Vi'KDNKKDAY, MAY 7. 10.r.2
1IEHALD AND NEWS, KLAMATH FAU.S, OREGON
PAGE THIRTEEN
Pesky Muskrat (titter Useful Bead or Alive
GENE BRANSON of Ihc Tulo Lake Wildlife Refuge looks over some of the government's
share of muskrat pelts in the drying shed, located at the old CCC Camp: More than
12,000 muskies were trapped In Tule Lake and Lower Klamath Lake wildlife areas.
ON THE DRYING RACKS, trapped musk rats await the skinning operations. Skinners
become phenomenally quick in stripping the fur from the carcasses of the muskrat.
HCOUTS AID BLOOD DRIVE
NEW YORK Ml Boy BoouU,
nmc 90.000 htronu will start knock
ing on doon soon to help tho
American Urd Cross get pledges
for blood donations.
RADIO COURTESY OF V. 8..
SAIOON, Imlo-Clilna Un Thous
and o( Vietnamese villagers 'In
rrmote, uncleclrlflfd areas will be
lliienhig to International and local
v.idiorHstn. The American Mutual
B-rurlty Administration Is dlmi'l
billing 400 community luiumlng
j,".irilo sets.
&d'irtch'
cut and wrap your beef .
and pork for your locker
And we still cure your hami and bacon'
SMOKE HOUSE
427 Marker
A. G. "Butch" Zweigart
Klamath Falls
Phone 7060
fly MAMOI.M KPIKV JR.
There are lots ol folks who like
whut the muakral has to oiler al
ter he's already dead fur coal,
muHk for perfume, mink food ami
"inninh rabbit" dinners.
But the Tulelake Pish and Wild
life Refuge like a certain number
ol the peaky little varmints alive
and well mi their properties. De
aplle the fact they are the banc
uf the Irrigation district manager
and the farmer, they serve a use
ful purpone on tho rufuge.
Amn.lngly enough, the Klamath
Bttbln's vast marshlands don't como
hv muskrahi naturally. Man Intro
duced them here some years ago
from the Great Lakes region. Prac
tically every other marsh In North.
America could boast lor wony
about) them.
The quality of the original plant
ing stock of Klamath muskrat wai
4i I g h, and consequently, locally
trapped furs have always sold at
a premium in the Pacific Coast
states.
Because the muf.krat Is constant
ly In search of food, he does a Job
lor the Wildlife Service at Tule
Inke that otherwise would cost loin
ol money. He feeds on the root
stalks of marsh plants, keeping
thr growth opened up Instead of
allowing It to become a vast. Im
penetrable ftlAWl of tti'.e which
would turn away waterfowl. Other
food rnd aquatic planu grow on
the openings made by the rat, and
during bad weather wild ducks and
geese find shelter there.
FAVOR
Still another thing from the wild
life standpoint In favor or musk
rat Is that his house makes a line
nesting place for the wild blrdi
Mgr. Tom Horn of the Tule Lake
Refuge says there's hardly a rat
house without a nest of some sort
on It.
Muskrats, Horn says, have cyciic
peaks of population which rise nn.l
fall without regularity and whether
or not their populations arc trapped,
lliey produce two or three litters
per year and average lour liltl?
ones per Utter. II some tort nl
control were not exercised over
them, Horn notes, cither natural or
man made, the populations will
build rapidly.
He describes them as lazy little
animals, evidently always hungry
"Evidently." he says, "all ol '.he
muxkrat's activity revolves around
getting something to eat. When
cold weather approaches they shiv
er unprotected until forced to build
houses. They do this by clipping
nl rattalls and bulrush stalks and
dragging them Into big plies. In
side they burrow out rooms and
passngeways.
HI BHLKB
They store no winter food, but
live "bv hand to mouth" bv diving
under the Ice through a hole main
tained throughout the winter in
their house. They pull up and clip
MORK MKAT THIS YEAR
COLUMBUS. O. Ws-The average
U. fi citizen probably will cat 2
or 3 pounds more meat this year
than last, says C. F. Christian,
consumer specialist at Ohio Stale
University. Total meat production
this year is expected to be larger
than last year. Average meat con
sumption Last year was 138 pound.
So lovely! So lively !
So lasting!
Pink IP'"
Holds the set
longer than 4J
am other IHT
permanent J
tlmtlsw
fabulous new
lotion shampoo by Toni
WW
ft.oo tins
LEE
HENDRICKS
Your Neighborhood Druqqist
2212 So. 6th Ph. 4321
off the roots of bullrushea and cat
tulli. They can swim long distances
under water, and Horn notes that
some people think they can catch
their breath by finding air pockets
between the Ice and the surface if
the water.
Sometimes muskrats will build
Into steep banks (or rooms and
that's the main objection of farm
ers to the versatile animals. Many
limes they'll drill right through the
bank unci washouts occur wfien
water levels are raised the next
spring.
In the deep South, Horn says,
muskrats are commonly served In
cafes under the delicate-sounding
title "Marsh Rabbits." Apparent
ly, though, our tastes haven't de
veloped yet In the West to that
point.
The past season, Horn reports,
12 trappers took 8;)72 mm.krats off
the Tule Lake wildlife area, and
four more took 4.036 off the Lower
Klamath area. This, the first sea
son's trapping In three yeara there,
brought trappers the present mar
ket level of 1 per pelt.
TO BUREAU
Trapping permits are Issued on
a 50-W) basis, with the government
getting half of the pelts taken for
the trapping rignui. atraiw
the government's share of the trap
pings this year will be credited to
the Bureau of Reclamation, Horn
said.
The wildlife manager reported
"clean trap" operations were madu
along agricultural areas of the rel
uge the League of Nations and
Prog Pond areas to keep dike-bor-Ing
muskies from doing damage.
The same was done In the lower
Klamath area, he said.
Muskrat skimming has become
b Diriii with crnod sktnuei?
developing phenomenal speeds ol
stripping the furs from the tiny
bodies. After skinning, the pelts
are placed on stretchers for dry
ing and are then shipped; the
government ships lln share In baled
of 1000 pelts each.
Hom tells a story oft-told In tin
Louisiana country where the
"marsh rabbit" Is such a delicacy
every year, ne says, a coo- I
test is neid mere to ueiermme me
state champion muskrat skinner.
The Idea was that the signal to
start skinning Is given when tho
starter throws a muskrat Into the
air. The man who won the cham
pionship began skinning at that alg '
nal nnd skinned six muskrats be
fore the starting rat had hit the
ground."
Horn suggests we take this with
a grain of aalt.
OFFICE SPACE "
For rent in Stewart-Drew
Building. Inquire at
Orew't Manstore, 733
Main.
JAMES MURRAY
"Red" Britton
DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE '
SHERIFF
Present Incumbent Experienced
World War 2 Veteran
PS. Adr. I. M. Brills
FUSTEST WITH THE MOSTEST!
The old laying about getting there' "fastest with the
mostest" could mean any of four things when one gets
tolkinq about the new 1952 Minneapolis-Moline Bale-O-Matic
hoy balers.
Take engineering. Ever since its introduction in 1945,
the M-M Baje-O-MQtjfi hat been first with the most im
provements that make for truly automatic baling. Little
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wire that unrolls from the outside to the inside and con
trolled by automatic brakes these end monymore fea
tures make the M-M Bale-O-Motic the most copied baler
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Toke service. Bale-O-Matic owners will tell you that
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out about our unequalled service and parts guarantee.
Take results. After all, results are what count. Re
sults in the field not theoretical jottings on paper about
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1 f.V
1f
Something to
crow about!
WE'RE NOT
UNDERSOLD
on
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SEEDS
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MURPHEY'S SEED STORE
Phone 3443
834 Klamath Ave.
BYRON JOHNSON
"Your Minneapolis-Moline Dealer"
Merrill-Lakeview Junction Phone 9789
Malin Phone 309
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me
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1410 So. 6th
Phone 2-2544
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