THE PEOPLE'S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. 



173 



pulls down the lever T, the projecting end of which dislodges the rod A, and 

 drops the lid L. It is best to have a weight upon L, or else a catch to hold 

 it down when sprung, as we have known an old mink to pry up the lid and 

 get out. We have never known this trap to miss when set immediately suc- 

 ceeding the depredations of one of these varmints. 



YOUNG MINKS SUCK EGGS. 



Young minks not one-third grown will suck eggs. A friend of ours once 

 found three young ones in his stable, each with its head inside of an egg 

 shell, and as effectually trapped as any one could wish, which he soon dis- 

 patched. 



DESTRUCTIVENESS OF THE SKUNK. 



Next to the mink, the skunk is the most destructive to poultry. We 

 have had three entire broods, thirty-seven chicks with two or three hens, 

 killed in a single night by these animals. We at that time, some fifteen or 

 more years ago, put our hens and chickens on the bare ground. The skunk 

 dug under, and then had the fun all to himself; since then we have made all 

 our coops with hard bottoms, and have lost no more chicks from that cause. 



HOW TO BAIT THE TRAP FOR SKUNKS. 



The only way we have trapped the skunk was with eggs, of which they 

 are passionately fond. Neither are they particular about the quality, as they 

 seem to favor a rotten one, or one with a dead chicken in it, as well as the 

 best and freshest. Tie the egg in a piece of netting, and fasten it to the 



FIG. 4 BAKREL SKUNK TBAP. FIG. 5. 



treadle of a steel trap, or to a common box trap. Take care that it is a trap 

 you do not wish to use again soon^ for it will doubtless be too highly flavored 

 to suit a refined taste. 



MANNER OF SETTING THE TRAP. 



Find their burrow and set your trap near the mouth. It is nearly useless 

 to set a trap where a theft has been committed. The animal may not go 

 back there again for months. He might possibly be caught in a night or two, 

 but the chances are ten to one against it. 



MR. HUNGERFORD'S SKUNK TRAP. 

 A correspondent of Moore's Rural JVew- Yorker, from Lyme, O., says he 



