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 34-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- 
uer as that of the ermine or the muskrat. 
