FUR FACTS 107 



themselves. The females should be given plenty of food and fresh 

 water from the time the young are a few days old until they are able 

 to shift for themselves. The females usually have such large families 

 that they need a great deal of food in order to properly nurse their 

 young. It is therefore well to provide a separate pen for each female 

 with young, although this pen does not necessarily have to be a 

 large one. An old hollow log, a wooden box covered over with 

 earth and a quantity of brush, or a barrel, makes a very good enclosure 

 of course being inside of the wire fence. A little study of their habits 

 and peculiarities is necessary to get the best results. The opossum is 

 a strong and hardy animal and is a very prolific breeder, and well- 

 furred opossum skins are always in demand at good prices. This 

 together with the fact the carcass of the animal has a food value 

 wiU no doubt result in many undertaking the raising of this valuable 

 animal for its food and fur. A pair of live opossum could be very 

 easily obtained in any section where wild opossum are plentiful, as 

 they probably can be taken alive easier than any other fur-bearing 

 animal. A small enclosure could be made at very little expense 

 and the size of the enclosure could be increased as conditions justified 

 it. There will no doubt be a ready market for all live stock that 

 one would care to offer for sale. 



How to Trap Opossum 



Opossum are probably the easiest of all the fur-bearing animals 

 to trap, as they show little cunning, and do not seem to have the 

 intense fear of man that characterizes most other wild animals. 

 However, it must not be supposed that they can be successfully 

 trapped unless a certain degree of care is taken in making the set, 

 and of course the greater skill shown by the trapper, regardless of 

 whether the animal is easy to trap or not, the greater will be the 

 number of skins taken. We give you here the methods followed by 

 three experienced trappers who have been very successful in the 

 trapping of opossum. 



Winner of First Prize for Best Method of Trapping Opossum 



"The Opossum is a night prowler, but usually hides in the thick 

 foliage of the trees in the day time. The Opossum is not at all 

 cunning, and will eat most any kind o f meat. Use steel trap No. 1 J^. 

 Set the trap at his den or in his haunts. Take a piece of meat or 

 fish, and drop some Funsten Animal Bait over the meat or fish bait. 

 Hang the bait in a tree, so he can just reach it, or find some brush or 

 limb of a fallen tree, or drive a stake in the ground if necessary to 



