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domestic animals and valuable wild fur-bearers must be taken into con- 
sideration. In Canada the use of poisons for such purposes is strictly 
regulated by Federal, Provincial, and Municipal laws and regulations. 
BAIT 
For the carnivores, where blind sets are not used, the best bait is the 
favourite food of the animal, although where prey is abundant the bait may 
not have much attraction. For winter trapping the Eskimo trick of 
freezing a fat ground squirrel in autumn and employing it on the trap-line 
is useful. After the trap is set a few, tiny frozen chips are hacked off with 
the hunting knife and scattered carelessly on the snow. These bits have a 
pungent, ratty odour, and cause the fox to look for more and in the search 
he may step on the trap. One squirrel or gopher will serve for hundreds 
of sets. Most professional trappers have various malodorous recipes for 
attracting marten, fisher, mink, and the like, depending on mixtures of 
beaver castoreum (or “castors"), decomposed fish, fish oil, rotten eggs, 
and the like. Dead carcasses will also attract many of the carnivores. 
Young (1930) recommends a scent for attracting wolves and coyotes, 
made as follows: 
“Put into a bottle the urine and the gall of a wolf or a coyote, depending on which 
is to be trapped, and alsp the anal glands, which are situated under the skin on either 
side of the vent and resemble small pieces of bluish fat. If these glands can not be 
readily found, the whole anal parts may be used. To every 3 ounces of the mixture 
add 1 ounce of glycerine, to give it body and to prevent too rapid evaporation, and 1 
grain of corrosive sublimate to keep it from spoiling. A few drops of the mixture 
should be scattered on weeds or ground 6 or 8 inches from the place where the trap is 
set. A little of the scent should be rubbed on the trapper’s gloves and shoe soles to 
conceal the human odour.” 
If the animals become “wise" to this scent an effective fish scent may 
be prepared by grinding the flesh of sturgeon, eel, trout, sucker, carp, or 
other oily fish in a sausage mill, and leaving in a warm place of even 
temperature to decompose thoroughly. This scent may be used within 3 
days after it is prepared, but it is more lasting and penetrating after a 
lapse of 30 days. 
For lynx and bobcats, Young (1931) recommends scenting with the 
fish bait just described, but several modifications have been found highly 
effective. To the decomposed fish as a basis may be added mice, beaver 
castors, musk glands from minks, weasels, and muskrats, and the bladders 
of coyotes and bobcats. Oil gives body to the scent and to a certain 
extent prevents freezing. If the mixture appears to be too thin, glycerine, 
brains, fish oil, butterfat, or other animal fat, such as that from woodchucks 
and ground squirrels, may be added. 
Oil of catnip, diluted in the proportion of 36 drops of the pure oil to 
2 ounces of petrolatum, has proved an effective lure for bobcats as well as 
lynx and mountain lions. If the pure oil is not obtainable, catnip leaves 
boiled to a pulpy consistency in water may be used. 
Arthur (“Fur Animals of Louisiana," 1928) gives a list of baits used 
by trappers in Louisiana, and some of these should be useful to our 
collectors who wish to collect material in the summer time: 
“Muskrat — Muskrat musk mixed with anise oil and oil of rhodium. 
Mink — Best is musk of mink; also fish oil, or mixture of mink and fish oil. 
Skunk — Tainted meat, especially tainted skunk and rabbit. 
