FUR FACTS 259 



a chicken in the top box and set it just outside of the poultry house. 

 When the mink or weasel comes prowling around it will be attracted 

 to the box trap by the chicken and in trying to get to it will invariably 

 spring the steel trap and thus get caught. 



Most trappers recommend the use of the small steel trap for coon, 

 mink, skunk, muskrat, fox, etc., and in order that the animal will 

 be securely held most trappers equip their traps with an additional 

 set of jaws, the latest and most successful of which is the Funsten 

 Triple Grip Jaw. This increases the spread of the small No. 1 trap 

 to the size of a much larger trap, and really gives, as the name implies, 

 three grips. The Funsten Two Trigger trap is designed to kill 

 instantly and prevents the animal from injuring its fur by struggling 

 and from a humane standpoint prevents any pain, however wild 

 animals are comparatively insensible to pain. Steel traps are dis- 

 tributed to the trappers by the big fur houses, who annually send 

 out to trappers a supply catalog quoting prices of guns, traps, smok- 

 ers, animal baits, and other articles necessary to successfully take 

 the pelts of the fur bearers. 



There is considerable knack in setting a steel trap and some men 

 are much more expert in doing this than others. The inexperienced 

 will often set the trap with the heel of their shoe and thus press their 

 entire weight on the spring to hold it down until the jaws are put in 

 place. This is a bad practice as it tends to flatten the spring and 

 thus weaken it. A pressure only sufficient to depress the spring in 

 order to spread the jaws should be placed firmly at the end of the 

 spring where it joins the jaws and not at the opposite end. Most 

 animals are lightning fast and if the spring is not working properly 

 you will not get the animal you are trapping for. Therefore, care 

 should be taken that the spring is not mashed flat the first time you 

 set it. For years there has been a need for a perfect small trap 

 setter, and recently such a device has been invented. It is the Fun- 

 sten Trap Setter, costs but a trifle, and will enable the most inexper- 

 ienced to instantly set any of the small traps no matter how stiff 

 the spring; and what is more important it does not injure the action 

 of the spring. All trappers should use this trap setting device instead 

 of the cruder method of mashing the spring down, thus putting too 

 much pressure on the spring and weakening its action. 



See that your traps are well oiled when you put them away and 

 when they are not in use. If you have a supply of traps that have 

 been put away improperly and are rusty, go over them carefully 

 before you start to use them, and see that they are put in first class 



