TRAPPING MUSKRATS
The first fur collar I ever had was sold to me as "electric seal." There was no deception practised on me, for I knew that the fur was neither electric nor seal. But I didn't know then that it was muskrat fur. They call it Hudson seal nowadays, I believe. These small relatives of the beaver have so few natural enemies, and are so prolific that they are in no danger of disappearing from our ponds and sluggish streams. The beaver, on the other hand, is supposed to be protected by law. Until it is against the law to sell and to wear beaver skins, trappers will evade the law and escape the fines.
Muskrat fur is not so fine nor thick as that of the beaver and not nearly so expensive. A fresh skin is worth twenty-five to forty cents. They are more in demand now than ever, owing to the fashionable demand for furs and the scarcity of other fur-bearing animals. There are many ways of trapping them. As they are aquatic and active in the winter they are often taken through the ice. Muskrat trappers are always good skaters. A hard blow on the ice will stun the rat, which is pulled out through a hole. They are sometimes speared through holes in the ice. A boy might develop enough patience and perseverance, as well as skill and alertness, in a job like this to make it pay better in some other field than the sale of the skins.
Muskrats are often caught in traps, too. To be successful at this it is necessary to learn a great deal about the little fellow's habits of life, his house, his food and his ways of escaping enemies. It is well to know his enemies, too. These are the fox, the mink, and the otter. You would be a lucky boy, indeed, if instead of common little musquash you bagged an otter whose pelt is worth fifteen or twenty dollars. My father has an otter skin cap about which he and my uncle tell a truly exciting story. They caught an otter, but that was sixty odd years ago.
Muskrats are the greatest nuisance in ornamental grounds where there are large water features. They have an unfortunate fondness for lily bulbs. The boy who can outwit them will win favour with the gardener and the garden's owner, with the muskrat skins thrown in.