OSBORN AND ANTHONY — CLOSE OF AGE OF MAMMALS 
227 
The figures showing the number of beaver (Castor canadensisY 
taken demonstrate what proper protection of a fur-bearing species 
may do. Formerly trapped all over the continent, beaver were brought 
almost to the point of extermination, but for many years they have 
been protected and allowed to increase unmolested; now, over a period 
of three years past, some 420,000 skins have come to market. The 
muskrat (Fiber zibethicus) figures indicate how relentless has been the 
pursuit of this small rodent, an animal which at one time brought such 
a low price at the sales that it was scarcely worth while to trap it. 
When muskrat fur came into fashion and the public demanded it, 
systematic campaigns of trapping began, which brought muskrat skins 
to the market by the millions and seriously threatened the very 
existence of this species. Squirrel (Sciurus) skins, most of which we 
believe have come from the Old World, make up a huge total of over 
fourteen million in number, and this is another example of a skin, 
formerly very slightly valued, coming into prominence because of the 
demands of fashion. Still greater numbers are shown by the mole 
(Talpa). The skin of the mole is so small that only since the interest 
in furs has become extreme has there been any incentive for men to 
molest it. Most of the skins sold at these sales must come from the 
Old World, and the mole, as any one knows who has tried to trap it, 
is an exceedingly difficult animal to capture. Over twenty-three 
millions of these little animals were sacrificed at the altar of the fur 
trade. The mole, it may be claimed, is a small, insignificant species, 
and here and there along the list of fur bearers are animals for which 
little good or economic value may be urged, but the presentation of 
this subject is intended to show the great destruction of mammal life 
irrespective of species and the desirability of the extermination of 
any animal does not enter into the discussion. 
The mink (Lutreola vison), which has been one of the favorite furs 
in the market for many years, is an animal which apparently is nowhere 
to be found in very great numbers. However, since its skin has brought 
such a good price at auctions, the country has been combed over for 
mink and the annual average yield of the last three years shown has 
been over five hundred thousand skins. This means a very serious 
2 The scientific names used throughout this article are those under which the 
animal is best known to the general public and to the fur trade. Recently ac- 
cepted changes in nomenclature have been avoided because of confusion which 
might arise in the minds of those who have known these animals under the older 
names. 
