230 THE AMERICAN BEAVER. 



however, is of recent introduction, and is known as 

 the "Newhouse Trap," of which the foregoing cut is 

 a representation. 



The jaws are smooth, and spread six inches and a 

 half, of the size best adapted for taking beavers. Its 

 chief merits, as an improvement upon the old form, 

 are said to consist in such an adjustment of the form 

 of the jaws, and of the bow of the spring to each 

 other, and the further adaptation of the power of the 

 spring to both, as to secure in the highest degree the 

 two qualities of a good catcher and a sure holder. 

 These traps are used without bait, and operate on the 

 principle of an inadvertent tread upon the pan. 



The trapping season commences about the first of 

 November and ends about the first of April, during 

 which period the different fur-bearing animals are in 

 the best condition with respect to their fur. But it 

 is pursued more or less at all seasons of the year, by 

 persons who are more reckless of the waste of animal 

 life than the regular trappers. In the spring, summer, 

 and fall, the usual place of setting traps for beavers 

 is upon the dam. The trapper avails himself of the 

 well-known habit of this dam builder to repair at once 

 any breach made in the structure, over which his su- 

 pervision is constant. He therefore makes one or more 

 openings in the crest of the dam, four or five inches 

 deep, and sets a trap in the pond at each one, about 

 a foot back of the breach and a few inches below the 

 surface of the water. By means of a chain the trap 

 is then secured to a stake driven into the bed of the 

 pond, about four feet back of the trap and out in the 

 pond, where the water is of some depth. When a beaver 

 ascertains that the level of his pond is subsiding, which 



