LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. 



U. S. Department of Agriculture, 



Biological Survey, 

 Washington^ D. C.^ FebruaTij 25^ 1910. 

 Sir : I have the honor to transmit a report on the economic value of 

 the muskrat, by David E. Lantz, and to recommend its publication 

 as a Farmers' Bulletin. The diminished numbers of fur-bearing ani- 

 mals and the enhanced value of all furs invite attention to every prac- 

 ticable means of conserving and increasing the supply. The muskrat 

 is widely distributed and very abundant over large areas, and has 

 become one of the first fur bearers in commercial importance. Its 

 fur, while not of the highest quality, is adapted to a great variety of 

 uses, and its flesh, unlike that of most fur bearers, has considerable 

 food value. 



Except in localities where its burroAvs endanger the safety of em- 

 bankments, the muskrat should be protected by the establishment and 

 enforcement of closed seasons, with proper provisions for trapping 

 during the nonbreeding period. If muskrats are properly protected 

 and not trapped to excess, the supply may be indefinitely maintained, 

 and even increased, especially by the wise utilization of flooded marsh 

 lands which are of little or no value for agricultural purposes. 

 Kespectfully, 



C. Hart Merriam, 

 Chief Biological Survey. 



Hon. James Wilson, 



Secretary of Agriculture. 



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