WISCONSIN AQUATIC NURSERIES, 
I it form sit Soil lor tlie 
MiiMkrat Farmer 
Man has been engaged 
in the trapping of fur¬ 
bearing animals since the 
early ages. The women of 
the stone age wore furs as 
clothing, the modern wom¬ 
en wear furs, not alone 
because of the warmth, but 
for the beauty and their 
personal adornment. Trap¬ 
pers, spurred by high 
prices, have ruthlessly de¬ 
pleted the wild supply. The drainage and reclama¬ 
tion of swamp lands have destroyed the breeding 
grounds of millions of muskrats. So, if we are to 
have a dependable supply of fur, they must be 
raised. Statistics compiled by Frank G. Ashbrock 
of the U. S. Biological Survey, show that the musk¬ 
rat is the most important of all fur bearers. More 
than fifty per cent of all fur used today is muskrat. 
His glossy pelt is not only used in its natural state, 
but when dyed is sold as Hudson seal, river mink, 
southern beaver, neutria, otter, sable and many other 
popular furs. For the past few years the demand 
for muskrat pelts has exceeded the supply by from 
fifteen to twenty million pelts. The result of this 
demand has prompted the commercial raising of 
this little fur bearer, by some of our largest manu¬ 
facturing furriers and far-sighted individuals. 
Muskrat farming is a business, tlWsame as banking, 
manufacturing or mining. It is as practical as the 
raising of sheep, cattle or hogs, the difference being 
that it is ten times as profitable. 
To successfully raise muskrats one must have a 
spring-fed marshy swamp with an outlet which can 
be dammed, so that a uniform water level may be 
maintained. The depth of the water and musk, or 
floating bog, must be sufficient so that it will not 
freeze to the bottom in the most severe Winter, the 
result of which would be cutting off of the food 
supply and the starvation of the animals, unless ar¬ 
tificially fed. The swamp lands must abound in the 
natural foods of the muskrat, such as cat-tails, bul¬ 
rushes, duck millet, three-blade grass, wild rice, 
wapato and wild celery. The location must also have 
high, dry ground surrounding the swamp on which 
fences are built. Proper fencing is of importance. 
A crop of root vegetables, such as carrots, parsnips 
and sugar beets, should be planted, stored in root 
cellars and fed during the Winter months, by using 
feeding houses. On ranches where the muskrats are 
in the habit of using the feeding houses, the rancher 
has the opportunity of scientifically feeding during 
the breeding season, which results in a larger num¬ 
ber of young litters. Another decided advantage of 
feeding houses is the ability to easily catch the ani¬ 
mals. Trap doors are over the entrances; by clos¬ 
ing them when one wishes to make a catch the 
muskrat cannot escape. This enables the rancher 
to market only prime pelts, which command the 
highest prices. 
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