THE MUSKRAT AS A FUR BEARER AND AS FOOD. 



19 



PROTECTING PROPERTY FROM MUSKRATS. 



The use of concrete foundations of proper depth for dams reduces 

 to a minimum the danger of injury from muskrats. The modern 

 dam or weir is always safe from their attacks. 



Probably the most successful means of protecting earthen embank- 

 ments is to employ a skillful trapper to patrol them regularly, using 

 traps, 1 poisons, and a small caliber rifle. The patrol is usually 

 charged Avith the additional duty of watching for and promptly 

 repairing slight breaks in the embankments. 



Several methods of keeping muskrats from injuring small ponds 

 have been recommended. One is the liberal use of gravel or coarse 

 sand for the surface of embankments, since the animals will not 

 burrow in soil that fills the hole as fast as they open it. 



The best means of protecting the vegetable garden from muskrats 

 is to erect a fence of netting, either surrounding the garden or 

 skirting the bank of the adjacent stream or pond. The netting 

 should be of galvanized wire 3 feet or more in width and of lj-inch 

 mesh. The lower edge should be sunk 6 inches into the soil to pre- 

 vent the animals from digging under. 



ENEMIES OF THE MUSKRAT. 



Man is by no means the only destroyer of the muskrat. Among 

 its natural enemies are the coyote, fox, mink, the larger hawks and 

 owls, and the pickerel. But all of these enemies together do not 

 greatly affect its numbers. 



The proposed reclamation of swamps and marsh lands through- 

 out the country, if carried out, will greatly reduce the number of 

 muskrats by restricting their habitat, and if the supply of this fur 

 is to be maintained it must be through protection and eventually 

 through private ownership. 



PROTECTIVE LAWS. 



The earliest act for the protection of fur animals in America was 

 the Massachusetts law of 1791, which prohibited trapping fur ani- 

 mals, including the muskrat, during the months of June, July, 

 August, and September. An act passed by New Hampshire in 1821 

 protected beavers, minks, otters, and muskrats from May 1 to No- 

 vember 1 of each year. The New Jersey law protecting muskrats, 

 passed January 21, 1829, continued in force until 1913. The first 

 Ohio law providing a close season for muskrats was passed June 

 18, 1830. At present this animal has partial protection in a large 

 part of its range, but most of the laws are of comparatively recent 

 enactment. Changes in laws affecting the muskrat may be found in 



