Fur Farm on Open Ground near a Farmhouse.Fur Farm on Open Ground near a Farmhouse.
The popularity of muskrat fur is on the increase, while large numbers are exported to foreign countries, it is being more and more used in the United States and Canada. At present it is much used for lining ladies coats and its rich appearance when used in this way seems certain to increase its popularity. It is also dyed and is then known as electric seal and French seal.
The great demand for the fur during the past two seasons has resulted in such persistent hunting and trapping that the number of animals in many sections has decreased visibly and as a consequence the spring catch has been comparatively light.
Just before this book went to press, considerable inquiry was made about the supply of raw fur the past season. The general report was that the catch of Spring Rats in 1909 was perhaps not more than 25% what it was the year prior. The fall catch of 1908 and the winter catch of 1908-9 was quite heavy.
From this it appears that the high prices of muskrat during the months of October, November and December, 1908, caused an unusual number of hunters and trappers to seek these animals. The consequence being that they were caught off much closer than ever before.
To further bear this out, dealers say that in many of the Central States where last year they collected 20,000 during March and April, this year they only secured 4000 or 5000. Trappers say that there are very few muskrats left in certain localities. This shows that continued trapping will practically exterminate the muskrat.
Along the Atlantic Coast south from New York for hundreds of miles the marshes along the coast, bays, rivers and creeks are literally alive with muskrats. The marsh owners farm out the "rat catching" privileges, usually on the halves. The State of Delaware protects the rats some eight or nine months each year. There are laws in several other states protecting these animals. A few states prohibit the destroying of rat houses at all times.
While hundreds of people follow rat catching along the marshes the owners and state see that enough are left for breeding and replenishing the marshes. They get their food from the flags and other weeds largely, which flourish in these swamps. Fifty acres of "swamp" has been known to furnish 2000 rats or fifty per acre year after year.
In this section black muskrats are not uncommon, the catch some seasons running as high as 40% black, but as a rule it is lower. What causes this strange color phase is unknown.Black muskrats are met with occasionally in other sections but nowhere is the proportion as large as along the East Coast.
What nature in a way does for the muskrat in the Eastern swamps, fur raisers can help to accomplish in hundreds of localities throughout America. There are scores of ponds, small lakes, swamps, etc., in practically all states where the muskrat is found that can be made to yield large profits from muskrats. They are easily raised, in fact, will raise themselves if given "half a chance."
There is no doubt whatever that the fur of this animal will steadily increase in value. While there will be fluctuations as in the past, we do not believe that prices will ever go as low as they were some years ago. Our conclusions in this are based on the fact that the catch is growing smaller and the popularity of furs for wearing apparel and especially muskrat fur, is steadily increasing, also the population of all countries grows larger each year and there is bound to be a steady demand for furs.
Another thing worthy of consideration is the fact that the flesh of the muskrat has become a very popular dish in many of the Eastern cities and there is a market for the carcass of the animal. The trappers of Maryland and Delaware find ready sale for the flesh.
The muskrats found on the East Coast as well as those found in the marshes and the shallow lakes and ponds of other parts of the country are of the house building kind. It should be understood, however, that the muskrat living in houses and those living in burrows in the banks of streams are the same variety, their different, styles of habitation being due to the different conditions of their respective locations. Where streams are swift or where there is danger of the houses being carried away by freshets, they dig burrows in the bank, making the entrance below the surface of the water.
These burrows extend sometimes twenty-five or thirty feet into the bank and the interior chamber is sometimes quite large. Along the streams of the farming sections, much damage is done by muskrats because of these burrows.
The houses of the marsh-dwellers are composed of grass and flags, grass roots, mud, etc. They are of cone shaped structure and to those unacquainted with the animals, they are simply piles of grass and weeds in the water, for that is what they resemble. The entrances to these houses are always deep under water. It is said that the muskrats build their houses with thicker walls when they feel instinctively that an unusually severe winter is approaching.
Muskrat House in a Marsh.Muskrat House in a Marsh.
In addition to the house the animals build small feeding places near by. These feed beds as they are called, are constructed in the same way as the houses, but only rise to the level of the water. These beds are the dining rooms of the muskrats, for to them they bring all of their food so that they may have a place to rest while they are enjoying their meal. They also have like the raccoon, a habit of washing their food before they will eat it.
The muskrat is a vegetarian and seldom eats any animal food. In the wild state their natural food is grass and roots, fruit, grain and clams or mussels. They are also fond of parsnips, carrots, artichokes, white flag roots, wild rice, pond lily roots, sweet corn and pumpkin, and will eat almost all kinds of vegetables.
It will be seen that in captivity the food problem would be easily solved. They are very fond of wild rice, and those who have ponds suitable for muskrats and are contemplating the raising of these animals would do well to sow them with wild rice. The rice may be obtained from almost any of the seed houses and it will grow in six or eight feet of water. They are also fond of pumpkins and it is a cheap and satisfactory food.
Some of them will lay up stores of food for winter, but they do not all do this. Where the streams are rapid they can get out to hunt forfood at almost all times, and where they are located on lakes and marshes that freeze over in winter they can find plenty of food in the water under the ice. This food is taken to the feed bed to be eaten.
In early spring the warmth from their bodies will sometimes thaw a hole through the ice over the bed and the muskrat stops this hole with grass roots, etc. The trapper is looking for just such places and it is the bunch of grass roots on the ice that gives them away. The steel trap is soon in place, awaiting the coming of the animal, and many of them are trapped in this way.
The breeding habits of the muskrat are different from those of other fur-bearing animals, as they will have three litters in a season. The first are born in April, and there will be from six to nine young. It is claimed that the female of the first litter will also bear young that season and this accounts for the small rats, or kits, caught during the fall season.
It would appear from this that the animals should increase in numbers very rapidly, but they have many enemies other than man, and perhaps one-half of the muskrats born in a season never reach maturity. With the exception of man, their greatest enemies are the birds of prey, such as owls, hawks, buzzards, etc., butchiefly the owl, as it is a nocturnal bird and has a fine opportunity to capture the unwary. The fox frequently makes a capture, as does also the mink and otter.
It is a deplorable fact that there is a large proportion of small animals in the trapper's catch. These are the young muskrats, for while they grow rapidly the first summer, it requires several years for them to attain full size, yet they class as No. 1 the first season. The old animals are larger and their fur is more valuable than that of the young. For those who raise the animals there would be less trouble from catching young and immature rats.
Muskrats do not become fully prime until midwinter and many of them are not strictly number one until March. When fully prime the skin will be of a cream or pink color, with no dark spots showing. Winter caught skins will have a number of dark spots, while those taken in the fall have a very pronounced stripe or two on the back.
Along the Atlantic Coast for many years land owners have rented the rat catching privileges to "ratters" on shares, which is generally one-half of the catch. The "ratters" only trap when the fur is at its best, so that the supply is holding out. On lands "free for all" the rats are thinned out.
During recent years, property owners in various rat producing sections have awakened to the fact that their "swampy land" is of more value for the animal fur harvest than for any other purpose.
Muskrats are easily raised and increase rapidly. They often make their homes in the banks of canals, fish ponds, etc., coming from nearby waters of their own accord. These places seem to be ideal places for muskrats and instead of their leaving they remain year after year, even though they are trapped and the property owners resort to other means endeavoring to get rid of them. Muskrats are not afraid of civilization, and do well in thickly settled sections where there are rivers, creeks, lakes, ponds, marshes, etc. They seem to do well in their natural state where they have water and feed and on some ponds hundreds are caught annually.
As already mentioned, these animals need little care. If the waters where the animals are is naturally productive of muskrat food, the animals will take care of themselves unless the numbers are too large and they consume the entire food supply. The raisers should guard against this by feeding, as the natural supply should be protected so as to help furnish the food supply year after year.
Lakes, ponds, etc., that abound in wild rice, flags, lilies, etc., make an ideal home for muskrats, as they are fond of both the wild rice seed and roots, as well as the roots of flags and lilies, on which they feed when the surface is frozen over. Artichokes should also be started, as muskrats are fond of them.
Those who expect to raise this fur-bearer should take into consideration that little or no fencing is required on lakes, ponds and creeks if proper feed grows there. If the feed is not there the prospective raiser should see that it is started at once by sowing wild rice seed, transplanting some flags and lily roots to his muskrat waters. In fact, the prospective muskrat raiser should have the food supply well under way before the rats are brought or secured or they will destroy it.
There are no doubt hundreds of places that can be converted into ideal "muskrat preserves" by a little work. Low, marshy land on which the water is not deep enough to be dammed. Such a place would require a wire fence around it. Perhaps the best way would be to place the fence several rods back from the water, as there would then be no danger of the animals burrowing under. The fence should be of five-foot wire, one foot in the ground. Where the fence crosses any inlets or outlets, the wire should be putmuch deeper for two rods or more on each side and it would be well to place flat stones in the bottom of the trench, as shown and described in the chapter on Enclosures.
The raccoon is closely allied to the bears, although much smaller. Like them it possesses an omnivorous appetite, is plantigrade, and hibernates during cold weather. It is found throughout the Southern, Central and Eastern States, and in Southern Ontario and Nova Scotia. It is also found in good numbers on the Pacific coast, northward into British Columbia; but they are found in greatest numbers in the extreme South of the United States, and especially in Florida, Louisiana and the lowlands of Arkansas and Texas.
Their natural home is in the heavily timbered parts, but they are also found in the sparsely wooded bottom lands of the Central States.
They den, as a rule, in hollow trees, well up from the ground, and seldom if ever in a tree which has a continuous hollow and an opening at the bottom, preferring a hollow, broken off limb, or a hole in the trunk, high up on the tree. In some places they den in natural caves in the rocks, and in the western part of their range, it is said that they sometimes occupy dens in some high and dry bank of earth. During themating season the males travel considerably, and will, when daylight approaches, seek a place of rest in any hollow tree that is to be found, or failing to find this, may spend the day in a hollow log or under a stump.
The mating season comes mainly, late in February or early in March, and the young, from four to six in number, are born in April and the beginning of May. They remain with the parents for some time during the summer, but will find a den for themselves as soon as possible. However, they will be found, the first season, in the near vicinity of the parents' den.
The food of the coon is variable, to conform with conditions of different sections, but wherever found, they feed on both vegetable and animal food. Fish, frogs, crawfish, clams, eggs of birds, and turtles; water snails, wild fruits, such as grapes and berries, nuts, acorns, etc., are all eaten with a relish. They are especially fond of corn when in the milky state, and in late summer they feed on it extensively. They are fond of poultry, also of honey, and will dig out the nests of bumble bees when they find them, for the sake of the little bit of "sweet" which is found therein.
They are nocturnal animals and are seldom seen by daylight. In their travels they follow the streams mostly, and catch fish by feelingunder the stones in shallow water. Whenever possible, they wash their food before eating.
The raccoon has a peculiar cry, which is heard sometimes, on still nights, during the summer. It is a quavering note somewhat resembling that of the screech owl, but lower and softer, and seems to come from a distance, though really close by. To one inexperienced in the ways of this animal, the cry would not be recognized.
The fur of the raccoon meets with ready sale at fair prices, and there is also sale for the flesh in many markets. There is considerable difference in color in individual animals, some of them being very dark, and others quite pale. Of course the northern animals are more heavily furred than those of the south.
The darker and larger specimens, as a rule, are secured in the northern states—New York, Pennsylvania, Northern Ohio, Northern Indiana, Northern Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and the Northwest. The greatest numbers, but smaller and lighter colored, are secured from the southern states, those bordering on the Gulf of Mexico, Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri, and Kentucky.
While raccoon can be raised in nearly all parts of America, the best furred specimens can only be raised where the climate is productive of good fur,—say north of 40 degrees. Thiswould be on a line passing through Philadelphia, south of Pittsburg, just north of Columbus, through Central Indiana and Illinois, northern Missouri, boundary between Kansas and Nebraska, north of Denver, and on to the Pacific Ocean.
It is not meant that coon cannot be profitably raised south of this line indicated, for they can. The chances, however, are that far south of the line mentioned, the skins would not be as valuable and being nearer the coon-producing section, there would not be as ready a market for the carcasses.
The coon raiser should secure good dark males and females for breeding purposes, from northern sections. If unable to do this, a good male or two crossed with the females, would help to produce larger and darker animals. This is important, as the larger and darker the pelt, the more valuable, and the larger the carcass the more it brings.
That raccoons do well in captivity is well known from the many kept in zoos, parks, etc. Countless numbers have been caught while young, when they soon become tame and interesting pets. Even those caught when grown, soon become accustomed to their owners and keepers. They can be handled and become amusing pets. They know strangers and will oftenput their paws over their eyes and look between their toes, thinking perhaps, that the stranger cannot see them, while their paws are over their eyes.
Large numbers of raccoons could be raised by fencing in a piece of woods, embracing a few acres, with a creek running through. If the fence was considerable distance from the edge of the woods, it is doubtful if the animals would make much effort to escape. The places they would be apt to frequent the most, would be where the stream entered and left the enclosure. At these places the fence should be extra high, strong and secure.
The raccoon and opossum farmer have a double advantage where their "farm" is situated near a city. First, if the fur farm is one containing a large number of animals, the supplying of food will be quite a problem and the city offers a means of plenty and cheap food for your animals, such as offals from slaughter houses and other feed. Second, the city offers a market for the meat at "killing time".
While raccoon will eat decayed meat to some extent, it should be furnished them fresh, in which condition it is much better for them. Most animals will eat carrion, yet it is doubtful if it is advisable to feed when in such condition. Putrid flesh is unhealthy and some claim, causesfur-bearing animals to become affected with mange.
Raccoon are naturally a clean animal, and in their wild state are particular that their food is clean. They seldom, if ever, eat left-over food or flesh that has become tainted.
Barrel Shelter for Female and Young.Barrel Shelter for Female and Young.
That raccoon raising promises well is borne out from the fact that they are easily handled, eat a variety of food easily secured, and their fur and meat both have a ready cash market. The pelt of a full grown and dark raccoon is worth from $1.00 to $2.00, depending upon the section; to this add from 40c to 75c for the carcass and it will be seen that the raccoon brings to its owner $1.40 to $2.50 or upwards. This price is for the better grade. The smaller and lighter colored skins from the more southerly sections, will perhaps only bring two-thirds as much—75 cents to $1.50 for the pelts and 25 to 50 cents for the carcass.
At what other "branch of farming" is there greater profit? No one is going to become immensely rich "at coon raising" in a few years, but if they enter the business and give the same attention and care to it that they would to poultry, sheep, horses and cattle, there is reason to believe that the profits will be as large if not larger. Again, the person who loves the handling of fur-bearing animals will be making his living at the business he enjoys most.
Fur Farm on Open Ground.Fur Farm on Open Ground.
Those who expect to raise coon in a small enclosure, should have the wire turned in several feet at the top, or the chances are they will follow along the under side to the edge and thus escape. In the enclosure for raccoon, the strip of tin around the fence some three or four feet high is strongly recommended. There should be some logs, dens, and low, branchy trees for theanimals to play in is to their liking. The more homelike their enclosure, the sooner they become contented. This means that they grow faster, which is all to the financial interest of the coon raiser.
An enclosure of several acres for coon, taking in trees suitable for dens, could be used for fox raising as well. The coon would raise their young in the "den trees" and therefore would not bother the foxes, as those having young would be in pens. The male foxes having access to the entire enclosure might steal the feed for the female coon left at the roots of the den trees. Should there be trouble on this point, the food could be placed on a platform against the body of the tree out of reach of the foxes.
These two very important fur-bearing animals were once quite numerous throughout practically the whole of the United States and Canada, but because of the persistency with which they were hunted, have become rare in many of the sections where they were once found in abundance. Especially is this true of the beaver. Almost all of the states in which beavers are still found, as well as the various provinces of Canada, have made laws to protect these animals, but they are still hunted and trapped, and the day is not far distant when the beaver will be extinct.
The otter is a more wary animal than the beaver, and as a consequence will linger within the bounds of civilization long after the beaver has disappeared, but for all this they are becoming very rare in most of the settled sections. As these animals both belong to different orders and their habits are entirely different, it will be necessary to take up each separately.
The Beaver.—As before mentioned, the beaver has become extinct in many sectionswhere it was once found, and at present they are practically confined to Canada, Alaska, the Northern States and the Western mountain regions. A few are still found in the more isolated portions of the South, but there they are quite rare except in a few small sections. Thruout the Central and many of the Eastern and Southern States, they have entirely disappeared. There is only one species of the beaver, but there are several varieties, all of which are very much alike in appearance and the habits of all are the same, except where it is changed because of difference in food, climate, etc.
The beaver has always been an interesting animal, not only to those directly interested in furs, but to all others, and practically everybody knows something regarding the habits of the animal. One of their most remarkable habits is that of building dams on the stream, or at the outlet of the pond or lake on which they are located. These dams are intended to regulate the height of the water. They will vary from two to five feet in height, and from twenty to one hundred yards in length, according to the size of the stream and the nature of the shores.
The dams are composed of sticks and chunks of wood, stones, sods, etc. They always watch the dam closely and keep it in repair, and each fall it is strengthened by adding new material.In addition to the main dam there are, as a rule, one or more smaller dams built lower down stream. What these small dams are for is not known for a certainty, but sometimes, when the lower dam backs the water up to the large one, the beavers will, in the fall after the ice has formed, dig a passage through the upper dam, which allows the water to fall and leaves an air space between the water and the ice, and it is perhaps for this reason that the smaller dams are constructed.
Somewhere on the edge of the pool where the water is not too deep, the beavers make their lodge, or house. These houses sometimes rise eight feet above the water and will measure fifteen feet in diameter. They are constructed of the same materials as used for the dam, and are always repaired and strengthened before freezing weather comes. There are two entrances to the house and they are always located deep under water.
The food of the beaver consists principally of bark of poplar, birch, willow, cottonwood, alder and wild cherry. They are also fond of the roots of the water lily. In the South it is said that they quite often feed on corn, when located near the farms. They would doubtless eat many kinds of roots and vegetables if same could be procured. In some few sections, wherethe nature of the stream is such that houses and dams are not a success, the beavers live in holes in the bank of the stream and are called "bank beavers"; however, they are the same variety as the house building kind.
In the Northern districts, where the ponds are covered with ice six months of the year, the beavers spend the entire winter under the ice. For this long period of imprisonment they must lay up a large store of food. This food consists of small, green saplings and brush, cut into suitable lengths and stored under water, in front of the house. They eat only the bark and the peeled sticks are used to repair the house and dam. The young beavers are born in April and May and there are usually only two at a birth, but sometimes there will be three. These young animals remain two years with the parents, so that a full family will consist of the two old ones, two or three medium size and two or three small beavers. However, there are "bachelor beavers", old males who always live alone, and have a small house somewhere along the shore of a stream or pond.
It was the beaver that was most sought by the early trappers, for the fur was more in demand than the fur of any other animal. At present it is not as popular as in days of old, but we do not believe that its value will decrease,as the catch becomes lighter each succeeding year. The skins do not become prime as early as those of some other animals, but are in good condition in advance of the muskrat. The fur of the beaver, otter, muskrat and bear remains in good condition until late in the spring.
During the summer months many of the beavers travel about on the streams and if a house is found at this time it may be deserted, or at the best, only one or two animals will be found there. As fall approaches, they all return to the lodge and from that time until the water is frozen they will be hard at work laying up the winter's store of food.
The Otter.—The otter is occasionally met with in almost all parts of North America, in some places fairly plentiful, in others very rare, but they are found in greatest numbers in the swamps of some of the Southern States, and in the wilder portions of Canada, Alaska and Newfoundland. There are two species, the common otter and the sea otter, which latter is only found in the North Pacific and is now quite rare. Of the common otter there are some three or four varieties, differing only in size and color. The habits of the otter are very little known by the average man, and many of the trappers know little about this animal. They are ramblinganimals, traveling the streams and lakes for great distances. They will travel sometimes ten or fifteen miles to visit some certain lake and perhaps will only stay there over night. Again, if undisturbed, they may remain for a month or more on some small pond.
They are on very friendly terms with the beaver and will frequently spend several weeks or months with a beaver family, apparently living in the same house. If an otter knows the location of two or more families of beavers, it will spend practically all of its time with one or other of the beaver families, or may make frequent visits from one to the other.
The otter is an exceedingly active animal and is so much at home in the water that it is able to catch fish with ease, and they are its principal food. Where fish are plentiful, they will kill them merely for pleasure, and what they can not eat, they will store up in some little bay or inlet along the shore. These, however, are not placed there for future use, as the otter will only eat food that is strictly fresh. Besides fish, they also eat large numbers of frogs, which are easily secured. They also eat muskrats and sometimes surprise these animals by coming up into the houses from below, thus preventing the inmates from escaping.
The otter does not travel much on land, exceptwhen crossing country from one lake or stream to another. Their bodies being long and their legs short, walking is, for them, rather difficult and their mode of locomotion is a series of plunging leaps. On the snow or ice they move along rapidly by throwing themselves forward, sliding on their bellies. They are very playful animals and sometimes amuse themselves by sliding down a slippery bank. They also have landing places where they go to roll in the leaves and grass. In the spring they often lay for hours on some old log by the side of the stream, basking in the warm sun. They can remain a long time under water, and in winter travel long distances under the ice,—in fact, they prefer to travel this way whenever possible.
The home of the otter is a burrow in the bank of a stream, the entrance under water. At the end of the burrow is a nest lined with leaves and grass. They also, sometimes, den in hollow logs and the trunks of hollow trees. The dens are always located in the most secluded places, as far as possible removed from danger of discovery. The young are born in April or May and the number is from two to four.
With regard to raising the beaver and otter for profit, we will say that there has been comparatively few attempts at the business and we are unable to get any authentic data with regardto these experiments. However, the animals do well in captivity, in zoos, and when kept by private individuals, as pets, and it is our opinion that if one will but go slowly and learn the habits and nature of the animals, a fair degree of success may be attained. It should be understood that conditions must be favorable and the animals should be given a range as nearly like their natural home as possible. Of course, one could not make a success of raising beavers in an open field. They must have wooded land where their natural food, quaking aspen (sometimes poplar), birch, willow, cottonwood, alder, is plentiful. A pool on some quiet little stream, bordered by a large tract of forest, would be the proper place. Beavers are not given to roaming, except during the summer months, and in such cases they always return to their home before cold weather comes.
We believe that the animals could not be raised successfully by any of the plans recommended for the rearing of other fur-bearing animals, but should simply be placed in a large enclosure, in the proper location, and allowed to take care of themselves. The animals will breed perfectly without any attention and there will be no danger of them killing their offspring, as is the case with other fur bearers. There is no doubt that the beaver and the otter will dowell in the same enclosure, for in the wild state they are very sociable and are fond of one another's company.
If otters are kept in an enclosed pond, it will be necessary to keep them supplied with food, and perhaps the best way would be to keep the ponds stocked with live fish and frogs. With the beaver the matter of providing food is more simple, as it will only be necessary to make the enclosure where their natural food is found in abundance.
When "killing time" comes, care should be taken to not frighten the animals left for breeding purposes more than is absolutely necessary. All animals that are tame enough should be driven into a separate enclosure and out of sight of the others before being killed. Perhaps as good a method of killing as any is to use a good club, striking on the head just over the eyes or ears.
The above method is not for skunk, as they should be killed without the enclosure becoming so strongly scented. A pole several feet long with a strong loop on the end can be slipped over their head and well back on the neck. The animal can now be lifted clear off the ground and carried wherever the killing is desired. If the killer does not mind a little perfume he knocks them on the head, or if a barrel of water is handy they can be drowned and few scent. The drowning, however, is not recommended, as it takes the fur hours to dry and is therefore extra work. Some even claim that the water spoils the luster of the fur to a certain extent.
Some animals, such as coon and skunk, do not leave their dens during severe weather, so that it is advisable to begin selecting those that are to be killed days and even weeks in advance of the time decided upon. These should be placed in an enclosure or pen by themselves so that the remaining ones will not be disturbed.
Even those animals that come out to their feed regularly during the cold days should be handled in a similar manner so as not to disturb those to be kept.
The animals that are to be kept for breeding purposes need not be fed so heavily during the winter months or after those that were intended for market have been killed. Of course in the spring after the females have young, they must be fed heavily.
Some raisers, as soon as the young are weaned, select those that are to be killed the coming winter, keeping them separate from the breeding stock so that they can be fed properly. That is a great saving of food, as those for market should be fed much more than the breeders at this season—say during the months of September, October and November.
Much importance should be attached to the skinning and stretching of all kinds of skins so as to command the highest commercial value. The otter, foxes, marten, mink, opossum, civetand skunk should be cased, that is, taken off whole.
Commence with the knife in the center of one hind foot and slit up the inside of the leg, up to and around the vent and down the other leg in a like manner. Cut around the vent, taking care not to cut the lumps or glands in which the musk of certain animals is secreted; then strip the skin from the bone of the tail with the aid of a split stick gripped firmly in the hand while the thumb of the other hand presses against the animal's back just above. Make no other slits in the skin, except in the case of the skunk or otter, whose tails require to be split, spread, and tacked on a board.
Turn the skin back over the body, leaving the pelt side out and the fur side inward, and by cutting a few ligaments, it will peel off very readily. Care should be taken to cut closely around the nose, ears and lips, so as not to tear the skin.
The beaver and raccoon should be skinned open; that is, ripped up the belly from vent to chin after the following manner: Cut across the hind leg as if to be "cased" and then rip up the belly. The skin can then be removed by flaying as in skinning a beef.
Many inexperienced trappers stretch coon skins too long and draw out the head and neck.This can be avoided. Coon can be cased but most dealers prefer to have them stretched open.
You should have about three sizes of stretching boards for mink and fox. For mink they should be 4-1/2 inches down to 3 inches and for fox from 6-1/4 inches down to 5 inches wide; in length the fox boards may be 4 feet and the mink boards 3 feet.
The boards should taper slightly down to within 8 inches of the end for fox, and then rounded up to a round point. The mink boards should be rounded at 4 or 5 inches from this point. You will vary the shape of the board in proportion to the width. Stretching boards should not be more than 3/8 inch thick. Have the boards smooth and even on the edges. Other stretching boards should be made in proportion to the size and shape of the animal whose skin is to be stretched.
You should not fail to remove all the fat and flesh from the skin immediately after the skin is on the board. If a skin is wet when taken from the animal, it should be drawn lightly on a board until the fur is quite dry. Then turn the skin flesh side out and stretch.
Do not dry skins at a fire nor in the sun, nor in smoke. It often burns them, when they will not dress and are of no value. Dry in a well-covered shed or tent where there is a free circulationof air, and never use any preparation, such as alum and salt, as it only injures them for market. Never stretch the noses out long, as some trappers are inclined to do, but treat them as above described, and they will command better values. Fur buyers and dealers are inclined to class long nosed skins as "southern" and pay a small price for them, as southern skins are so much lighter than those of the north, in fur.
Foxes of the various kinds should be cased and put on boards fur side in for a few days, or until dry. As the pelt is thin, they soon dry, when they must be taken off and should be turned fur side out. In shipping, see that they are not packed against furs flesh side out.
Skunk should be cased fur side in, and stretched on boards for several days. The white stripe cut out, blackened, etc., reduces the value.
Mink should be cased fur side in and stretched on boards for several days or until dry.
Muskrat should be stretched fur side in, and a few days on the board will be sufficient. They are left as taken off, that is, fur side in. Cut the tails off when skinning—they are worthless.
Opossum are stretched on boards fur side in and are left in that condition after removing the boards. Cut the tails off when skinning—they have no value.
Raccoon should be stretched open (ripped up the belly), and nailed on boards or the inside of a building. Some dealers allow as much for coons cased, from any section, while others prefer that only Southern coon, if any, be cased.
Otter are cased and stretched fur side in. The pelt being thick and heavy, takes several days to dry properly. They are shipped flesh side out.
Beaver are split but stretched round and should be left in the hoop or stretcher for several days.
This chapter is from Farmers' Bulletin 330, issued July 28, 1908, by United States Department of Agriculture and written by D. E. Lantz, Assistant, Biological Survey.
The term "deer" is here used in its general sense, in which it includes the elk, the reindeer or caribou, the moose and other species, besides those usually referred to as deer.
U. S. department of agriculture,bureau of biological survey,Washington, D. C., June 3, 1908.Sir: I have the honor to transmit the accompanying manuscript on the subject of Deer Farming in the United States, and to recommend its publication as Farmers' Bulletin No. 330. As a result of the growing scarcity of game animals in this country the supply of venison is wholly inadequate to the demand, and the time seems opportune for developing the industry of deer farming, which may be made profitable alike to the state and the individuals engagedtherein. The raising of venison for market is as legitimate a business as the growing of beef and mutton, and state laws, when prohibitory, as many of them are, should be so modified as to encourage the industry. Furthermore, deer and elk may be raised to advantage in forests and on rough, brushy ground unfitted for either agriculture or stock raising, thus utilizing for profit much land that is now waste. An added advantage is that the business is well adapted to landowners of small means.Respectfully,C. Hart Merriam,Chief Biological Survey.Hon. James Wilson,Secretary of Agriculture.
U. S. department of agriculture,bureau of biological survey,Washington, D. C., June 3, 1908.
Sir: I have the honor to transmit the accompanying manuscript on the subject of Deer Farming in the United States, and to recommend its publication as Farmers' Bulletin No. 330. As a result of the growing scarcity of game animals in this country the supply of venison is wholly inadequate to the demand, and the time seems opportune for developing the industry of deer farming, which may be made profitable alike to the state and the individuals engagedtherein. The raising of venison for market is as legitimate a business as the growing of beef and mutton, and state laws, when prohibitory, as many of them are, should be so modified as to encourage the industry. Furthermore, deer and elk may be raised to advantage in forests and on rough, brushy ground unfitted for either agriculture or stock raising, thus utilizing for profit much land that is now waste. An added advantage is that the business is well adapted to landowners of small means.
Respectfully,C. Hart Merriam,Chief Biological Survey.Hon. James Wilson,Secretary of Agriculture.
The present bulletin discusses briefly the economic possibilities of raising deer and elk in the United States. It is believed that when the restrictions now imposed by State laws are removed this business may be made an important and highly profitable industry, especially since it will be the means of utilizing much otherwise unproductive land. The raising of venison should be, and is naturally, as legitimate a business as the growing of beef or mutton, and Statelaws should be so modified as to permit the producer, who has stocked a preserve with deer at private expense, to dispose of his product at any time, under reasonable regulations, either for breeding purposes or for food.
The growing scarcity of game mammals and birds in the United States and the threatened extinction of some of them over large parts of their present ranges make the preservation of the remnant highly important. Very important also is the increase of this remnant so as to make game once more abundant. It is believed that by means of intelligent game propagation, both by the states and by private enterprise, many of our depleted ranges can be restocked with big game.
The members of the deer family (Cervidæ) rank next to the cattle and sheep family (Bovidæ) in general utility, and are the most important of the big game animals of America.
Wherever obtainable in quantity the flesh of deer of different kinds has always been a staple article of diet, and under present market conditions it is hardly necessary to say that venison is perhaps the most important game, being a favorite with epicures and also having a wideuse as a substitute for beef and mutton, which meats it resembles in texture, color, and general characteristics. Its flavor is distinctive, though it suggests mutton rather than beef. In chemical composition it is very similar to beef, though, judging from available data, it is not so fat as stall-fed cattle. The following figures show how it compares with beef and mutton: A lean venison roast before cooking has been found to contain on an average 75 per cent of water, 20 per cent of protein or nitrogenous material, and 2 per cent of fat; a lean beef rump, some 65 to 70 per cent of water, 20 to 23 per cent of protein, and 5 to 14 per cent of fat; a lean leg of mutton, 67 per cent of water, 19 per cent of protein, and 13 per cent of fat.
Venison, beef, and other common meats are very thoroughly digested, whatever the method of cooking. Venison may be roasted, broiled, pan-broiled, or used for making stews, in much the same way as beef. Venison, particularly steak, to be at its best, should be eaten as soon as possible after it is cooked.
The general popularity of venison is so great and the demand for it so widespread that over-production is improbable. The other products of the deer—skins and horns—are of considerable importance, and in countries where deer are abundant and especially where large herdsare kept in semi-domestication, the commerce in both is very extensive.
A number of species of the deer family have been proved to be susceptible to domestication. The reindeer, however, is the only one that has been brought fully under the control of man. The fact that the European red deer and the fallow deer have been bred in parks for centuries without domestication does not prove that they are less susceptible to the process than the reindeer. The purposes for which they have been held captive and the environment given them have been markedly different. It must be remembered, also, that few attempts have been made to rear and domesticate deer under intelligent management. The work has been largely a matter of chance experiment. If they had been as long under careful management as cattle, they would now, probably, be equally plastic in the hands of a skillful breeder.
But raising deer for profit does not necessarily imply their complete domestication. They may be kept in large preserves with surroundings as nearly natural as possible and their domestication entirely ignored. Thus the breeder may reap nearly all the profit that could be expectedfrom a domestic herd, while the animals escape most of the dangers incident to close captivity. But the breeder who aims at the ultimate domestication of the animals, and whose herd approaches nearest to true domesticity, will in the end be most successful.
The number of species of deer suited for breeding in inclosures in the United States is great, though the chances for success are by no means the same for all. As a rule those native to America are to be preferred, since they are already acclimated. In selecting any species, similarity between its natural habitat and that to which it is to be transferred must be considered. Important, also, is its adaptability to varied conditions, as shown by former attempts to acclimatize it.
Unless they have shown a peculiar adaptability to such change, deer should not be taken from arid parts of the United States to humid parts. To a disregard of this principle are probably due many of the failures that have attended experiments in breeding the American antelope, the Columbia blacktail deer, the moose, and other animals in places differing widely from their natural ranges.
The history of attempts to acclimatize the several kinds of deer shows that some readily adapt themselves to a great variety of conditions, and efforts to introduce them into new countries have been almost uniformly successful. Such has been the experience with the axis deer, the Japanese and Pekin sikas, the red and the fallow deer of Europe, and especially with the wapiti, or Rocky Mountain elk, and the Virginia deer. While experiments with the foreign species named offer every promise of success to the owners of American preserves, there are obvious reasons for recommending the two native animals just mentioned as best suited for the production of venison in the United States.
The Wapiti (Cervus canadensis), including two related species and a geographic race, and known in America as the elk, is, next to the moose, the largest of our deer. It was once abundant over the greater part of the United States, whence its range extended northward to about latitude 60° in the Peace River region of the interior of Canada. In the United States the limits of its range eastward were the Adirondacks, western New Jersey, and eastern Pennsylvania; southward it reaches the southern Alleghenies,northern Texas, southern Mexico, and Arizona; and westward the Pacific Ocean.
For the practical purposes of this bulletin all the forms of the wapiti are treated as a single species. At the present time the range of these animals has so far diminished that they occur only in a few scattered localities outside of the Yellowstone National Park and the mountainous country surrounding it, where large herds remain. Smaller herds still occur in Colorado, western Montana, Idaho, eastern Oregon, Manitoba, Alberta, British Columbia, and the coast mountains of Washington, Oregon, and northwestern California. A band of the small California valley elk still inhabits the southern part of the San Joaquin Valley.
The herds that summer in the Yellowstone National Park and in winter spread southward and eastward in Wyoming are said to number about 30,000 head, and constitute the only large bands of this noble game animal that are left. Although protected in their summer ranges and partially safeguarded from destruction in winter by the State of Wyoming, there is yet great danger that these herds may perish from lack of food in a succession of severe winters. Partial provision for winter forage has been made within the National Park, but the supply is inadequate for the large number of animals.Further safeguards are needed to place the Wyoming elk herds beyond the reach of winter starvation.
In addition to the wild herds, there are a considerable number of elk in private game preserves and parks, as well as in nearly all the public zoological parks and gardens of this country. The herds in captivity form the nucleus from which, under wise management, some of the former ranges of this animal may be restocked and from which a profitable business of growing elk venison for market may be developed. At the present time this species affords a most promising field for ventures in breeding for profit.
The elk is both a browsing and a grazing animal. While it eats grasses freely and has been known to subsist entirely upon pasture, it seems to prefer a mixture of grass and browse.
The elk is extremely polygamous. The adult bulls shed their antlers annually in March or April, and new ones attain their full size in about ninety days. The "velvet" adheres until about August. While the horns are growing the bulls usually lead solitary lives; but early in September, when the horns are fully matured,the rutting season begins. Fights for supremacy then take place, and the victor takes charge of as many cows as he can round up and control. The period of gestation is about 8-1/2 months. The female does not usually breed until the third year, and produces but one calf at a time.
Although the elk is less prolific than the common deer and some other species that have been bred in parks, it increases fully as rapidly as the common red deer of Europe. Moreover, it makes up for any lack of fecundity by its superior hardiness and ease of management. It has been acclimatized in many parts of the world, and shows the same vigor and hardiness wherever it has been transplanted. In Europe it has been successfully crossed with Altai wapiti and the red deer, and in both instances the offspring were superior in size and general stamina to the native stock.
The flesh of the elk, although somewhat coarse, is superior in flavor to most venison. That of the bulls is in its best condition about the time the velvet is shed. By the time the rut is over, in October, their flesh is in the poorest condition. As the open season for elk is usually in October and November, and only bulls arekilled, it follows that hunters often obtain the venison when it is poorest. The meat is not best when freshly killed, but should be left hanging for four or five days before it is used. Of course fat elk are better eating than lean, and it is said that venison from castrated bulls is superior to any other.
With few exceptions the early attempts to domesticate elk were made by men who were wealthy enough to disregard all thought of profit in raising them. They were usually placed under the care of servants and the bucks were left uncastrated until they became old and unmanageable. Soon the serious problem of controlling them outweighed the novelty of their possession, and one by one attempts at domestication were abandoned.
A desire to preserve this important game animal has caused a renewal of attempts to breed it in confinement, and at present there are small herds under private ownership in many places in the United States. The Biological Survey has recently obtained much information from owners of herds in regard to their experience in breeding and rearing the animals, and also their opinions as to the possibility of making the business of raising them profitable. Of about a dozen successful breeders, nearly all are of the opinion that raising elk for market can be made remunerative if present laws as to the sale of the meat are modified.