he catch from Dorchester County, Md., will
usually run to $20,000 a year and in some seasons reaches almost to
$50,000. The number of animals required to reach such a figure must
necessarily be very large and the number of muskrats found in that
locality may be judged from the fact that the open season for these
animals and the only time of year when they are trapped, is during the
months of January, February and March. They are also very plentiful in
the marshes along the western shore of Lake Erie and about Lake
Champlain. They are not found on parts of the Pacific Coast and portions
of the South and never range south of the State of Arizona.

While there is only one species of the muskrat, naturalists find several
varieties differing mainly in size and color. For instance, there is the
southern muskrat, which is comparatively small and is dull sooty in
color, found in the lower Mississippi Valley and along the coasts of
Mississippi and Alabama; then there is the Dismal Swamp Muskrat of the
Dismal Swamp, Va., which is larger, darker and richer colored than the
common variety and has larger teeth. In Labrador a small and very dark
variety is found.

The muskrat of the Northwest, while of the same variety as those of the
Central and Eastern districts, are small and thin skinned and as a
consequence are less valuable. What causes this difference in size is
not known, but it is supposed to be due either to the presence of alkali
in most of the Northwestern waters or to the scanty and poor quality of
its natural food.

[Illustration: 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. Th