September, 1943 
report required each fur-taker not residing 
on the land on which he operated to pur- 
chase a license for each unit of 25 traps, 
obviously the calculated number of li- 
censed fur-takers should have been smaller 
than the number of licenses sold. Such 
was the case in 1939-40. But in 1938-39 
the number of fur-takers, as calculated 
from interviews, was greater than the 
number of licenses sold. 
This discrepancy may be due to (1) 
inadequate sampling in the state, wherein 
Brown & YEAGER: SURVEY OF Fur REsourRcE 
451 
+. Data contained in table 1 of the Mohr 
report indicate that 44 per cent of the fur- 
takers were licensed in 1938-39 and 61 
per cent in 1939-40. 
‘The percentages for 1939-40 from the 
present and the Mohr reports must be 
considered surprisingly close in view of 
differences in methods of investigation. 
Despite wide differences in the figures 
from the two reports for 1938-39, the 
percentages for the two seasons derived 
from these reports reinforce each other 
Table 4.—Fur-takers’ licenses sold by the State Department of Conservation, the total num- 
ber of fur-takers (calculated from data gathered from interviews with fur-takers) and the 
number of licensed fur-takers (calculated from interviews and from monthly reports to the 
Department of Conservation), 1938-39 and 1939-40, in Illinois. 
LIcENSED Fur- LICENSED Fur- 
TAKERS, CALCULATED | TAKERS, CALCULATED | Cay oy. 
Torat From INTERVIEWS From Fur-TAKeErs’ ieee 
NuMBER OF WITH MonrTuHty Reports NEAR ES 
NuMBER Fur-TAKERS, Fur-TAKERS a 
SEASON ae CALCULATED LICENSES 
LICENSES From Per Cent 
Per Cent PER 
SoLD INTERVIEWS fe Teel of Total ee 
WirTH Number* |Number of : 
Number |Number of TAKERT 
Fur-TAKERS ree Fur- 
Thee Takers 
1938-39....| 15,472 29 431 15,820 54 12,810 44 [pe 
1939-40....| 18,277 Die Olt 15,982 59 16,615 61 et 
*Derived by Mohr and contained in table | of the Mohr report, published herewith as Article 6. 
+Calculated by Mohr by determining the number of reporting licensees and dividing the number of licenses sold 
thereto by the number of licensees. 
only 1.7 per cent of the total area was 
actually covered, (2) disproportionate 
sampling as between rural and urban com- 
munities (the percentage of trappers re- 
quired to purchase licenses is relatively 
low in rural communities and high in 
urban communities) and (3) inaccurate 
statements by the fur-takers interviewed. 
Figures calculated from interviews with 
fur-takers, if accepted at their face value, 
would indicate that license holders consti- 
tuted 54 per cent of the total number of 
fur-takers for 1938-39 and 59 per cent for 
1939-40. But, as the figure 15,820 for 
the calculated number of licensed fur- 
takers for 1938-39 is obviously inaccurate, 
the percentage derived for this season can- 
not be considered valid. 
Using the data contained in fur-takers’ 
monthly reports, Mohr calculated that the 
number of licensed fur-takers was 12,810 
in 1938-39 and 16,615 in 1939-40, table 
in indicating a greater percentage of l- 
censed fur-takers for the second season 
than the first. 
ILLINOIS FUR LAWS 
During the period covered by this sur- 
vey, 1938-39 and 1939-40, Illinois statutes 
did not require the purchase of a trapping 
license by the fur-taker operating on the 
land on which he resided if he used 25 or 
fewer traps; however, if the fur-taker 
used more than 25 traps he was required 
to purchase a trapping license for each 
unit of 25 traps or fraction thereof in 
excess of the 25 to which residence on the 
land entitled him. For all other fur- 
takers, both hunters and trappers, the law 
required the purchase of one license for 
each 25 or fewer traps at a cost of $2 for 
a resident and $10 for a non-resident of 
Illinois. These fees included the cost of 
