228 DOMESTICATED TROUT. 



destroying capacity, keep him till he is hungry, and 

 then give him a panful of live minnows to eat. He 

 will soon show what herons can do in stowing away 

 fish, and will remove, I think, all scepticism from your 

 mind henceforth about the destructiveness of herons 

 among trout. The kingfishers are easily shot. They 

 generally come early in the morning, or about three 

 hours before sundown ; but, if not molested, they will 

 stay around all day, and increase in numbers very fast. 

 Approach them with a gun, if you can. If you are not 

 able to get within gunshot, lie in wait for them near 

 one of their favorite perches about the ponds, and 

 they will usually soon come within gunshot of their 

 own accord. You can also trap them, by erecting a 

 tall pole over the pond, and, setting a steel trap or 

 bird-trap on the top of it ; it will not be long before 

 the kingfisher will alight on the pole to watch for his 

 prey, and will be caught. The same trick answers for 

 hawks. Minks are not so easy to manage. The best 

 chance is to trap them on their way to the ponds 

 in the fall, as that is the time when they make their 

 way up the brooks. Green's method of trapping 

 minks, which is the best I know of, is as follows : 

 " Make a box eighteen inches long by six inches 

 broad and deep, leaving one end open. Set a com- 

 mon game-trap (such as is used for catching muskrats) 

 in the open end of the box, in such a position that 

 when the jaws are closed they will be in a line with 

 the length of the trap. If it is set crossways it will be 

 apt to throw the mink out, instead of catching it. Put 

 the bait in the further end of the box (a piece of meat 



