A. R. Harding

“ At this point I would digress to call attention to the smallness of root development in the woods, either wild or cultivated, because the trees and tree roots sap so much substance from the soil and other weeds and plants help to do the same thing. The shade is not of the right sort, too dense or too sparse in places, and the plants do not make quick growth enough to justify the growing under such conditions, and while supposed to be better for health of plants, does not always prove to be the case. I have seen some gardens under forest shade that blighted as badly as any gardens. ”

“ Contrary to the habits of its cousin and neighbor, the wolf, the coyote is not often seen except singly or in pairs, though it is probable that they are more in the habit of congregating during the night, when the eyes of the hunter and his dogs are closed in sleep, and they are at liberty to roam at will. Their stealthy maneuvers are not apt to disclose their presence, and one usually is not aware of the fact that coyotes are near until he is suddenly reminded of it by one of those unearthly screeching, yelping utterances given vent to by the coyote during the long still night. ”

“ Make good use of your brains, for the animal instinct is its only protection and it is only by making good use of your reasoning powers that you can fool him. Experience may cost money sometimes and loss of patience and temper, but in my estimation it is the trapper's best capital. An old trapper who has a couple of traps and lots of experience will catch more fur than the greenhorn with a complete outfit. Knowledge is power in trapping as in all other trades. ”

“ While baiting traps is not necessary when trapping at dens, yet the trapper who baits his traps will catch more game than if the traps were not baited. To show where a baited trap has the advantage, we will suppose that an animal passes a den where a trap is set but not baited. It is just as a notion takes the animal — it may pay a visit to the den and go in, and again it may not. If a trap is baited the chances are that if the animal passes within a few feet, it will reach the bait. ”

“ A small fir stuck down by the trap with branches projecting over it will serve as a protection from rain and snow, but is seldom needed when trap is covered as above described.
Always be on the lookout for places to set when hunting or fishing. Let your eyes run along the strips of beach and boggy, peer under overhanging banks and among piles of drift, and scrutinize closely every log spanning streams. You will be surprised to find how often you will hit upon footprints, droppings, holes and runways, the knowledge of which will be of the utmost value to you when the trapping season arrives. ”

“ A red or grey fox will cross through or under a wire fence over the public highway at night, although the roads are continually traversed by the iron bound shoes of the horse. Even the tracks of man are visible here yet we, when trapping, brush out our tracks with great care. ”

“ Where is the farmer who would expect to make a success at raising horses, cattle or sheep, by keeping them in a small pen and feeding them foods not to their liking or nature? Yet, such has been the case with some of those who tried "fur animal raising." They made a failure of it and no one who is at all familiar with fur-bearing animals is surprised. Those who will be successful at "fur-farming" are trappers, hunters and farmers who know something of the animal or animals they expect to raise—those who love the animal and have a desire for the business. ”

“ The merchant who handles the stock may not know as yet the great and growing scarcity of almost all our medicinal plants. But the digger who has stood at the first end of the drug trade, in touch with the natural supply, knows that the fountains are dried up, in great measure, and that the streams of the trade must necessarily soon cease to flow or be supplied by artificial means. ”

“ If one will stop to consider just what scent is, and the object in using it, he must readily perceive its value, if the right kind is used. Scents are of various kinds and are expected to appeal to the animal in different ways. When one uses bait, it is the odor of same that attracts the animal from a distance, — why then will not a scent which suggests their favorite food also prove attractive? ”

“ Why even the stupid muskrat, who will go into people's cellars, and in fact most everywhere else he wants to, and who will walk into any sort of set so long as the trap be covered, will not step into a bare trap. Dozens of times have I had my dog follow the tracks one has made around my trap when it was left bare by falling water, but invariably the rat has left the bait rather than put his foot on the uncovered trap. It is absurd to think the thick-headed muskrat is sharper in any respect than wise Mr. Fox. ”

“ We all admit that the fox and wolf are shy animals and are rather difficult to catch, yet they are frequently caught by trappers who are only trapping for opossum or skunk. These trappers, of course, had their traps carefully hidden. While fox and wolf are among the smartest animals, yet they can be caught, as the thousands of pelts sold annually is evidence. See to it, trappers, that every trap is set and covered properly and you will be rewarded some morning on visiting your trap by a fox or wolf if they are many in your section. ”

“ As the resort of rabbits is a young growth of country, there are also lynx in the greatest numbers. Rabbits and partridges are their principal food. When the Indian enters a new piece of country to set rabbit snares to support his wife and family and sees signs of lynx, he combines the two kinds of hunting and as he goes along, once in a while, he bars his snowshoe track by placing a lynx snare in the way. The lynx are fond of the smell of castor, as indeed are most animals, so the hunter rubs a little on a tree at each side of his snare for the cat to rub against when he comes that way. ”

“ I have followed them across country from the headwaters of one stream to another, to swamp and swales where the muskrat abounds, turning every "hole inside out," so to speak, and they seem to know them all. ”

“ At the edge of the hills I found the traces of a sheep outfit and on rounding a spur so as to obtain a good view of the little valley beyond, I saw the white topped wagon of the herder at the far-side, but the sheep were farther down the hollow. Here I expected to find coyotes and I was not disappointed, for on riding through a patch of sage which covered several acres, a coyote broke cover on the opposite side. Three shots followed each other in rapid succession, throwing dirt and gravel over the fleeing animal but without harming him, and having no other effect than to increase his speed. ”

“ History and science have their romances as vivid and as fascinating as any in the realms of fiction. No story ever told has surpassed in interest the history of this mysterious plant Ginseng; the root that for nearly 200 years has been an important article of export to China. ”

“ When trapping weasel, writes a Northern trapper, I set my traps near small streams or in swamps, old ditches, beneath old roots and under shelving banks, near running water, and sometimes they may be caught in woodchuck holes. The white weasel and all other weasel are regular dummies, going headlong into a trap, even if they are in plain view. You don't need to cover up your trap at all unless you want to, as the weasel will walk right in to get the bait and click bang and you have your weasel hard and fast. ”

“ My experience in trapping is altogether in mink and in a prairie country, and it has always been a great pleasure and very profitable for me, says an Iowa trapper. As I have said, trapping mink is a science which few trappers understand, and can learn only by long experience and close study. Any one taking two or three dozen traps and stringing them out, setting in holes and ditches, can catch a few mink. I know men who have trapped for years and claim to catch lots of fur, but it makes me smile to see how they set them; they simply don't know their A B C's about trapping mink. ”

“ How many roots does it take to make a pound? Have you sold any dry roots yet from your garden? How long does it take the seed of Ginseng to germinate?
Do you sow the seeds broadcast or plant in drills? How far apart should the plants be set? Do you mulch beds in winter? Is it best to reset seedlings the first year? How many plants does it require to set an acre? What is generally used for shading? Has the plant or root any enemies? When does the seed ripen? How wide do you make your beds? Do you fertilize your soil? Will the plants bear seed the first year? ”

“ The fox is the most cunning animal we have, consequently he is the most difficult one to trap, says C. E. Matheny, of Ohio. But like all other animals he has a weak point, and if you attack him at this point he will, without a doubt, fall into your snares. One of the most important things when about to trap a fox is to have the trap perfectly clean. The word clean, in this sense, does not allude to freedom from rust, but means that the trap should be entirely free from human scent. ”

“ It is not a bad idea to do the smoking near where you are to set the trap. Build up a little stick fire in the woods, hold the fish skin impaled on a green stick, over it until it is thoroughly heated and smoked through, and an odor will be created that will pervade the woods for rods around. And of course if this scent reaches the nostrils of any near-by ringtail that is sleeping away the day, he will lose no time after nightfall in tracing out the source of the appetizing smell, and endeavoring to make a supper off his favorite food. ”

“ In the spring after the young are born, the bitch is kept busy from morn till night trying to satisfy the hunger of her growling litter of pups, and in her frantic efforts to do so, scruples little on running down and killing a stray sheep or an unprotected calf or colt. When, however, this large prey fails and the smaller game proves insufficient, she is again forced to the humbler larder of some carcass she has discovered on one of her many haunts. ”

“ This is in a measure true, but a red fox will not step into a trap unless you use care in setting it, with any kind of scent. I don't care how frantic a fox is to get at the bait. They don't commit suicide if they know it.
There are many other ways to prepare for both mink and fox, all of them possessing merit, but my aim is to give the best, not those which are no use to the trapper. The more simple, as a rule, are the best. Some trappers are opposed to the use of scent, but you will find that man far behind others. ”

“ The collecting of the root for the market by the local dealer has its charm; at least one would think so, to see how eagerly it is sought after by the collector, who often finds when he has enough for a shipment that he faces a loss instead of a profit. The continual decrease in the annual output of the root should produce a steadily advancing market. The price does advance from year to year, but the variation in the price of silver and the scheming of the Chinamen produces crazy spurts in the price of the root. ”

“ Boys, if you live near a trout brook, a creek, pond, bog or spring hole, where there are fish, frogs or clams, you may be sure that any such water is frequented, or at least visited by mink, though your unpracticed eyes may fail to detect signs of their presence; and by procuring a few traps and setting them according to some methods, you can realize a good bit of pocket money every year, and at the same time have more real pleasure than you get from all other sports combined. Don't be discouraged if you catch nothing at first. ”

“ To pack out on one's back a weight of iron at a season when walking in the bush is at its worst, especially if the trapper is to return and set up the same line the next season, is a useless labor and a heart and back breaking job. ”

“ Those who make a business of wolf hunting, or in other words, those who hunt for profit, do not always allow the dogs to fight and kill the wolf, but carry a gun with them, on all occasions and if they have an opportunity to shorten the chase by means of a well directed bullet, do not hesitate to do so. A high powered rifle should be used and one should learn to handle it in a business-like way. In the Western States where the large ranches are rapidly disappearing and the farm, with the barbed wire fence is taking its place, wolf hunting will soon be a thing of the past. ”

“ I have come to the conclusion that the basis of all the most successful secret decoys for catching fox is the substance taken from the glands of the female fox during the running season, mixed with grease of some sort, together with contents of the glands of the skunk, preferably the female taken in the spring or latter part of the winter. I do not pretend to say that every one will be successful who uses that decoy. I am of the opinion, if directions are closely followed in the following method of water trapping for fox, you are reasonably sure to catch them if you use that decoy. ”