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TRAPPING THE RACCOON The raccoon is theoretically a carnivorous ani ¬ mal living upon birds and their eggs small mam ¬ mals fish frogs and insects Practically it is omnivorous feeding equally well upon grain nuts berries and fruit of all kinds especially sweet apples It is exceedingly fond of honey and sugar as many a beekeeper and sugar maker can testify But its favorite feed during the season is corn especially sweet corn iu the roasting stage stageIt It is easily tamed and when in captivity will subsist wholly upon vegetables It will become excessively fat upon a diet of corn bread with an occasional apple thrown in by way of relish It is neat In its habits playful intelligent and affectionate It is fairly prolific bearing from two to captivityAt six at a litter and breeds well in captivity At the prices that have prevailed during the past few years its skins if of prime and extra largu and dark occasionally sell for as much as ten dollars apiece When fat its carcass will yield from one to four quarts of oil valued at fifty tents a pint in addition to from twelve to twenty IK n mis of the best wild meat In consideration of these facts it would seem that a properly managed raccoon farm would be a Highly profitable enter prise But no such farms are in evidence and so far as is known the raccoon is never domesticated except occasionally as a curious ami interesting pet petIt It is a native of the entire timbered region of Canada and of every state in the Union though those found in the southern states are smaller lighter colored and less valuable It makes its home in swamps or near a cool spring or by the side of a small stream and though in the summer it may travel a considerable distance it always returns to its home as cold weather approaches Indeed in the season when their skins are at their best it is a waste of time to set trai elsewhere for only solitary and occasional individuals can be caught except in the vicinity of their homes homesSKINS SKINS BEST IN DECEMBER DECEMBERThe The raccoon sometimes inhabits hollow logs and even cavities in the rociis and frequently hides in them temporarily But itUSually makes its habi ¬ tation in the top of a tall tree in a cavity formed by the breaking of a large limb and the consequent decay of the stump It chooses in preference roughbarked trees like the elm the maple or the basswood since the corrugations on the bark enable it easilyIf to ascend these trees mere easily If pursued or otherwise alarmed a raccoon will never approach its den but will make for a near ¬ by tree choosing a hemlock in preference to all others It will keep the tree between itself and the object of its alarm and climb the tree more rapidly than a man can walk It will ascend to where the foliage is the thickest hide itself in a crotch and lie perfectly motionless The color of its fur so blends and harmonizes with that of tho bark and foliage that it is only by the closest ob ¬ servation that it can be discovered discoveredIn In the south raccoons are abroad at all seasons but in the north they retire to their den witli the coming of permanent snow and remain in close seclusion until the mating season subsisting upon the fat accumulated during the previous summer The mating season is during the latter part oC February and in early March As far as possible the young of each family will mate among them ¬ selves and remain in the nest until bare ground apnears But the old ones of both sexes will leave the nest and go in search of mates and trees for homes homesTheir Their skins are the best in December and begin to deteriorate rapidly with the mating season A skin that would be worth five dollars if taken in Jan ¬ uary may not bring fifty cents the following July JulyThey They make their habitations known by the scratched appearance of the bark by bits of ex ¬ crement rotton wood and refuse feed thrown from their nests and by beaten paths to the water Their tracks closely resemble those of a small child but are a trifle wider in proportion to the length and the toe prints are longer longerWhen When a coon tree is located the rest is easy for the raccoon though a little cautious about anything that savors too much of mankind has little fear of the manscent and is not a difficult animal to trap Number 2 traps should be used and a dozen or more should he clevuly camouflaged in and beside the path for the whole family travels tj gether and if one member is caught the others will cluster round and sympathize until morning and then return to the tree and quite likely remain there until spring while if there are traps enough the entire family may be caught at one setting settingHOW HOW TO SET THE TRAPS TRAPSIt It is a good plan to place a number of logs diagonally across the path and set one or more traps at each end When the raccoon finds its path obstructed it will go round the log and ex ¬ amine the end presumably to see if it is hollow As many as eight raccoons have been caught in one night and from a single tree by this method It is well to use baits but not to bait the traps directly For though one animal may be caught the others will connect the trap with the bait and will avoid both The correct method is to place the trap in such a position that the animal cannot reach the bait without stepping into it Canned sweet corn is the best bait to use Honey is good and so are sweet apples applesThe The raccoon may be caught in deadfalls es ¬ pecially in those of the double type which have a passageway entirely through the inclosure and a deadfall at each opening It is best to set quite a number and to place the bait in the inclosure several times before setting the deadfalls Thus the animals become accustomed to the traps and the whole family may be caught at one setting settingItaccoons Itaccoons may be attracted from a long distance by certain odors The best for this purpose is that arising from canned salmon or sardines if a little rancid so much the better A locality should found that raccoons are likely to visit Iiace a little of the fish in a good location and place two or three times as much canned sweet corn near by A raccoon will be pretty cautious about touching the fish but it will scent it from afar investigate the odor find and eat the corn Iut out more corn and when the raccoons begin to frequent the place set the traps and set plenty of them It is not worth while to set the traps on the expectation that the raccoons will find the fish immediately for perhaps twenty scents may ba put out before a single raccoon will be attracted attractedDecoys Decoys of various kinds are often used in at ¬ tracting raccoons and pieces of glass or bright tin are highly recommended These are useful during the summer months when the animals travel much of the time by daylight But along toward November or Decemter when the fur is most valuable the animals become entirely nocturnal in their habits and such decoys are of no avail availThe The best decoy to use is a bundle of cornstalks suggesting a good meal of its favorite feed Next in order are logs eight or ten feet in length The ends with the exception of a ring round the outer edge should be painted black to give the appearance of a hollow log Seeing these the raccoons will investigate and if the traps are properly set round the ends of the logs the aminals will be caught But it should always be remembered that the rac ¬ coon unliko the fox does not travel far from its den during the season in which its skin is valuable Country Gentleman
