by trappers as a scent-bait.
In the case already described, it is well to rub the glands on
the twigs of the trees, thus serving as an additional attraction
to the bait. There is still another method of trapping deer, which
is commonly employed in the winter time. The trap is sunk in the
snow at the foot of a tree, and the bait, consisting of an ear
of corn or a few beards of other grain, is fastened to the tree,
above the trap, three or more feet from the ground. The animal, in
reaching for the bait, places its foot in the trap and is secured.

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When first caught, the deer becomes very wild and violent; so much
so that if the trap were chained or retarded by a heavy clog, the
chain, or even the trap itself, would most likely be broken. The
weight of a trap of this size is generally a sufficient impediment,
no clog, or at best a very light one, being required. The first
frantic plunge being over, the entrapped creature immediately yields
and lies down upon the ground, and is always to be found within
a few rods of where the trap was first sprung upon him. During
the winter the traps may also be set in the snow, using the same
bait already described. It is a common method to fell a small tree
for the purpose, setting the traps beneath the snow, around the
top branches. The deer, in browsing in the tender twigs or buds,
are almost certain to be captured. Dead-falls of different kinds
are sometimes used in trapping the deer, with good success; using
the scent bait already described, together with the other bait.
The food of the deer during the summer consists of nuts, fruits,
acorns, grass, berries, and water plants, and when in convenient
neighborhood of cultivated lands, they do not hesitate to make
a meal from the farmer's turnips, cabbages, and grain.

As we have said, the winter food consists chiefly of the twigs of
trees. When the snow is deep the deer form what are called "yards,"
about such trees as they particularly select for their browsing.
These yards are made simply by tramping down the snow, and large
numbers of the deer are often thus found together. As the supply
of food is consumed, the yard is enlarged, so as to enclose other
trees for browsing, and where deep snows abound throughout the
winter, these enclosures often become quite extensive in area.
Panthers, wolves, and wolverines take especial advantage of these,
and easily secure their victims. By wolves especially entire herds
of deer a