks frorx to-day. 



