HARVARD UNIVERSITY. LIBRARY OF THE MUSEUM OF comme uve ZOOLOGY 19 BEQUEST OF WILLIAM BREWSTER Phony H, Fe |. Fis. 11 1921 By Nxp DEARBORN, Assistant Biologist, Bureau of Biological Survey. * TURNING PESTS INTO PROFITS. VERY FARMER finds it necessary to kill certain animal pests in order to keep them from injuring his property or crops. This he sometimes does by means of poison, but more often he employs traps. A knowledge of the traits and habits of the animals and of proved methods of capturing them is important if he is to combat them suc- cessfully. Besides such out-and-out pests as rats, mice, and pocket gophers, some other animals are occasionally harm- ful, but having valuable skins and being classed as fur bear- ers are given special consideration. The lively demand for all kinds of fur puts into the pockets of American trappers millions of dollars a year, which, until the harvest, has not cost them a single effort. Moreover, several of the furry tenants of the farmer not only are not pests, but are useful while alive. Foxes, for example, destroy many rabbits and mice, both of which when abundant are very destructive to fruit trees and crops. Skunks are exceedingly beneficial, for they feed almost en- tirely on mice, grasshoppers, crickets, white grubs, and other farm pests. It is only in exceptional cases that either foxes or skunks attack poultry; it is far better to keep poul- Separate No. 823, from Yearbook of the Department of Agriculture, 1919. 451 171647°—20—1 452 Yearbook of the Department of Agriculture, 1919. try in suitable inclosures or to kill the individual animal which is doing damage than to adopt a policy of general persecution toward the tribes to which the few offenders be- long. |. The food habits of other fur bearers are usually of less importance. Weasels are excellent mousers; minks feed on frogs, fish, mice, and other small animals; while raccoons and opossums eat, in addition to a wide variety of neutral or harmful small animals, many kinds of vegetable food of little or no direct value to man. Muskrats and beavers live on wild products of marshes and woodlands, and only in rare instances are their burrows or houses objectionable. In short, speaking generally, fur animals transform un- cultivated and useless materials into valuable peltries, with- out expense or attention on our part. They are doing this throughout the country. When the corn is in the erib, and the landscape has been browned by frost, farm lads take down their traps with happy expectation and set out to gather unearned increments of fur. The purpose of this article is to explain methods of trap- ping the small wild animals of the farm, methods of pre- paring skins of fur bearers for market, and methods of im- proving the fur catch from year to year. HOW TO CATCH PESTS. - The most destructive group of pests on the farm includes the small gnawing animals known as rodents. Among them are house rats and mice which have been brought to this country from the Old World, and several kinds of na- tive rats and mice, as wood rats, rice rats, cotton rats, kan- garoo rats, meadow mice, pine mice, white-footed mice, and pocket mice. Ground squirrels of several kinds are found throughout the Western States and in many localities are very destructive to forage and grain. Prairie dogs of the plains region, related to ground squirrels, also destroy a great deal of forage in the vicinity of their “towns.” Here and there woodchucks, or groundhogs, also related to ground squirrels, are destructive to field and garden crops. In mountainous and timbered regions porcupines are more or less destructive to orchard and other trees. These animals Trapping on the Farm. 453 are all easy to trap, the main difficulty being that they fre- quently occur in great numbers.* The styles of traps shown in figure 1 (A and /) are used extensively in catching all kinds of rats and mice. Such traps ALUNELERTDRRER Eos a it j MW Bs8926; B58mM; B506M Tlic. 1.—Types of Traps Used for Catching Small Rodents. A, Type of trap with wooden base in common use for catching rats and mice ; B, metal trap for rats, mice, and small squirrels; C, wire rat trap. The last operates best when covered with a piece of burlap or with a box having a hole in one end through which rats may pass directly into the trap. are usually baited with a piece of nut meat, pumpkin seed, or rolled oats, as may be convenient. It is advantageous to use more than one kind of bait at a time, inasmuch as these ani- mals sometimes take one kind of bait in preference to an- 1See Farmers’ Bulletin 932, ‘‘Rodent Pests of the Farm,’ for further de- tails regarding combating. some of these rodents. 454 Yearbook of the Department of Agriculture, 1919. other. House mice have a habit of following the walls of a room as they run about, and a trap placed behind a table leg cr small object where mice naturally run need not be baited. House rats are sometimes wary and difficult to catch in traps set in the ordinary way. A small steel trap set in a pan of bran or oats and carefully covered will usually catch the shyest of rats. It is well to scatter small pieces of meat or bread over the ‘bran. The wire trap shown in figure 10 is more effective when covered by a piece of cloth or by a wooden box having a hole in one end through which ‘ats may pass Gumectly. into the trap. Wild rats and mice may be trapped readily at the’ entrances to their burrows or in their runways, the traps and the manner of setting them being the same as employed in catch- ing house rats and mice. Prairie dogs, ground Bizcom squirrels, and woodchucks 2.—Box Tri ‘or atching : Pig. 2p B05 ee Cate ; are usually caught in steel Rabbits, Squirrels, and Other Small & traps set at the entrances Animals Uninjured. : It may be baited or set without bait in to their burrows. Some- a runway. Details of construction are {jmes it is not necessary to SOM Roadtest cover the traps, but as a rule it is advisable to press them well into the earth and cover them lightly with grass or leaves, or whatever may be at hand. A trap should always be chained to a stake or other firm object so that an animal caught in it can not descend into its burrow or escape with the trap. Porcupines may be caught by means of an apple, a carrot, or a bit of green corn placed in a crevice behind a No. 2 1Tor full directions for destroying these pests, see I'armers’ Bulletin 896, ** House Rats and Mice.” Trapping on the Farm. 455 or No. 3 uncovered steel trap, as these animals are quite unwary. They may also be caught in traps set at the entrances of their dens, which are often located in cliffs. Cottontail rabbits are frequently destructive to young fruit trees and garden truck. They may be caught in box traps similar to the one shown in figures 2 and 3, baited with sweet apple, carrot, or pumpkin, or they may be taken in shelter traps, such as illustrated in figure 4. Where rabbits are abundant, shelter traps are occupied by them more or less regularly during the day. A dog trained to 4WO VIEW Iie. 3.—Details of Construction of Rabbit Trap Shown in Figure 2. hunt rabbits will give warning when one is inside a trap. To prevent the quarry’s escape a stick with a disk at the end of it may be thrust into the entrance, after which the top of the trap may be opened and the animal caught in the hand. The skins and flesh of trapped rabbits are supe- rior to those of rabbits which have been shot. In many of the Western States the rodent most destruc- tive and most difficult to capture is the pocket gopher, which spends most of its life underground. Owing to its subterranean habits it has been found expedient to devise special kinds of gopher traps (fig. 5). In making its burrows the gopher throws up on the surface of the ground the dirt it excavates. The trapper, opening a fresh mound, sets a gopher trap well within it and covers the opening behind the trap with a piece of sod, or whatever may be at hand. 456 Yearbook of the Department of Agriculture, 1919. It is possible to catch gophers in No. 0 steel traps, but the process is more laborious than that of catching them in the traps specially designed. When steel traps are used, a main burrow is located by prodding with an iron rod, then a piece of turf is removed from it and an excavation made deep enough to allow the trap to be set flush with the bottom of the burrow, after which the piece of sod which was removed is returned to its place. Gopher traps do not require bait. Besides the rodents, which constitute the majority of farm and garden pests, there are certain other creatures which are Fic. 4.—Shelter Trap for Catching Cottontail Rabbits. After a stick having a wooden disk at the end is thrust into entrance, the cover is lifted and the rabbit is captured by hand. sometimes obnoxious; among these are stray cats, which too often destroy useful birds. The removal of such ani- mals may be effected with neatness and dispatch by means of the trap shown in figure 6, and graphically described in figure 7. One can be made by any ingenious boy at very slight expense. Fresh meat or fish should be used in bait- ing it. In many localities one of the worst farm pests is the crow, which is often destructive to grain, eggs, and young chickens. Crows may be caught in steel traps, size No, 1 Trapping on the Farm. 457 or No. 2, carefully covered with soil and baited with what- ever they are destroying—eggshells, for example." Such hawks and owls as are destructive may sometimes be caught in small jump traps placed on top of high posts overlooking poultry yards, the trap being fastened securely to the post (fig. 8). As soon as the need of protecting chickens or other animals has passed, the pole traps should be removed so as to avoid risk of killing other birds. Another pest is the English sparrow, which destroys no small amount of grain during the ripening period. The EASY ene B613M; B6IIM; BI185M Fic. 5—Traps Especially Designed for Catching Pocket Gophers. traps shown in figures 9 and 10 catch these sparrows very satisfactorily. Rolled oats or crumbs of bread should be scat- tered around and beneath these traps to attract the birds. In catching sparrows one should be very careful to see that no native birds are destroyed.? HOW TO CATCH FUR ANIMALS. The devices intended for capturing fur animals are num- berless, ranging from simple deadfalls (fig. 114), constructed on the spot out of such convenient materials as saplings and 1See Department Bulletin 621, ‘‘ The Crow and Its Relation to Man.” ?See Farmers’ Bulletin 493, “The English Sparrow as a Pest.” 458 Yearbook of the Department of Agriculture, 1919. slivers, to patented products of factories. Although certain styles of traps may be used for catching many different kinds cf animals, others are used exclusively for a single species having peculiar habits which make ordinary traps inef- fective. The assortment of traps here illustrated, while by no means complete, is sufficient for capturing all of the ani- mals included within the limits of this article. BI259M Fic. 6.—Cat Trap Designed by the Biological Survey for Catching Vagrant Cats and Disposing of Them Humanely. Construction and operation are shown in figure 7. Steel traps (figs. 12 and 13) and other traps likely to be carried away by the animals caught in them are either chained fast to a stake or other immovable object or attached to a grapple or clog which yields when the captured animals make their first frantic efforts to escape, but which can not be dragged far. A sapling makes an excellent drag, the chain being attached 2 or 3 feet from the larger end, which makes it move more or less crosswise and soon become fastened in bushes or weeds. Trap chains should always in- . clude a swivel. Trapping on the Farm. 459 In setting a trap a careful trapper always springs it sev- eral times. to assure himself that it is going to work prop- erly. Before the trapping season opens, steel traps should be cleaned, the joints oiled, and any necessary little repairs made. STRIPED SKUNKS. The striped skunks are found in almost every part of the United States. Sleeping by day in burrows or beneath stones, buildings, or trees, they come forth at night to feed Ba64mM Iie. 7.—Details of Operation of Cat Trap Shown in Figure 6. In this illustration the near side of the trap is removed, showing the treadle, T, pivoted so as to pull the prop, P, under the edge of the box when th2 box is raised. A cat in reaching for the bait, B, tips up the treadle and springs the trap. A Fie. 18.—Drying Mole Skins on a Board, Showing the Three Stages of Work on One Skin. (1) Four pins are first used, one in each corner; (2) 4 intermediate pins are then inserted, the skin being slightly stretched; (3) finally 8 more pins are tacked in, one between each two of those already in place. mals are found practically throughout North America from the northern limit of trees to Mexico. Although occasion- ally seen in the daytime, they are mainly nocturnal. They sat vegetable food chiefly, as the fruit, foliage, and roots of lilies and other water plants, but frequently vary this kind of diet with mussels and occasionally with fish. The presence of muskrats is indicated in several ways. In marshes they build conspicuous houses of mud and weeds for winter occupancy. ‘Those living in streams have holes in banks below the surface of the water. In summer they 1See Farmers’ Bulletins 583, ‘“‘ The Common Mole of Eastern United States,”’ and 832, ‘Trapping Moles and Utilizing Their Skins.” Trapping on the Farm. 475 make paths of clear water through herbage and mud in shallow places, and leave their characteristic droppings on stones and driftwood. Piles of mussel shells and partly eaten roots are evidence that muskrats are living in the vicinity. The size of steel trap usually set for muskrats is No. 1. As these animals are quite unsuspicious, traps may be set without bait in their paths or at the entrances to their bur- rows. Bait, consisting of carrots, parsnips, or sweet apples, may, however, be used to advantage, as muskrats are very fond of these foods. The bait may be placed on a bank, or suspended on a stick above the trap, which is generally a little below the surface of the water. Unless a captured Fic. 19.—Simple Box Trap for Catching Muskrats in Narrow Streams. The wire doors being hinged at the top stay closed except when muskrats swim against them from the outside. The wires are long enough to prevent the doors from swinging outward. muskrat can immediately get into deep water and drown, it is likely to twist its leg off above the trap and escape. The box trap for catching muskrats in narrow streams, shown in figure 19, may be built of four boards, each 8 inches wide and 42 inches long. The ends of this trap are fitted with wire doors hanging by the upper edge. These doors remain closed by their own weight except when pushed open from the outside. A swimming muskrat can enter it easily but can not escape from it. This trap is held slightly under water by a weight of stones, a funnel of sticks or stones being constructed to guide muskrats into it. A muskrat skin should have the tail and feet removed and be cased flesh side out.t 1See Farmers’ Bulletin 869, ‘‘ The Muskrat as a Fur Bearer, with Notes on Its Use as Food.” 476 Yearbook of the Department of Agriculture, 1919. BEAVERS. Beavers have been exterminated over a very large portion of the country. They are now well protected by law in most of the States in which they are still found, and their numbers and distribution are gradually increasing. Being very shy creatures and mainly nocturnal, they are rarely seen, but their dams and tree cuttings are unmistakable signs of their presence. They feed mainly on herbage of various sorts and on the bark of such trees as cottonwood, poplar, maple, and birch, which for winter use they cut into pieces several feet long and carry to their ponds to be peeled under the ice during the winter. They build dams to control the depth of their ponds, construct houses, and dig burrows having entrances under water. When they cut their winter’s supply of food at some distance from their pond, they drag it over well- worn paths to the water. The trapper frequently sets a No. 4 double-spring trap at the end of these paths where the water is 4 or 5 inches deep, or again at the entrance of a burrow. In any case he provides for drowning a cap- tured beaver by slipping a smooth pole through the ring at the end of the trap chain and driving the small end of it firmly into the bottom where the water is deep, fastening the large end on the bank above with stakes or heavy stones. On being caught a beaver immediately dives, the ring of the trap chain slides down the pole, and the animal, held under water, soon drowns. The tail and feet of the beaver are not left on the skin, which is stretched flat and as nearly round as possible. The common way of doing this is to sew or lace it to a hoop some- what larger than the skin. The long podlike glands known as beaver castor, found just beneath the skin in front of the genital organs in both sexes, are in demand by trappers and raw-fur buyers. After they are removed from the skinned carcass the outlets are tied up to prevent leakage and they are hung up to dry in a cool place. They are used by manufacturers of perfumes and by trappers in making scent baits. Trapping on the Farm. 477 HOW TO PREPARE SKINS. The manner of skinning a fur animal depends on whether its pelt is to be dried open or cased. For an open skin the first cut is made from the point of the chin straight to the AE. Sapte SS aa ee ERR Es Bi263M Fic. 20.—Cased Mink Skin on Board Stretcher. This skin, having no dark spots, is entitled to be called “‘ prime,’ and to command the top price. tip of the tail, along the un- der side of the body. Side cuts are then made to this from the sole of each foot by the shortest routes. The only exceptions to this rule for taking off open or flat skins occur with beaver and mole skins, which do not have the feet and tail left on them and are cut only from chin to base of tail, no leg cuts being made. In peeling the skin from a carcass the knife should be used as little as possible and always with extreme care, as even a small gash in a skin reduces its value. For a cased skin (fig. 20), a cut is made from the sole of one hind foot to the sole of the other, on a line run- ning along the rear edge of the hind legs and beneath the tail. The tail is cut along the under side its en- tire length and the bone is removed. If this is not done the hair of the tail is likely to come out when the skin is dressed. After the cuts have been made, the hind legs and feet are skinned out to the toes, the toes and the feet being cut on the under side. At this point it is convenient to hang the carcass by the hamstrings on hooks or pegs. After the tail bone has been taken out, the entire skin is turned from the body very much as a glove is turned from the hand. The fore feet 478 Yearbook of the Department of Agriculture, 1919. are opened from the wrist to the toes and skinned out in the same manner as the hind feet. The ears are cut off beneath the skin close to the skull and the thick cartilage in them is removed. In order to avoid cutting the eyelids, the knife should be carefully applied close to the skull when the first trace of eyes appears as the skin is being turned from the head. Any fat or muscle adhering to a skin should be removed immediately, as fat causes skins to become brittle and worthless, while muscle invites decay when conditions are unfavorable for rapid drying. This is usually done by drawing the skin flesh side out over strips of board or scantling, rounded on the up- per side (fig. 21), ain d) » bay scraping BI260M Fig. 21.—Fleshing Beam. Skins are laid on this to be scraped free of fat and muscle, either when they are fresh or after being soaked in cold water until they are soft enough to be worked readily. it with the back of a knife, a dull file, or the edge of a square stick of hard wood, the scraping always being done from the head toward the tail. After being scraped, or “ fleshed,” skins are stretched as uniformly throughout as possible. Open skins are usually pinned or nailed out on any convenient flat surface, flesh side exposed. If such a surface is not at hand, they are | sewed or laced to a wooden hoop or frame of suitable size and shape. Cased skins are dried on stretchers made either Trapping on the Farm. 479 of thin board or metal rods shaped so as to stretch them properly in every part (figs. 20, 22, and 23). Peltries should always be dried in a shady, well-ventilated place, as an open shed, and not by artificial heat when it can be avoided. In regions where the rainfall is excessive and the air is saturated with moisture, it is sometimes nec- essary to dry skins near a fire. In packing furs for shipment care should be taken to ar- range them so the fur side of one skin will not be soiled by the flesh side of another. 20 “ }-—e+_- Fic. 22.— Board and Wire Stretchers Designed for Muskrat Skins. Skins wanted for home use may be dressed by simple though somewhat tedious methods, one of which is here outlined. A tanning liquor is made by adding to each gallon of water one quart of salt and half an ounce of sulphuric acid. This mixture should not be kept in a metal container. Thin skins are tanned by it in one day, but heavy skins must remain in it longer; they may remain in it indefinitely with- out harm. When removed from this liquor they are washed several times in soapy water, wrung as dry as possible, and rubbed on the flesh side with a cake of hard soap. Flat 480 Ycarbook of the Department of Agriculture, 1919. skins are then folded in the middle, lengthwise over a clothes line, hair side out, and left to dry. Cased skins are simply hung up by the nose, hair side out. When the hair is barely dry, and the flesh side is still moist, they are laid over a smooth, rounded board and scraped on the flesh side with the edge of a worn flat file or a similar blunt- edged tool. In this way an inner layer is removed, and the skins be- come nearly white in color. They are then stretched, rubbed, and twisted until quite dry. Fresh but- ter or other animal fat worked into skins while they are warm and then worked out again next day in dry hardwood sawdust or extracted by a hasty bath in gasoline increases their softness. The main part of dressing skins consists of the labor applied while they are drying, in order to make them soft and pliable. In skin- dressing establishments this opera- tion is done by machinery for a period of eight hours or more, hun- dreds of skins being treated at the same time. Home-dressed skins are sicim softened by hand, one at a time. Skins of the same kinds of animals sie dani sbi oo do not always work alike. In some caused by the development of Cases it 1s necessary to return one to a new growth of hair, make the tanning solution once or even this skin ‘ unprime and of . i 4 considerably less value than if twice before it will finally become it, were fully prime. soft. Unless one has considerable spare time it is more satisfactory to send skins to a fur dresser than to dress them at home. A skin on which the fur is soiled should be cleaned before being stretched. Grease may be removed by a gasoline bath or by hot corn meal or hardwood sawdust rubbed in and shaken out repeatedly and finally beaten out with a Iie. 23.—Rabbit Skin on Wire Stretcher. Trapping on the Farm. 481 limber switch. Light-colored furs are stained by blood if it is allowed to remain on them for any length of time. By exercising care the trapper can usually prevent fur from becoming bloody, but when this is impossible the blood should be removed immediately by washing with clear water as long as the water shows a tinge of red. Wet fur should always be dried before the skin is stretched, which can be done by shaking and wiping and applying corn meal or sawdust. Fur that has been made up into wearing apparel may be freshened by laying it flat on a table and rubbing into it, thoroughly, flake naphthalene. The naphthalene has only to be shaken out when the cleaning is done. Garments that are badly soiled should have the lining removed and be sepa- rated into their main parts. These may be washed sepa- rately in warm water, with any kind of soap that is suit- able for washing woolens, rinsed until clean, and then dried in sunshine where there is a breeze to carry away moisture and keep the fur in motion. When almost dry the parts should be worked in the hands and beaten, after which they are ready to be reassembled in the garment. Furs are frequently injured by certain insects. Raw skins, especially those more or less greasy, are very attrac- tive to larder beetles and some of their relatives, both in the larval or immature form and in the adult stage. Fur, as distinguished from the skin on which it grows, is eaten by larve of the clothes moth. Trouble from both of these pests may be avoided by keeping furs during warm weather in tight tin or sheet-iron cases, and placing in an open dish 1 ounce of carbon bisulphide to each 6 cubic feet of space when the case is finally closed. The gas arising from this liquid when mixed with air makes a violent explosive, for which reason it should never be used in the presence of fire. Dressed furs may be protected from moths by brushing and combing them thoroughly out of doors in bright weather and immediately tying them up in a sack of heavy paper or of closely woven cotton cloth. Raw furs should be either dressed or disposed of before the advent of summer, if pos- sible, to prevent them from being injured by insects or the action of fat. 482 Yearbook of the Department of Agriculture, 1919. HOW TO HAVE MORE AND BETTER FUR. Reports recently received by the Biological Survey from a large number of raw-fur buyers generally agree that the supply of wild fur has decreased greatly since 1910. In many of these reports the shrinkage is estimated at from 25 to 50 per cent in 10 years. A review of the great fur sales recently held in this country shows that the stock dis- posed of was brought from all parts of the world to supply the American trade. Manufactured furs in 1919 cost ap- proximately 200 per cent more than the same grade of furs bought two years before, and skins of animals formerly re- garded as having little or no fur value were made up into garments selling at from $100 to $150 each. All this goes to show that the demand for fur is far greater than can be met. Evidently the time is at hand when steps should be taken to increase and improve the fur supply. Trappers, dealers, manufacturers, and wearers, possessing in the ag- gregate a tremendous moral and financial influence, want more and better fur. Among the bad practices which have reduced the number of fur bearers are: (1) Using poison, which kills many animals that are not found before their skins are spoiled; (2) smoking animals out of their dens, which often suf- focates them instead of forcing them out; (3) destroying dens, which either leaves the animals without suitable places in which to rear their young or drives them out of the neigh- borhood altogether; (4) trapping early in fall, which catches animals having small, unprime pelts before they are old enough to be suspicious of traps; and (5) trapping late in spring, which destroys breeding females with young. If no early or late trapping were done there would be fewer animals taken, but on the other hand the value of the catch and the number of animals left to breed another sea- son would be far greater. Skins are prime for about two months after the molt is completed, and during this time they have no dark spots on the flesh side. They are worth much more when prime (fig. 20) than when unprime (fig. 23). Muskrat and beaver pelts are best in February and March, while those of other fur bearers are best from late in November till about the end of January. Trapping on the Farm. 483 The wild as well as the domestic animals ot a farm require food and shelter, and while the farmer is providing as a matter of course for his domestic stock, he will, if wise, be mindful also of the needs of his wild tenants. If he regards his barns as factories for producing milk, meat, and wool, he may as well consider the fox den in the hill pasture and the big hollow sycwmore by the creek as fur factories and preserve them accordingly. If he sells only his excess domestic stock, he also will cease trapping the wild “ stock” while there are enough fur bearers left on his land to insure another year’s fur harvest. It is as logical to try to make farms produce more fur as to make them produce more beef. The important point is to have people understand the possibilities of increasing their income in this way. When this point is fully appre- ciated they will uphold State laws which forbid the use of smoke, poison, or other chemicals in taking fur animals, and forbid the destruction of dens and trapping on land of another without written permission. Such laws are already in force in several States, and will undoubtedly be operative in all the fur-producing States in the near future. The measures thus far considered for increasing and im- proving the fur output have all been along the line of con- servation. Beyond conservation, and surpassing it, are sound constructive measures by which a great and perma- nent improvement in wild fur may be accomplished. So thoroughly has the animal life of North America been in- vestigated that we know in what region to find the best foxes, the best skunks, the best raccoons, the best muskrats, and the best of every other kind of fur bearer. Nearly all these animals have been bred in confinement, and although only two or three have actually been farmed, there is no reasonable doubt that under favorable conditions all can be propagated on fur farms for distribution on preserves in State and National forests or other public domain, and on private lands set aside by agreement with the owners, where they will be fully protected and from which they will spread when the natural limit to their abundance has been reached. Just as State game farms raise and distribute game for sportsmen to shoot and State and Federal hatcheries raise 484 Yearbook of the Department of Agriculture, 1919. and distribute fish for anglers to hook, so should there be State and Federal fur farms for raising the largest and best- furred animals to be found on the continent for stocking preserves for the benefit of trappers. Possibly here and there a hunter or a poultryman may be inclined to oppose this suggestion, but the hunter may be reassured by the fact that game and fur animals are naturally coexistent and that until steel traps and firearms appeared there was an abun- dance of both. As to the poultryman’s losses due to fur animals they are, in the main, preventable; the price of one fox pelt is sufficient to pay for a good-sized vermin-proof chicken run. It should not be forgotten that the natural and ordinary food of fur animals consists mainly of materials for which mankind has little or no use, and that certain of these ani- mals render the farmer a positive service by ridding his orchards, fields, and pastures of some of the worst pests infesting them. Generally speaking, therefore, the project to increase and improve fur animals would result in turning ~ useless or harmful organisms into valuable peltries. It would also enable the farmer, when the regular duties of his farm are at their lowest ebb, to reap a self-raised harvest of fur which has cost him nothing and which probably has been developed in his service. O . Vi paper ae wl