386 THE PANSAR-NAT. 



the toils. The trap is placed on a flat stone by the side of 

 a river or lake that the Otter, by its droppings, &c., is 

 known to resort to. A fish serves as bait, but in default 

 thereof a frog, which in the winter time is always procurable 

 in the mud at the bottom of a kdUa, or spring. To 

 guard against the trap rusting, and to remove the taint 

 of the hand, it must be " viHrad,'" or rubbed over with 

 a composition of unsalted butter, goose fat, or hog's lard, 

 to whieli, when melted, is added pounded valerian-root 

 or bruised castoreum, and when "gillrad," or set, it 

 should be covered over with aquatic plants, such as are 

 to be found at the bottom of the stream. To prevent the 

 beast from carrying away the trap, it is necessary to 

 secure it with a line, or chain, to a stone, or to a tree 

 erowini? near the bank. 



The so-called TrcDup-Sax, or treading trap — such as 

 is used in Lapland for the capture of the wolf and the 

 glutton — is, however, considered preferable to that just 

 spoken of. It is, as said, provided with a " foot-bonrd " ; 

 and though a bait can bo aliixed to the latter, it is for the 

 most part set unbaited in the "run" of the animal, and 

 merely covered over with grass. At otlier times it is 

 placed at the bottom of a '' ka/la," to which the beast is 

 in the habit of resorting in search of frogs, which it digs 

 up with its fore-paws from out of the mud. It should, 

 however, be set before the lakes begin to freeze, for the 

 Otter never more than once in the year visits such as are 

 lying in its route. 



Tlio Pansar-K(il, or armour-net, is a device by which 

 the Otter may be taken alive and uninjured. It differs 

 from the common fox-trap in that the jaws are two or 

 three times larger, and that to each jaw is attached a 

 bag or net of chain-work ; a fish is used for bait, and, 

 instead of the usual " vittriiifj,'" the trap is rubbed over 

 with the entrails of fish. 



