

fefg 



places, most carefully arranging them and leaving 

 the place just as you found it if you possibly can 

 do so. Destroy every trace of your presence 

 there and touch nothing with your bare hands. 

 If your traps are placed in the right spots you 

 rarely need baits. These are mostly for attracting 

 them. If, however, your traps (see traps) are to 

 be set under water (as indeed most traps for water 

 animals should be) you may handle them with 

 bare hands with impunity. 



If it is winter then you will find most such ani- 

 mals as Muskrats and Beavers living in their dome 

 like structures, around sluggish streams, ponds, 

 etc., the Muskrat especially, as Beavers ao not 

 always live in dams or huts (this is only done 

 where water is unplentiful.) If water is there in 

 plenty, Beavers do not build dams but make 

 their nests under banks, with their entrances un- 

 der water and their huts in front of them. If it is 

 summer they swim or roam around and you are 

 just as apt to find them one place as another about 

 waters. The foods of aquatic animals are roots of 

 flags, grasses, water plants and succulent plants 

 that grow about the banks and shores of their 

 homes. They are fond of berries, nuts, vegetables, 

 wild oats, seeds, etc. The Muskrat especially be- 

 ing fond of flesh, apples, corn or vegetables of al- 

 most any kind. These are used for baits when 

 necessary, and traps can be set in their play 

 grounds, holes, or best where they enter and leave 

 the waters, setting them a trifle under waters. If 

 bait is used it should be stuck up on a pointed 

 stick (fastened to it) and arranged in such a way 

 that the animal must step on the trap to secure 

 it (usually 8 to 10 inches high being ample) and 

 the "slide" attached so as to drown the animal, 

 that it may not alarm the others. If Beaver trap- 

 ping, arrange traps at such points where the ani- 

 mal will pass or repass, always a few inches under 

 water, drenching your tracks if any, to wash the 

 scent away. If after Mink, set your traps either 

 on land or water near their banks or holes (con- 

 cealing them) with leaves, rotten wood, water 

 grass, etc., using for bait fish, birds, flesh of the 

 Muskrat, etc., (scented) and so arranged as he 

 must step on the trap in order to reach it. Like 



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