Part 9 (1/2)
[Ill.u.s.tration]
One of the most useful as well as the most ancient inventions in the way of traps is the common _Figure Four Trap_, which forms the subject of our next ill.u.s.tration. It is a very ingenious contrivance, and the mechanism, consists merely of three sticks.
It possesses great advantages in the fact that it may be used in a variety of ways, and a number of the machines may be carried by the young trapper with very little inconvenience. Our ill.u.s.tration shows the trap already set, only awaiting for a slight touch at the bait to bring the heavy stone to the ground. A box may be subst.i.tuted for the stone, and the animal may thus be [Page 108]
captured alive. The three sticks are represented separate at _a_.
_b_. and _c_. Of course, there is no regular size for them, as this would greatly depend upon the purpose for which they are designed to be used. If for rabbits, the following proportions will answer very well. The sticks should all be square, and about half an inch in thickness. The bait-stick, (_a_) should be about nine or ten inches in length, one end being pointed and the other furnished with a notch, as indicated. The upright stick, (_b_) should be a little shorter, one end being whittled to a rather sharp edge.
At about three or four inches from the other end, and on the side next to that whittled, a square notch should be cut. This should be about a third of an inch in depth and half an inch in width, being so cut as exactly to receive the bait-stick without holding it fast. The remaining stick (_c_) should have a length of about seven or eight inches, one end being whittled, as in the last, to an edge, and the other end furnished with a notch on the same side of the stick.
[Ill.u.s.tration]
When these are finished, the trap may be set in the following manner: Place the upright stick, (_b_) with its pointed end uppermost.
Rest the notch of the slanting stick, (_c_) on the summit of the upright stick, placing the stone upon its end, and holding the stick in position with the hand. By now hooking the notch in the bait-stick on the sharpened edge of the slanting stick and fitting it into the square notch in the upright, it may easily be made to catch and hold itself in position. The bait should always project beneath the stone. In case a box is used instead of a stone, the trap may be set either inside of it or beneath its edge. Where the ground is very soft, it would be well to rest the upright stick on a chip or small flat stone, as otherwise it is apt to sink into the earth by degrees and spring by itself.
When properly made, it is a very sure and sensitive trap, and the bait, generally an apple, or ”nub” of corn is seldom more than touched when the stone falls.
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THE ”DOUBLE ENDER.”
[Ill.u.s.tration]
This is what we used to call it in New England and it was a great favorite among the boys who were fond of rabbit catching. It was constructed of four boards two feet in length by nine inches in breath secured with nails at their edges, so as to form a long square box. Each end was supplied with a heavy lid working on two hinges. To each of these lids a light strip of wood was fastened, the length of each being sufficient to reach nearly to the middle of the top of the box, as seen in the ill.u.s.tration. At this point a small auger hole was then made downward through the board. A couple of inches of string was next tied to the tip of each stick and supplied with a large knot at the end. The trap was then set on the simple principle of which there are so many examples throughout the pages of this work. The knots were lowered through the auger hole and the insertion of the bait stick inside the box held them in place. The edge of the bottom board on each end of the trap should be supplied with a tin catch such as is described on page 88 in order to hold the lid in place after it has fallen. No matter from which end the bait is approached it is no sooner touched than both ends fall and ”_bunny_” is prisoner. Like many other of our four-footed game, the rabbit manifests a peculiar liking for salt and may be regularly attracted to a given spot by its aid. A salted cotton string is sometimes extended several yards from the trap for the purpose of leading them to it, but this seems a needless precaution, as the rabbit is seldom behind hand in discerning a tempting bait when it is within his reach.
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THE SELF SETTING TRAP.
One of the oldest known principles ever embodied in the form of a trap is that which forms the subject of the accompanying ill.u.s.tration.
It is very simple in construction, sure in its action; and as its name implies, resets itself after each intruder has been captured.
[Ill.u.s.tration]
It is well adapted for Rabbits and c.o.o.ns and when made on a small scale, may be successfully employed in taking rats and mice. It is also extensively used in the capture of the Mink and Muskrat, being set beneath the water, near the haunts of the animals and weighted by a large stone. Of course the size of the box will be governed by the dimensions of the game for which it is to be set.
Its general proportions should resemble those of the ill.u.s.tration, both ends being open. A small gate, consisting of a square piece of wood supplied with a few stiff wires is then pivoted inside each opening, so as to work freely and fall easily when raised.
The bait is fastened inside at the centre of the box. The animal, in quest of the bait, finds an easy entrance, as the wires lift at a slight pressure, but the exit after the gate has closed is so difficult that escape is almost beyond the question.
The wires should be so stiff as to preclude the possibility of them being bent by struggles of the imprisoned creature in his [Page 111]
efforts to escape, and to insure further strength it is advisable to connect the lower ends of the wires by a cross piece of finer wire, twisted about each.
The simultaneous capture of two rabbits in a trap of this kind is a common occurrence.
THE DEAD-FALL.
In strolling through the woods and on the banks of streams in the country, it is not an uncommon thing to stumble against a contrivance resembling in general appearance our next ill.u.s.tration. Throughout New England, the ”dead-fall,” as this is called, has always been a most popular favorite among trappers, young and old; and there is really no better rough and ready trap for large game. To entrap a fox by any device is no easy matter; but the writer remembers one case where Reynard was outwitted, and the heavy log of the ”dead-fall” put a speedy end to his existence. The trap was set in a locality where the fox had made himself a nuisance by repeated nocturnal invasions among the poultry, and the bait was cleverly calculated to decoy him. A live duck was tied within the pen, and the morsel proved too tempting for him to resist. Thrusting his head beneath the suspended log, in order to reach his prey, he thus threw down the slender framework of support; and the log, falling across his neck, put him to death.
[Ill.u.s.tration]
Our ill.u.s.tration gives a very correct idea of the general construction of the ”dead-fall,” although differing slightly in its mode of setting from that usually employed.
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A pen of rough sticks is first constructed, having an open front.