ALASKA FISHERY AND FUR-SEAL INDUSTRIES, 1920. 89 
with strong planks and a small doorway, closed by means of flashboards, is 
placed near the center of the base of the bulkhead. This door serves both as a 
drain for the effluent water and oil and as a port from which the meat may be 
drawn as needed. 
As the meat is thrown into the pit it must be spread about evenly and 
sprinkled with a small amount of half-ground salt. Salt which has already 
served a part of its usefulness in the sealskin kenches is entirely satisfactory 
for salting fox food. It is of great importance to have the meat spread in 
such a manner as to leave as little air space as possible; the principle is pri- 
marily that of ensiling rather than salting. It is surprising how well the meat 
will be preserved with but very little salt if the air is properly excluded. 
After the summer’s sealing has been completed the silo is covered with a 
sectional hatch, which rests on the edges of the pit. It is not of advantage to 
store the seal meat resulting from the fall killings, as the natives take large 
quantities for salting and freezing and the foxes will consume the fresh re- 
mains in a short time. 
Before the feeding of the reserve food begins it should be freshened by the 
passage of fresh water through the pit. This is done by laying a pipe line to 
a siphon, which draws the water from a lake near by. The water should run 
at least two weeks steadily, but must not be turned on until the time for 
feeding draws near, else the food will begin to decompose unnecessarily. 
Feeding —Having decided that feeding should begin, a supply of the pre- 
pared meat is removed from the silo to the food kenches in the trapping house, 
where it may be drawn upon with ease as required. The native foreman is 
then instructed to put out a small experimental amount in the neighborhood of 
the building and to report the following morning as to the quantity consumed. 
Upon receiving this report the agent will know how to proceed the following 
evening. It is a commendable practice to provide for a remainder of food 
each morning, except during the active trapping season, when the animals 
must not become satiated. The foreman details a single workman to the 
work of setting out the food for a week at a time, after which that mran is 
relieved by some one who does the work for a similar period. 
The feeding is continued in the neighborhood of the trapping building until 
two weeks or more before it is expected to begin trapping, at which time it is 
placed within the cage. Much smaller quantities of food are then put out, and 
it may be well, in the case of a mild season, to suspend feeding for a day or 
two, putting out only enough food to attract the animals to that vicinity. This 
must be decided and gauged by the manner in which the foxes have been feed- 
ing during the interval immediately preceding, and it is largely a matter of 
judgment. 
When the beginning of trapping has been decided upon all waste bits of meat 
and bone are gathered together and stored in barrels in an inaccessible place, 
where they will not draw the foxes from the lure within the cage. After trap- 
ping has started, food is placed only within the cage and the accumulation of 
bones therein is cleaned out from time to time and disposed of as stated above. 
Bits of food which have been dragged outside the cage must not be allowed to 
accumulate, as the more timid foxes will feed on them in preference to enter- 
ing the cage. 
Trapping. 
Season.—The season for trapping prime-furred foxes varies in direct relation 
to the degree and duration of cold weather. Ordinarily the best of the pelts 
will be secured between December 1 and February 1, though prime furs may be 
taken on either side of these extremes. 
Toward the latter part of November a few foxes may be caught and the fur 
examined as to its marketable condition. The extent of growth of the guard 
or crown hairs is a very good guide, as when these hairs have reached a length 
extending well beyond the heavier fur the pelt takes on its well-known silkiness 
and luster so highly valued by the trade. The guard hairs are seldom, if ever, 
fully extended before the fur beneath has become prime. Many skins vary as 
to fur; some have a heavy growth of dark fur, while others may have compara- 
tively thin coats of light color, but the primeness consists in a uniform growth 
of whatever class of fur the animal happens to have, accompanied by the full 
growth of guard hairs. Animals are occasionally seen with no visible growth 
of guard hairs, but these are presumed to be diseased and are so few in num- 
ber as to be negligible. 
