ASHBROOK — THE FUR TRADE 
5 
15. They were unsuccessful and now the hunting of raccoons is author- 
ized in New York to begin on October 1. Raccoon skins taken during 
October are practically valueless, and a useless waste of fur is the result 
of trapping under this legislation. 
In order to bring about suitable legislation it seems very necessary to 
launch an educational campaign through state institutions and state 
societies to cover the entire country. The Biological Survey of the 
United States Department of Agriculture is in a position to direct such a 
campaign for the reason that it is deeply interested in the practical con- 
servation of fur bearers and in the future of the fur industry. 
If laws such as are herein suggested were passed in the various states, 
the fur-bearing animals would be conserved on a sane basis. Proper 
legislation would do more than this — it would for the first time give us 
an approximate number of the various pelts trapped annually in the 
different states. The importance of such statistics can not be over- 
estimated. We would then have a firmer foundation on which to base 
arguments for or against conservation of certain species. The tremen- 
dous offerings by the fur auction-sales companies in the United States 
can not be considered an index of the animals trapped yearly in this 
country. Muskrat skins to the number of 1,144,016 offered at a single 
auction make indeed a tremendous figure, but this does not tell the 
whole story. The chances are that this offering consisted of more than 
one season’s catch. When pelts are received at the raw fur houses 
they enter into the trade, pass from hand to hand, and undergo a change 
so complete that their identity is practically lost. It is, therefore, 
impossible to distinguish with any degree of certainty between muskrats, 
minks, or foxes originating in the United States and those originating 
in Canada or any other country. 
REARING FUR BEARERS IN CAPTIVITY 
The breeding of fur-bearing animals in captivity and the stocking of 
the national forests and game preserves are enterprises that should be 
encouraged. The production of foxes, skunks, beavers, and musk- 
rats has proved successful when intelligently managed. The reason 
this phase of the fur industry has not met with greater success is because 
there has been too much publicity concerning financial returns and too 
few warnings to ranchers of pitfalls and obstacles to be overcome. 
Inferior animals, temperament, feeding and breeding problems, 
sanitation, diseases, and parasites all raise questions to be faced by the 
average stockman and farmer. Every person engaged in the rearing 
