Little Falls herald., 1913-11-28
NuxRATs CUT COST GuV|llNllle

AUskRATS CUT COST Of LIVING
PEOPLE OF STATE OVERLOOK
ONE OF THE MOST vALu- Il.
ABLE FOOD PRODUCTS Ii
Winona, Minn., Nov. 25.-The musk.
rat season is now open and Eastern
epiclres will rejoice. Rich, juicy Min
nesota muskrat will appear upon the
menu cards Of New York, Baltimore
anil Boston restaurants and will SO or. Or:
dered with the avidity that terrapin
will receive. Not only that, Int it
will be cheaper. t.%s ,+.z .s
Hunters about here are preparing to
set their traps and from indications
there will be greater number Of the
animals killed this year than for many
rrevious seasons. Most Of them will
90 10 the East. Even the skins viii be
sent East or to London, England.
Minnesota Produces Them 4.
Minnesota, Michigan and other
Northwest States produce the largest.
number of muskrats in the United
States, but they. consume practically
none of them. In fact, it is safe to.
say, that few persons in the Northwest
know thaat muskrats are good to eat
I: more knew, the price would mount
upward with bounds.
So Minnesota sends its muskrats-
away without knowing their value.
And Minnesota later gets back large
numbers Of perfectly good sealskin
coats and mink and beaver muffs and
stoles that we're made from the skins;
Of those same muskrats, while the.
Fasteners obtain for 10 or Is cents
each carcasses that they would pay
much more for. e: Z;
Uncle Sam Recommends Eating Them
That muskrats are good to eat long
has been known in parts Of the East.
Eur that fact was not advertised. I
Uncle Sam, however, recently tried to
tell Minnesotans and others that they
were wasting one Of their most valu-
| able food products. But in the clamor
to cut the cost Of living, Minnesota
apparently forgot there was such an
animal as a muskrat. 3
Here is what the Department Of
Agriculture has to say about the de-.
srised rodent. = 2
''The flesh of the muskrat is dark
red in color, fine grained and tender.
| Only in summer does the musky odor
pc:vade the flesh, although care must
te taken in skinning that the pelt
does not touch the flesh.'' +. 70.
Some Recipes sy an Expert
Here are some recipes given by ali
expert in the cooking and. serving Of
nuskrat: :. :, : 3;
,Fried-Wash the muskrat thoroughly
and cut into. quarters. Let it lie ii
salt water for an hour OF more, then
waeh again and dry with a cloth. Dip
the pieces in q .prepared egg baitaEE
and dust them with Aoux, or neal
Place the lard in the frying pan and
let it get hot. Then put in the musk
rat and let it fry very slowly: for an
hour. Prepare a gravy or milk, butter,
f:nr and parsley and season to taste.
After it thickens pour it over, the
cooked muskrat.
| Roasted -. -,
Eoasted-Wa ash the meat thoroughly
and let it lie for an hour Or more IN
salt water. =: en- was'. :'gair. Put in
a pan with water, sa:t, pepper. and 9
| little cnion; sprinkle -four over It and
bastc it until it is thoroughly. .don..
| Stewed-Wash the meat thoroughly,
cut in pieces and let lie in salt wa: 81
for an hour. Then wash again, pnt in
sauce pan and season with batter.
sa]v and pepper to taste: Add water
anG let it simmer slowly and when
,",rly done put parsley aud q little
chopped onion into it,. When. entirely
done thicken with gravy Of -four and
water as for stewed chicken.
Flavor Can be Killed ,
Muskrat cooked according to these
rf:ceipes, it is said, will retain the Gamy
favor of the. meat, which most persons
will like. Should any one pre-: ): to
kill the favor the meat can be soaked
over night in salt water. -. -
| To many the muskrat is despised
merely because Of it's name. IF it was
called muskquash, which, by the way, is
| it, real name, almost any one would
| cat it without objection
As Good as Canvasback Duck !
With the prices Of meat Of all kinds
soaring and game at 2 cost prob: :Dltlve
to III, but the rich, muskrat could fur
! nisl. a substance that would rival can.
yasback ducks. ...u...:...
The muskrat feeds on practically the
same diet as. that Of ducks. But the
m ,skrat is even more cleanly, it is
said. For instance. he will find bit
of wild rice or celery, or sometimes a
carrot or melon, if any happens % be
Ekandy, and will carry it to the nearest
water to wash it perfectly clean before
eating it. ..s.s-
F!e does not like dirt. Incidentally
he does not like spoiled: food. Ho
always selects the freshest and the
most choicest articles Of diet he can
find
This habit has sometimes made trou-
Eblo for him. Some farmers obiect to
having the crops Of cabbage, turnips,
currots. celery and melons picked over
rv musk rats. But careful inveetiga-