to so place a trap that the animal will be crowded into it. If an old plank is placed on edge across the stream so that the lower edge just touches the water, it effectively closes the stream against the minks use as a passage way, and if only a narrow opening is left between the ends of the plank and the abutments, ideal places are formed for winter sets. It is the more practical plan to find these places and prepare them before the ice forms.

Tiles, springs and little spring brooks which enter the stream make excellent places to locate traps for winter use. Mink and raccoons are very apt to linger at such places, as the open water looks inviting at that time of year.

Raccoons, of course, do not travel during cold weather, but if a warm night comes the animals will be out for a ramble. The trapper who has plenty of the above described sets on his line stands a good chance of catching a raccoon or two when a thaw comes. He can also get the animals at that time by getting out early and following the trail of a raccoon until he finds the animal sleeping somewhere in a hollow tree. The rules of sportsmanship do not permit cutting den trees; but during winter, and especially in February, raccoons travel far and wide, and spend the day in any hollow tree or hollow branch that they can find. I remember once taking two of the animals from a hollow log, where they were spending the day. Raccoons taken at that time of year, as a rule, have the best grade of fur, those deep, dense coats that bring the high figures shown on the price lists.

We can say of skunks about the same as of 'coons, that they travel little during cold weather, but are sure to be out on a warm night. I might add that the depth of the snow has something to do with the skunks' travels, for they have difficulty getting about when the snow is deep and loose. Skunks will also be out on nights so cold that a raccoon would not think of leaving the comforts of the den tree. In February, especially, the male skunks travel long distances if the weather is not too severe.

When skunks travel in winter they can be trapped by the same method employed in fall, that is by placing the traps in the dens. At this time of year it is best to place some kind of roof over the trap as a protection from the snow.

Opossums travel also when the nights are warm and the snow "packy," but unless the weather is mild they seldom come out of the den. I am sure that many of these animals freeze or starve to death in their dens during a long period of cold weather. I once kept a trap set for almost two months at a den into which I had trailed one of these animals, and I am certain that he never came out. It is a common belief that opossums freuqently freeze in the shallow dens where they attempt to live during the winter. Of course this applies only to the Northern States.

But the fox is the animal to trap in midwinter, not that he is easy to get then, for that is not the case, but because foxes are active all winter, and seem to travel more when the weather is cold than when it is mild. At that season tracks of foxes are more numerous than those of any other animals except rabbits, and the trapper cannot pass by these trails without being impressed with

GEO. I. FOX

the fact that foxes are, among all animals, the ones best fitted for taking care of themselves. If he is a fox trapper he will wish that he could become more expert, and if he is not successful in taking these wary animals, he cannot help but regret that fact.

To advise an amateur trapper to try catching the wily red fox in winter, when snow covers everything, may seem like assigning to him a very difficult task, for few of the most expert can make much of a showing at fox trapping on snow.

State...

But regardless of this well known fact, winter trapping is more apt to prove a success for the beginner than fall trapping, when the ground is bare. The reason is that in fall success depends mainly on the skill of the trapper, his care in making the sets and in his ability to eliminate signs of his presence. These are qualities not expected in the young trapper. But when snow falls every few days, obliterating footprints and smothering foreign odors, and frequent winds do the same trick between snowfalls, success depends

279 SEVENTH AVE.

TAXIDERMY

It is easy to learn how to mount birds, animals, game heads and fish, also how to make novelties of deer horns, deer feet, etc., by studying "The Amateur Taxidermist."

You can then mount your own specimens and there is always work for the man who understands taxidermy, mounting birds, game heads, etc., for others, at good prices. Learn this art, then advertise and you will have plenty of work. "The Amateur Taxidermist"

gives more information on this subject than any book or correspondence course ever written. It is the work of a practical taxidermist of many years' experience, and gives information which cannot be gotten from "correspondence" courses.

"The Amateur Taxidermist" is finely illustrated with photographic reproductions, showing specimens of mounted birds, animals, game heads, etc., and each lesson is accompanied by a full page plate, consisting of from one to fourteen drawings fully explaining the lesson.

Price 50 Cents, Postpaid.
Address all orders to

FUR NEWS,

71 WEST 23RD STREET,

Books

NEW YORK

The following books may be obtained as premiums for getting new subscriptions to FUR NEWS, at 50 cents per year. (Canada, 75 cents). Your own subscription or renewal does not count; subscriptions must be NEW ones in addition to your own:

Fur Farming for Profit....
Pearls and Pearling.....
The Trapper's Companion..
Amateur Taxidermist

Outdoor Pursuits for Profit and

4 Subscriptions

4 Subscriptions

1 Subscription

2 Subscriptions 1 Subscription SEND ORDERS TO FUR

NEWS,

71 WEST 23RD STREET, NEW YORK.

mainly on getting the foxes to visiting the bait, setting a trap in a way that will not permit of its freezing, and having patience to sit back and wait until the fox is caught before going close to the set. A strict observance of these matters will bring success in the degree applicable to winter fox trapping in general.

Of course there are other little things which count much in all kinds of trapping, such as the size of the trap, and the proper fastening, also the cleansing and handling of the same to avoid scenting.

A method that will be found reasonably successful is to place a large bait in a favorable place, preferably in an old field or clearing, and when the foxes get to eating it, place a trap or two beside the bait just before a snowstorm, and in the morning, if possible. The trap should be covered with hair pulled from the bait, which will usually be a carcass of some farm animal or the remains of big game. The hair makes an excellent covering and if the trap has a bed of the same material beneath it, the set will stand a lot of freezing weather, and what is equally important the odor of the hair smothers that of the trap. If the trap is a rather large one and is placed close to the bait the falling snow will not harm it, for even if buried under a foot or two of snow the foxes will dig into it.

Traps for winter use must be clean. To insure this it is a good plan to boil them thoroughly and then let them hang a day or two in the open air, where they will not become contaminated by smoke or strong odors from other sources. A pair of well washed wool mittens should be worn while handling and setting the trap, and the trapper should wear rubber boots. It is essential that a clog be attached to the trap chain, something which will allow the trapped fox to get some distance away from the bait.

One of the most difficult things of all is to keep away from the set after it is completed, and this probably has caused more failures in winter fox trapping than all other causes combined. When fox tracks are seen all about the bait, but the trap appears to be unsprung, it is difficult to avoid going close enough to see why a catch has not been made. Slowly, step by step, the trapper approaches, standing on tiptoe and craning his neck in an effort to see whether or not a fox has stepped on the trap, and if so, whether it has been sprung. He probably approaches within a rod of the trap before he can be certain of the conditions and the result is that the foxes which have been eating the bait become suspicious when they again visit it. Then the chances are say ten to one that before they have recovered confidence and resumed their accustomed nightly feasts a change of weather comes, a south wind sets in, rain follows, and the snow becomes heavy and "packy." Of course, under such conditions, there is no chance of catching foxes, but the trapper should not remove the trap. If he stays away from it the foxes will continue their visits, and after awhile cold weather will come and a fresh snow will permit of a new trap being set.

Winter thaws put a temporary end to all snow trapping, for a trap will not spring under "packy" snow, new sets cannot be made, and the cold weather which follows invariably forms a heavy crust over the traps. However, these warm spells are usually welcomed by the trapper, for they arouse all kinds of semi-hibernating animals to activity and many of them fall victims to the energetic trapper. Sleepy 'coons awake with a longing for a ramble down the trout brook, skunks come out of their dens and wander aimlessly along the hillsides, and muskrats welcome the breakup which allows them to escape from their icy prison and secure a little fresh food.

along the stream banks. At such times the wideawake trapper is astir in the morning and does not think of returning home until the dusk of evening brings the day's trailing to an end.

The far-sighted trapper hesitates to cut a den tree, after he has trailed a 'coon to its lair. Every trapper has competitors, and he may be sure that they will also be out during "soft" weather look ing for their share of fur. Perhaps one of them may follow the trail to the tree, regardless of the fact that somebody is already on the trail, or he may follow the back track, trusting that it will be the shorter route to the den tree. For this reason it is sometimes not safe to set a trap, for the rival trapper may not only make a "getaway" with the trap, but will, in all probability, cut the tree and take the 'coon also. So the trapper must settle in his own mind whether he will cut a good den tree or not.

If he decides that it is safe to set a trap, he may do so in the following way: A pole or small log, about six inches in diameter and six or seven feet long, is leaned against the tree trunk on the

side showing the most claw marks at an angle of about 45 degrees. The upper end of this pole, where it rests against the tree, is then cut off level. This makes a fine step for Mr. Coon when he comes down the tree, and if a No. 11⁄2 trap is set on the top, on a bed of moss, and the chain is stapled to the pole, the trapper may count strongly on finding a 'coon awaiting him on his next visit.

It seldom pays to spend time trying to catch muskrats when the streams are frozen. Unless they live in houses, there is no successful way to trap muskrats when the water is covered with ice, and the trapper will do well to expend his energy in another direction. True, a few muskrats may be caught all winter through by setting baited traps on the open rapids, or by finding dens and cutting the ice away at the entrance, but it doesn't pay except as a small side line. I remember one time when I was trapping in a half-hearted way near home that my partner thought he could do well by trapping muskrats on a nearby stream, while I had no such dreams and decided that the woods and hills promised better returns. weather was cold most of the time, the snow was loose and dry, the streams covered with ice except on the rapids. I went back among the hills after skunks, and by the end of a week I had four skunks and a fox. The fox I got by breaking a trail on an old road where his fresh tracks were seen almost every day, and setting a trap in the trail between sheets of white paper, with snow brushed lightly over it. In the same time my partner caught three muskrats and a skunk. One of the muskrats he mutilated by shooting with a rifle, the bullet tearing its head completely away.

The

If one doesn't care to tend a line of traps during the winter months he can get plenty of sport and good exercise, as well as a little fur, by hunting foxes with hounds. But this sport calls for good, well trained dogs, and not everybody has them. If it is fox skins one wants, minus the sport, but with a little hardship thrown in gratis, he can sometimes do well by watching for foxes at night in an old apple orchard or other place where the animals habitually visit. One of my acquaintances shot eleven foxes two years ago by watching for them on moonlight nights. On an old farm back at the edge of the woods was an orchard, and the foxes visited this place frequently to eat the frozen apples which lay beneath the snow. The hunter, heavily dressed and armed with a pump gun, climbed a tree and made himself as comfortable as circumstances would allow, then quietly waited for the game to appear. He said that a fox looked so small when seen

eral get away because he thought they were some other and smaller species of animal.

Patience is a valuable asset. It requires great patience to sit alone among the branches of a tree until midnight or early morning on a zero night and wait for a fox to appear. Likewise the trapper must be equally patient to wait until the foxes outlive their fear and boldly walk up to his bait. But good fox skins are the reward and they are as good as money these days.

The trapper of the South has no idle time in midwinter, for there that is the best part of the trapping season. In the Far North the trapper has a long, cold winter; but the forests are the home of animals which are active during the coldest weather. It is only in the middle northern section, where, by the way, the most trapping is done, that the cold weather of midwinter puts a check on operations, and it is there only that the

above remarks will prove helpful to him and encourage him to put forth his best efforts.

PATHFINDER WATCH

A Watch and a Compass combined, giving these two necessities at the price of one, without sacrificing the efficiency or appearance of either.

The Pathfinder is a 14-size watch, thin model, German silver nickel-plated case, open face, pull-out stem set. The Compass is set in a recess formed in the top of the watch crown, and is far enough removed from the steel parts of the movement to prevent its being deflected thereby. The watch is guaranteed a first-class timekeeper by the makers. Price $1, postpaid. Will be sent as a premium for FOUR new subscriptions to FUR NEWS at 50 cents each (Canada, 75 cents). NOT given with your own subscription or renewal. Address FUR NEWS

71 WEST 23RD ST.,

NEW YORK

ADVERTISE IN THE

Classified Columns

FOR BIG RESULTS AT LITTLE COST

TRY IT NEXT MONTH---2c A WORD

"ALLIGATOR" GAME TRAP Catches by the neck or body instead of feet, killing instantly without injuring pelt. A humane feature that is very commendable; besides it saves every fur for the trapper. The only trap ever constructed with a double trip action. A bait trigger and foot pedal trip. An ideal trap for saving furs of Mink, Muskrat, Skunk, etc. No escape the trapper gets every pelt. A DIME brings illustrated trappers' guide, it tells how, giving the first time in print, the treasured secrets of the wisest old trap. pers in this country. It is worth dollars to you. TRAPPERS' SUPPLY CO., Box F, Oak Park, III.