The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1918-09-06
DORCHESTER MUSKRAT FARM
EARNS BIG MONEY.
How College Graduate Applied In
telligence And Business Train
ing To. The Development of
New Industry in
~
Maryland.

The following interesting article
of an industry that is entirely UNI
known to this immediate section of
the State, is from the Cambridge
Record:
If you were graduate of John
IIarvard's university, had added to
your theoretical education a practi-
cal course in electricity and had con-
Quoted successfully a street railway
in thriving Ohio city, would you be
willing to settle down for five
months year in a bungalow with
countless acres of marsh in front
and almost countless miles of timber
in the rear, with a mile and half of
black gum swamp" between you
and the nearest highway?
Away down in Church Creek dis
trict of Dorchester county, Md, II
miles from Cambridge, the metro
polls and county seat, William
Gibbs, who possesses all the quail
iications called for in the first SEN
tence of this article, purchased, in
1913, 500 acres of marsh land and
went into the business of conducting
on large scale and in a scientific
way a muskrat farm. When he first
EN- parked in this novel enterprise,
his prime object was to obtain a
sporting place where he could shoot
ducks. wild geese and other birds
which abound in that section.
The muskrat end of the enterprise
was looked upon as side line, the
profits of which he hoped would pay
the expense of maintaining the place,
but since getting under way Mr.
Gibbs has made the muskrat end of
the business the principal feature.
In the year 1913 Mr.. Gibbs at
tention was directed to Dorchester
county by an article he found in a
magazine in the Boston Library. He
anne to Maryland and after looking
over number of places, bought 500
acres of land.
A count of rat houses showed just
500 families, or one to every acre
He set to work, proceeding on the
theory that the rats would multiply
if given sfood, water and protection.
A record was kept by driving stake
in each house and counting the
stakes so used. The marsh was not
trapped the following spring and in
December, 1914, the count of stakes
showed 1000 houses; the third
year, $500; the fourth, $500, and
this year, $500.
Trapping was not begun until
1916, when $500 rats were taken.
In 1917 the catch was 1920, and in
1918 about 1000. The reason for
the great falling off the past season
was that the place was overtrapped
a year ago.
Mr.. Gibbs took into account the
fact that the muskrat builds his
home just high enough for the high
est tide not to flood the living room.
The basement connects with chan
mel running out to the nearest water,
so that the rat can swim out TO his
feeding grounds. Mr.. Gibbs pro-
ceeded on the theory that if there
were more channels filled with
water, the rats would have more
outlets for their runways and that
more houses would be built. Ac-
cordingly, he dug eight miles OF
bitches through the marsh. using in
the process a mud machine, with
caterpillar wheels, which in out
ward appearance resembles nothing
so much as a British tank. One
canal runs to point some 40 yards
from the house and the. owner has
only to step into gasoline boat to
go voyaging around his Marsh
Rabbit" Venice, or sail down to
deep water and then ducking
grounds. Three miles of plank
fence sunk below the level OF the
ground kept most of the rats at
home, though some, of course, bur-
rowed under it and sought other
Gal