CHAPTER XVIII. 

 Traps and Other Hints for Trappers. 



^"WLL trappers have their favorite traps the writer has his. 



LM Every boy knows that the Newhouse trap is at the top of 

 the ladder, as to quality, but as to convenience, well, I 

 prefer the No. l l / 2 Oneida Jump trap, which is superior 

 to all others on the market for small game. This trap is now 

 made with jaws much thicker than the original "J um P" (Blake & 

 Lamb), and the way the chain is now fastened gives the animal 

 a straight draw instead of a twist, as was the case with the Blake 

 & Lamb style. The Oneida Jump however, is lacking in strength 

 of the springs, being much weaker than the Blake & Lamb of 

 the same size but in all other ways I consider it far better than 

 the original Blake & Lamb. The spring being so much weaker 

 than the Blake & Lamb springs were, is a serious drawback, as 

 the Oneida Jump trap of this size will not hold a large raccoon 

 or a large fox. 



Now, while many trappers might not seriously object to the 

 trap on these grounds as they use many different sizes of traps 

 or a different size of trap for each animal. This I never do in 

 trapper the smaller animals, for when I make a dry or ground set, 

 I set the trap for any animal from the fox to the coon or wild- 

 cat, although I may be more particular making the set for mink. 

 It makes a trapper feel sore to go to a trap and find that a fox 

 or coon has been in his trap and escaped. This rarely if ever 

 occurs when using the Blake & Lamb No. \ l / 2 trap, or as the 

 original was called No. 2, though it had the same spread of jaws 

 as the No. V/ 2 Oneida Jump. Now the advantages that the Oneida 

 Jump trap has over the long spring trap are many. The most 

 desirable are perhaps the easy manner in which the "jump" trap can 

 be concealed. In fact, a practical set can be made in certain places 



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