Show 1 j e i A v 4 dw 1 41 XV F A 4 oda tt 0 4 16 A I 1 a ta aj x P k yz t n 7 t A 4 0 t 40 rr 1 a net T i 7 by 13 ELMO r SCOTT WATSON NEW kind of farming and one that can be made A very profitable to those who pho try it may be added tf the scheme of divers tied fled agriculture in ili this country if the suggestions of the biological survey of we United state States department part parti ment neut of agriculture are followed that Is beaver fu nning some five years ago the department issued a bulletin beaver habits beaver control nold possibilities in 1316 beaver aver farming fanning 1 which went into the au subject abject very thoroughly and from tile the study baudy of biological survey experts presented the following conclusions im por tace or oc cuavers eri beavers are of primary in importance as aa fu fur r bearers and na conservators conservatory conserva tors of water and soil because of their unique habits they are it also iso animals ot of general interest in certain types of forest country on farms in n irrigation ditches and along trails r roads 0 ads and railroads they are capable of doing serious ser loui damage in such auch situations it becomes necessary either to remove them or to control them intelligently li their control pl however ho ever is 1 not difficult and eliere rethey the y a are re doing damage on private lands they th y can be qu bickly removed either by trapping alive for shipment or in id the ordinary way for their fur attitude towai d deavers beavers if beavers aro arcs to be treated as aa public property ty it Is as to place them on private land where i re they will destroy crops and limber as it would ie be tr to turn herds of hags and cattle into cultivated grain fields to fatten ou on what they like best A thorough knowledge of their heir nature and habits Is nece for their control as also for their thear successful 1 culture deaver ceaver ithe practicability of beaver farmley has hai not been fully demonb derRo nsf rated butra butr t 6 ni present knowl adad it seems reasonable that the busl busi riess resa of raising beavers for foi their fur will develop into a profitable branch of fur fu farming many problems must later be worked out such as fa mally and sex glat relations ions extent of sociability and enmity ty effects of larye large numbers on the health an and d lucrease ln increase crease of the stock possible pus sible diseases protection from natural enemies and poachers and actual values and proper prices however the more inore immediate problems of capture ure feeding breeding fencing control band and snipping have ha ve been partially part lally Jol solved ved to start beaver f firming arming on a tin large laige sealer at pre ent would probably be unwise but wl with th a small begin beginning nin g the le enterprise seems to promise good re returns turris aud and everi even great possibilities when fully established it should great 1 it increase the value of a large area of north country and by insuring a permanent supply of eicel excellent lent fur open up ai new industry where greatly needed only such areas as ere doter determined ter to be suitable should be stocked beavers the tha animas should not biot be introduced uncontrolled into places where their activities may menace irrigation or fir power ditched or important rond or railroad grades sites selected for them should contain a i suitable nul table food supply and permanent water utilizing forest st areas over a large part of our millions of acres of national forests beavers are capable of far more good than harm in conserving cons orving water and soil weeding out timber of little value making the tha silent places teem with interest and yielding sub stun bial returns in an annual fur harv th intelligent control to avoid local damage to valuable timber nid other proper leand t and with wise restraint to prevent the dispersal of beavers over country the usual co complaints of damage can an be ellal ignited on some of the national deavors are already present and tn in places increasing in numbers but most 1 of iha are the western pale varieties worth loss less than the choice dark prime fur bearers which i vlehr be introduced from other sections improving the system of stockinet management and control will wil place placa beavers among our valuable forest es t proa products timberlands another fertile beia for beaver culture could be found i tn connection n pr elects erts for the reforestation ath conifers fers of burned burne dand and out tover many of these a areaba 1 is cleared by ax an or fire and later eav covered erad with a second growth of as pen willo willow wand anil pin cherrye are aro consi conald cl ored almost almo st worthless over much of the northern nort herd border of the united states and still larger areas in canada uch such land Is generally unsuited for and would not pay taxes until again covered with valuable tor for tat est timber hut would supply ideal food fond for or be beavers ivers and it if stocked with these could be made to yield an in x n p fir f it nr f I 1 1 K V 7 kt e come while the process of reforestation Is going on not only could many limited areas of private land be thus reclaimed instead of as is so GO often the ca case a 8 being relinquished as not worth their taxes but state and federal lands land of this type could also be utilized for the double industry of fur and forest production arctic waste wante lands there Is isa still more extensive field tor for beaver culture in the mors more northern areas of canada and alaska beyond the commercially merci ally lally valuable forest timber but where w here aspens ashens and willows are an a abundant part of the natural forest growth and where beavers were once so numerous as to yield annually millions of dollars worth of fur if instead of the old policy of encourage encouraging the extermination of animals by a wild scramble to get their skins d definite fi areas in these parts should be leased or sold to individuals or companies tor raising beavers under control as private property this once valuable fur region would again become brodu productive calve and develop related industries recently the biological survey has announced further studies in how to increase the beaver population of this country only two centuries ago beavers Inhabited the greater part 0 of f the north american continent anil and were an important source of ot food and warm clothing to tb the native people traffic in their skins promoted early settlement of the country they have been exterminated over much of their area ama by intensive trapping but for the last 20 10 years they have been g given I 1 ven preci at protection in many sections of the country and under favorable conditions have thrived and increased rapidly while it ii would be obviously unwise to restore the animals to fields anif and orp orchards hards in agricultural areas there are still many I 1 localities 0 cali calit ties les where they could be intro without harm barni their restoration Is advocated under conditions rather different from what the old time beavers knew the survey forecasts the time when ahl n beavers betta like foxes terrapins ind and other creatures from the wilds will be raised on farms beaver culture it asserts will develop into a profitable industry through domestication the will again become a source of benefit by fencing and trapping beavers bearers may be restricted to areas where the destruction des truc tion they work Is of no consequence and whatever tre trees are there may le be protected by strips of woven wire under control beavers 1 are capable pable of high usefulness their dams store water la in reservoirs along moun k tain st streams re arai aud and so help to pre prevent vent floods and extensive erosion and in dry weather eather Nv they increase the stream flow beavers with the darkest darke set most beautiful and most valuable abde fur are found along the southern shore of lake superior in wisconsin and michigan in other local localities es the fur Is paler and less desirable light furred pelts bring from 0 6 to 8 each heavy dral drak brown skins from canada and alaska bring from 20 to 25 each and the tha rare black beavers from the south of lake superior from 38 to W 50 even the possibilities of marketing beaver meat are suggested by the bureau beavers it Is found are easily tamed and remarkably adaptable to a new environment under control and protection their increase has been found to be or even tn in excess of that in the wild range the commercial practicability of beaver bearer farming has not yet been fully demonstrated but signs are said to point enthat direction beaver farming has already been tried in canada and its ita success there indicates the possibility of a similar success in this country so that the next few years may see a number of beaver farms established from a recent statement of the colonization department of the canadian railway are taken the following excerpts at the end of 1925 there were 22 2265 68 fur farnia in the ao dominion excluding beaver and muskrat ranches with property valued at all the evidence would lead to the conal conclusion that jj since inc a that t time I 1 m e this relatively new canadian industry has bas been undergoing undergo lne considerable expansion not only in the ha number of ments but in the variety ot of animals domestically domes raised every province of the dominion now shares to a large extent tn in this thin activity while during 1927 th the e interest shown in western canada and the mari maritimes times appears to have been outstanding many blany branches of fur farming are thriving in western canada and they are constantly being supplemented beaver have increased remarkably in alberta under the protection afforded them the F season has been de declared clarea open again and this animal will feature more prominently in fur returns in the future with pelts coming both from the wild and ranches sliver silver black fox farming to which there are numerous ranches de da voted in alberti alberta including ohe of foxes near calgary has haa proved so i profitable that an effort Is being made to ascertain whether other species will j not nourish flourish under domestic care |