The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1897-02-05
A PEST OF MUSKRATS.

They Eat Away the Larger Part Of a
Dam and Steal Apples.
A new dam is building at the big mill
pond upon which the Ocean mills are sit
uated, near Oakhurst, in Ocean county. n.
]. Muskrats. which inhabit this part Of
the county in large numbers, had bur-
rowel through the dam to such an on
tent that it had become unsafe.
Oakhurst Is typical south Jersey
country village remarkable for nothing in
particular except its muskrats. Numer-
Gus ponds from springs are found few
miles outside of the village, and here the
muskrats swarm. On the shores Of the
elders, are the Ocean mills. The wa.
tiers of the pond are kept from running
away in useless streams by large dam
which for the last half 4 century has
been the playground for all the boys of
the neighborhood.
This pond was fairly alive with musk
rats. 1t was no uncommon thing to see
ten or Il dozen of them summing them
selves on the logs of the dam, and every
spring when the rising waters drove them
from their holes the banks were fairly
alive with them. The presence of so
many Of these animals led to the eStab-
der Ludlam was the head. He and his
colleagues hunted muskrats continually,
: but the supply did not diminish. If Lud-
lam wanted Il few new skins he would
station himself near Van Gilders dam,
across which the road ran, and wait until
the animals showed themselves between
the logs.
Time and again the farmers about the
pond have hecn awakened late at night
by the mill hands to assist in stopping uO
some leak in the dam. through which tho
water threatened to tear it's way TO the
damage of the farms below. Year after
year the millowner has been compelled to
make repairs. but the reason for the con-
tinual wear never appeared clear to him
until recently he discovered that the
colony of muskrats had become SO large
that great holes were being eaten in the
dam and only few piings remained to
hold back the water. He had several
hundred carloads of dirt dumped into
the center of the dam between the sup
ports and for a time the muskrats were
quiet. They soon grew active, however,
and were just as great a nuisance as
ever.
The farmers received another alarm
a few weeks ago, when Alexander Lud-
lam, while waiting for muskrats. noticed
the water breaking through the logs in a
stream that promised to increase to 4
flood if not stopped Immediately. TWEEN,
ty or more farmers turned out and
stopped the break temporarily, and then
the water was let out of the pond
through the sluiceway. Investigation of
the dam showed that 800 or 400 musk
rats had beds there, and when their hid
ing place was revealed they scampered
away il all directions. There was a
general muskrat drive that day and
scores of them were killed. Now the
slides of the banks of the pond look like
perforated earthwork, while the musk
rats are seeking new quarters.
An investigation showed that the
muskrats had burrowed into the dirt
banks to such an extent that these were
entirely too weak, and new dam would
have to be built. Since the old dam has
been torn away the farmers about the
neghbcrhood have been subjected to
more or less petty thieving, which they
attribute to muskrats. After endeavor-
ing for il week to find out who was steal
ing his apples, Albert McLees set trap
near the apple cellar and next morning
had a fine. big muskrat. The next day
he traced the muskrat's tracks to small
stream which runs through his farm and
found the larger part of his missing APP