Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1919-09-05
The Muskrat Valuable
As a Producer of Fur
az ETMaEYN MIpDEEToN

Almost everyone who lives in the
country is familiar with the muskrat,
for he abounds in all parts of
North America, building his home
and rearing his family wherever he.
can find food and water and suffi-
cient immunity from his enemies.
He is not quite so careful and accur-
ate a builder as the beaver, but
CiouS winter dwelling from ruShes,
sticks and mud, rising from three
to five feet above the water and
with secret entrances at the low
est under water level
.. Observant farmers give the musk
rat credit for being a good weather
prophet. When he builds his house
unusually high and plasters it with
an extra thickness of mud, it is
i safe to count on winter of heavy
snow storms. The height of his
building is also planned with re-
gard t. a possible rise of water in
the spring; the muskrat is an eX-
cellent judge of what this may be.
His food is all around him, for
it consists of the aquatic plants
growing in the shallow ponds and
marshes where he locates, and one
of his racial characteristics is that
he carefully washes these in clean
water before eating. He leads
happy community life, bringing up
such considerable families that the
u1uSkTdL WOulO threaten 10 pOpuIdLe
the earth, if he were not trapped
in such large quantities for his
fur.
The fur of the muskrat is very
durable and in point Of utility it
outranks most other furs trapped.
1t can be dyed plucked, blended,
sheared near to the skin, and there
by substituted for almost any kind
CT fur that fashion calls for. The
United States government restric-
tons in fur seal killing which com
menG@d about about twenty years ag9
skin coat out of the market if it
had not been for the muskrat.
The fur manufacturers realized
that they could count on a sale of
several million muskrats year.
They picked out the best of these
and by a process of ''unhairing" got
rid of all the lou1, coarce hairs,
reducing the pelt to soft fur. This
was dyed and treated to resemble
seal. A beautiful fur was the re-
suit, put on the market as Hudson
Seal. Everyone is familiar with the
appearance of a Hudson Seal coat
hut not everyone knows that in it's
native state the fur was the pretty
gray and brown of the native musk
rat.
ionable that it was impossible to
catch these little pests of the grass
plot in sufficient numbers to an
swer the demand, the muskrat was
again utilized. The very soft pelts
We're selected and these sheared
down to the thickness of mole skin
and then dyed when necessary.
Of late years fashion has en-
couragingly smiled on the natural
beauties of the muskrat fur Musk
rat jackets and coats were worn in
large quantities last winter ana
the indications are that they will
be even more popular the coming
Elective mind in place of his very
strong instincts he might be graf
flied at this exhibition of postum
nous celebrity.
The natural muskrat fur is very
l,retty and there is considerable va
riety in it's coloring and marking.
The more common muskrats, es-
recially those caught in the south,
are light brown with gray on the
under part of the body. Others
considered more valuable-are a red
dish brown, the backs and sides al
ways being darker that the under
part, while some specimens are al
most black on the sides and back
These are rated higher in value than
the brown skins, which they are
also apt to surpass in the thick
the hair. These differences in
shades offer a wide choice in the
making up of the garments, also
considerable difference in their
value. The muskrat pe1ts present
warm, durable fur particular
ly suitable to our climate; it's use
in the natural state is undoubted-
ems garments and as Innings for
mems automobile coats