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(continued from preceding page) 
now prime. Talk about a surprised man. He kept on 
trapping and every day his traps were full, it took 
him half the night to skin, clean, and stretch the furs, 
At the end of the season his figures added up to 
2,800 muskrat pelts that brought in the handsome 
sum of $5,100. This, plus his $1,000, was not so bad 
an income off a worthless marsh, and he was his 
own boss, doing the thing he liked. 
Natural 
Muskrat Foods 
Listed here are the 
aquatic plants important 
as Muskrat Foods, all of 
which are listed with 
prices and description of 
growth and water condi- 
tions required, in this 
booklet. 
Page Page 
Wild Rice ee. chica setae Sweet; Flags fin. concerto 24 
Wild) Celery Unikisc. cena 8 Water ris ssc.. ccs 24 
Sago Pondweed .......... 10 PickerelPlantie5-¢.p ee 25 
Wild) (Jap)) Milletts...2.). 13 Three-Square Rush ....... 25 
Hard Stem Bulrush ...... 17 ‘Burreed"ivs.ses eee net 26 
Deep Water Duck Potato . 19 Cattalla atten se ee 26 
White Waterlily .......... 20 Reed 'Gragsy cco osee cee 26 
American’ Lotus ......55 20 Rivers ulrushiete pyar 27 
Wapato Duck Potato ...... 21 
Page 44 
MUSKRAT FARMING 
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 
women wear furs, not alone because of the warmth, 
but for the beauty and their personal adornment. 
Trappers, spurred by high prices, have ruthlessly 
depleted 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 muskrat 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, south- 
ern 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. Musk- 
rat farming is a business, the same 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. 
SRL KRK ARK ARK RRA RK KKK 
