The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1886-01-22
20 80 poiu, IN al alrrct,ons.


.,>.s'., or rather traps on the waters
l5a r"m&ntlc Octoraro aud iss tribu,..
re. a. .ss AZ Bay View towards ii.
East. reaching south in his excursion
t""w Wo,diawn and Principle, al
Das'il owe, the ridge" into Psnnsyly
uia, as lar. He uses steel traps sn
tn" numner employed the present fall
Vas 81 The traps are cunningly e
in she holes ana runs Of the animals +
~ in quest 1T which are chiefly skunk;
mlsSSets o'po.sums and rabbits T.:
i,n doas something in trapping coor-
sod minss He says he never traps
oxes ,cr lar OF mourning the enmity
u the huntsmen. The lex being among
the mos, valuable fur, aud Pen being
ally AS The animals he traps, we halt
Inspect that this refusal to trap the
canning fox is nothing more than d
vuse
A Soon as frost rlpens the fur in the
fall Pen begins operations. In JAN
uary there is lull, SO tospeak,
IN the business. The animals keeping
close to their dens, making only short
excursions when soft spell occurs.
In February they begin to str
round pretty freely as the mating sea
>"n approaches. During the month Of
January Pen allows his traps to re-
man quiet, but when February opens
and the weather is favorable he com.
mences the spring harvest which con.
tinues till the weather warns up in
April, when the fur begins to shed.
His fall hunt the present season result
ed in catch of As skunks, % musk
rats, | o'possums, 2 coons and 20 rab.
It's.
Skunk fur stands at the head. A
No. l skin being worth 81 30 i; No. Q
80 cents, and No. 8 40 cents. The
skins are graded by the quantity of
white fur they show white depreciat.
ing the quality. A skin with no stripe
is classed as No. |; half stripe No. 2;
and No. 8 has narrow stripe from
ears to tail. A broad stripe marks
very low grade Of pelt
The o'possum pelt is not very valua-
BILE a No. l, selling for about % cents;
No. 2, l8 cents and No. 3, S to Z cents.
Coon skins are worth 40 to 100 cents.
Mink fur used to be very valuable .
good skin selling for several dollars,
but fashions in furs changed and the
fine fur of the mink is worth about rs
cents only at present In addition to
the pelts the animals furnis b NO incon-
siderable quantity of food, and the
flesh of the muskrat and pole cat or
skunk is accounted very gamy and
supplies savory dish. The muskrat
when caught plunges into the water
and browns in the trap. The skunk is
found alive and waiting with fire
reserved for the visit of the hunter. A
shot from pistol, sends death .spasm
through the animal, when volume of
perfume, the scent "she nourished for
her foe" is released instantly, which
fills the circumambient air for miles.
When the hunter reaches home with a
bag OF "cats," the question often arises
which shall enter the house, as the aro-
ma from both is too rich for one small
room to contain.
New York Is the market for fur and
Pen watches the fur market reports of
the New York Sun, that being the on
ly paper, he informs us, which has
reliable report of the market. The re-
suit Of Pens catch averages $3.50, to
5000 year.
He is also an extensive breeder of
black and Maltese cats. A coal black
cat skin and Maltese pelt are valued