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and painlessly as the deadfall trap or a bullet through the heart, without 
causing suffusion of blood inside of the skin, as usually happens when a 
club is used. 
Trapping the ordinary small mammals in Canada is a comparatively 
simple operation. As they are not as a rule pursued by man they are 
generally not afraid of traps, and the idea is to place the trap in locations 
where the mammals are found, and where they can see, smell, or step into 
the trap. The presence of small mammals can usually be detected by 
tracks, runways, holes, or other signs, and traps should be set out in as 
many different situations as the region affords. To get a complete collection 
of the mammal life of any district a trap-line should be run in every life- 
association area. Every species has a preference for a certain habitat, for 
purposes of feeding, concealment, or home-building. A patch of grass at 
the edge of a marsh may appear to be destitute of mammal life, but by 
stooping and parting the grass with the hands, the naturalist will usually 
find well-tramped runways littered with “sign” or droppings, bits of cut 
grass, etc., as plain as a cattle trail, on a small scale. If the trail is fresh 
a trap set across the runway will usually produce results over night. Traps 
should be set along streams and ponds for aquatic species, in grass and 
bushes for meadow-loving forms, at the foot of trees or on logs and 
branches for arboreal species, and in burrows or at their entrances for 
subterranean species. The collector may not have the time or sufficient 
traps to do all this in one day, but the trap-lines may be shifted. 
The winter trapper can usually follow his trap-line by his tracks in 
the snow, but often a fresh fall of snow will hide small traps. At any time 
the locations of a few traps may be remembered accurately enough, but 
when many are used the average trapper may have trouble in readily 
finding them again. Some system should be followed in running the trap- 
line, as along a path, stream, ravine, or ridge. Trees or bushes may be 
blazed in a wild country, but in many districts this is not advisable. Small 
twigs may be bent over, but the writer has generally found it easier to place 
small cloth markers, or a little bunch of cotton twisted on a bush or stick. 
The most satisfactory markers are made by tearing white cloth into strips 
a few inches long and tying these with a loose knot to the nearest bush, or 
if in a meadow, to a clump of grass. If a trap is set at some distance to 
one side, and out of sight of the trail, a strip of cloth with one or more 
knots may be placed by the trail, and a second marker at the trap site. 
In wunter it is better to use markers of bright red cloth as these are easily 
seen against the snow. Single markers may be used for each trap except 
the fifth, for which two markers or a coloured mark is set out. This often 
saves time when searching for a lost trap. When traps are taken up the 
marker may be placed in the trap jaws for use the next time. If mis- 
chievous small boys visit the neighbourhood, it may be necessary to mark 
the traps less conspicuously. 
Many collectors prefer to keep a record of traps set, for data purposes, 
regardless of their ability to pick up traps by memory. A pocket notebook 
or a few stiff blank cards of pocket size may be used, and the trap sites 
noted briefly, something as follows: 
1. From bend of creek near camp, 40 paces, runway under log 
2. East 20 paces, hole at foot of spruce 
3. Back to creek, down 100 paces, on log across creek, etc. 
