Science of Trapping

s nine or ten inches, two edged, and for two-thirds its length is rudder shaped and covered with scales and thin, short hair. The front feet a

ponds, bordered with grass and flags, the roots of which are their chief support and from the tops of which they construct their houses. These structures are dome shaped, and rise, sometimes to a height of five feet from the water. The entran

shes on the coast of Delaware and Maryland. This muskrat ground is owned by private parties, who lease the ground to the trappers for a certain length of time, the trapper catching all the animals he can in that length of time. Muskrats are also v

March. Nevertheless, they are more easily caught in the fall, and as the skins bring a fair price, the most trapping is done at this time, tha

d not be trapped after the first of April. The muskrats found in settled districts are larger and better furred

by a hind foot. Many trappers set their traps several inches under water, as by so doing they catch the rat by a hind foot, and there is very little danger of them escaping. Some stake their traps the length of the chain into deep water, an

s a great favorite, as it does not have a strong a spring as the higher priced traps, and is not so l

ir slides on the bank and set the trap at the foot of the slide under

re are muskrat droppings on the log, cut a notch for the trap, so that it will

les in the bank and set a trap in th

ound, and you will find their feeding beds,--beds of grass which app

above, select a steep bank, and set the trap under two or three inches of water at t

in pairs, just far enough apart to let a trap set between. A board of this size will hold six or eight traps. The traps may be stapled to the edge of the board and some small pieces of ba

ck outside of the house and close the opening tight, so the diving hole will not freeze. I have had best success at this kind of trapping by u

grass roots projecting above the ice. Move this aside and you will find a hole in the

of the muskrat. While they do not eat the meat, they will go to smell at it, which is all

Red