rproof they may be soaked or smeared
with a hot mixture, composed of one part rosin, two parts beeswax,
and three parts tallow. Simple tallow, or even the fat of the deer,
is sometimes used for the same purpose.

Calculating on a successful campaign, a supply of board-stretchers,
page 273, will be needed for the curing of the skins, and if our
adventurous enthusiasts should extend their experience along into
the winter, the toboggan and snow-shoes will come into good use
for convenient winter travel.

The trapping season properly commences in October and ends in April.
The pelts of fur bearing animals are in their best condition during
this time, and in the winter are in their prime. The various modes
of setting and baiting traps for all our leading animals are clearly
set forth in another part of this volume. And in the accompanying
engravings will be found life like representations of each species.

In a trapping campaign it is an excellent plan to select a central
point for the home shanty, extending the trapping lines in several
directions therefrom, following the borders of the lakes or streams
for the otter, beaver, mink and muskrat; and setting a few lines
inland for the capture of martens, racoons, foxes, etc.

For an amateur campaign this a most excellent and convenient
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arrangement, the lines may extend all the way from one to five miles
each, and connect at their edges, the whole ground plan resembling the
form of a wheel, the shanty corresponding to the hub, and the trapping
lines the spokes, the tire representing the circuit connecting the
various lines. Where the latter extend over many miles it is well
to construct bark shanties at the limits. Let each trapper take
a certain "spoke," and follow it to its terminus, returning on the
adjacent line. On his arrival at the shanty he should immediately
set to work skinning the animals taken, and stretching their furs.
Full directions for skinning the various game are given under their
respective titles, and the curing of skins is treated in detail
in another chapter of this work. We also present a table of the
comparative values of the various American furs at the present
date of publication. Of course these values are constantly varying,
but the table will serve at least to gauge the relative values
of common and scarce furs. Great care should always be used in
removing the skins from the various animals, as the final value
of the fur much depen