Maintenance of the Fur Supply. 



9 



captured and how many will probably be left for breeding stock. 

 Marsh owners in Dorchester County, Md., harvest on the average 

 from 100.000 to 125,000 muskrat skins a year. There is a market 

 for the meat as well as for the fur. A single Baltimore firm handles 

 from 25,000 to 30,000 muskrat carcasses each season and is unable to 

 supply the demand at that. The best hotel in a Maryland town 

 of a population of about 9,000 offers a choice on its bill of fare 

 between muskrat meat, under the name of marsh rabbit, and 

 roast beef. The price of muskrat carcasses as sold by trappers in 

 the spring of 1920 ran from 25 cents each early in the season to 10 

 cents each near the close. Incidentally, these marshes, which 

 formerly were considered to be practically of no value, now bring 

 from $30 to $40 per acre. 



Experiments in propagating fur animals in confinement have been 

 tried witli varying results. The World War interrupted them, but 

 now the young men who carried them on are back on their farms 

 again and have resumed their efforts. The Department of Agri- 

 culture has been experimenting along this line for several years. 

 It has been demonstrated that silver foxes, blue foxes, skunks, and 

 muskrats can be farmed profitably under suitable conditions. 



For skunk farming it is necessary to have a reliable source of 

 cheap food, as the value of skunk pelts is not sufficient to justify 

 much outlay. In the case of foxes, the margin of profit makes it 

 unnecessary to consider the cost of food. Minks have been bred in 

 confinement, but they are not hardy and can not be handled suc- 

 cessfully unless there is a reliable supply of fresh meat and fresh 

 fish constantly at hand. (See PI. VII, A.) Martens and fishers are 

 hardy in captivity but can rarely be induced to breed. None of the 

 other fur bearers have been tested enough to show whether they 

 may be propagated in confinement. There is no doubt, however, 

 that skins from domesticated fur bearers will continue to be used 

 in increasing quantities, and that ultimately furriers must rely 

 largely on them for the support of their trade. 



LOCAL ATTACHMENTS OF ANIMALS. 



Each wild animal has a special range on which it lives and to 

 which it becomes attached by association. In the same way an ani- 

 mal that is well provided for in confinement soon becomes contented 

 and attached to its surroundings. Minks that have been in captivity 

 for a few months have been known to return to their dens voluntarily 

 after having escaped. Martens seem to do this invariably; at least 

 numerous instances have been recorded in which they have returned 

 to their cages and been recaptured. 



A muskrat that had been kept in a cage for several months at the 

 National Zoological Park, in Washington, was returned to its native 

 waters in Pock Creek when cold weather came on, as it was not 

 thought worth while to keep it through the winter. The morning 



