THE GOLDFISH AND ITS CULTURE. 97 
These birds, although not so easily shot as the crane or heron, 
may readily be caught in a trap, if the latter is somewhat concealed 
and laid on the post or outlet pipe, which the birds mostly frequent. 
TURTLES AND ALLIGATORS. 
These reptiles are both extremely destructive; the latter, of 
course, not being found in the Northern States, need not be looked 
for in that locality. Neither of them, no matter how small, should 
be permitted to remain in or near the ponds. 
THE MUSKRAT. 
Not only do these animals destroy the dams of the ponds, but 
they will also destroy the entire stock of fish, if not stopped in time. 
Luckily for the fish-culturist, they are easily mastered. One or two 
muskrat traps of the old-fashioned style (Hawley & Norton’s No. 1), 
used by professional trappers in the Far West, can be procured at 
almost any hardware store for thirty cents apiece, the chain included. 
The muskrat holes are looked for and will be found leading into the 
bank and a little below the surface of the water. At a short distance 
from such a hole (the length of the chain on the trap), a peg is 
driven securely into the ground, and the free end of the chain. 
fastened to it. The trap is then set wéthout bait, and laid a little to 
one side immediately into the hole, in such a manner that the animal 
in going in or out is obliged to tread upon the plate that springs 
the trap and over one or the other evd, thus it is always caught by 
one of its legs. 
If the trap is placed at right angles with the hole, so that the 
animal has to walk over the bows, these latter, in coming together, 
will throw the rat upwards, and fail to catch it. 
It is advisable also to catch the muskrats in the surrounding 
