Plainfield High School - Hermiad Yearbook (Central Village, CT)

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8 THE HERMIAD be level with the ground. After setting the trap I place it so that its jaws will be parallel with the sides of the burrow, that the skunk may be secure-ly caught. I then fasten the chain to a nearby log, or stake it into the groun. in such a way as will not permit the animal to get back into its den, for the skunk can be killed easily if it cannot get back into the hole. In setting a dead-fall I pick out a gapway which looks as though a skunk might run that way. I usually use white birch or walnut wood for my sticks and choose a suitable rock, one which is wide, smooth, heavy, and well shaped. I then place the bait on the bait-stick under the stone and connect it with the binder which is fastened around the up-holders. As soon as the animal touches the bait, the bait-stick falls from the binder, causing the rock to fall on the animal's head, instantly killing him. Another an i ma li that I trap is the muskrat, as muskrats are quite numerous about two and one half miles fromi my home. He is easiest to trap and his fur is mast valuable in the spring of the year. Spring, in tne trapping sense, means frcm February to May. The disadvantages in spring muskrat trapping are that it is impossible for me to watch my sets Without a boat, and spring floods often spoil many good sets. Stream muskrats live in burrows in the banks of streams, lakes or ponds and are easily caught by setting traps in the entrances to the burrows. Others live in houses built in the water and they are harder to reach for the houses nnust be carefully studied and the main entrance must be found out. The easiest way to trap those living in the streams is to set the trap on the inside of their houses. As this is unlawful in Connecticut I place the trap at the side of their houses in about three or four inches of water. The trap is staked down with ancther stick about six inches beyond the first, so that the trapped animal will wind around the outer stake and drown. I also set traps on bogs in the water, over a trail where the muskrats are accustomed .to ga. Such traps are as effective as the house-traps provided the animals do visit the bogs. Frequently unbaited traps will catch mink ami raccoon. I sometimes trap weasel, mink, and fox, but I have not been so success- ful with them as with muskrats and skunks. The trapping of a mink cr a fox is difficult and complicated, because both animals are very crafty and very shy. The fox, belonging as it does to the dog family, has mire intelligence than any other animal with the exception, perhaps, of the wolf and the coyote, and the trapper who wishes to be successful with this clever creature must leave no human signs behind him. Minks live in dens, hollow logs, sometimes in old muskrat burrows, their homes are usually near water. Moreover, they are ramblers. They delight in following banks and streams and often do not return to their old homes. To locate their favorite haunts is a diificult task far the trapper. Such is trapping! If every person who thinks trapping is ridiculous could go with me on my trap line for a few times, perhaps his ideas would

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THE HERMIAD 7 TRAPPING AND ITS IMPORTANCE TO ME fRcwena Smith, 19311 RAPPING, to me, is the ntcst enjoyable pastime that there is. It affords not only niuch needed e x e r c i s e, but also much enjoyment, a new interest, and spare money. No one who has not trapped realizes just how fascinating this out docr work is, how interesting it is to get acquainted with our wocd-folk friends and their ways. Trapping cannot be termed easy work. It is quite the opposite, there are endless tasks to be done before a trapper has a pelt home on a stretchf' The most discouraging failures on the trap line are caused by same slight essential overlooked, or by scme trifling detail overdone. To be successful, a trapper should know every detail in the life of the furbearer he traps, and in this way he will know just what to expect of his future prisoner. Skunks-they are the animals that I most frequently trap-live in den: in rccky, hilly sections rather than on the cpen plains. In some of the Central States, owing to the rocky and uneven land, they are, it is said, the ntost numerous of all fur-bearing anintals. They live invariably in undergroun-'l burrows, under rock ledges, 'cn rocky hillsides, under barns, abandoned buildings and haystacks, in old woodchuck 'holes, under upturned tree rcots in the fields and wocds. At night they travel around in the open fields, alcng ponds and streams, in search of food. They eat a variety of foodsg birds, eggs, reptiles, insects, grasshoppers. If they have once acquired the taste for chicken they are a nuisance around a poultry yard. The most tempting bait for the skunk is the kind with an odor ts it, tainted meat, frogs, birds and fish are the mcst successful of all. ' The skunk is usually caught in traps set at the entrance of his den, however trap-pens along the trail and dead-falls in gapways are equally important to set. If about to set a trap, I first learn whether a den is occupied or not. This I can easily find out by observing the mouth of the entrance to the burrcw. A skunk, in going in and out of his hcle, usually leaves some odor as well as some long black and white hairs. A beaten trail leading to the den is another indication that the burrow is occupied. As a final test I sometimes place a few sxrall sticks lightly across the entrance, if these are knocked down within a few days, I am sure something is occupying the den and I act accordingly. The next step is to set the trap. The most common mistake among amateur skunk trappers is setting the trap too far down into the animal's den, so that the skunk, crawling out, will strike the pan with his stomach, leave a few hairs, and be on his way again while the unfortunate trapper is very much puzzled and disappointed. I first dig out a. little hollow fcr the trap to rest in, so that when covered over slightly with leaves cr soil it will

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THE HERMIAD 9 change. I-Icw interesting it is to watch each animal's efforts to build up a home for himself and for his family! Sometimes I wonder at the almost human intelligence displayed! People ask, What enjoyment do you get cut of walking five miles through heavily wooded sections or over open, rocky hillsides? All that I can say is that I find nothing more enjoyable than learning the ways of the wild fclk and being nearer to nature. Perhaps I'm eb ROYAL ami a romanticist at heart. Who knows? Llsidore Messier, 19313 F COURSE ycu do not know who Royal Rita isp nor do you know where she is from or how she came to be. If you will be patient, 1 will tell you all. It seems that a certain teacher discovered that she was carrying on a tremendous amount cf correspondence. There were business letters, class work, choice clippings, and, all put together, there really was too much work fer one person to do well. It became clear to Miss 0verworked that some- thing had to be done to avert the avalanche of work that was sure to come over her. Possibly she did not like to assunte all the responsibility of the work and decided tc look for relief from some source or other. She might have employed a private secretary, but same people do not care to have them. They may leave chewing gum and lipstick around the place, and you never can tell who your secretary is anyway. This idea was eliminated. Be it as it may, Rita came as a surprise to the whole schocl. The first time I saw her was in English class. When she made her first appearance, she had on a beautiful black dress of a glossy, satinlike finish. She wore an cdd necklace about her slim neck. This necklace seemed to be a printed affair. I could not see it very well from my seat, but it was something resembling gcld letters. As I observed her there, held spellbound by her unusual grace and majestic poise, I caught the meaning of thcse letters. Yes, it was indeed odd, but it enhanced her beauty like the sunshine on a dew-covered rose. At last there was no more doubt about the meaning of that necklace. It was her name. An endearing name it was, tco. As I muttered that name to myself, I felt a sudden glow ot satisfaction within me. I felt as though Rita and I had known each other for years. We did not exactly kncw each other, of course, because, as I said before, it was her first appearance at school and I considered myself bold in encourag- ing the thought of any relationship between Rita and meg still, I should have been very proud indeed to kncw her and even prcuder if I could have called her my own, to do with as I chose. I was sure I would have some 4