28 



THE MUSKRAT. 



which has a gate at each end. The gales are of wire and arranged to 

 swing inward but not outward. The box is set just under water with 

 one end at the entrance to a niuskrat burroAv. The animal lifts the 

 gate on leaving the burrow^ and is imprisoned and drowned. Others 

 follow until perhaps all the occupants of the burrow are caught. 

 A similar trap may be made entirely of heavy wire netting of half- 

 inch mesh, bent to shape. These traps are well adapted to very 

 narrow streams or ditches. 



An open barrel sunk near the bank of the stream or pond fre^ 

 quented by muskrats is said to be an effective trap. The top of the 

 barrel should be level w^ith the surface of the ground. The barrel 

 is half full of w\^ter, upon which pieces of carrot or apple are float- 

 ing. A piece of board about 8 inches square, or a few floating chips, 

 will delude the animals into jumping into the barrel to secure the 

 food. 



A floating barrel is said to be a good substitute for a sunken barrel. 

 A hole 8 to 12 inches square is sawed in the side of a barrel having 



l)oth ends intact. A 

 strong cleat is nailed 

 across each end, pro- 

 jecting 6 or 8 inches 

 on the sides. Upon the 

 l^rojecting cleats boards 

 as long or somewhat 

 longer than the barrel 

 are nailed. Enough 

 water is placed in the 

 barrel to make it float with the outer platform level with the surface 

 of the pond — say, with about one-third of the surface of the barrel 

 exposed (fig. 4). Apples or carrots are placed in the barrel for bait. 



Another way of taking the muskrat is to spear it inside its winter 

 house. This is a common Indian method ; but it should not be en- • 

 couraged. Not only are the pelts injured by the spear, but when the 

 ponds are ice bound, the animals that escape the spear often perish 

 after their houses are destroyed. 



Trapping was at one time a popular calling in the United States; 

 but fur-bearing animals have so decreased in numbers that now^adays 

 few" persons earn a livelihood by trapping alone. The business is 

 usually follow^ed for a few weeks or months in winter. A large part 

 of the supply of muskrat fur is taken by boys, Avho adopt this method 

 of earning a little extra spending money. They often attend school, 

 and look after the traps in the morning and evening. However, on 

 the larger marshes of the country, muskrat trapping has recently 

 become a regular business of considerable importance. 



396 



Fig. 4. — Floating muskrat trap. 



