514 
monthly reports for the muskrat catch 
per effective fur-taker vary from 22 to 
33, table 2. For the 1938-39 and 1939- 
40 seasons, they are respectively 7 and 10 
points lower than the figures for catch 
per effective fur-taker as derived from 
data collected by Brown; the average dif- 
ference is about 9 points. 
If similar correlations, or differences, 
between figures derived from the oral sur- 
vey and the written monthly reports pre- 
vailed before the 1938-39 season, we may 
assume that in the seasons covered by this 
report, ending with 1939-40, approxi- 
ee 
Itttnois NATURAL History SURVEY BULLETIN 
Vol. 22, Art. 7 
mile for the 1938-39 and 1939-40 seasons 
is recorded in table 6 of the Brown & 
Yeager report. 
MINK 
Distribution.—The distribution of the 
mink catch, fig. 6, shows considerable ir- 
regularity. Several centers of abundance 
are apparent, one being in Lake County 
and another in Schuyler County. Gen- 
erally, however, minks are moderately 
abundant in the northeastern quarter and 
the western half of Illinois. The largest 
Fig. 5—Muskrat caught in Champaign County. No furbearer occurs in greater numbers 
in Illinois than the muskrat. Nor do all of the state’s other furbearers combined yield as great 
an annual cash return. 
mately 18,375 fur-takers caught muskrats 
annually in the state. The annual catch 
of muskrats is calculated to have been 
745,000 during the 1929-30 season and 
884,395 and 664,831 during the 1938-39 
and 1939-40 seasons, respectively; figures 
for the last two seasons are from table 
6 of the Brown & Yeager report. “The 
average annual catch is estimated at about 
653,000 muskrats. Income is estimated to 
have averaged around $500,000 annually. 
Averages are for the seasons of this study 
ending with 1939-40. 
These averages indicate about | musk- 
rat trapper to 3 square miles, or roughly 
180 trappers per county; about 12 musk- 
rats caught per square mile, or approxi- 
mately 6,400 per county; and $9 worth 
of muskrats caught per square mile, or 
about $4,900 worth per county. Figures 
are, of course, higher than the averages in 
more favorable regions and lower in the 
less favorable. “These regions are indicated 
in fig. 4. The average catch per square 
' fur-taker; 
Table 3.—Weighted per cent of Illinois fur- 
takers who reported catching minks, and 
weighted average catch of minks per effective 
data derived from _ fur-takers’ 
monthly reports, and weighting done on the 
basis of the relative size of the counties rep- 
resented. 
WEIGHTED WEIGHTED 
Per Cent AVERAGE 
Ce heON OF CaTcH OF 
Fur-TAKERS Minks PER 
CATCHING EFFECTIVE 
Minks Fur-TAKER 
1929-30.... 55 3.6 
1930-31... 62 38 
1934-35... ey! See 
1935-36.... 58 3.4 
1936-37.... 65 Jae 
1937-38. ... 50 2 
1938-39. ... 51 338 
1939-40. ... St 3.4 
1940-41... =y) 325 
1941-42... 43 2.8 
