THE MUSKEAT AS A FUR BEAEEE AND AS FOOD. 13 

 TRAPPING THE MUSKRAT. 



Muskrats are not suspicious and are trapped easily. They take 

 any suitable bait readily, especially in winter and early in spring, 

 when green food is scarce. The majority of those captured in the 

 ordinary steel trap are caught by the front leg. A strong trap breaks 

 the leg bone and in struggling the animal may tear loose, leaving a 

 foot, or part of it, in the trap. For this reason traps should be set so 

 that the captives will drown quickly. 



The best baits for muskrats are carrots, sweet apples, parsnips, 

 turnips, or pieces of squash. Many trappers use scent to attract the 

 animals, but it is doubtful whether the smell of musk or of any of the 

 oils, as anise or rhodium, has advantages over the natural odor of the 

 baits named. 



Most muskrat trappers use the ordinary steel trap (No. 1). The 

 manner of setting it depends upon the situation, and the skill of the 

 trapper is best displayed in selecting this. Muskrat trails may be 

 found along the banks of all streams and ponds which they inhabit, 

 and the practiced eye often can trace them into shallow water. Sink 

 the trap in the trail, partly in the mud or sand where the water is 

 2 or 3 inches deep, and fasten the chain to a stake, or, better still, 

 to a slender pole reaching into deep water. The pole, upon which 

 the ring of the chain is to slide, should have a fork at the outer end 

 to prevent the ring from slipping farther, and the other end should 

 be stuck firmly into the bank. Fasten the bait to a stick set in the 

 mud, so that the bait is about a foot above the pan of the trap. The 

 animal in reaching for the bait sets the hind foot upon the pan and 

 is caught more securely than if taken by the fore foot. It immedi- 

 ately plunges into deep water, sliding the chain along the pole as far 

 as it will go, and soon drowns. If the chain is fastened to a stake, it 

 should be planted in water a foot or more in depth, so that the animal 

 will drown. 



Setting traps inside or near muskrat houses is to be condemned; 

 many States have laws forbidding the practice and some of them 

 specify the minimum distance from the house at which a trap may 

 be placed. A long plank 5 or 6 inches wide or a floating log or one 

 extending out into the water may be used advantageously as a 

 support for traps. The plank is moored to the shore by a wire passed 

 through a staple driven into one end and the other end is anchored 

 in the stream or pond. Light cleats are nailed to the upper side at 

 intervals, with space enough between them to hold a trap when set. 

 Shallow notches wide enough to hold the traps may be cut into the 

 log, and the traps covered lightly with fine leaves or grass. The ring 

 at the end of each trap chain is fastened to the plank by a staple. 



