CULTURE OF FUR-BEARERS 257 



of the wild mice and devours their families. 

 If you catch sight of a prowling mink, some 

 day, along the brookside, squeak like a mouse, 

 and see how interested he will at once become. 

 Indeed, a mink or a weasel which takes up its 

 abode under a barn will soon clear out the rats. 



Good mink-skins have always fetched a fair 

 price, and this price is rising. As they are 

 abundant, and among the most easily trapped 

 of our wild animals they have ever been one 

 of the sources of pocket-money to the lads of 

 the rural parts of the country. 



"The old-fashioned deadfall is the trap that 

 should be used," Seton advises, "as it does not 

 injure the fur and it kills the animal instantly, 

 so that there is no unnecessary suffering. 

 The box-trap is effectual and humane if visited 

 regularly. It should have, at the back, a 

 window covered with %-inch-mesh wire netting. 

 It has the advantage of protecting its catch 

 from passing marauders. The steel trap, if 

 used, should be visited often. The less the 

 creatures suffer the better the fur." The pelt 

 should be stripped and cased in the same man- 

 ner as that of the ermine or the muskrat. 



