Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1919-12-05
Trapping and Selling of Furs
Is Good Side Line for Farmers
Pr,eSTtaprcr should Wait mill Cold Weather
n--Sie as to o

with the approach OF cold weather
the thrifty farmer in almost any sec
ton of the country can undertake
some form of fur trapping with profit.
\ knowledge of the fur-bearing ami
mails found in his vicinity and how
to catch them and treat their pelts
reveals a source Of income often over
looked. For the boy in the country
nothing offers more delightful
diversion than a trapping expedition.
particularly if it entails a money re-
ward Where the farm itself affords
accessible stream or wooded tract is
generally to be found nearby where
ur-bearing animals can be caught
While the fur resources of the coun-
try have been diminishing steadily
prices have been rising. The war
also has been an important factor in
this upward trend.
Wait Until Fur Is Right.
The person about to engage in pelt
gathering must understand at the
outset the necessity of postponing
trapping until the animals fur is at
its best. The pelt of mink for eX-
ample, killed in September might not
be worth more than SO cents. where
as if the same animal were killed in
November or December its pelt might
bring $40.
| Speaking generally. trappin &
should not begin until cold weather
has set in-that is, until late Novem-
Der or December-fOr most sections
of the country. Two principal excep-
lions to the rule are the muskrat and
beaver, whose fur is not at it's best
until February or March.
In addition to the widely distriD-
uted fur-bearing animals mentioned
below each region has many others
to lure the pelt collector. The prices
given here are necessarily only APP
proximations. Each trapper must
bear in mind that the size and condi-
ton of the individual pelt, as we'll as
other factors. will have much to do
with the sum it will bring.
Skunk Pelts Valuable.
The skunk, one of the most COM
mon fur bearers, is found in every
state of the Union. Large skunk
skins probably will bring the trapper
from 81 to SIS this season, while the
pelts of the little spotted skunk will
bring from 10 to 80 cents. The
weasel. of one variety or another, is
to be found in practically all sections
of the country. Formerly the brown
pelts were considered worthless, but
with the rise in fur prices brown
pelts should net the trapper from 10
to 25 cents each. while the white
pelts will bring from SO cents to
s1.50.
An animal not to be found in large
numbers, but native to regions north,
south, east and west, is the mink
When in prime condition its skin, if
secured in the north. should bring
from 81 to IS, while a skin secured
in the south should command 50 to
SO. Likewise, the raccoon living in
the north produces better pelt than
the one living in the south Good
raccoon skins are worth from $50
to 1913 each to the trapper.
Many persons. particularly city
jewellers, may be surprised to learn
that many foxes still are trapped in
this country. Red fox pelts, obtain
able in widely distributed areas in
the Northern states, should bring
from $40 to $40 each this season
while the gray fox found in the South
ern states will bring from $50 tC
SO a pell.
An example of returns that can be
secured from fur resources long over.
looked is found in the fact that the
| people of Oregon Melted approx.
mately $4,000 from mole skins las;
year, following trapping demonstra
lions by representative of the bio
logical survey of the United States
Department of Agriculture. Tho
demonstrators showed that while
millions of European mole skins were
used by fur manufacturers in Amer
lea before the war. the skins of som,
American moles, especially the large
common variety of western Washing
ton and Oregon. are larger and have
better texture than those from Eu
| rope
Farmers Bulletin S32, publishe,
by the United States Department o.
| Agriculture, describes the best kind,
of mole traps, how to set them. ant
gives other information The meth
DDS discussed are especially adapted
10 the Pacific coast states, but will
| notifications will apply to all locali
ties where moles are found.
MuskratS Sill, N,,,,aco,,.