The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-01-15
Trapping Fur Animals

With cold weather at hand the thrifty farmer in almost any section of the coun- try can undertake some form of fur-trap- ping with profit A knowledge of the fur-hearing animals found in his vicinity and how to catch them and treat their belts reveals a source of income often overlooked. For the boy in the ceun- try nothing offers a more delightful di- version than trapping expedition par ticularly if it entails a money reward Where the farm itself afofrds little oppor- tunity for trapping. an accessible stream or wooded tract Is generally to be found nearby where fur-hearing animals can be caught. While the fur resources of the country have been diminishing steadily. prices have been rising. The war also has been an important factor in this up- ward trend.
 The person about 10 engage in pelt- gathering must understand al the outset the necessity of postponing trapping un- til tre animals fur is at it's best The September might not be worth more than 5e cents whereas if the same animal were killed in November or Decem Der it's pelt might bring $lO. Speaking gen orally, trapping should not begin until l cold weather has set in--that is, until late 1 November or December-for most sections | of the country. Two principal exceptions | tc the ruie are the muskrat and beaver,
 whose fur is not at it's best until Feb ruary or March
 1 In addition to the widely distributed 1 fur-bearing animals mentioned beiow each region has many others to lure the relt collector. The prices given here are necessarily only approximations. Each trapper must bear in mind that he size and condition of the individual pelt as l well as other factors. will have much to l do with the sum it will bring.
 , The skunk one of the most common
 fur bearers, is found in every state of the union. Large skunk hides probably will bring the trapper from g. to s this season, whiie the pelts of the little spot ted skunk will bring from 10 to 80 cents The weasel of one variety or another. is to be found in practically all sections oi
 the country. Formerly the brown pelts were considered worthless, but with the rise in fur prices brown belts should net the trapper from 10 to 25 cents each, while
 the white pelts will bring from 50 cents to $1 50
 An animal not to be found in large numbers. but native to regions north south, east and west is the mink Wher | in prime condition it's skin. if secured
 in the north. should bring from A to SS
 while a skin secured in the south shoulc command g to $3. Likewise, the caccoor living in the north produces 8 better pel' than the one living in the south. Goo(
 raccoon skins are worth from S.5o tt $2 75 each to the trapper.
 Many persons particularly city dwell
 CTS, may be surprised to learn that many
 foxes are still trapped in this country
 Red fox pelts, obtainable in widely dis
 tributed areas in the northern Htates
 should bring from si0 to 80 eais th'
 season. while the gray fox found S@ th
 southern states will bring from sl.5o t'
 s pelt.
 An example of returns that can be SC cured from fur resources long overlooked is found in the fact that the people O Oregon netted approximately So,G0O iron mole skins, last year, following trappinl demonstrations by representatives or tn 1, biological survey of the United State
 department of agriculture The demon
 strators showed that while millions O
 European mole skins were used by flu
 manufacturers in America before tn war, the skins fosome American moles
 especially the large. common variety o
 western Washington and Oregon, ar larger and have better texture than thos
 from Europe. Farmers's Bulletin S3. published by the United States Depart ment of Agriculture Washington. D. C describes the best kinds of mole trap' | how to set them and gives other infor
 nation.