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In summer a steel trap may be set in a scooped-out depression, and 
the space beneath built up with bits of moss, except under the pan of the 
trap, or a light wad of clean cotton should completely fill the space under 
the pan, or a thin sheet of paper should cover the trap. The whole is 
then covered with loose leaves, dust, or any material like the surroundings 
of the trap. In winter the trap is built up in the same way with moss, 
dry leaves, or needles of pine, spruce, etc., and soft snow sifted over the 
trap to make it invisible. A refinement of this method that is found very 
effective by some wolf trappers in Alaska, who “seal in” the trap scent 
by sifting a fine layer of dust over the trap before covering it with snow. 
In very cold weather a firm slab of snow of the proper consistency may be 
laid over the trap, just clearing the top of the pan, and shaved down to a 
thin shell. If the snow melts in the day time the pan of the trap may 
become exposed, or the snow may become softened, freezing later into an 
icy surface which may prevent an animal from springing the trap. Many 
trappers carry sheets of thin paper to lay over the trap and sprinkle snow 
over the whole thing. 
“Water-sets” are used for muskrat, beaver, and otter, the trap being 
set under water. If possible the trap is set in shallows near deep water, 
and the trap ring held up on a pole set in deep water. When the trap is 
sprung, the ring slips down the pole, dragging the animal under water to 
drown. Traps for raccoon are often set under water near the edge of a 
brook or pond, and a piece of bright tin tied to the pan of the trap is said 
to be effective in arousing the curiosity of the animal. 
Curious animals, like the marten, weasel, and Arctic fox, will often 
enter little snow-houses or shelters built of branches and twigs, and step 
into a trap set at the entrance, but most fur-bearers avoid all the works 
of man. Trapping is a highly specialized occupation, and there is much 
to learn. Traps need constant attention, as trapped animals will soon 
spoil in warm weather, and traps freeze up or become drifted over with 
snow in winter, and must be reset. Dead animals in traps are often 
damaged by mice, shrews, and large ants in summer, or may be devoured 
by ravens, jays, or carnivorous mammals at any season of the year. 
There are serious objections to the universally used steel trap, prin- 
cipally because large mammals are not often killed at once in the trap 
and suffer when not quickly removed, but also because many animals get 
away. However, the steel trap is the chief instrument of the fur trade 
and the standby of the farmer for catching vermin, and unfortunately no 
substitute has been devised which is practical and portable enough for the 
wilderness trapper, and inexpensive enough for the farmer’s boy. Steel 
traps should be cleared as soon as possible for humanitarian reasons. 
Large mammals will frequently have to be shot before taking them off the 
trap, and a *22 rifle will usually do the business. As the scientific collector 
should at all hazards avoid damaging the skull of his specimen, the 
best shot is through the neck vertebrae near the base of the skull. Small 
mammals may be chloroformed, but professional trappers usually kill a 
fox or smaller mammal by engaging the head with a stick or rifle barrel, 
so that the animal cannot bite, and then crushing the ribs or neck with the 
foot. This seems to be rather rough treatment, but causes death as rapidly 
