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Fig. 15.—Distribution of long-tailed weasels 
in Illinois as indicated by fur-takers’ monthly 
reports for the seasons of 1929-30, 1930-31 and 
1934-35 through 1939-40. Data from these 
eight seasons of monthly reports have been. 
transferred to the map in such a way that 
the county having the largest average catch 
per fur-taker has the greatest density of dots; 
other counties are dotted proportionally. The 
numbers in the margins represent for each 
county indicated the average catch per square 
mile as revealed by Brown’s survey for the 
1938-39 and 1939-40 seasons. In general, a 
close correlation exists between the two sets 
of data, despite the fact that one is for eight 
seasons and the other for two. 
catches occurs in and near the second tier 
of counties in southern Illinois. 
A zone of very small catches lies in the 
south central counties. 
Winter white weasels have been re- 
ported 23 times from the northernmost 
tier of counties by trappers who filled out 
the fur-takers’ monthly reports examined 
in the course of this study. From the 
second tier of counties they have been re- 
ILLinors NATURAL History SURVEY BULLETIN 
Vol. 22, Art. F 
ported only 14 times, and from counties 
south of the second tier only 4 times. 
Trappers, Catch and Income.—I\n- 
dex figures for per cent of fur-takers 
catching long-tailed weasels declined slow- 
ly following the 1934-35 season from 17 
in that season and, after a high of 19 for 
the 1940-41 season, reaching 9 in 1941- 
42, table 10. The figure for the 1941-42 
season is so little above the 7 for the 
1929-30 and 1930-31 seasons as to indi- 
cate that the long-time population trend 
is probably not upward. Index figures for 
average catch per effective fur-taker fol- 
low a pattern somewhat similar to that 
of the figures for the per cent of fur- 
takers catching weasels. Irregularities in 
the trend pattern appear due to and cor- 
related with irregularities in reporting, 
with the possible exception of the figure 
for the 1940-41 season, which may have 
marked a real peak. 
Figures obtained from the written 
monthly reports for the per cent of fur- 
takers catching long-tailed weasels are 3 
to 4 points higher than those obtained 
from data assembled by the oral survey. 
Both sets of data show an increase for the 
1939-40 season over the preceding season. 
The index figures for average catch per 
effective fur-taker for 1938-39 and 1939- 
40 are 1.6 points and 1.0 point lower, 
respectively, than fur-taker catch figures 
obtained from data assembled in the course 
of the oral survey. 
If these differences and similarities held 
during previous years of the study, then 
we may assume that on an average about 
2,200 fur-takers caught about 6,000 long- 
tailed weasels annually, worth $1,500. 
Averages are for the seasons of this study 
ending with 1939-40. 
These figures amount to almost 22 wea- 
sel trappers per county, or 1 to each 26 
square miles; 1 long-tailed weasel to each 
9 or 10 square miles, or about 59 per 
county, averaging somewhat less than $15 
worth per county. 
LEAST WEASEL 
Although frequently caught, skinned 
and sold by inexperienced young trappers, 
least weasels are unimportant in the Ilh- 
nois fur trade, being too small to interest 
furriers. They are commonly reported 
from Lake and McHenry counties, and, 
